Post by FragrantMemory on Jul 18, 2008 12:26:43 GMT -5
Synopsis:
Life is short... Enjoy it while it lasts.
It’s pointless to waste your life when you won’t be living forever.
Life is long... So live it to the fullest.
What’s the point of living if you can’t have any fun? Having fun is the best medicine.
Anyway, everybody should enjoy life as much as they can. But have you found happiness in your life? Does happiness becomes yours by snatching it away from someone else?
Is happiness only rewarded to the winners in society like a winner’s trophy? Are ordinary folks forced to pursue happiness without ever finding it?
It’s especially hard to deal with a life where you are poor and that affects your relationship with the person you love.
Is that why we break the rules and try to stomp on people to get ahead in life?
No, that’s not right! Being fair and having a clear conscience is more important.
Those are the qualities that make me who I am!
Don’t you want to know what is more important in life than money and success? What kind of happiness will make your heart beat?
Although they have to swallow their pride to make a living by doing any job that comes their way, they are upright people who are working hard to reach their dreams!
This spring, meet a jolly couple.
We introduce you to Mary and Daegu, who will redefine the meaning of happiness.
Young people who live in your neighborhood... People who keep their chins up even though they are poor and live a tough life. A woman who is full of laughter! And a man who shines with happiness!
Meet their friendly neighbors. Try to feel the energy of their enthusiasm. Happiness is derived from hard work! You’ll discover happiness when you begin sharing. Flowers will bloom. Smile! It’s time to be happy with yourself.
Cast:
Lee Ha Na as Hwang Mary
Mary was born on Christmas Eve and so her parents named her after Saint Mary. She is an optimist who always thinks positively. The pet dogs in her neighborhood adore her.
She can handle any kind of job without any hesitation. She takes everything in stride. She eats well, plays well and sleeps well. She barely squeaked by her classes to get a college diploma from a university in Seoul. She worked at a milk company for a year before she was fired. As she was pondering about whether her life was a failure one day, she recalled the days when she was so full of happiness when she went on school picnics and college trips. With vivid memories of those days, she finds a new direction in her life.
She was the happiest when she sang and danced... So now she is pursuing an acting career as a performer in a musical. Is she too confident? Or is she just plain stubborn? She never gives up even after getting rejected at yet another audition for a musical performance. She strongly believes that she has the talent to become a musical performer so she keeps trying to get a foot in the door. Every morning, she takes a morning job to the mineral spring to fetch mineral water for her grandfather. Every night, she practices her acceptance speech for a future acting award that she believes she’ll win someday.
She paints a rosy picture of her future and dreams of the day she’ll steal the show in a musical.
She believes that all the sacrifices she has made will help her become a better stage actress.
Unable to afford jazz dance lessons, flamenco lessons, judo classes, or kung fu classes, she learns as much as she can by spying through the window of the classrooms.
She gradually realizes that she is capable of doing things that she never thought were possible.
Ji Hyun-woo as Kang Dae-gu
He is an obscure writer of epic stories. With a body like an athlete, he has boundless charisma and a huge appetite... As a guy with a wild streak, he is athletic and always full of energy. He can eat his food under any circumstances or in any position. He keeps his shirts tucked in to hide his well-built body. Up close and personal, girls find him charming. Like the main heroes in his epic stories, he tries to be masculine and righteous. But there are too many temptations surrounding him.
Aspiring to become a great man, he went to Mt. Gyerong to train his mind and body but his health began to suffer and during that time, he met a scholar who drew him into the world of epic stories and third-rate martial arts. After reading five epic stories, he decides to make a name for himself as a popular writer but his first epic story based on his master’s life flops and the publishing company he has a contract with goes out of business. He is determined to write one more book as a sequel to his first one and persuades his college friend who owns a publishing company to print it. His sequel contains stories of righteousness and heroism. His friends think he has a laid back personality but in reality, he struggles with many personal difficulties in his life. He has to read at least 3 books a day and do more than a hundred push-ups to finally be able to fall asleep every night.
After renting a tiny room in a poor neighborhood he meets Mary Hwang, a neighbor, while searching for part-time jobs around his home. This is the beginning of his ongoing fight with Mary every day.
Since he reads countless epic stories, his speeches are sprinkled with old Chinese proverbs.
Lee Min-woo as Seon Do-jin
With his cute looks, he is the most popular teacher at Namsan Middle School.
After graduating summa cum laude at a provincial college, he continued his studies at an Ivy League university where he received a master’s degree in English education.
