Hit Korean TV drama 'My Name is Kim Sam Soon' had a down-to-earth, real-life feel
Lee Ji Hae and An Hyo Jae (internews)
Has anyone every really changed you? And how about a TV drama?
One such drama that took Korea by storm has just wrapped up, and it's effects will be felt in the months to come.
"My Name is Kim Sam-soon" was embraced by Korean women from all walks of life who ponder the meaning of life.
What made this drama stand out so much from all others? The main character Sam Soon can relate to most women's situations here, and the actress Kim Seon-ah playing her is not stick thin either.
The drama started with 29-year-old Sam Soon catching her boyfriend having an affair at a hotel. She ends up crying her eyes out in the men's bathroom. A man walks in on her and without a stitch of sympathy accuses her of being a pervert.
This mystery man, Jin Hoon, the male lead of the drama, comes from a rich family and owns a French restaurant, which is where Sam Soon applies for her job to bake cakes.
Although the job interview doesn't go according to plan (she throws her taster cake in Jin Hoon's face) she still lands the job. Sam Soon begins making cakes and chocolates that are filled with love, sorrow and tears -- a symbol of everything going on in her life.
After her shocking break up she feels empty, and turning to food, puts on an extra 7 kilograms. She says, "I'm not crying because of him. I'm crying because of love. I knew that love could be nothing even if it was totally mine".
Throughout the eight-week-long drama, Sam Soon's message is: "Let me vent my mental sufferings". Living as a spinster in Korea increases the burden that older women have to carry in society. However, she doesn't try to hide her anxieties and eccentricities. She remains true to herself.
While watching her life unfold on my television, I gradually came to feel familiar with her and commiserated with her just like I'd do with a friend's petty problems.
In the drama, her name -- Sam Soon -- is a rustic Korean name that most people would be ashamed to have. Throughout the drama she is continually humiliated by having that name and dreams of changing it to something more acceptable. But this all changes when she falls in love.
From the beginning the drama progressively pulled us into her life. It got to be so popular (according to TNS Media Korea, 47.5 percent of Korean households tuned in to the finale on July 21) it was not easy to find people in the streets who had not seen this addictive drama. Her story was spreading from town to town -- and having a positive effect.
Most women were Addicted to her story because they could relate to Sam Soon and her life. She was playing out our story and what we really wanted to vent. As women in our 30s, we were experiencing the same mental stresses, both socially and personally, which were depicted every week.
Much to our surprise, Sam Soon falls in love again -- with Jin Hoon. The two characters build a love-hate relationship, representing the typical Korean couple. The rest, as they say, was history.
She ended her story with this Irish proverb:
"Dance like no one is watching
Love like you've never been hurt
Sing like no one is listening
Work like you don't need the money
Live life every day as if it were your last".
English 
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