Merry Mary
MBC (2007) 16 Episodes
Romantic Comedy, Grade: B+
Korean Drama Review by Winnie, USA
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Available to watch on VIKI, Merry Mary (2007) is sixteen episodes of pure fun. There aren't too many typical Korean drama cliches in the story, it's too original for that, which was a surprise to me. I think they were trying to break new ground for rom coms in Korea.
The drama stars a quite young actress Lee Ha Na (Alone In Love, Voice, A Piece Of Your Mind) and cute actor Ji Hyun Woo (Queen In Hyun's Man, Awl, Trot Lovers). Second lead characters were played by actor Lee Min Woo (The Princess' Man, The Story Of Park's Marriage Contract) and actress Wang Bit Na (Healer). The drama was written by Kim Min Young and directed by Ko Dong Sun.
The Story:
Our lead female character Mary Hwang (Lee Ha Na) was named Mary because she was born on Christmas Eve. She is an upbeat person who yearns to be a theater actress majoring in musicals because she is happiest when she is singing and dancing. Although she has failed numerous theater auditions she patiently waits for her big break, feeling confident that it will come someday.
One day Kang Dae Gu (Ji Hyun Woo), who is an unknown martial arts aficionado and wannabe best selling novelist, meets Mary by chance on a common bus route and becomes attracted to her complex yet vibrant spirit. Despite his fuzzy Bohemian hair style Dae Gu is a sexy and charismatic person, from his facial appearance to his strong physical strength, but Mary isn't too impressed with him -- at first. They argue quite a bit as they get to know one another.
Then little by little they fall in love and start to support one another in their professional goals. Not surprisingly they eventually experience more success once they are a team. Their mutual friends Seon Do Jin (Lee Min Woo) and Lee So Ran (Wang Bit Na) become happier too when they see the couple growing closer.
As the story progresses, the audience begins to like and understand the characters more, in spite of themselves. Mary becomes a more sympathetic and serious character and Dae Gu quickly proves himself to be a decent guy who's just struggled to find his way in life.
The story itself is a very self conscious one, poking fun at its characters and joyfully placing them in awkward situations for the viewers' entertainment and amusement. The drama does take itself a little too seriously in the last few episodes, wallowing in a little too much pathos in regard to plot points that didn't need to be such a big deal (especially considering the comedy of some of the drama's earlier events). However it's otherwise a good solid romantic comedy drama that's likely to give you some pretty big belly laughs at times.
My recommendation for those thinking about watching Merry Mary is to not take anything in this drama too seriously, because you're definitely not meant to. Just go with the flow, and have fun with it. The actors have nice chemistry and the romance makes sense considering their characters' basic quirky personalities.
