She Was Pretty (Korean: 그녀는 예뻤다; RR: Geunyeoneun Yeppeotta) is a 2015 South Korean television series starring Hwang Jung-eum, Park Seo-joon, Go Joon-hee and Choi Si-won.[1][2][3] It aired on MBC from September 16 to November 11, 2015, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:00 (KST).[4][5]
| She Was Pretty | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Also known as |
|
| Genre |
|
| Written by | Jo Sung-hee |
| Directed by | Jung Dae-yoon |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Han Hee (MBC) |
| Producers | Moon Suk-hwan Oh Kwang-hee |
| Running time | 70 minutes |
| Production company | Bon Factory Worldwide |
| Original release | |
| Network | MBC TV |
| Release | September 16 – November 11, 2015 |
| Related | |
| Pretty Li Huizhen Kanojo wa Kirei da | |
The series was both a hit domestically, with a peak rating of 18.4% and internationally, especially in China.[6][7][8][9][10]
Synopsis edit
A romantic comedy, based on a true story, about two past acquaintances who meet again after they've gone through a reversal of fortunes and appearances, set against the backdrop of a fashion magazine's publishing office.
Kim Hye-jin (Hwang Jung-eum) was a beautiful girl from a rich family as a child. After her family's publishing company went bankrupt, she experienced hardships and grew into freckles and curly hair, losing the perfect features she has when she was young. Ji Sung-joon (Park Seo-joon) was an unattractive boy with low self-esteem, but grows up to be a handsome and successful editor.
The two meet again as adults, but Sung-joon didn't recognize Hye-jin. Ashamed to meet her first love and ruin his perception of her, Hye-jin asks her attractive best friend, Ha-ri (Go Joon-hee), to appear in her place. Things, however, soon get complicated as Hye-jin was assigned to work at The Most magazine publishing office where Sung-joon is the deputy chief editor. He openly mistreats and belittles her for her clumsy nature, not knowing that she was his real childhood friend. Ha-ri also continues to meet Sung-joon, and soon develops feelings for him. On the other hand, Hye-jin finds a good friend in her workplace, Shin-hyuk (Choi Si-won), who falls in love with her.
As Sung-joon gets to know Hye-jin better, he realizes there is more to the clumsy freckle-faced girl than he initially thought and it strikes him how much she reminds him of his childhood friend.
Cast edit
Main edit
- Hwang Jung-eum as Kim Hye-jin / Jackson[11][12][13][14][15]
- Jung Da-bin as young Hye-jin
- An intern in the administration section before being appointed as junior editor. She used to be a beautiful, wealthy, and smart girl, but lost everything. Embarrassed at her failures in life, she asked her best friend Ha-ri, to meet with her first love Sung-joon, using her name. She thought that would be the end of her fate with Sung-joon, but turns out it's only the beginning of her nightmare, as he then becomes her boss. Despite the misfortunes, she still strives to do her best.
- Park Seo-joon as Ji Sung-joon
- Yang Han-yeol as young Sung-joon
- The youngest deputy chief editor in Korea. Stubborn and arrogant but also brilliant in his work. Unlike Hye-jin, he was unattractive and shy but grows up to become handsome and successful. Immediately after returning to Korea, he contacted his first love, Hye-jin. He ends up falling for her even when he didn't recognize that she was his childhood friend and first love.
- Go Joon-hee as Min Ha-ri
- Lee Ja-in as young Ha-ri
- A hotelier. She is Hye-jin's best friend and roommate. A beautiful and stylish woman with good personality. While continuing to pretend to be Hye-jin, she ends up falling for Sung-joon. Fearing that her relationship with her best friend might be compromised, she tries several times to tell him the truth only to fail in the end and having Sung-joon find out first.
- Choi Si-won as Kim Shin-hyuk[16][17][18] / Ten / David Joseph
- A senior Feature editor. He is generally a free-spirited, fair, and straightforward man but with mysterious identity (later found out to be the Korean writer, Ten). He is Hye-jin's direct supervisor at work, and they developed a close relationship. He ends up falling for her even before her beauty transformation. He finds out about her relationship with Sung-joon one day when she was drunk.
