- My Lovely Sam Soon
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My Lovely Sam Soon 
Promotional PosterAlso known as 내 이름은 김삼순 Genre Romance
ComedyWritten by Kim Do-wo Directed by Kim Yoon-chul Starring Kim Sun-ah
Hyun Bin
Jeong Ryeo-won
Daniel HenneyOpening theme Be My Love Ending theme She Is Country of origin South Korea No. of episodes 16 Production Producer(s) Kim Sa-hyun Camera setup Multi-camera Running time 60 minutes, Wednesday & Thursday 9:55 pm Broadcast Original channel MBC (South Korea) Picture format 1080i HDTV Original run June 1, 2005 – July 21, 2005 External links Website My Lovely Sam Soon or My Name is Kim Sam Soon (Korean: 내 이름은 김삼순) is a South Korean television drama series which was aired on MBC from June 1, 2005 to July 21, 2005. Touted as the "Bridget Jones Diary" of Korea, it stars Kim Sun-ah, Hyun Bin, Jung Ryeo-won and Daniel Henney.
The series was a success in South Korea with an average viewership of over 37% and 50.5% of Korean households tuned in to the finale.[1] It won numerous awards at the 2005 MBC Drama Awards, including Kim Sun-ah winning the Daesang Award.
Contents
Synopsis
Kim Sam-soon's (Kim Sun-ah) main passion and skills are in baking and dreams of owning a shop of her own. She does not have much of a social life and dreams of changing her name as it is considered a very old-fashioned and embarrassing name. After she is dumped by her boyfriend, she manages to land herself a job in a big French restaurant working as a pastry chef for a rude and angsty 27-year-old man called Hyun Jin-heon (Hyun Bin). Both are on bad terms ever since they set eyes on each other.
One day, Sam-soon finds herself in need of 50 million won (approximately USD$50,000) to pay for her mother's house. She agrees to be Jin-heon's pretend girlfriend for that amount. During their pretend dating they slowly become more affectionate with each other. When things seem to go accordingly, Jin-heon's ex-girlfriend Yoo Hee-jin (Jung Ryeo-won) returns from the US and life for Sam-soon starts getting much worse.
Jin-heon then realizes that he is happier with Sam-soon and can't stop thinking about her. He confesses his love to her after she tells him that she hates people who don't confess their feelings towards the person they like.
Hee-jin asks Jin-heon to accompany her on her return to the United States. Sam-Soon allows him to go but he does not return within the promised duration. He soon arrives and they find out that he has been sending postcards to the wrong address. Sam-soon and Jin-heon attempt to get her pregnant in order to convince Jin-heon's mother into allowing their marriage. The plan fails, but they remain together.
Near the very end of the series, Sam-soon reads a poem from a poster on a bus stop: "Dance like no one's watching. Sing like no one's listening. Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt before. Live like there's no tomorrow."[2]
Cast
- Kim Sun-ah as Kim Sam-soon
- Hyun Bin as Hyun Jin-heon
- Jeong Ryeo-won as Yoo Hee-jin
- Daniel Henney as Dr. Henry Kim
- Kim Ja Ok as Park Bong-Sook - Sam-soon's mom
- Lee Ah-hyun as Kim Yi-Young - Sam-soon's sister
- Na Moon-hee as Na Hyun-Sook - Jin-heon's mom
- Suh Ji Hee as Hyun Mi-joo - Jin-heon's niece
- Yoon Ye-hee as Yoon Hyun-sook - Jin-heon's "aunt"
- Lee Kyu-han as Min Hyun-woo - Sam-soon's ex
- Lee Yoon-mi as Jang Chae-Ri
Restaurant staff
- Yeo Woon-kay as Ms. Oh (Manager)
- Lee Hyun-moo as Kwon Hae Hyo (chef)
- Han Yeo-won as Lee In-Hye - Sam-soon's assistant
- Kim Hyun Jung as Jang Young-Ja (Dining room captain)
Production
Actress Kim Sun-ah gained 15 pounds for the role. [3]
