Miss Mermaid (Korean: 인어아가씨; RR: Ineo Agassi) is a South Korean television series starring Jang Seo-hee and Kim Sung-taek.[1] It aired on MBC from June 24, 2002 to June 27, 2003 on Mondays to Fridays at 20:20 for 248 episodes.
| Miss Mermaid | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Also known as | Little Mermaid Mermaid Lady Story of a Mermaid Irene |
| Genre | Melodrama Romance Family Revenge |
| Written by | Im Sung-han |
| Directed by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Composer | Oh Jin-woo |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 248 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Lee Jae-kap |
| Producer | MBC Drama Division |
| Running time | 35 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation |
| Release | January 8, 2002 – June 30, 2003 |
Miss Mermaid became a nationwide hit upon airing, reaching a peak viewership rating of 43.6%.[2] The cast won several trophies at the 2002 MBC Drama Awards, notably the Daesang ("Grand Prize") for Jang Seo-hee.[3] The series led to Jang's pan-Asian popularity, particularly in China.[4][5]
But Miss Mermaid was also criticized for Im Sung-han's sensationalistic writing and unrealistic plot twists, as well as the show's multiple extensions.[6][7]
Plot
editEun Ah-ri-young is a successful television drama screenwriter with a past. Her father Eun Jin-sub had an affair and left their family for the other woman, and shortly after her autistic brother died and her mother Han Kyung-hye went blind. Ah-ri-young's unrelenting hate for her father throughout her childhood and adolescence drives her to meticulously plan her vengeance. Knowing that Jin-sub's new wife Shim Soo-jung is a popular actress, Ah-ri-young works her way up the ranks until she earns enough cachet in the TV industry. Then she writes a script that's a thinly veiled autobiography of her father's affair and its aftermath, and casts the unsuspecting Soo-jung in the role of the blind mother to make her feel guilty. To complete her revenge and cause the maximum amount of pain, Ah-ri-young also plots to steal the fiancé of her half-sister Eun Ye-young, the gentle-natured Lee Joo-wang. Helping Ah-ri-young in her plans is Jo Soo-ah, her mother's friend whose ulterior motive is that she wants Ah-ri-young to marry her son Ma Ma-joon. But Ah-ri-young finds herself falling in love with Joo-wang for real, and she eventually realizes that there is more to life than hatred and learns the true meaning of forgiveness.
Cast
editMain
edit- Jang Seo-hee as Eun Ah-ri-young, a television screenwriter
- Jung Young-sook as Han Kyung-hye, Ah-ri-young's mother
- Park Geun-hyung as Eun Jin-sub, Ah-ri-young's father, Kyung-hye's ex-husband
- Han Hye-sook as Shim Soo-jung, a famous actress, Jin-sub's wife
- Woo Hee-jin as Eun Ye-young, a reporter, jin-sub and Soo-jung's daughter
- Sa Mi-ja as Geum Ok-sun, Joo-wang's grandmother
- Kim Yong-rim as Geum Sil-ra, Joo-wang's mother
- Kim Byung-ki as Lee Sung-soo, the president of Sun Daily Newspaper, Joo-wang's father
- Kim Sung-taek as Lee Joo-wang, a reporter, Ye-young's fiancé
- Go Doo-shim as Jo Soo-ah a.k.a. Jo Young-chun, a friend of Kyung-hye and Soo-jung
- Jeong Bo-seok as Ma Ma-joon, Soo-ah's son
- Lee Jae-eun as Ma Ma-rin, Soo-ah's daughter
- Choi Jae-ho as An Hyung-sun, a television director
Supporting
edit- Seo Kwon-soon as Hong Mi-sung, the mother of Ah-ri-young's ex-boyfriend
- Yoo Hye-ri as herself
- Jeon Mi-seon as Yoon Sung-mi, a reporter who is friend of Ah-ri-young
- Choi Seon-ja as Dong-jin's mother, a housekeeper of the Lee family
- Sa Kang as Yoo Jin-kyung, Ma-rin's friend
- Park Tam-hee as Baek Soo-rim, Mi-sung's ex-daughter-in-law
Awards
edit2002 MBC Drama Awards
- Daesang (Grand Prize): Jang Seo-hee
- Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama: Jang Seo-hee
- Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama: Woo Hee-jin
- Special Acting Award: Han Hye-sook, Jung Young-sook, Park Geun-hyung
- Best New Actor: Kim Sung-taek
- Writer of the Year: Im Sung-han
- Best Couple Award: Kim Sung-taek and Jang Seo-hee
- Viewer's Choice, Actress of the Year: Jang Seo-hee
- Journalists' Choice, Actress of the Year: Jang Seo-hee
References
edit- ^ Kim Sung-taek later adopted the stage name Kim Sung-min.
- ^ "Likable or Not Reach Highest Drama Ratings since 2000". KBS Global. April 25, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ "Jang Seo-hee to appear on the stage as main guest of a talk show in China". Hancinema. June 28, 2005. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ "Actresses Jang, Yang, Lee Top Chinese Poll". KBS Global. May 11, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ Park, Jin-hai (April 24, 2014). "Jang Seo-hee and hallyu in China". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ "Viewers Launch Massive Cyber Attack against TV Series The Mermaid". The Dong-a Ilbo. May 27, 2003. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ Lee, Sun-min (April 24, 2015). "Censured drama writer to step down". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2015.