Supporting edit
Hye-jin's family edit
- Park Choong-sun as Kim Jong-seob, Hye-jin's father who is currently running a small printing house.
- Lee Il-hwa as Han Jung-hye, Hye-jin's mother who also treats Ha-ri like her own daughter too.
- Jung Da-bin as Kim Hye-rin, Hye-jin's younger sister who often prefers Ha-ri as her own sister instead of Hye-jin.
Ha-ri's family edit
- Yoon Yoo-sun as Cha Hye-jung, Ha-ri's birth mother and Jung-hye's friend.
- Lee Byung-joon as Min Yong-gil, Ha-ri's father
- Seo Jeong-yeon as Na Ji-seon, Ha-ri's stepmother
People in The Most edit
- Hwang Seok-jeong as Kim Ra-ra
- The chief editor who is very fashionable and later found out that she is the chairman's younger sister. She speaks English, Korean, Italian, French and Spanish.
- Shin Dong-mi as Cha Joo-young
- Head of the Editing team and director of the Fashion team who is so dedicated to her work. She speaks on behalf of Hye-jin during her initial days and later becomes the deputy chief editor.
- Ahn Se-ha as Kim Poong-ho
- A lazy and untidy Feature director who orders his junior coworkers around. It is revealed later that he is the Jinsung Magazine CEO's son and eventually becomes the Vice President.
- Shin Hye-sun as Han Seol
- An assistant of the Beauty team who finds out about the fact that the chairman's son is one of her co-workers and sets out to become his love interest. She then dates Joon-woo and eventually falls for his friendly charms.
- Park Yu-hwan as Kim Joon-woo[19]
- A cute and kind assistant of the Fashion team who had feelings for Han Seol from the day when she mistakes him as the chairman's son and reciprocates his feelings. He always respects his co-workers and it is later revealed that his parent is the owner of a laundry place.
- Kang Soo-jin as Joo Ah-reum
- The editor of the Beauty team who is getting married.
- Cha Jung-won as Jung Sun-min
- Bae Min-jung as Park Yi-kyung
- Kim Jung-heon as Se-hoon
- Im Ji-hyun as Lee Eun-young
People in Jinsung Magazine edit
- Kim Ha-kyoon as Boo Joong-man
- Head of the Management team who encourages Hye-jin when she gets transfer to the editing team.
- Jo Chang-geun as Kwang-hee, an employee of the Management team.
- Jin Hye-won as Lee Seul-bi, an employee of the Management team.
Special appearances edit
- Im Kang-sung as Ha-ri's date
- Kim Sung-oh as the man at pub (ep. 3)
- Hwang Seok-jeong as the ajumma in the restaurant on (ep. 7)
- Kim Je-dong as The Most 20th Anniversary's party MC (ep. 9)
- Lee Joon-gi as the guest for The Most 20th Anniversary (ep. 9)
- Seo In-guk as the guest for The Most 20th Anniversary (ep. 9)
- Uee as the guest for The Most 20th Anniversary (ep. 9)
- Park Hyung-sik as the guest for The Most 20th Anniversary (ep. 9)
- Lee Sang-hoon as interviewee for Editor Kim (ep. 11)
- Richard Poon as Mr. Kang (ep. 12)
- Kim Bo-min as Ji Yeon-woo, Sung-joon and Hye-jin's daughter (ep. 16)
Production edit
The first script reading was held on August 10, 2015.[20]
The drama reunited Hwang Jung-eum with Park Seo-joon, who previously starred together in Kill Me, Heal Me;[21] and Hwang Jung-eum with Go Joon-hee, who previously starred together in Can You Hear My Heart.[22]
Original soundtrack edit
| She was Pretty OST | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Recorded | 2015 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Language | |
