Bel Ami (Korean: 예쁜 남자; Hanja: 예쁜 男子; RR: Yeppeun Namja; MR: Yeppŭn Namja; lit. Pretty Man) is a 2013–2014 South Korean romantic comedy television series starring Jang Keun-suk, Lee Ji-eun, Lee Jang-woo, and Han Chae-young.[1][2] Based on the same-titled 17-volume manhwa by Chon Kye-young, it aired on KBS2 from November 20, 2013, to January 9, 2014, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:00 (KST) for 16 episodes.[3]
| Bel Ami | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Bel Ami | |
| Also known as | Pretty Boy Beautiful Man Beautiful Guy |
| Hangul | 예쁜 남자 |
| Hanja | 예쁜 男子 |
| Literal meaning | Pretty Man |
| Revised Romanization | Yeppeun Namja |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yeppŭn Namja |
| Genre | Romance Comedy |
| Based on | Pretty Man by Chon Kye-young |
| Written by | Yoo Young-ah |
| Directed by | Lee Jae-sang Jung Jung-hwa Shin Yong-hwi |
| Starring | Jang Keun-suk Lee Ji-eun Lee Jang-woo Han Chae-young |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Kwak Ki-won |
| Producer | Lee Jin-seo |
| Running time | Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:00 (KST) |
| Production companies | Group 8 Pineapple Holdings |
| Original release | |
| Network | KBS2 |
| Release | November 20, 2013 – January 9, 2014 |
Synopsis
editDokgo Ma-te (Jang Keun-suk) is a pretty boy. His mother dies without giving him the password to meet his father, whom he never knew. Ma-te's mother gives it instead to Hong Yoo-ra (Han Chae-young), an ex-heiress who was once the daughter-in-law of a wealthy family. A family that she thinks Ma-te's father is the chairman of. Yoo-ra promises to give him the password if he conquers several women and learns valuable lessons from each of them so as to conquer Na Hong-ran, Yoo-ra's ex mother-in-law and the Chairman Park Ki-suk's wife, who is evil and ruthless. But then Kim Bo-tong (IU), an ordinary girl from a poor background decides to aid Ma-te in pursuing his father's heels. She has had a huge crush on him since high school and is willing to do anything to help him succeed. Despite himself, Ma-te falls for Bo-tong. But Choi David (Lee Jang-woo), who is also the Chairman's secret son and is like the male Bo-tong, falls for her too, leading into a conflict of romance and deception.
Cast
editMain
edit- Jang Keun-suk as Dokgo Ma-te[4][5][6][7]
- A boy who discovered as early as kindergarten that he was prettier than most and could get special treatment because of it. During his school years he never once had to bring lunch to school, and now only has to glance at designer stuff in stores for rich women to purchase them for him. He discovers he has a wealthy father who he doesn't remember. His role within the drama is to learn different things from dating/seducing ten wealthy ladies, so that he can eventually undertake the role of meeting with his father.
- Lee Ji-eun as Kim Bo-tong[8][9][10]
- An average girl from Ma-te's neighborhood who's had an unrequited crush on him since junior high. She is innocent and free hearted who is head over heels in love with Ma-te and helps him through his journey of overcoming troubles to meet his father. Her name, Bo-tong means 'average' in Hangul.
- Lee Jang-woo as David Choi[11]
- A friendly, free-spirited marketing director who falls for Bo-tong and helps her out. He has a strange past too, however also changes the story with his funny and warm personality. He meets Bo-tong when she starts to sell her belongings to earn money and immediately gets attracted to her innocent charm.
- Han Chae-young as Hong Yoo-ra[12]
- The glamorous, successful woman Ma-te wants but can't get. She makes a game of "training" him and tells Ma-te to seduce ten of the most eligible bachelorettes in the city first. She has had a difficult life filled with torture as she can not see her own child nor talk to her husband from the harsh rule of the wife of the chairman.