Upon returning to Korea, he becomes a new teacher at a middle school. He is the supervising teacher for the school’s drama club. As a college friend of Kang Dae-gu, he is an upright guy who memorized numerous wise sayings.
Although he has a stellar resume, he bores people to tears with the many proverbs that he sprinkles in his conversation. When people say “apart,” a Koreanized version of apartment, he will correct people and tell them to use the word apartment instead.
He used to go to the same elementary school as Mary Hwang where he was not only the school’s president but was also the most popular kid among the girls. In his elementary school days he is known as a legend for lecturing the school principal to walk on the left side of the hallways according to the rules. He derives satisfaction from guiding people to the right direction in their lives.
When he watched Dead Poets Society, he was inspired to become a teacher like John Keating. He dreams of the day when at least one student in his class will climb onto his or her desk and shout out, “Captain! My captain!”
On his way to pay a visit to Choi Bi-dan’s home to discuss Choi Bi-dan’s poor school attendance with her parents, he meets Mary Hwang at the convenience store where she works at. He feels sorry to see Mary Hwang barely scraping by as she works at the store because she was once the smartest and prettiest kid in school. Instead of paying attention to Mary Hwang because she is a perfect every way, he constantly follows Lee So-ran because he thinks that she needs someone like him the most. He becomes happy after learning that Lee So-ran’s family have problems that require his attention. Does he really believe that he can be a guiding light for so many people?
Wang Bit-na as Lee So-ran
She’s a Paris Hilton wannabe who’ll never come close to the real thing. She is sassy, sexy, and unpredictable like the blond idol she worships. She never wears the same clothes like her idol as well. But she is dissatisfied that she doesn’t look as beautiful as Paris Hilton. She is proud of the fact that she has the most natural looks among woman who went under the knife for plastic surgery. She takes regular trips to her plastic surgeon for enhancements.
She looks different in her class photos from her middle school days to the ones she took in high school. And her looks changed again when she took a photo for her college album. She tried to study abroad in America to meet Paris Hilton and surpass her popularity but she was not allowed to enter American soil because the immigrations officer could not match the photo on her visa with her actual looks. By pure chance, she modeled for a nail clipper maker and she began to portray herself as a celebrity whose main claim to fame was modeling for a nail clipper ad.
Having a bad temper and a foul mouth, she has no patience. She constantly changes her mind to the point of driving people crazy but she defends her irritating personality by saying it is a part of her full range of sensitivities.
When she is under the slightest pressure, she sees a psychiatrist at the drop of a hat and enjoys spending tons of money on therapy.
She has a peculiar preference for certain type of guys. She has exotic hobbies and some things about herself even dumbfound her, too. Perhaps she is suffering from confusion over her identity due to the extensive plastic surgery she has gotten. After her father shaved her hair twice, she vowed to regard her love life as a separate arrangement from her future married life. After promising to herself to never go astray again, she scouts for eligible bachelors by going on arranged dates with rich bachelors and hanging out at upscale clubs that rich men frequent.
And then she met Kang Dae-gu on her third blind date. Kim Dae-gu is a writer of epic stories and Lee So-ran fell in love with his natural charm. She is an obsessive shopper of luxury goods who cannot go without the latest fashion items and so she pursued Kang Dae-gu as if he was another must-have object. She vows to make Dae-gu her boyfriend.
I always get what I want in life. That makes me happy about myself. I will become happier.
Supporting Cast:
Lee Hye Sook as Oh Sung Ja
Ahn Yeon Hong as Jang Eun Ja
Ki Joo Bong as Hwang Do Chul
Kim Joo Young as Hwang Dae Han
Kim Hye Jung as Kim Boo Kil
Im Joo Eun as Lee Ah Moon
Yoon Hyun Sook as Byun Kang Mi
Kwak Ji Min as Choi Bi Dan
Lee Young Joon as Choi Hwang Jae
Lee Ki Yeol as Lee Se Do
Lee Joo Hyun as Me Ri's ex-boyfriend (Guest Star)
Episodes: 16
Year Released: 2007
Other Known Titles:
Married Couple's Attack and Defense Battle
Me Ri, Dae Gu's Attack and Defense Battle
Merry Mary
Website(s):
www.imbc.com/broad/tv/drama/merrydaegu
www.koreanwiz.org/at/drama-marydaegu.html
Director: Go Dong Sun
Writer: Kim In Young
*Credits to: Dramwiki & content.mbc.co.kr *