The very first Kdrama I ever saw, I watched for the sole purpose of seeing how well Choi Si-Won (Siwon from Super Junior) could act, and I wasn’t disappointed. Not by a long shot. Although young, he pulled off the handsome, charming, leading-man role like a pro. By the time I was about six episodes into it I knew I wouldn’t be sleeping that night, and I was right. I watched it marathon style and didn’t stop until it was done, 10 hours later! I was very glad I didn’t have work the next day. That was the beginning of my love for Kdramas, and it was all thanks to Oh! My Lady.
The story is about a young, arrogant, selfish, movie/drama/modeling star named Sung Min-Woo. He’s fairly new to the limelight and has caused a scandal or two but he’s absolutely adored by the public even though his acting skills leave a lot to be desired. His fans think what Min-Woo lacks in talent he more than makes up for in looks! Just as things are moving along smoothly in his career, he hits a little turbulence. Two cute females enter his life and apartment, and turn things upside down and inside out.
Yoon Gae-Hwa is a 35 year old divorced woman with a young daughter. Although her ex-husband comes from a well to do family, and he gave her alimony, she ended up using it to pay off her mother’s hospital bills and is as poor as a church mouse. Not being able to pay the rent, they are evicted from their home so, she takes her daughter to live with her ex-husband just until she can get back on her feet.
Other important characters are: the very business minded and slightly aloof president of The Show Company that Min-Woo works with; Min-woo’s former heart throb from his college days who is back from the States and ready to be a star’s girlfriend; his rotten manager who thinks of Min-Woo as a money making commodity and will do absolutely anything and everything to keep the money flowing in; Gae-Hwa’s heartless, selfish, and immature ex-husband; her young yet intelligent daughter; the musical’s dance choreographer who happens to be married to The Show Company’s president; and a very nosy, over achieving reporter who intends to be the first one to uncover something scandalous going on in Min-Woo’s life.
This drama was the perfect showcase for Choi Si-Won’s (Sung Min-Woo) leading-man debut. It gave him the chance to show the world just exactly what this idol from a Kpop boy’s group is capable of. His character, being an actor, is cast in a musical and that allowed Si-Won to be in the spotlight and show us his acting, singing, and dancing skills without the other 12 Super Junior guys surrounding him. The man made good and not only soared in Oh! My Lady but went on to have starring roles in several other dramas. You can check him out in Poseidon, The King Of Dramas, Skip Beat, Athena: Goddess Of War, She Was Pretty, and he even plays a major role in the Jackie Chan movie, Dragon Blade! Yep, he has certainly shown us what he can do!
Chae-Rim plays the darling, spunky Yoon Gae-Hwa. From what I found out, Oh! My Lady was the second to the last thing Chae-Rim was in and that was way back in 2010. She’s great in this which makes me wonder why she hasn’t been in anything since 2011.
Just a quick mention of the actress that played darling Ye-Eun, Kim Yoo-Bin. She is so cute, I smiled every time she came on screen. Oh! My Lady was her debut show but she is now a teenager and has been in five other dramas since then. Even though she only said three words in Oh! My Lady she’s blossomed into quite an actress, receiving the Best Child Actress award at the 2011 MBC Drama Awards for her roll in A Thousand Affections.
The soundtrack is pretty short but extremely enjoyable with Si-Won singing a couple solo songs, one in English. I’ve heard him sing the same one at some Super Junior concerts. The one he sings for the musical is beautiful.
There’s nothing much to the scenery because most of the show is filmed indoors. However, if we count the modeling and dancing we see Si-Won do as scenery, I can honestly say it’s gorgeous. Ha ha
Without even realizing it, Oh! My Lady was a great show for me to use as an introduction to Kdramas. It’s what started me on the road to my happy Kdrama obsession. So watch out…
WARNING – Watching this show may turn you into a Kdrama addict!
Score: 8
The Good:
Choi Si-Won
Chemistry between Sung Min-Woo and Yoon Gae-Hwa
Fresh, original storyline
Good writing
Darling Ye-Eun
Soundtrack/Si-Won’s solo singing
The Bad:
Not enough different solo songs for Choi Si-Won
Heart and Seoul 