Pure 19

Cast
Koo Hye Sun as Yang Gukhwa

Hong Family
Lee Min Wo as Hong Ugyeong
Shin Goo as Hong Yeong Gam (grandfather)
Kang Nam Gil as Hong Moon Gu (father)
Kim Mi Kyung as Kim Ok Geom (mother)
Kang Suk Woo as Hong Pung Gu (uncle)
Jo Jung Rin as Hong Usuk (younger sister)
Son Jong Bum as Hong Sun Gu (deceased uncle, Gukhwa's fiance)

Park Family
Suh Ji Suk as Park Yun Hu
Lee Yoon Ji as Park Yun Jeong (younger sister)
Han Jin Hee as Park Dong Kook (father)
Yoon Yeo Jung as Myeong Hye (mother)
Yoon Yoo Sun as Park Yun Ji (older sister)
Ahn Jung Hoon as Go Gwang Man (brother-in-law)

Others
Choo So Young as Kang Shin Hyeong (Yun Hu's girlfriend)
Choi Won Joon as Kang Geon Hyeong (Shin Hyeong's little brother)
Lee Han Wie as Mr. Go (assistant tailor to Yeong Gam)
Lee Hye Sook as Choi Hye Suk
Seo Han as Yun Jeong's ex-fiance
Go Eun Mi as Ha Su Jeong (Yun Hu's ex-girlfriend, the one who broke his heart)

Synopsis
Gukhwa is a nineteen year old, tender-hearted girl who travels to Korea from China to get married. However, upon arrival she discovers that her fiance has died in a terrible accident. Her fiance's family takes her in for the time being but eventually decide to send her back to China and to her family. Gukhwa is grief-stricken and is too scared to tell her family the truth. Her parents died, leaving her in the care of her aunt. So, instead of going back to China, she decides to stay in Korea to earn a living.

First, she lies to Ugyeong, the extremely kind nephew of her late-fiance. He is there for him whenever she needs him to offer kind words and support. Ugyeong is responsible for seeing Gukhwa off at the airport, but she waits until he leaves before coming back out from the gates. She goes around looking for a job and eventually finds one, but after a series of events, all of her hard-earned money is stolen and she ends up jobless and homeless in Korea.

Gukhwa, in order not to tell her family that her fiance has died and that she is living under such horrible circumstances in Korea, sends money from her pay cheques and letters to them every month. The letters tell them that she's doing fine and that her new family is very good to her. She even goes as far as to send them a fake, digitally enhanced wedding photo. But her aunt attempts to call Gukhwa at the Hong's residence, and they find out that Gukhwa has not left Korea at all. Ugyeong and the rest of the family begin their desperate search for the pitiful girl.

After a while, Gukhwa successfully finds a new job and a new place to stay. When she meets Park Yun Hu, the rich director of a top notch company and good friend of Ugyeong, her life changes. They start out hating each other, but Yun Hu leaves his wallet at home and needs money for gas. He asks her to lend him some money and that he will return it to her. She reluctantly lends him the money but does not give him her phone number or address as she is afraid that Yun Hu might tell Ugyeong where she is.

Yun Hu, frustrated, tells her that he needs to know this information in order to give her the money back. He also promises not to tell Ugyeong about the fact that she's still in Korea. He also demands to know what the nickname, "Jijigie" (loach), she has given him means. Gukhwa says that she will tell him once they get the Seoul bus station. Instead of doing so, however, she demands that Yun Hu give her his watch so that she knows he will come back to meet her at the station. She still does not give him her contact information nor does she tell him what the nickname means and she leaves.

On the day that they were supposed to meet up again, Gukhwa realizes that she is late and rushes from work. On her way down the stairs, she trips and injures her neck and is brought to the hospital. Upon remembering her meeting with Yun Hu, she rushes towards the station and also realizes that she has broken his very expensive watch. She cannot contact him so she decides to send him his watch through the post. When Yun Hu sees her again, he calls her a thief and demeans her, saying that she'd do anything for money at such a young age. He realizes his wrongs when Ugyeong delivers his watch to him. Gukhwa sent it to the Hong's and had Ugyeong bring it to Yun Hu.

When Ugyeong finally finds Gukhwa (it is Yun Hu who tells him that he's seen her, but he isn't sure where she is), his family rejects the idea of having her in the house. Yun Hu's girlfriend and fiance, Shin Hyeong, suggests that Gukhwa live with her. Shin Hyeong says she feels lonely as both her parents are dead and her brother has enlisted in the military. Shin Hyeong welcomes Gukhwa and finds her upbeat spirit adorable. They become quick friends, much to Yun Hu's dismay. He even tells Shin Hyeong to be careful around Gukhwa, because she isn't who she appears to be and loves money so much that she'd do anything for it. Shin Hyeong, of course, just brushes off his childishness. Shin Hyeong and Yun Hu have a rocky relationship, mainly because of the fact that he cannot forget his first love, Su Jong. Another reason is because Yun Hu can't seem to commit to her and does not show any sort of affection for her. They have been friends for 30 years, and Yun Hu finds it difficult now that she's about to become his wife.

