Oh! My Lady

Cast
Chae Rim as Yoon Gae Hwa
Choi Si Won as Sung Min Woo
Lee Hyun Woo as Yoo Shi Joon
Park Han Byul as Hong Yoo Ra
Moon Jung Hee as Han Jung Ah
Yoo Seo Jin as Lee Bok Nim
Yoo Tae Woong as Kim Byung Hak
Bang Joon Seo as Kim Min Ji
Kim Yoo Bin (김유빈) as Sung Ye Eun
Heo Joon Suk as Choi Tae Goo
Kim Kwang Gyu as Han Min Kwan
Kim Hee Won as Jung Yoon Suk
Hwang Hyo Eun as Oh Jae Hee
Hong Jong Hyun as Kim Jin Ho
Lee Dae Yeon as Eom Dae Yong
Chu Hun Yub as Chae Ho Suk
Seo Myung Kyu (서명규) as Min Woo's friend

Plot
Yoon Gae Hwa is a divorced single mother trying to make ends meet by taking on temporary jobs. But when she couldn’t afford to take care of her daughter, Min Ji, Gae Hwa sent her off to her ex-husband so she can look for a permanent job and hopefully earn enough money to get her daughter back. Gae Hwa had a hard time getting a job because of her age, but she stroke a deal with the president of The Show Company, Yoo Shi Joon, to hire her if she can get superstar Sung Min Woo to lead in the company’s musical, All That Love. In her pursuit of getting Min Woo to do the play, she discovers Min Woo had a daughter. Min Woo himself did not know of the child, who pretty much showed up out of nowhere, so he enlisted Gae Hwa to secretly be her nanny.

Characters/Critics
Yoon Gae Hwa:
Gae Hwa is pretty much the typical loud, middle aged woman you see in the supermarket. But she has a positive charm and determination that appeals to those who had found her annoying. She had gotten the job at the Show Company and must balance being a nanny and a planning support manager at the same time, all the while keeping Min Woo’s secret from being exposed. Others often look down on her and think she is inferior to any job, but she remains the same, happy with the way she is.

I’ve always liked Chae Rim. She never fails to impress me. So it isn’t a surprise that I think Chae Rim did an amazing job as an “ahjumma”. Her body language and the way she talked fit the role perfectly. And her crying scenes were top notch; it made me teary-eyed. There was chemistry between her and the two little girls. She was very motherly towards them. And she had good chemistry with Si Won, though not in the cheesy romantic way. They have a more mature relationship.

Sung Min Woo:
Min Woo is your typical male diva. He’s immature, arrogant, and has a temper. He’s a terrible actor, and his life is run by his manager, who does not trust him and criticize him often. Though he questions his manager, he never had the confidence to rebel and do things his way. He had a hit and run scandal that caused him to take a hiatus, but he returns to the public, only to discover he’s a father to a 5 year old girl. To save his image, he kept her a secret. He had a bad attitude towards her, but as he got to know her, he grows warmer towards her.

I was pleasantly surprised of how well Choi Si Won did in the drama. He’s really good. His facial expressions were on point most of the time. He knows how to use his eyes and eyebrows very well. He does comedy of the series very well too and was able to play out both the comedic and serious sides. The character of Min Woo was dynamic. He changes as the series progressed. He was a young, immature man. But through trials, he grew to be a stable person, able to support and think of others. Si Won did a good job expressing the growth of the character.

Lee Hyun Woo as Yoo Shi Joon
Yoo Shi Joon is the president of The Show Company. The Show Company is in a lot of debts due to a few failed productions. Shi Joon is a quiet, calm perfectionist. He’s a workaholic and he doesn’t express his emotions much. Because of that, he has drifted apart with his wife. He struggles to communicate with her; even after he found out she was cheating on him. Although he has a cold exterior, he is very kind towards Gae Hwa, finding her a very dependable and good woman. He grows fond of her, though he still internally yearns for his wife.

Yoo Shi Joon was a pretty boring character so, in my opinion, Lee Hyun Woo didn’t really have much to work with. He acted the professional perfectionist well, but that just seems to be the only side of Shi Joon. He rarely gets angry or emotional, so the actor did not need to portray a variety of emotions.

