My Name is Kim Sam Soon

AKA: My Name is Kim Sam-Soon

Year: 2005

Director: Kim Yoon-Cheul

Producer: Kim Sa-Hyeon

Production: MBC

Distributor: MBC

Writer: Ji Soo-hyeon

Technics: 60 min

Broadcasting Dates: 1 June 2005 - 21 July 2005

Cast: Kim Seon-Ah, Hyeon Bin, Jeong Ryeo-Won, Daniel Henney, Kim Ja-Ok, Lee Ah-Hyeon, Yeo Woon-Kye, Nah Moon-Hee, Kwon Hae-Hyo

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The Skinny:

A single, tough-talking pastry chef deals with the perils of love and life in My Lovely Sam-Soon, the most popular Korean TV drama of 2005. Thanks to an ample dosage of humor and charming performances from its cast members, particularly leading actress Kim Seon-Ah and newcomer Daniel Henney, this is one K-drama that lives up to the hype.

Review:

If you absolutely must watch a soap opera, what kind of protagonist would you prefer? An angelic, beautiful, and wholly-unrealistic do-gooder or someone who’s a little rougher around the edges? If the latter is your preference, then you’ll be very pleased with the K-drama phenomenon My Lovely Sam-Soon. The show’s title character is a refreshing departure from the types of heroines traditionally depicted in Korean television drama. Rather than subject viewers to another gorgeous, and thus, inaccessible Cinderella-type waiting for her Prince Charming, the people behind My Lovely Sam-Soon have instead given audiences a character they can relate to: everywoman Kim Sam-Soon.

Hyeon Bin comforts Kim Seon-Ah in My Lovely Sam-Soon

Actress Kim Seon-Ah gained fifteen pounds to play the role of the mouthy, plain-looking, and slightly overweight (read: normal!) pastry chef who just so happens to be pushing thirty. She comes from a lower class background and doesn’t have a college degree, but she doesn’t let other people’s prejudices get in the way of her dreams and goals. The only thing that she really has a problem with is her name, which she hopes to legally change to “Kim Hee-Jin” if her mother will allow it.

After losing both her job and her boyfriend on Christmas Eve, Sam-Soon crosses paths with Hyeon Jin-Heon (Hyeon Bin), the twenty-seven year old owner of the French restaurant “Bon Appetit”. Of course, the two immediately despise each other, but a confluence of events impels Jin-Heon to hire Sam-Soon as his pastry chef. Sam-Soon is initially hesitant to work for Jin-Heon, but realizing she needs the money, our heroine decides to accept the position. Her only condition is to be called “Kim Hee-Jin,” a request which inexplicably upsets Jin-Heon, but after some consideration, he goes along with her demands. Then, in a move that could only happen in a soap opera, Jin-Heon hires Sam-Soon to pose as his girlfriend so his meddling mother will stop setting him up on blind dates. Can you see how this is going to get a little complicated?
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If “Lovers in Paris” was THE romantic comedy to remember for the summer of 2004, then “My Name is Kim Sam Soon” (MNIKSS) is definitely the runaway hit for the summer of 2005.

Although “MNIKSS” has been compared to “Full House” because of the underlying nature of this kdrama was about a man and a woman faking their relationship with a secret contract, in spirit “MNIKSS” is totally different from “Full House”. Its massive appeal was attributed the great writing and how well many of the audience relate to the lead character Kim Sam Soon.

“My Name is Kim Sam Soon” is adapted from an internet novel from the same author who wrote “18:29″. Naming the lead character Kim Sam Soon, the writer had crafted this unattractive character with a totally uncool bumpkin name to match her pathetic existence. And the kdrama started off with SS getting dumped by her boyfriend of 3 years and losing her job on Christmas-eve. Sam Soon is hitting rock bottom of her life. But she continues to put up a strong front despite her failed relationships, and continue to lead her life held together by the fragile bonds of faith that things will look up.
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Variations of drama name: My Lovely Sam Soon

Korean Meaning:

nae = my
ireum (i-reum) = name
Kim Sam-soon = name of main character in this drama

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In the war of viewer ratings between tough female characters and dainty princess-like characters, the tough ladies are winning the hearts of television audiences.

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