| Label | Loen Entertainment Bon Factory |
Part 1 edit
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thumping" (쿵쿵쿵) | Kim Min-seung | 3:25 |
| 2. | "Thumping" (Inst.) | 3:25 | |
| Total length: | 6:50 | ||
Part 2 edit
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sometimes" (가끔) | Zia | 3:56 |
| 2. | "Sometimes" (Inst.) | 3:56 | |
| Total length: | 7:32 | ||
Part 3 edit
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "One More Step" (한 걸음 더) | Yoo Ki-hyun(Monsta X) | 3:25 |
| 2. | "One More Step" (Inst.) | 3:25 | |
| Total length: | 6:50 | ||
Part 4 edit
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You don't know me" (모르나봐) | So-yu (Sistar) & Brother Su | 4:18 |
| 2. | "You don't know me" (Inst.) | 4:18 | |
| Total length: | 4:36 | ||
Part 5 edit
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You're the only one" (너뿐이야) | Choi Si-won | 4:12 |
| 2. | "You're the only one" (Inst.) | 4:12 | |
| Total length: | 8:24 | ||
Part 6 edit
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Long Way" (먼 길) | Park Seo-joon | 3:41 |
| 2. | "Long Way" (Inst.) | 3:41 | |
| Total length: | 7:42 | ||
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "She was Pretty (Opening Theme)" | Various Artists | 2:44 |
| 2. | "A Reporter" | Various Artists | 1:33 |
| 3. | "A Heart that cannot be" | Various Artists | 2:28 |
| 4. | "Come on" | Various Artists | 2:17 |
| 5. | "Find hidden puzzles" | Various Artists | 3:51 |
| 6. | "Found my Umbrella" | Various Artists | 2:59 |
| 7. | "Her Identity" | Various Artists | 1:57 |
| 8. | "Hole Socky" | Various Artists | 3:41 |
| 9. | "I missed you" | Various Artists | 3:46 |
| 10. | "It's not normal" | Various Artists | 2:32 |
| 11. | "It tends to embarrass" | Various Artists | 2:04 |
| 12. | "Let's Start" | Various Artists | 1:28 |
| 13. | "My Lost Request" | Various Artists | 2:33 |
| 14. | "Memories of first love" | Various Artists | 2:47 |
| 15. | "My favourite person now" | Various Artists | 2:51 |
| 16. | "My Sister" | Various Artists | 2:14 |
| 17. | "Onion's Love" | Various Artists | 3:05 |
| 18. | "Our Story" | Various Artists | 2:20 |
| 19. | "Restlessness" | Various Artists | 1:46 |
| 20. | "The Most" | Various Artists | 1:49 |
| 21. | "Unknown feelings" | Various Artists | 2:45 |
| 22. | "UnPoco UnPoco" | Various Artists | 1:44 |
| 23. | "Violet Memory" | Various Artists | 1:45 |
| 24. | "Wakeup" | Various Artists | 1:59 |
| 25. | "Who,is it you?" | Various Artists | 2:13 |
| 26. | "You cannot get it" | Various Artists | 2:03 |
| 27. | "You can cry" | Various Artists | 3:12 |
Ratings edit
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNmS[23] | Nielsen Korea[24] | Highest Internet Ratings | ||||
| Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | Seoul | |||
| 1 | September 16, 2015 | 4.9% (NR) | 5.8% (NR) | 4.8% (NR) | 5.0% (NR) | 14.7% (2nd) |
| 2 | September 17, 2015 | 7.1% (NR) | 8.1% (15th) | 7.2% (NR) | 7.8% (17th) | 22.3% (2nd) |
| 3 | September 23, 2015 | 8.0% (18th) | 9.1% (11th) | 8.5% (14th) | 9.4% (11th) | 29.7% (2nd) |
| 4 | September 24, 2015 | 7.8% (19th) | 8.8% (15th) | 9.9% (11th) | 9.9% (11th) | 31.4% (2nd) |
| 5 | September 30, 2015[25] | 9.0% (16th) | 10.8% (8th) | 10.7% (8th) | 11.9% (8th) | 40.0% (1st) |