However, when Gukhwa gets a job at Yun Hu's company as his secretary, things begin to change once again. Although they bicker and argue constantly, they become acquaintances even though they are reluctant to admit it. One day, after Yun Hu assigns a very important document for Gukhwa to deliver, she loses it on the subway and gets in trouble, losing her job in the process. Ugyeong tries to persuade Yun Hu to hire her back, but this fails.

Yun Hu is awful to Gukhwa and makes her feel miserable. One day, after getting drunk, Gukhwa tracks down his car and scratches it with a coin. Yun Hu demands her to pay him the repair funds, but she does not have the money. Soon, she gets hired back at the company as a cleaner, thanks to Shin Hyeong who feels sorry for her. Yun Hu doesn't like it at first, but decides he can't do anything about it because it would make Shin Hyeong unhappy. After this, Gukhwa is in debt to Yun Hu but still does not put up with his angry behaviour. Yun Hu teases her and often stays behind at the company so he can see her after her shift. He constantly asks her to buy him dinner but he always ends up paying instead.

On the other hand, Yun Jeong, Yun Hu's younger sister, is engaged to a man who is obviously a playboy and does not take her seriously. She does not love him, but goes through with the marriage because of her forceful parents. Before her marriage though, she meets Ugyeong and falls in love with him, becoming furiously jealous of his and Gukhwa's closeness. It is eventually revealed that Ugyeong has developed feelings for Gukhwa and is upset because his family will not accept her as his girlfriend. Gukhwa also claims that she does not return his feelings, even though she does like him. Yun Jeong gets married, and eventually separates from her husband after learning that he has been unfaithful to her. Then, she begins pestering Ugyeong in an effort to prove her love to him.

However, Ugyeong is still struggling to forget his feelings for Gukhwa, and he is still protective of her. What makes things even more difficult is that Yun Hu has fallen for Gukhwa as well. Unknowingly, he has grown protective of her too, and is jealous when Gukhwa admits to him that she likes Ugyeong but can't be with him. Yun Hu also saves her from a blind date that Ugyeong's mother set her up on. Eventually, Yun Hu calls off his engagement to Shin Hyeong, who knows that part of the reason is because of Gukhwa. Although Shin Hyeong knows that Yun Hu has always been cold to her and never really warmed up to her during the duration of their relationship (as they've been friends for almost 30 years), she tries to keep him by her side.

Gukhwa finds herself frustrated whenever Yun Hu's wedding is mentioned. Confused but loyal, she pushes away her feelings and tries to continue making money in peace. However, when Yun Hu tells his parents that he cannot go through with the wedding, his mother is enraged. She goes after Gukhwa to tell her that her son is too good for her, making Gukhwa feel even worse. Yun Hu tries his hardest to protect her and starts quarrelling with his parents a lot. Ugyeong finds out about the cancelled wedding and decides to ask Yun Hu about it. Ugyeong tells him that Gukhwa is innocent and pure, and that Yun Hu should not be toying with her. "If you do not want to get married, you should just say so. Don't use Gukhwa as an excuse." Ugyeong says to him. But Yun Hu gets angry and says that he is not toying with her. "So, you are capable of love but I'm not?" He retorts, and Ugyeong is shocked. He panicks when he hears that Yun Hu is in love with Gukhwa, as he harbours the same feelings - feelings he is trying to suppress.

Yun Hu's father decides to send him to Singapore so he can sort out his feelings and hopefully return to his normal self and marry Shin Hyeong. However, during the last minute, Gukhwa finds out that she really does love Yun Hu but does not make it to the airport in time to stop him. It is eventually revealed that Yun Hu decided not to go to Singapore. His father fires him from the company and he moves out from his home. He starts a life with Gukhwa but it is difficult, since his father is telling most of his business clients not to colaborate with Yun Hu. In addition, Shin Hyeong, now Yun Hu's ex-girlfriend, is determined to get her revenge on Gukhwa for stealing Yun Hu away. As if that weren't complicated enough, Su Jong, Yun Hu's first love, comes back.

Meanwhile, Ugyeong is constantly trying to get rid of Yun Jeong, as he does not love her. But when he goes overboard and Yun Jeong begins to ignore him, determined to move on with her life, he realizes that he misses her presence and that perhaps he has developed feelings for her. He tries his hardest to win her back, and of course, he does. However, once again, Yun Jeong's parents do not approve of the relationship. Desperate, Yun Jeong goes to her older sister, Yun Ji, and asks her what she did in order to get their parents' approval. Yun Ji, who had spent 10 years away from her family because of her parents' disapproval of her relationship with her now husband, says that she faked a pregnancy, so that is what Yun Jeong does.

Gukhwa and Yun Hu are struggling to make ends meet, while Yun Jeong and Uygeong are to be married - but Ugyeong is not aware that Yun Jeong is faking pregnancy. How will the story end? Will Gukhwa and Yun Hu be able to live happily ever after? And how is Ugyeong going to react once it is revealed that Yun Jeong is not pregnant with his child?