Response
Some critics believe its huge success was due to the show's focus on the life of a single and chubby woman in her late twenties. Particularly, the physical appearance and stereotype that the female character portrayed in the drama greatly increased its popularity due to its resonance with many Koreans.[4]
Ratings
date episode nationwide seoul area 2005-06-01 ep. 1 18.3% 19.2% 2005-06-02 ep. 2 21.3% 23.1% 2005-06-08 ep. 3 27.8% 29.6% 2005-06-09 ep. 4 32.7% 30.8% 2005-06-15 ep. 5 35.4% 38.9% 2005-06-16 ep. 6 35.1% 38.2% 2005-06-22 ep. 7 35.6% 38.0% 2005-06-23 ep. 8 37.7% 39.8% 2005-06-29 ep. 9 40.7% 43.8% 2005-06-30 ep.10 41.7% 43.5% 2005-07-06 ep.11 44.2% 46.2% 2005-07-07 ep.12 44.6% 46.5% 2005-07-13 ep.13 44.7% 46.9% 2005-07-14 ep.14 44.1% 46.9% 2005-07-20 ep.15 47.9% 50.2% 2005-07-21 ep.16 50.5% 53.4% average 37.6% 39.6% Source: TNS Media Korea
Soundtrack
My Lovely Sam Soon Original Soundtrack 
Soundtrack album Released June 18 2005 (South Korea) Genre Soundtrack Label Universal Music (South Korea) The My Lovely Sam Soon soundtrack was released on June 18 2005.[5] A famous Korean electronica band Clazziquai contributed two songs on its soundtrack: "Be My Love" and "She Is", the former of which became the show's theme song. The show's popularity brought the group increased media and public attention.
My Lovely Sam Soon OST track listing No. Title Artist Length 1. "Bonbon O Chocolat I" 2:40 2. "Be My Love" Clazziquai 4:39 3. "She Is" Clazziquai 3:54 4. "WFS" 2:26 5. "Goodbye" 4:33 6. "Farewell without Farewell" Jisun from Loveholic 3:47 7. "Bonbon O Chocolat II" 2:24 8. "Goodbye II" 3:28 9. "Can't Let Go" 3:53 10. "Gravity" 2:14 11. "Inside My Heart" Jung-eun Kim 4:28 12. "Be My Love (MR)" 4:47 13. "She Is (MR)" 4:40 14. "Bonbon O Chocolat III" 2:32 Awards
2006 Seoul Drama Awards
- Best Mini Series[6]
2006 42nd Paeksang Arts Awards[7]
- Grand Prize (Daesang) (TV)
- Most Popular (TV) - Hyun Bin
- Best Screenplay - Kim Do-woo
- Nomination - Best Leading Actress - Kim Sun-ah
2005 MBC Drama Awards
- Grand Prize (Dae sang) - Kim Sun-ah
- Top Excellence Award (Male) - Hyun Bin
- Top Excellence Award (Female) - Kim Sun-ah
- Excellence Award - Jeong Ryeo-won
- Best New Actor - Daniel Henney
- Popularity Award - Hyun Bin
- Popularity Award - Kim Sun-ah
- Best Couple - Hyun Bin and Kim Sun-ah
Remake
In 2008, it was remade into the Filipino series Ako si Kim Samsoon. It stars Regine Velasquez and Mark Anthony Fernandez.
See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- List of Korean television shows
- Contemporary culture of South Korea
References
- ^ My Lovely Sam-Soon was the most watched K-Drama of 2005, with a viewership rate of over 40 percent. Chosun Ilbo, 2005-07-20.
- ^ "Twitch" Drama Review
- ^ Kim Sun-a Gains Weight to Win Hearts Chosun Ilbo, 2005-07-20.
- ^ According to a research, 73% of Korean women believe that they are fat.
- ^ http://www.yesasia.com/us/my-lovely-sam-soon-ost-mbc-tv-series/1004022047-0-0-0-en/info.html
- ^ SDA Drama category winners - 1st SDA 2006 Retrieved 2011-10-20
- ^ twitchfilm.com 42nd Baeksang Awards Nominations [+Winners] 14 April 2006. Retrieved 2011-10-20
External links
- Official Site of Korea Tourism - My Lovely Sam Soon
- My Lovely Sam Soon at the Internet Movie Database
- "My Lovely Sam Soon" DramaFever.com, streaming service in North America only
Categories:- Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation television dramas
- 2005 television series debuts
- 2005 television series endings
- Korean-language television series
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