| 6 | October 1, 2015 | 8.4% (19th) | 10.4% (10th) | 10.2% (17th) | 11.3% (9th) | 39.0% (1st) |
| 7 | October 7, 2015 | 11.8% (8th) | 13.7% (5th) | 13.1% (6th) | 14.2% (3rd) | 46.9% (1st) |
| 8 | October 8, 2015 | 13.2% (6th) | 15.4% (2nd) | 14.5% (3rd) | 16.3% (3rd) | 49.7% (1st) |
| 9 | October 15, 2015[26] | 16.2% (2nd) | 19.1% (2nd) | 16.7% (3rd) | 17.9% (2nd) | 59.4% (1st) |
| 10 | October 21, 2015[27] | 15.3% (4th) | 17.4% (2nd) | 17.3% (2nd) | 19.7% (2nd) | 59.6% (1st) |
| 11 | October 22, 2015 | 17.2% (2nd) | 19.7% (2nd) | 17.7% (2nd) | 19.2% (2nd) | 59.8% (1st) |
| 12 | October 28, 2015 | 15.5% (4th) | 17.8% (2nd) | 16.5% (3rd) | 17.9% (2nd) | 58.6% (1st) |
| 13 | October 29, 2015 | 15.0% (4th) | 17.5% (2nd) | 18.0% (2nd) | 19.8% (2nd) | 56.0% (1st) |
| 14 | November 4, 2015 | 15.3% (3rd) | 17.4% (1st) | 15.9% (3rd) | 17.8% (2nd) | 58.0% (1st) |
| 15 | November 5, 2015 | 15.0% (3rd) | 17.8% (2nd) | 16.9% (2nd) | 18.7% (2nd) | 52.8% (1st) |
| 16 | November 11, 2015 | 15.0% (2nd) | 17.7% (1st) | 15.9% (3rd) | 17.7% (2nd) | —[28] |
| Average | 12.2% | 14.2% | 13.4% | 14.7% | — | |
| ||||||
Awards and nominations edit
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 4th APAN Star Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Park Seo-joon | Nominated |
| Best Supporting Actress | Hwang Seok-jeong | Nominated | ||
| Grimae Awards | Excellence in Drama Award | Lee Jin-seok, Roh Hyeong-sik | Won | |
| Best Lighting Director Award | Kim Yong-sam | Won | ||
| MBC Drama Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang) | Hwang Jung-eum | Nominated | |
| Drama of the Year | She Was Pretty | Nominated | ||
| PD Choice Award | Hwang Jung-eum | Won | ||
| Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Won | |||
| Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Park Seo-joon | Won | ||
| Choi Siwon | Nominated | |||
| Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Go Joon-hee | Nominated | ||
| Top 10 Stars | Hwang Jung-eum | Won | ||
| Park Seo-joon | Won | |||
| Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries | Ahn Se-ha | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries | Hwang Seok-jeong | Won | ||
| Shin Dong-mi | Nominated | |||
| Best New Actor in a Miniseries | Park Yu-hwan | Nominated | ||
| Best New Actress in a Miniseries | Shin Hye-sun | Nominated | ||
| Best Young Actor | Yang Han-yeol | Won | ||
| Popularity Award, Actor | Park Seo-joon | Won | ||
| Popularity Award, Actress | Hwang Jung-eum | Won | ||
| Writer of the Year | Jo Sung-hee | Won | ||
| 2016 | 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Drama | She Was Pretty | Nominated |
| Best Director | Jung Dae-yoon | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress | Hwang Jung-eum | Nominated | ||
| 43rd Korea Broadcasting Awards | Best Drama | She Was Pretty | Won | |
| Best Actress | Hwang Jung-eum | Won |
Remake edit
- A Turkish remake of the drama, titled Seviyor Sevmiyor was aired in 2016 on ATV (Turkey).
- A Chinese remake of the drama, titled Pretty Li Hui Zhen started airing on Hunan TV in 2017.[29]
- A Vietnamese remake of the drama, titled Mối Tình Đầu Của Tôi (My First Love) started airing on VTV3 in 2019.[30]
- A Japanese remake of the drama, titled Kanojo wa Kirei Datta (lit. She Was Pretty) was aired in 2021 on Fuji TV.
