My Girl (2005 TV series)
| My Girl | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for My Girl | |
| Genre | Romance, Comedy, Drama |
| Written by | Hong Jung-eun, Hong Mi-ran |
| Directed by | Jeon Ki-sang |
| Starring | Lee Da-hae Lee Dong-wook Lee Joon-gi Park Si-yeon |
| Opening theme | "첨부터 (From the Start)" by Yeon Woo |
| Ending theme | "Never Say Goodbye" by Mario and Nesty |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Kim Young-sup |
| Producer | Bae Tae-sup |
| Production locations | Jeju Island, Seoul |
| Running time | 60 minutes Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 (KST) |
| Production companies | DSP Media Callista |
| Original release | |
| Network | Seoul Broadcasting System |
| Release | December 14, 2005 – February 2, 2006 |
| Related | |
| My Girl (Philippine TV series) Rainbow Sweetheart | |
My Girl (Korean: 마이걸; RR: Mai Geol) is a 2005 South Korean television series starring Lee Da-hae, Lee Dong-wook, Lee Joon-gi and Park Si-yeon. It aired on SBS from December 14, 2005 to February 2, 2006 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 16 episodes.[1][2] The romantic comedy series was a hit during its run -- it placed number one in its timeslot and reached a peak viewership rating of 24.9%.[3] It also catapulted actors Lee Da-hae, Lee Dong-wook and Lee Joon-gi into Korean Wave stardom.
Plot
A native of Jeju Island, Joo Yoo-rin lives with her father, who is addicted to gambling. Because of her father's debts, Yoo-rin has become particularly skilled at lying and grifting. When her father escapes the island to hide from his debtors, Yoo-rin is determined to support herself and clear up the debts by selling oranges illegally picked from a hotel orchard and working as a tour guide on the island. Then, one day, she meets Seol Gong-chan, the sole heir to the L'Avenue Hotel fortune.
To grant his grandfather's dying wish, Gong-chan employs Yoo-rin to act as his grandfather's long-lost granddaughter. Offering a monthly salary plus a bonus, he asks her to do what she does best -- to put on an act. Not wishing to lie to a dying man, yet desperate for the money, Yoo-rin takes the offer and starts playing the long-lost granddaughter. Through a strange twist of fate, however, finding his granddaughter makes the grandfather so happy that he makes a complete recovery. Since they have claimed to be cousins, Gong-chan and Yoo-rin are forced to live together under one roof, and as time passes, the attraction between them grows. However, love is forbidden for these two, who must pass as cousins.
Cast
Main characters
- Lee Da-hae as Joo Yoo-rin
- A tour guide in charge of running mini tours in Jeju Island. Her father is a gambling addict, but despite all the debts that he runs up, Yoo-rin always finds a way to help repay them. She leads a below-average life but is happy as long as she has her father with her. Because of her father's gambling ways, she has had to move from country to country whenever her father runs from one place to another to avoid their debtors. This has in turn brought her the ability to converse fluently in Chinese and Japanese, which are of great help as a tour guide whenever she has to entertain tourists from China and Japan.
- Lee Dong-wook as Seol Gong-chan
- The only heir of the owner of L'Avenuel Hotel, which is one of the top hotels in Korea. His grandfather, Seol Woong, charges him with the duty of finding his granddaughter, who is Gong-chan's cousin. Seol Woong had disowned his own daughter, Gong-chan's aunt, when she decided to marry a man not of his choice. However, when Seol Woong had a change of heart and wished to accept his daughter back, an earthquake struck where his daughter lived, and since then, he has lost all contact with his kin. Perhaps to make amends for his own stubbornness, he wants to find his granddaughter and hopefully make things right.
- Lee Joon-gi as Seo Jung-woo[4]
- The son of one of the major shareholders of L'Avenuel Hotel, and Gong-chan's best friend. Unlike Gong-chan who is responsible and hardworking, Jung-woo is a flirt who is known to have many girlfriends.
- Park Si-yeon as Kim Se-hyun[5]
- Gong-chan's ex-girlfriend. A rising star in the tennis world, she returns to Korea hoping to reconcile with Gong-chan.
