8/10 is my rating. This is a 2005 romantic comedy with 16, 60 minute, episodes. It is also known as "My name is Kim Sam Soon."
Kim Sam-soon (Kim Sun-a) is 30 and was just dumped, in a very public way, on Christmas Eve by her boyfriend of three years. Unfortunately Hyun Jin-heon (Hyun Bin), a chaebol son of a wealthy hotelier, is there to witness it and has fun teasing this strange wailing girl about her poor romantic choice. While Sam Soon is much louder and more outspoken than many women her age, her outward brusqueness hides insecurities about her weight and her old fashioned name. As fate would have it, Jin-heon is also the owner of a restaurant where Sam Soon applies as a pastry chef. Looks like she will be passed over for the job until Jin-heon and Sam Soon once again accidentally cross paths. Unable to resist antagonizing the spirited girl, Jin-heon pesters Sam Soon until he earns a face full of the desert she had carefully prepared for the interview. Realizing the flavor of the pastry he is wearing exemplifies Sam soon's exceptional talent as a pastry chef, Jin-heon is determined to hire Sam soon.
The mothers of the leads are determined to get the two married and they are sent, separately, on blind dates. After thwarting his blind date and ruining Sam soon's, the girl has had enough and spends the night drinking determined to resign. Jin-heon's mother stops by and finds Sam soon at her son's place after he takes her to his house to sober up. Tired of his other setting him up on blind dates, Jin heon asks Sam soon to be his pretend girlfriend, convinced their mutual animosity would keep their relationship strictly a business deal. Sam-soon initially refuses but is in danger of losing her childhood home without 50 million (approximately US$50,000) to pay a debt against the mortgage. So Sam soon agrees to be Jin heon's pretend girlfriend in exchange for the money she needs to save her house. The unlikely pair soon find they enjoy each other's company far more than expected and what was fake starts to get real. That is until Yoo Hee-jin (Jung Ryeo-won), the girl Jin-heon never got over, returns from the United States and wants him back.
Spoilers* Amazing how much things have changed since 2005. The way the men treat the women in this series, they get very physical with them at times, and the ML even slaps the 2nd girl in the face at one point. It reminds me of the way it was in the United States in maybe the 70s . Not accepted or rampant but people were willing to look the other way. I love the lead character in this, That female character is often compared to "Bridgette Jones Diary" and I get that but only in the chubby girl and rich, handsome guy regard. In very other aspect the character reminds me of Lucy in "I Love Lucy." She is gutsy, outspoken and gets herself in situations. The ML because it was scripted as an "old school" kind of machismo man - I did not always like him for her. I was particularly upset when he just abandoned her, really humiliating her, and decided he would take his ex-girlfriend back. Most women would find that very hard to forgive. And she did, but not in the way I thought she should have to hold his feet to the fire. The little girl that wasn't speaking was so cute and her relationship with Sam Soon was heartwarming. I don't think it came out enough, to the grandmother, the role that Sam soon played in getting the little girl talking. Their relationship was very natural and yet she pushed her sometimes more to speak than some of the other people in her life. The crazy ex-boyfriend was always good for comic relief and the fact that she was not willing to let him treat her 2nd class was gratifying. I also liked the side romances - they were cute but it wasn't clear how they all played out. The ending between the leads was a bit uncertain as well. It was good, very much of the timeframe and that type of era of relations, but there were plot points that could have been completely fleshed out and that were not followed through on. I enjoyed it the whole way through but just felt it lacked in certain aspects.
The mothers of the leads are determined to get the two married and they are sent, separately, on blind dates. After thwarting his blind date and ruining Sam soon's, the girl has had enough and spends the night drinking determined to resign. Jin-heon's mother stops by and finds Sam soon at her son's place after he takes her to his house to sober up. Tired of his other setting him up on blind dates, Jin heon asks Sam soon to be his pretend girlfriend, convinced their mutual animosity would keep their relationship strictly a business deal. Sam-soon initially refuses but is in danger of losing her childhood home without 50 million (approximately US$50,000) to pay a debt against the mortgage. So Sam soon agrees to be Jin heon's pretend girlfriend in exchange for the money she needs to save her house. The unlikely pair soon find they enjoy each other's company far more than expected and what was fake starts to get real. That is until Yoo Hee-jin (Jung Ryeo-won), the girl Jin-heon never got over, returns from the United States and wants him back.
Spoilers* Amazing how much things have changed since 2005. The way the men treat the women in this series, they get very physical with them at times, and the ML even slaps the 2nd girl in the face at one point. It reminds me of the way it was in the United States in maybe the 70s . Not accepted or rampant but people were willing to look the other way. I love the lead character in this, That female character is often compared to "Bridgette Jones Diary" and I get that but only in the chubby girl and rich, handsome guy regard. In very other aspect the character reminds me of Lucy in "I Love Lucy." She is gutsy, outspoken and gets herself in situations. The ML because it was scripted as an "old school" kind of machismo man - I did not always like him for her. I was particularly upset when he just abandoned her, really humiliating her, and decided he would take his ex-girlfriend back. Most women would find that very hard to forgive. And she did, but not in the way I thought she should have to hold his feet to the fire. The little girl that wasn't speaking was so cute and her relationship with Sam Soon was heartwarming. I don't think it came out enough, to the grandmother, the role that Sam soon played in getting the little girl talking. Their relationship was very natural and yet she pushed her sometimes more to speak than some of the other people in her life. The crazy ex-boyfriend was always good for comic relief and the fact that she was not willing to let him treat her 2nd class was gratifying. I also liked the side romances - they were cute but it wasn't clear how they all played out. The ending between the leads was a bit uncertain as well. It was good, very much of the timeframe and that type of era of relations, but there were plot points that could have been completely fleshed out and that were not followed through on. I enjoyed it the whole way through but just felt it lacked in certain aspects.