As the MBC TV drama hit "My Name is Kim Sam-soon" is giving rise to a highly contagious condition identified as Sam-soon Syndrome that can empty entire streets of all signs of life and plunge sufferers into a topsy-turvy world where plain is beautiful and assertiveness does not put a woman beyond the pale, 'Sam-sooni' Kim Seon-ah has risen as the best actress in the first half of 2005 selected by netizens.
In a popularity vote portal site 'Daum' has enforced from late July 6 with a theme, entitled "Who is the best actress in the first half of 2005", actress Kim is running No. 1 with a share of 48% plus the polling score of 15,780.
Netizens said: "Kim Seon-ah gave us pleasant laughs with natural acting as if her performance is a real life, not acting. Follwing 'Sam-soon' Kim Seon-ah and 'Keum-soon' Han Hye-jin, Go Hyeon-jeong, and Kong Hyo-jin are following. This popularity vote runs by July 31.
"My Name is Kim Sam-soon", which hit the airwaves on June 1, recorded nationwide viewer ratings of 30.5 percent (TNS Media Korea) in just four episodes. But on June 30, the program's 10th episode recorded national viewer ratings of a staggering 41.7 percent.
Last year, MBC's "Dae Jang Geum" and SBS's "Lovers in Paris" recorded highs of 57.8 percent and 57.6 percent, respectively, but "My Name is Kim Sam-soon" is the first drama this year to climb above 40 percent.
The syndrome first manifests itself in symptoms of empathy and identification with an entirely fictitious character. Single Korean women in their 20s and 30s are particularly prone to discover themselves in the eponymous heroine.
Sam-soon is lovable because she has so many faults. As another character, Jin-heon the restaurant owner, tells her, "You're attractive. Your charm is that you don't realize you're attractive.'
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