Oh! My Lady
Korean Title: Oh! Ma-I Rae-i-Di
English Title: Oh! My Lady
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Episodes: 16
Broadcast Period: March 2010 to May 2010
Cast
Chae Rim as Yoon Gae Hwa
- Bang Joon Seo as Kim Min Ji (daughter)
- Yoo Tae Woong as Kim Byung Hak (ex-husband)
- Yoo Seo Jin as Lee Bok Nim
Choi Si Won as Sung Min Woo
- Kim Yoo Bin as Sung Ye Eun (daughter)
- Kim Hee Won as Jung Yook Suk (manager)
- Park Han Byul as Hong Yoo Ra (first love)
Lee Hyun Woo as Yoo Shi Joon
Moon Jung Hee as Han Jung Ah
Synopsis - WARNING! Major spoilers!
Yoon Gae Hwa is a single middle-aged mother, struggling to make ends meet. As she cannot afford to support her young daughter, Min Ji, Gae Hwa sends her to live with her father. Byung Hak is Gae Hwa's ex-husband, the non-chalant and somewhat irresponsible father of Min Ji. Gae Hwa promises to find a good job, so that she can take Min Ji back to live with her.
Luckily, she finds a job as a housekeeper. Unfortunately, the house belongs to the young, top star Sung Min Woo---whom has an awful attitude and is spoiled. One day, when Gae Hwa is on her way to work, she sees that a taxi driver has brought a little girl to the apartment building, claiming that she was brought for Min Woo.
Gae Hwa takes the girl upstairs, only to find out that the five-year-old is none other than Min Woo's daughter! As it turns out, Min Woo had a relationship with a woman named Yeon Hee and she eventually had his child, leaving her in his care. His daughter's name is Ye Eun, and due to some physiological trauma she does not speak.
Eventually, Gae Hwa finds a job at a musical producing company. However, they will only hire her for good if she manages to get Min Woo to star in their newest musical. As she does not have a choice, in order to land the job, she blackmails Min Woo. She says that if he does not join the musical, then she will tell the broadcast companies and newspapers that he has a daughter. Reluctantly, Min Woo joins the musical.
At first, the two have a horrible relationship. Min Woo despises both Gae Hwa and his daughter for changing his life, but eventually he becomes used to their presence in his house. He even is disturbed when she develops a close friendship with her boss, manager of the musical company Yoo Shi Joon. It doesn't help that Shi Joon is divorcing his wife, whom he still loves very much but doesn't admit it. Eventually, Shi Joon becomes very fond of Gae Hwa, although he still loves his wife. He is very kind to Gae Hwa and helps her whenever she needs it.
There is also Hong Yoo Ra, Min Woo's first love. They dated years ago, but she decided to end the relationship. After returning to Korea, Yoo Ra wishes to use Min Woo's popularity for her own selfish needs. Although Min Woo is happy with rekindling their relationship at first, he becomes very attached to Gae Hwa and his daughter, spending more and more time with them. Yoo Ra is jealous and repeatedly tells Gae Hwa to distance herself from Min Woo.
One day, a reporter who has always been stalking Min Woo in the parking lot of his apartment, finds out that Gae Hwa has been living with him. The news spreads, and Gae Hwa becomes the target of negative comments and humiliation. In an attempt to clear up the rumours of Gae Hwa being manipulative and deceitful, he tells the press that they are dating instead. Yoo Ra confronts the both of them, and is relieved when Gae Hwa tells her that the news isn't true. However, she gets a shock when Min Woo reluctantly decides to end their progressing relationship.
Still, Gae Hwa decides to move out of Min Woo's home. Shi Joon helps her find an apartment, and she finally is reunited with her daughter Min Ji. She also takes Ye Eun with her, so that Min Woo would not have to worry about secretly taking care of a child by himself. However, through a series of events, Yoo Ra eventually finds out about Ye Eun and is deeply troubled.
Min Woo receives a package from Yeon Hee, containing baby photos of Ye Eun. It seems as though he has come to some sort of realization. There is also a letter from Yeon Hee, and she wishes that he stops looking for her.
After so many scandals, Min Woo's manager plans a way to get rid of Ye Eun so that he can control Min Woo. At that time, Yoo Ra convinces Gae Hwa to let her pick Ye Eun up from daycare. Yoo Ra is surprisingly kind to Ye Eun, bringing her shopping and buying her clothes. However, while shopping, Yoo Ra neglects Ye Eun's need to go to the bathroom and goes into the change room to try on clothes herself. While she's away, Ye Eun goes to the bathroom. Yoo Ra realizes she has lost Ye Eun, but does not seem too troubled.