Supporting
edit- Kim Bo-yeon as Na Hong-ran
- Dokgo Young-jae as Park Ki-suk
- Kim Young-jae as Park Moon-soo
- So Yoo-jin as Jaek-hee
- Kim Ye-won as Electric Fairy
- Cha Hyun-jung as Kim In-joong
- Park Ji-yoon as Myo-mi
- Kim Bo-ra as Kwi-ji
- Jung Sun-kyung as Yi-kim
- Kim Min-joo as Yeo-mim
- Yang Mi-kyung as Kim Mi-sook, Ma-te's mother
- Kim Ji-han as Jang Deok-saeng
- Lee Mi-young as Lee Mal-ja, Bo-tong's mother
- Yeo Hoon-min as Kim Dae-shik, Bo-tong's younger brother[13]
- Ahn Byung-kyung as Na Jin-seok
- Lee Do-yup as Na Hwan-kyu
- Kim Seul-gi as Ma-te's high school teacher in senior year (cameo, Ep. 1)
- Jo Hye-ryun as female police officer (cameo, Ep. 1)
- Go Myung-hwan as MG Home Shopping organization director (cameo, Ep. 5)
Original soundtrack
edit| Bel Ami (Original Television Soundtrack) | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
| Genre | Pop, K-pop, soundtrack, R&B, teen pop |
| Label | Group 8 CJ E&M Music |
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Have a Person That I Love (사랑하는 사람 있어요)" | Melody Day | 4:29 |
| 2. | "Poor Sense of Direction (길치)" | Lunafly | 3:55 |
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fever (열병)" | Hwanhee | 4:12 |
| 2. | "Perfect" | Dear Cloud | 3:57 |
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Going to You" | LEDApple | 3:51 |
| 2. | "Saying I Love You (사랑한단 말야)" | Lee Jang-woo | 3:42 |
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pastel Crayon (크레파스)" | IU | 3:15 |
| 2. | "I'm Nobody (하루만)" | Jung Joon-young[14] | 4:54 |
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beautiful Day" | Jang Keun-suk[15] | 3:45 |
Ratings
editIn the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
| Episode # | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNmS Ratings[16] | AGB Nielsen[17] | ||||
| Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area | Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area | ||
| 1 | 2013/11/20 | 2.3% | 3.0% | 4.3% | 4.2% |
| 2 | 2013/11/21 | 3.8% | 4.0% | 3.1% | 3.5% |
| 3 | 2013/11/27 | 2.5% | 2.9% | 2.4% | 2.8% |
| 4 | 2013/11/28 | 2.7% | 2.8% | 3.3% | 3.8% |
| 5 | 2013/12/04 | 2.9% | 3.0% | 3.2% | 3.5% |
| 6 | 2013/12/05 | 3.2% | 3.7% | 3.8% | 4.1% |
| 7 | 2013/12/11 | 2.8% | 3.0% | 2.9% | 2.7% |
| 8 | 2013/12/12 | 2.6% | 3.0% | 3.1% | 2.9% |
| 9 | 2013/12/18 | 3.0% | 3.9% | 3.5% | 3.2% |
| 10 | 2013/12/19 | 2.8% | 2.9% | 3.5% | 3.1% |
| 11 | 2013/12/25 | 3.2% | 3.6% | 3.8% | 3.4% |
| 12 | 2013/12/26 | 2.6% | 3.2% | 3.3% | 2.9% |
| 13 | 2014/01/01 | 2.0% | 2.5% | 2.4% | 2.6% |
| 14 | 2014/01/02 | 3.0% | 3.8% | 3.9% | 4.0% |
| 15 | 2014/01/08 | 3.0% | 3.6% | 4.0% | 3.8% |
| 16 | 2014/01/09 | 2.0% | 3.3% | 3.8% | 3.2% |
| Average | 2.29% | 2.79% | 3.33% | 3.43% | |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | KBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Jang Keun-suk | Nominated |
| Best New Actress | IU | Won | ||
| Best Couple Award[18] | Jang Keun-suk and IU | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | 2nd DramaFever Awards | Best Kiss | Jang Keun-suk and IU | Nominated |
| 9th Seoul International Drama Awards | Outstanding Korean Drama | Pretty Man | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Korean Actress | IU | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Korean Drama OST | "Fever" - Hwanhee | Nominated | ||
| "I'm Nobody" - Jung Joon-young | Nominated | |||
| 16th Seoul International Youth Film Festival | Best Young Actress | IU | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ Kim, Dong-joo (November 17, 2013). "Pretty Man 4 protagonists' individual posters unveiled". StarN News. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ Lee, Cory (November 20, 2013). "Main Actors of New KBS Romcom Bel Ami". TenAsia. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ Oh, Jean (November 19, 2013). "IU's star continues to rise: Singer-actress cements leading lady status with new TV drama". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ Choi, Eun-hwa (November 18, 2013). "Jang Keun Suk Says Pretty Boy is More Important than His Popularity". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
- ^ Lee, Sun-min (November 19, 2013). "Jang Geun-suk is a Beautiful Man". enewsWorld. Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ "Actor Jang Geun-suk to return to small screen". The Korea Times. November 19, 2013. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ Kim, Dong-joo (November 19, 2013). "Pretty Man Jang Geun Seok talks about casting in a new drama". StarN News. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ Jeon, Su-mi (October 22, 2013). "IU Confirmed for Pretty Boy with Jang Keun Suk". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ Lee, Sun-min (October 23, 2013). "IU chooses a pretty man". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on April 15, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ "K-pop stars make foray into small screen". The Korea Times. January 1, 2014. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ Choi, Eun-hwa (November 18, 2013). "Lee Jang Woo Felt Like Dying When Copying IU's Diet". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ Lee, Sun-min (October 8, 2013). "Han Chae-young considers comeback". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ Jung, Ji-won (November 20, 2013). "U-KISS' Hoon to Act in Pretty Boy as IU's Younger Brother". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ Lee, Sun-min (January 3, 2014). "Jung releases TV soundtrack song". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ Lee, Cory (January 9, 2014). "Jang Keun-suk to Sing Beautiful Day Today". TenAsia. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ^ "TNmS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNmS Ratings (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 28, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ^ "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ^ "KBS Drama Awards 2013 Nominees". Hancinema. December 24, 2013. Archived from the original on September 17, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.