My Name is Kim Samsoon (sometimes called My Lovely Samsoon) is original, funny, clever and a genuine breakthrough TV series.
Allegedly fat, old and plain (that is, she's not skinny, coming up 30, and she doesn't wear make-up and skin-tight clothes), Samsoon is a pastry chef who stumbles into a job by slamming a home-made mango mousse in the face of her future employer, owner of a Western-style cuisine restaurant. Through this unlikely event, she becomes an indispensable member of his staff, and eventually a beloved part of his life. On paper it looks like a cookie-cutter K-Comedrama. This couldn't be further from the truth.
To enumerate the twists and turns of the series is almost doing it a disservice. For instance: there's a potentially terminal illness; a car accident resulting in two deaths and two traumatised survivors; a 'love contract' that would never happen in real life; and past love affairs that ended miserably and continue to affect the present. All these ideas have been explored before, but never in quite the way they are tackled here.
The series has a lot to say about the role of Korean women, male-female dynamics and control, class, money, obedience and tradition, self-worth, and the value society places on physical beauty and a feminine ideal to which a woman like Samsoon could never and would never conform. But it's all handled with tremendous humour and intelligence, and frequently with genuine pathos.
Played with zest and conviction by lead actress Kim Seon-a, Samsoon, third daughter of a grist-mill owner, has had only a basic formal education. She has a tart mouth and a temper, ready to use her fists when wronged, but she's multi-dimensional, quick-witted, ready to defend herself and others, gentle and compassionate, and capable of great depth and loyalty. She's believable because she's occasionally annoying, sometimes immature, and often hopelessly sentimental.
The role of the rich, fussy, arrogant restaurant Boss (Hyeon Jin-heon) is played by Hyeon Bin with an iciness that's underscored by sadness. The reasons for his thoughtless behaviour start to become more clear when we see his relationship with his sometimes shrewish mother, whom he almost exclusively refers to, with great sarcasm, by her job title. It's a tricky role, because we as an audience are also supposed to grow to love him, as Samsoon eventually does, but it's no easy task: the script calls upon this character to say and do some truly cruel things, but it is balanced by the demonstration of his obvious love for his niece, and the gradual revelation that his heart had been completely broken, and not just once.
Of course, it's not perfect. Some of the other roles are a little underwritten, particularly those of 'love rival' Yoo Hee Jin (played by Jeong Ryeo-won), and that of Henry Kim (Daniel Henney), the Korean-American doctor who appears unexpectedly and further fans the flames. There are a few too many contrivances, but overall this sixteen episode series is uniformly well-acted, especially by some of the minor characters like Samsoon's mother. Kim Seon-a's comic-timing is frequently incredible, and she's a pleasure to watch, as is the entire series.
Highly recommended.
One note: The English subtitles are indifferent and occasionally incompetent, but if you can read Chinese or speak Korean, this won't be a problem. Ultimately, it's unlikely to spoil your enjoyment.
Allegedly fat, old and plain (that is, she's not skinny, coming up 30, and she doesn't wear make-up and skin-tight clothes), Samsoon is a pastry chef who stumbles into a job by slamming a home-made mango mousse in the face of her future employer, owner of a Western-style cuisine restaurant. Through this unlikely event, she becomes an indispensable member of his staff, and eventually a beloved part of his life. On paper it looks like a cookie-cutter K-Comedrama. This couldn't be further from the truth.
To enumerate the twists and turns of the series is almost doing it a disservice. For instance: there's a potentially terminal illness; a car accident resulting in two deaths and two traumatised survivors; a 'love contract' that would never happen in real life; and past love affairs that ended miserably and continue to affect the present. All these ideas have been explored before, but never in quite the way they are tackled here.
The series has a lot to say about the role of Korean women, male-female dynamics and control, class, money, obedience and tradition, self-worth, and the value society places on physical beauty and a feminine ideal to which a woman like Samsoon could never and would never conform. But it's all handled with tremendous humour and intelligence, and frequently with genuine pathos.
Played with zest and conviction by lead actress Kim Seon-a, Samsoon, third daughter of a grist-mill owner, has had only a basic formal education. She has a tart mouth and a temper, ready to use her fists when wronged, but she's multi-dimensional, quick-witted, ready to defend herself and others, gentle and compassionate, and capable of great depth and loyalty. She's believable because she's occasionally annoying, sometimes immature, and often hopelessly sentimental.
The role of the rich, fussy, arrogant restaurant Boss (Hyeon Jin-heon) is played by Hyeon Bin with an iciness that's underscored by sadness. The reasons for his thoughtless behaviour start to become more clear when we see his relationship with his sometimes shrewish mother, whom he almost exclusively refers to, with great sarcasm, by her job title. It's a tricky role, because we as an audience are also supposed to grow to love him, as Samsoon eventually does, but it's no easy task: the script calls upon this character to say and do some truly cruel things, but it is balanced by the demonstration of his obvious love for his niece, and the gradual revelation that his heart had been completely broken, and not just once.
Of course, it's not perfect. Some of the other roles are a little underwritten, particularly those of 'love rival' Yoo Hee Jin (played by Jeong Ryeo-won), and that of Henry Kim (Daniel Henney), the Korean-American doctor who appears unexpectedly and further fans the flames. There are a few too many contrivances, but overall this sixteen episode series is uniformly well-acted, especially by some of the minor characters like Samsoon's mother. Kim Seon-a's comic-timing is frequently incredible, and she's a pleasure to watch, as is the entire series.
Highly recommended.
One note: The English subtitles are indifferent and occasionally incompetent, but if you can read Chinese or speak Korean, this won't be a problem. Ultimately, it's unlikely to spoil your enjoyment.