- A Thai remake of the drama, titled รักวุ่นวายยัยตัวป่วน (Me Always You) was aired in 2021 on Channel 3 (Thailand).
- A Malaysian remake of the drama, which also titled She Was Pretty [ms] started streaming in 2022 on Viu.
References edit
- ^ "Hwang Jung-eum, Park Seo-joon to star in She Was Pretty". The Korea Times. July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ "Hwang Jung Eum, Park Seo Joon, Choi Siwon, and Go Joon Hee Confirmed for New Drama!". Soompi. July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ Lee, Yousun (October 5, 2015). "She Was Pretty reveals behind cuts of Hwang Jung-eum and Park Seo-joon". Asia Today. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
- ^ Lee, Ji-young (August 26, 2015). "She Was Pretty Releases First Teaser of Hwang Jung Eum and Park Seo Joon". enewsWorld. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ Doo, Rumy (September 14, 2015). "She Was Pretty boasts 'perfect casting,' says director". K-Pop Herald. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
- ^ "Viewers find 'She Was Pretty' attractive". The Korea Times. October 2015.
- ^ "She Was Pretty gains popularity in China". The Korea Times. September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
- ^ "She Was Pretty Stars Relish Success as Show Ends". The Chosun Ilbo. November 13, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ "Hwang Jeong-eum's star soars in China". The Korea Times. October 13, 2015.
- ^ "Choi Si-won' star soars on Twitter". The Korea Times. October 27, 2015.
- ^ "Hwang confirmed for new MBC drama". Korea JoongAng Daily. July 31, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ^ "Rambunctious Hwang Jung Eum Steals Spotlight in New She Was Pretty Poster". Soompi. September 11, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
- ^ "Hwang Jung-eum Wows Audiences in Dowdy Role". The Chosun Ilbo. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- ^ Lee, Ji Young (November 12, 2015). "Hwang Jung Eum Shares Final Thoughts on She Was Pretty". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ Park, Sojung (November 12, 2015). "Actress Hwang Jeong-eum solidifies reign with Pretty Woman". Yonhap. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ "Super Junior star to lead new drama". Korea JoongAng Daily. July 27, 2015.
- ^ "Singer leaves the idol image behind in latest TV role". Korea JoongAng Daily. November 16, 2015.
- ^ "Choi Si-won shines in 'She was Pretty'". Kpop Herald.
- ^ Ahn, Woorim (July 30, 2015). "Park Yuhwan To Appear In She Was Pretty". BNTNews. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ "Hwang Jung Eum, Choi Siwon, Park Seo Joon, and Go Joon Hee Participate in First Script Reading for New Drama". Soompi. August 10, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
- ^ Ahn, Woorim (December 5, 2014). "Leading Roles Of Drama Kill Me, Heal Me Are Confirmed". BNTNews. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
- ^ "Did you know that Ko Joon Hee and Hwang Jung Eum are best friends?". Korea.com. January 18, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "TNMS Daily Ratings". TNMS Ratings (in Korean). Retrieved September 16, 2015.
- ^ "Nielsen Korea". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
- ^ Jeon, Su-mi (October 1, 2015). "She Was Pretty Surpasses 10 Percent in Viewer Ratings with Episode 5". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
- ^ "Angry drama fans complain as She Was Pretty skips Wednesday this week". Hancinema. October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
- ^ Kwon, Ji-youn (October 21, 2015). "It's K-drama over playoff baseball in South Korea". The Korea Times. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- ^ TVING is permanently not to release the internet ratings of the programs from three main TV channels of South Korea since November 10, 2015.
- ^ "'She Was Pretty' remade in China". Kpop Herald.
- ^ "Remake boom of K-dramas is a testament to their brilliant storytelling". The Korea Times. June 3, 2021.
External links edit
- She Was Pretty official MBC website (in Korean)
- She Was Pretty at MBC Global Media
- She Was Pretty at IMDb
- She Was Pretty at HanCinema
