Miss Mermaid
Promotional poster
Also known asLittle Mermaid
Mermaid Lady
Story of a Mermaid
Irene
GenreMelodrama
Romance
Family
Revenge
Written byIm Sung-han
Directed by
  • Lee Joo-hwan
  • Shin Hyun-chang (ep 25-129)
Starring
ComposerOh Jin-woo
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes248
Production
Executive producerLee Jae-kap
ProducerMBC Drama Division
Running time35 minutes
Original release
NetworkMunhwa Broadcasting Corporation
ReleaseJanuary 8, 2002 (2002-01-08) 
June 30, 2003 (2003-06-30)

Miss Mermaid (Korean: 인어아가씨; RR: Ineo Agassi) is a South Korean television series starring Jang Seo-hee and Kim Sung-taek.[1] It aired on MBC from June 24, 2002 to June 27, 2003 on Mondays to Fridays at 20:20 for 248 episodes.

Miss Mermaid became a nationwide hit upon airing, reaching a peak viewership rating of 43.6%.[2] The cast won several trophies at the 2002 MBC Drama Awards, notably the Daesang ("Grand Prize") for Jang Seo-hee.[3] The series led to Jang's pan-Asian popularity, particularly in China.[4][5]

But Miss Mermaid was also criticized for Im Sung-han's sensationalistic writing and unrealistic plot twists, as well as the show's multiple extensions.[6][7]

Plot

Eun Ah-ri-young is a successful television drama screenwriter with a past. Her father Eun Jin-sub had an affair and left their family for the other woman, and shortly after her autistic brother died and her mother Han Kyung-hye went blind. Ah-ri-young's unrelenting hate for her father throughout her childhood and adolescence drives her to meticulously plan her vengeance. Knowing that Jin-sub's new wife Shim Soo-jung is a popular actress, Ah-ri-young works her way up the ranks until she earns enough cachet in the TV industry. Then she writes a script that's a thinly veiled autobiography of her father's affair and its aftermath, and casts the unsuspecting Soo-jung in the role of the blind mother to make her feel guilty. To complete her revenge and cause the maximum amount of pain, Ah-ri-young also plots to steal the fiancé of her half-sister Eun Ye-young, the gentle-natured Lee Joo-wang. Helping Ah-ri-young in her plans is Jo Soo-ah, her mother's friend whose ulterior motive is that she wants Ah-ri-young to marry her son Ma Ma-joon. But Ah-ri-young finds herself falling in love with Joo-wang for real, and she eventually realizes that there is more to life than hatred and learns the true meaning of forgiveness.

Cast

Main

  • Jang Seo-hee as Eun Ah-ri-young, a television screenwriter
  • Jung Young-sook as Han Kyung-hye, Ah-ri-young's mother
  • Park Geun-hyung as Eun Jin-sub, Ah-ri-young's father, Kyung-hye's ex-husband
  • Han Hye-sook as Shim Soo-jung, a famous actress, Jin-sub's wife
  • Woo Hee-jin as Eun Ye-young, a reporter, jin-sub and Soo-jung's daughter
  • Sa Mi-ja as Geum Ok-sun, Joo-wang's grandmother
  • Kim Yong-rim as Geum Sil-ra, Joo-wang's mother
  • Kim Byung-ki as Lee Sung-soo, the president of Sun Daily Newspaper, Joo-wang's father
  • Kim Sung-taek as Lee Joo-wang, a reporter, Ye-young's fiancé
  • Go Doo-shim as Jo Soo-ah a.k.a. Jo Young-chun, a friend of Kyung-hye and Soo-jung
  • Jeong Bo-seok as Ma Ma-joon, Soo-ah's son
  • Lee Jae-eun as Ma Ma-rin, Soo-ah's daughter
  • Choi Jae-ho as An Hyung-sun, a television director

Supporting

  • Seo Kwon-soon as Hong Mi-sung, the mother of Ah-ri-young's ex-boyfriend
  • Yoo Hye-ri as herself
  • Jeon Mi-seon as Yoon Sung-mi, a reporter who is friend of Ah-ri-young
  • Choi Seon-ja as Dong-jin's mother, a housekeeper of the Lee family
  • Sa Kang as Yoo Jin-kyung, Ma-rin's friend
  • Park Tam-hee as Baek Soo-rim, Mi-sung's ex-daughter-in-law

Awards

2002 MBC Drama Awards

References

  1. Kim Sung-taek later adopted the stage name Kim Sung-min.
  2. "Likable or Not Reach Highest Drama Ratings since 2000". KBS Global. April 25, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  3. "Jang Seo-hee to appear on the stage as main guest of a talk show in China". Hancinema. June 28, 2005. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  4. "Actresses Jang, Yang, Lee Top Chinese Poll". KBS Global. May 11, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  5. Park, Jin-hai (April 24, 2014). "Jang Seo-hee and hallyu in China". The Korea Times. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  6. "Viewers Launch Massive Cyber Attack against TV Series The Mermaid". The Dong-a Ilbo. May 27, 2003. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  7. Lee, Sun-min (April 24, 2015). "Censured drama writer to step down". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
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