Park Han Byul as Hong Yoo Ra
Yoo Ra is Min Woo’s first love. She came from New York to
get close to Min Woo, using his fame for her needs. She’s
devious and finds Gae Hwa a threat to her so she schemes to
make Min Woo her boyfriend.

Yoo Ra is kind of a typical character in Korean dramas: The former lover of the male lead who comes back to get him back, even with deception. Park Han Byul is really pretty. She was okay as the materialistic and two faced Yoo Ra. She was able to portray the artificial gracefulness Yoo Ra has whenever she’s with Min Woo, and Yoo Ra’s real self, which is angry and deceiving.

Moon Jung Hee as Han Jung Ah
Han Jung Ah is Shi Joon’s is a dance choreographer and is Shi Joon’s wife. She is discontent with her marriage. She feels neglected by her husband because he’s always working. That’s probably why she cheated on him.

Yoo Seo Jin as Lee Bok Nim
Bok Nim is a doctor and Gae Hwa’s closest friend. She helps Gae Hwa a lot. She’s married, but because of his job, she can only see him on the weekends. She has a major crush on Sung Min Woo.

Bok Nim was a comedic relief in the series. She was really funny, especially when she’s talking to Min Woo.

Yoo Tae Woong as Kim Byung Hak
Kim Byung Hak is Gae Hwa’s former husband. He had an affair and so she divorced him. He remarried and because of that, he’s unhappy about having to take in his daughter for a few months. He’s a businessman, but has failed in his endeavors, living on his father’s money. He may be married, but he’s still checking out other girls and he doesn’t leave Gae Hwa alone. He is annoyed by her, yet he doesn’t want any man to be around her.

Bang Joon Seo as Kim Min Ji
Min Ji is Gae Hwa’s daughter. She is independent and smart. She’s protective of her mother and very understanding.

Bang Joon Seo was very believable as an independent girl. Her expressions were well thought out. The way she spoke her lines really brought out the character.

Kim Yoo Bin (김유빈) as Sung Ye Eun
Ye Eun is Sung Min Woo’s daughter. She cannot speak because of some psychological trauma. She is close to Gae Hwa and though she is scared of her father at first, she loves and adores him later on.

Kim Yoo Bin is adorable. I love her. Acting-wise, she was kind of awkward at times and her facial expressions seemed be stuck in this wooden frown, but Ye Eun was a traumatized character; so naturally, she’ll be a solemn child. I also noticed she doesn’t do a lot of walking. Someone’s always carrying her or she’s lying down or sitting.

Heo Joon Suk as Choi Tae Goo
Choi Tae Goo is Min Woo’s friend. He runs a restaurant owned by Min Woo. Min Woo hires him to find Ye Eun’s mother so Min Woo can return her.

Kim Kwang Gyu as Han Min Kwan
Min Kwan is a paparazzi determined to get a juicy story on Min Woo.

Kim Hee Won as Jung Yoon Suk
Yoon Suk is Min Woo’s manager. He is ruthless and cruel. He does illegal activities to get Min Woo to the top, usually without Min Woo knowing. He looks down on Min Woo and only sees him as product. It is hinted that Min Woo’s previous hit and run scandal was caused by him.

Plot

For some reason, the plot was like a mash up of My Name is Kim Sam Soon and You’re Beautiful. I mean, Min Woo was younger than Gae Hwa and they were involved through a contract like in And in the end they fell for each other. My Name is Kim Sam Soon. The celebrity element and the secretive nature of the series, as well as Yu Ra’s character, reminded me of You’re Beautiful. The series had a good mixture of comedy, romance, and family. The series remained very light-hearted throughout. The storyline wasn’t complex and pretty much revolves around the deal between Yoon Gae Hwa and Sung Min Woo. The series focused on different types of relationships, not just between a man and a woman, like between father and daughter or star and papparazzi. These relationships captured my attention and created some “awww” moments. One thing that was lacking though was character background. I wished there were more background information for the main characters. Like what Min Woo’s hit and run scandal was about or why Ye Eun was so traumatized to the point where she couldn’t speak. I was kind of disappointed those questions were not answered, but that might be an intriguing factor of the story.

Conclusion:
Overall, I thought the series was pretty good. It was light and easy to follow.