Gae Hwa receives the news and calls Min Woo. He desperately asks the employees to locate her. When they ask him his relation to Ye Eun, he finally admits that she's his daughter. They finally find Ye Eun, and he reacts calmly while taking her into his arms and finally calling her, "Come here, my daughter." Min Woo decides not to extend his contract with his current manager, because he wants to try to succeed on his own, knowing that he cannot live just for himself anymore. He must also live for his daughter.
Yoo Ra asks to meet him soon after, telling him that he has definitely changed. "But what is going on between you and Yoon Gae Hwa? Nothing is going on between the two of you, right?" Min Woo smiles knowingly and says that he feels that there is, in fact, something between them. He later asks Gae Hwa to marry him, but she immediately rejects him. He is frustrated, saying that she must consider it for a bit longer. However, she reveals to him that she has no plans to get married ever again, since her first marriage left her too hurt to even consider remarriage.
Min Woo locates Byung Hak, her ex-husband, and demands that he apologize for the things he did to her. Byung Hak cheating on her caused her to lose faith in herself, making her think that nobody would actually see her as a woman. However, Min Woo claims that he loves Gae Hwa, and that in order for her to move on, she must get closure from her first relationship. Byung Hak does end up apologizing, and he reveals that Min Woo was the one who convinced him to do so. He also tells Gae Hwa that Min Woo must truly love her, and that he wishes her well.
Shi Joon, on the other hand, is still struggling with his almost-ending marriage. Jung Ah wants to leave for a while and he agrees that it's a good idea. However, before she leaves, it seems that they have come to some sort of mutual understanding and that they have reconciled.
Gae Hwa, although she does not outright promise to marry Min Woo, says that she is willing to give their relationship a try. She finally has the courage to open up her heart to him. The drama ends with Min Woo and Gae Hwa sharing a kiss.
The Verdict
At the beginning, I felt that the drama moved too slowly and that the idea of an "ahjumma" dating a top star was kind of ridiculous. However, I grew fond of Gae Hwa's character: she was warm and so motherly that you couldn't help but like her. Chae Rim was absolutely adorable and perfect for the role. She really does have a motherly-feel.
Siwon did an amazing job as Sung Min Woo. I was actually very surprised at how well he did, but I guess I should have seen it coming: every single member of Super Junior seems to be so multi-talented in just about everything. I absolutely loved the progression of his relationship with Ye Eun, how he went from being neglective and rather ignorant, to a loving father---so much that she begins to trust him enough to speak to him.
Speaking of Ye Eun, Kim Yoo Bin was so. freaking. adorable! I wanted to just snatch her and tie her up in a pretty pink bow. Every time her face came on the screen, I would squeal because I wanted to pinch her cheeks. I cannot believe how cute she is! Although she was rather stiff sometimes and didn't have too many facial expressions, it was understandable since she is only five or six years old. Plus, her character was a troubled child, so it kind of worked well.
I found Shi Joon and Jung Ah's relationship rather boring. He was the workaholic husband and she was the workaholic wife. They didn't have time for each other and Jung Ah ends up cheating on him. It was pretty typical actually. However, it was pretty depressing when it is revealed that Jung Ah had a miscarriage. That's quite a large burden to bear. I could sympathize with the couple but there was nothing new to their story that I hadn't seen before.
Although Shi Joon sort of develops feelings for Gae Hwa during his time away from his wife, it still wasn't anything serious. He admits to her that his heart had strayed a little bit, but not enough to act upon it. In fact, it would have been more interesting if something did happen between him and Gae Hwa. Plus, him crushing on her didn't happen until very late in the series, so it was obvious that nothing would come of it. It didn't even count as a love triangle, even though Min Woo was always jealous of Shi Joon.
Now. Onto Park Han Byul as Hong Yoo Ra. Not because of her spoiled and ultra mean character, but I didn't like her one bit. Yes, she's pretty and her looks are perfect for the part, but her acting was certainly not up to par. Min Woo was supposed to be extremely attracted to her not only because of her looks, but because she was his first love and that he must have found her personality attractive. Even if she was just using him, she had to appear kind and agreeable in front of him. However, I just found her extremely annoying and she couldn't exactly figure out what to do with her facial expressions.
There were also a couple of things I was disappointed in. First, the fact that you don't get to see Ye Eun speak more. In fact, the only things she says is, "Yes, Ahjumma." and "Okay." I rejoiced when she first spoke, but was disappointed when she didn't speak more. Second, not too much was revealed about why Yeon Hee decided to abandon Ye Eun after five years of raising her on her own. In fact, not much is revealed about Yeon Hee in general. I would have found things more interesting if I knew more about Ye Eun's mother.
Otherwise, the drama, in my opinion, is highly recommended. Although some aspects are similar to other popular dramas such as You're Beautiful and Full House, overall the concept is pretty original. If you are a Siwon fan, you definitely cannot miss this! Even if you're not, watch it for the adorable Ye Eun! I still can't get enough of that cutie pie!
Oh! My Lady receives a rating of four stars out of five.