Reasons Why I Love It
1. Koo Hye Sun - Others say that her acting is forced and that she's not pretty. I'd say otherwise. In fact, the only reason why I started watching this series is because of her. Of course, this drama is rather old... I only watched it after I saw Hye Sun's performance in hit-series, Boys Over Flowers. I find her refreshing and really cute. Plus, she's multi-talented! She just released a novel, which has been very well-received by critics. Hye Sun is also an artist, who has submitted her work for display at an art gallery. She dances well, too. Oh, and she's about to release an album (which I can't wait for, by the way)!

2. The Ugyeong-Gukhwa relationship
I loved the whole idea about Ugyeong loving Gukhwa but couldn't be with her because she was to marry his uncle, who died tragically in an accident. He was very close to his uncle, so he felt even more guilty about falling in love with her. The thing is, Ugyeong remained sweet and brotherly towards Gukhwa even after their slight "falling out" and even after he married Yun Jeong, even after Gukhwa fell for Yun Hu. I love their relationship, it's so pure and beautiful.

3. The Melting of Iceman Park Yun Hu
I think that explains it all. I found him adorable and his temper tantrums were so cute. Plus, his love confession to Gukhwa made me squeal, even if it wasn't the most romantic of all confessions. Actually, to be honest, towards the beginning of their "relationship" I wasn't sure who I wanted her to choose.

4. Kang Shin Hyeong...at the beginning
I thought Shin Hyeong was very pretty and I thought that she wouldn't turn out to be the conniving, backstabbing, jealous ex-lover even after she lost Yun Hu. I was wrong, though. But I loved her at the beginning, because she was the supportive "unni" who genuinely cared for Gukhwa. That is, until Yun Hu began slipping from her fingers...

5. Yun Hu's Father
He's funny, kind of. And he isn't as crazy as Yun Jeong or his wife. Which is a relief.

6. Gukhwa
She's so innocent and endearing. I'd love to meet someone like her, because she seems so loyal and she seems like she'd be such a great friend. Well, I could do without her sacrificial side (her leaving Yun Hu because she thinks that if she does, he'll be able to lead a better life), but yeah.

Reasons Why I Hate It
1. Too long - 167 episodes? Really?!

2. Yun Jeong
My GOD talk about clingy! She's is the clingiest woman on the face of the earth, I think it's safe to say. Even though Ugyeong doesn't like her, she follows him around like a puppy. Even towards the beginning, she actually went up to him and said that if he wanted her to, she'd cancel her wedding. Talk about immature and ridiculous. I was expecting her character to change, but she was still the immature and irrational girl at the end. Faking a pregnancy? I get that you want to be with Ugyeong, but there are other ways...Plus, she goes around telling Gukhwa off about nothing. "Stop hanging around Ugyeong, stop calling my brother, stop stop stop stop stop!" God, this woman makes me angry. She's a little bit of a disgrace to the female population, actually.

3. Myeong Hye
I find her character the most annoying (Yun Jeong's comes right after). Her voice irritated me and the fact that she just didn't learn her lesson pisses me off. First, Yun Ji walks out of her life because she doesn't approve of Gong Man. Then, Yun Jeong falls into a sad state of depression after getting married to a man she didn't love (because Myeong Hye forced her into it). THEN, she does the exact same thing to Yun Hu. What kind of a person is she? I hate how characters like hers fail to see the good in people, and how she only looks at rich people. She even has the nerve to go running to Gukhwa and bitching about absolutely nothing. At the beginning, when Yun Hu cancelled his wedding, Gukhwa never said she returned his feelings. Like mother like daughter. Myeong Hye is equally as irrational. I would have understood if she were a bit more motherly about it, but nothing about her actions said that she did all of this interferring and disapproving for the sake of her children. In fact, she did it all for her own image and selfishness. If I were to ever meet someone like her, I'd probably kick myself. She is a disgrace too, a disgrace to all those wonderful mothers out there.

4. The whole side plot with Ugyeong's grandfather and uncle fighting over the same woman
I found it ridiculous and not funny. I thought it was kind of gross, actually. The woman was obnoxious too, I didn't like her and I don't understand how they could have fallen for her. I usually skipped over their parts because it bored me so much.

5. Gukhwa's accent
Enough said. I understand why they did it, obviously, but I still hated it.

The Verdict
Well, this is the first time that I was actually willing to watch a series that was over 100 episodes long. Not all of it was worth watching, a lot of it I could have done without - for example, Yun Jeong's character and Myeong Hye's. In fact, I would have preferred it if Yun Hu only had his father, but then there wouldn't be much of an obstacle.

Then again, a lot of parts were rather cliched. The tender, caring one who doesn't get the girl, and then she falls in love with his good friend but he's rich and then his parents disapprove... I've seen them all, you know?

But there were a lot of sweet parts, and definitely a lot of sad parts. For the most part, my heart went out to Gukhwa and Yun Hu, sometimes even Yun Jeong (I know, it sounds impossible, especially after my rant about her). The side stories add a refreshing touch, for the most part (I avoided the side story with the grandfather and the uncle, but some of you may enjoy it). Would I recommend it? I'm not sure. It wasn't a fantastic series, but it wasn't awful either. I finished it, didn't I? Well, I'd give it three and a half out of five stars.