My Girl
Synopsis
Seol Gong-chan is the wealthy heir to a large hotel chain. His grandfather, the current president of the hotel, has been ailing, and it has been his grandfather's wish to see his granddaughter (Seol Gong-chan's cousin) whom he lost contact with before his death. During this time, a woman named Joo Yoo Rin was hired by Seol Gong-chan as a translator since she is fluent in many languages. However, Joo Yoo Rin is a swindler, and takes advantage of Seol Gong-chan by living at his house uninvited and stealing his tangerines to sell on the streets. When Seol Gong-chan finds out that Joo Yoo Rin has been stealing his oranges, he decides that he doesn't want to be in contact with her anymore.
After getting a hint from his secretary that Joo Yoo Rin looks very similar to the missing cousin that his grandfather wants to see, Seol Gong-chan reluctantly asks Joo Yoo Yin to act as his fake cousin, and in return he will pay her a wage and allow her to live in his amazing house. Joo Yoo Rin accepts, but she is hesitant because she also dislikes Seol Gong-chan and his cheap personality.
Seo Jeong Woo, a well-known playboy and also a friend of Seol Gong-chan, is captivated by Joo Yoo Rin and immediately falls head over heels in love with Yoo Rin. He starts aggressively pursuing her, but he sees little results as his love becomes one-sided.
Kim Sae-hyeon, Korea's heroine tennis player and also Seol Gong-chan's ex-girlfriend, comes back into Seol Gong-chan's life and they become a couple again. After abandoning Seol Gong-chan to pursue her dream of playing tennis, she is still in love with Gong-chan and comes to win him back. Still, it seems their relationship has constant problems, and Seol Gong-chan is hesitant about giving his heart to Kim Sae-hyeon again after she already broke it once.
Soon, Yoo Rin and Gong-chan start falling in love, but what can it all lead to since she is supposed to be his cousin?
Review
Quite a bit of love triangles in this story, which is similar to all the many Korean dramas out there, but I liked the fact that although there was competition for love, the two leads knew that they only loved each other as the story developed. In dramas such as Full House, it was hard for the main characters to decide which person they truly loved, but this series is more clear-cut. Since the characters' hearts weren't wavering too much, this drama allowed for its humor to shine.
At the beginning, the story is very humorous, but during the middle and end, the story became much more serious and romantic. However, this series can be considered very light-hearted, and it's not as "dramatic" as many other Korean series. There's no cliched terminal illnesses, no evil ex-girlfriend (there's an ex-girlfriend, but she's not THAT evil until a few scenes to the end), no cheating on eachother, no rape, etc. My Girl should definitely appeal to a broad audience, especially females and fans of chick flicks because this series felt like one big chick flick.
The way things resolved in the end felt more realistic than other dramas. There's no sudden twist or unneeded plot device that was used to extend the storyline or cause inflated drama, but instead there's a rational reason for the problems that the two main leads suffer. The story feels very real, and it doesn't have that fairy-tale quality that some other Korean dramas possess, which may or may not be a good thing.
Characters
I loved most of the characters except for Kim Sae-hyeon. She was the only character that was seen as self-centered and also conniving. Seo Jeong Woo, although he tries to take Yoo Rin from Gong-chan, is quite funny and we can see the realistic side of his character. Although we might be rooting for Gong-chan, it is logical to understand that Seo Jeong Woo also loves the same girl and we can feel his pain in this drama series. At the beginning I actually favored the chemistry between Jeong Woo and Yoo Rin, but as the story moves along I really liked the pair of Gong-chan and Yoo Rin.
Gong-chan, played by Lee Dong Wook, is a great main character although he lacked substance at the beginning of the series. Lee DOng Wook's acting is superb, being able to portray quite a bit of emotion with Gong-chan. After a few episodes or so, and especially at the end of the series, we begin to see that Gong-chan has a multifaceted personality that is very deep and caring.
Lee Da Hae plays Joo Yoo Rin, who is initially seen as a swindler but later changes into a very emotional and loving woman. Although she provides most of the comic relief in this series due to her very interesting facial expressions, she also shows that she can be very sad and also provides a lot of the tears in this series. Overall she's a wonderful, dynamic character and perfect in her role.
Conclusion
Can you afford not to watch this series? Granted, Lee Da Hae isn't as pretty as Song Hye Kyo, but this series definitely ranks high in terms of interest. This series is probably better for females, although I also liked it and I'm a male. Lee Dong Wook is a very handsome actor (so I've been told), which is why females would probably love this series. Also Lee Jun Ki, the actor for Seo Jeong Woo, is also quite good looking (so I've been told), although personally I think he looks a bit too feminine. Definitely take the time to watch this series.
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My Girl