Supporting characters
- Jo Kye-hyung as Ahn Jin-gyu
- Hwang Bo-ra as Ahn Jin-shim
- Byun Hee-bong as Seol Woong (Gong-chan's grandfather)
- Ahn Suk-hwan as Jang Il-do
- Choi Ran as Bae In-sun (Gong-chan's maiden aunt)
- Lee Eon-jeong as Yoon Jin-kyung
- Kim Yong-rim as Jang Hyung-ja (Jung-woo's mother)
- Jung Han-heon as Joo Tae-hyung (Yoo-rin's father)
- Oh Ji-young as Se-hyun's assistant/traveling companion
- Han Chae-young as Choi Ha-na (the real granddaughter, cameo)[6]
- Jae Hee as Lee Mong-ryong (Ha-na's husband, cameo)[6]
Awards
2006 SBS Drama Awards
- Top 10 Stars: Lee Da-hae
- New Star Award: Park Si-yeon
Ratings
| Date | Episode | Nationwide | Seoul |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-12-14 | 1 | 14.6% (8th) | 15.8% (6th) |
| 2005-12-15 | 2 | 15.7% (8th) | 17.0% (5th) |
| 2005-12-21 | 3 | 16.5% (5th) | 17.5% (4th) |
| 2005-12-22 | 4 | 18.8% (4th) | 19.9% (4th) |
| 2005-12-28 | 5+6 | 20.3% (3rd) | 21.7% (3rd) |
| 2006-01-04 | 7 | 22.8% (2nd) | 24.2% (2nd) |
| 2006-01-05 | 8 | 23.3% (2nd) | 25.0% (2nd) |
| 2006-01-11 | 9 | 21.3% (3rd) | 22.1% (2nd) |
| 2006-01-12 | 10 | 24.1% (2nd) | 24.7% (2nd) |
| 2006-01-18 | 11 | 21.0% (5th) | 22.1% (4th) |
| 2006-01-19 | 12 | 24.3% (2nd) | 26.0% (2nd) |
| 2006-01-25 | 13 | 21.1% (3rd) | 23.1% (3rd) |
| 2006-01-26 | 14 | 23.5% (3rd) | 22.8% (3rd) |
| 2006-02-01 | 15 | 23.2% (3rd) | 23.7% (3rd) |
| 2006-02-02 | 16 | 24.9% (3rd) | 26.0% (3rd) |
| Average | 19.7% | 20.7% | |
International broadcast
The series aired on GTV in Taiwan in June 2006, followed by a Hong Kong airing in July 2006.[7] It also began airing in Japan on TV Tokyo on September 6, 2007.[8]
Remake
Philippine network ABS-CBN bought the rights to remake the series. Also titled My Girl, it aired from May 26 to September 5, 2008 and starred Kim Chiu as Jasmine Estocapio (Joo Yoo-rin), Gerald Anderson as Julian Abueva (Seol Gong-chan), Enchong Dee as Nico Legaspi (Seo Jung-woo), and Niña Jose as Anika Ramirez (Kim Se-hyun).[9][10][11]
Taiwanese network JSTV also aired a remake from October 19 to November 1, 2011. Retitled Rainbow Sweetheart, it starred Jimmy Lin as Shao Feng, Cherrie Ying as Peng Xiao Qian, Zou Ting Wei as Xu Kai, and Hou Shu as Luo Ying Ying.
References
- ^ Shin, Hae-in (12 December 2005). "An 'irresistible trickster' to meet viewers in My Girl". The Korea Herald via Hancinema. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ "My Girl". Korea Tourism Organization. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ "Korean Weekly News - February 13". Twitch Film. 13 February 2006. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ Shin, Hae-in (6 January 2006). "Lee Joon-ki emerges as rising star". The Korea Herald via Hancinema. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ Shin, Hae-in (13 December 2005). "'Eric's girl' Park Si-yeon makes a leap to acting". The Korea Herald via Hancinema. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ a b Han Chae-young and Jae Hee were the lead actors of the director and writers' previous series Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang.
- ^ "Actress Lee Da-hae to Visit Taiwan". KBS Global. 26 June 2006. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ "Lee Joon-ki visits Japan for My Girl promotion". Hancinema. 27 August 2007. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ Dimaculangan, Joyce (8 April 2008). "Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson shoot pictorial for My Girl". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ Garcia, Rose (23 May 2008). "Kim Chiu gives justice to her role as Pinay My Girl". Philippine Entertainment Portal (in Tagalog). Retrieved 2013-09-06.
- ^ Godinez, Bong (25 May 2008). "ABS-CBN's romantic comedy My Girl premieres May 26". Philippine Entertainment Portal (in English and Tagalog). Retrieved 2013-09-06.