Single Again

Cast:
Kim Ji Ho as Jin-zhu
Kim Sung Min (a.k.a. Kim Sung Taek) as Li Min-hao
Jeong Seon Gyeong as Hui-sian
Son Hyeon Joo as Biao Yi-dai
Jo Mi Ryeong as Jiang Hui-lan

A drama series that started off great but then halfway through it became a big yawn.

Four once-married people, Jin-zhu, Min-hao, Hui-sian and Yi-dai are now single again. Best friends, Jin-zhu and Hui-sian have different ways of dealing with singlehood. Jin-zhu has to support her family comprising of her father, her young son from her first marriage, a useless brother and his wife.

Hui-sian plans on getting a rich man for a life partner so she does not have to suffer poverty any longer. Although she has a young daughter, she left her to the custody of her husband.

Jin-zhu and Hui-sian both work in a travel agency, Hana Travel. Jin-zhu was a secretary in the travel agency but because of mistakes she made while leading a tour on Hui-sian's behalf, and making a poor impression on Min-hao, who just joined the company as CEO, she was sacked. After a series of down-and-out jobs, she lands herself as a fruit seller and becomes successful in this business.

Meanwhile, Hui-sian fails in her attempt to win over Biao Yi-dai, the owner of a successful restaurant. Hui-sian typifies society's general view that roadside mongers are a disgraced lot. She feels embarrassed to set up a roadside stall with Hui-sian. Biao does not approve of her way of hooking up with a rich man and after a shell-down by him, Hui-sian becomes more down-to-earth and practical. She realises that she has to depend on herself to make out a living for her and her daughter. By changing her attitude, she manages to get Biao's sympathy and eventually she and her daughter are accepted by Biao.

Min-hao, who is married with a daughter, knows Hui-lan for some time now and the latter harbours hope of marrying him one day. When Min-hao takes an interest in Jin-zhu, Hui-lan becomes jealous and find ways to stop them from seeing each other. At the beginning Min-hao's daughter advises him to give both woman a fair chance but later she is more inclined towards Jin-zhu as her step-mother.

Different facets of how past memories can evoke strong emotions are portrayed. In the case of Jin-zhu, even an old pair of her husband's shoes could cause a ruckus.

There is also the facet of love displayed between two once-married couples. When Jin-zhu and Min-hao decide to come together as a couple, they are coy about holding hands and letting others know about their relationship.

When Hui-sian tells Biao that neighbours' tongues are going to wag when a man and a woman are alone in a house, it only depicts society's view about man-woman relationships.

Some parts left questions in my mind. I cannot understand why Jin-zhu did not borrow from Min-hao when she needed money to bail his brother out of an accident? If two people are already committed to each other, why not share problems, and depend on the other to provide support - whether moral, physical or monetary? Instead Jin-zhu turns to Hui-lan, thus complicating issues.

There was one ridiculous scene when Jin-zhu's son ran out of airport security. How could that ever happen when they have already checked into the holding area of the airport?

Another unreal scene is when Jin-zhu's pregnant sister-in-
law was hula-hooping. I don't think this is allowed especially since she was in the early stages of her pregnancy.

There are other "unreal" scenes but I shall not bore you with these. I got so bored myself that I could not wait for the series to end.

I was thrilled by one scene and realised that Koreans have a ritual for when a young girl turns into a lady. Apparently it appears that when a girl has her first menstruation, her parents will buy her gifts to symbolise a growing maturity and the virginal state of affairs. I have read that there are some other traditions that still honor important events and turning points in one's life by performing a ritual.

The drama is filmed partly on location in Cebu, Philippines.

At the beginning of the series, I thought Kim Sung Min bears a resemblance to the Hong Kong actor, Miu Kiu Wai, especially from the forehead to the nose.