My Lovely Sam Soon
I feel like total crap today, and my brain isn't really working. Because of my impaired state, this post is going to be short and sweet. There's a lot I could say about My Lovely Sam Soon, but today is not my day. Don't let the length of this post make you think I'm not completely enamored with this show, or that you shouldn't check it out. I am and you should. But now I have a date with a couple of Excedrin and last night's episode of The Voice. I promise to be my longwinded self tomorrow. My Lovely Sam Soon is a great feel-good drama. It's the kind of drama you want to watch when you've got the sniffles and you're wrapped in a blanket, slurping some soup. While watching My Lovely Sam Soon I was emotionally all over the place - which is a good thing when it comes to romantic comedies. You want to laugh and cry and yell at the TV and then smile when it's all over.
My Lovely Sam Soon is about, you guessed it, a woman named Sam Soon. Sam Soon is a very old-fashioned name, which she hates, and gets mocked for. (I'm not Korean, so the name Sam Soon holds no special meaning for me, so I told myself it was like she was named Mildred. Feel free to borrow that one.) Sam Soon catches her boyfriend cheating on her on Christmas Eve, and promptly dumps him, leaving her single, heartbroken, and unemployed. She's a talented pastry chef, and gets a job in an upscale French restaurant. Unfortunately she's arch enemies with her boss, Jin Hun. Making matters even more complicated, she's in debt, and to earn extra money agrees to pretend to be Jin Hun's girlfriend so his mom will stop bugging him about getting married.
Of course, Sam Soon and Jin Hun develop feelings for each other.
Other things happen, but who cares? The point is, Sam Soon is endearing and adorable. She's a Bridget Jones type - in fact, I think she may have intentionally been based on Bridget Jones. She's entering her 30s, eager to find love, and a little chubster. Of course, this is TV, so they continually talk about how Sam Soon isn't very pretty and is totally fat, when she is clearly beautiful and is only a little soft around the middle. Still, Sam Soon is a character every woman can identify with in some way or another. Sam Soon is one of my all-time favorite kdrama characters. She wears her heart on her sleeve and doesn't take shit from anyone. The rest of the show is great, but it's worth checking out solely for Kim Sun Ah's fantastic portrayal of Kim Sam Soon. And if that doesn't sell you, let me add that when it aired in Korea, My Lovely Sam Soon was so popular, over half the country tuned in for the finale. And there's a reason: It's awesome.
Pronunciation: My Lovely Sam Soon is also known as My Name Is Kim Sam Soon, so to save time and confustion, just call it Sam Soon. But you have to say it "Sam Sooooooon!" like RuPaul says Cameroon.
My Lovely Sam Soon: Free on Hulu or DramaFever