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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