Life Is Beautiful (South Korean TV series)
2010 South Korean television series
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Life Is Beautiful (Korean: 인생은 아름다워) is a 2010 South Korean television series starring Song Chang-eui, Lee Sang-woo, Lee Sang-yoon and Nam Sang-mi. It aired on SBS TV from March 20 to November 7, 2010 on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:45 for 63 episodes.
| Life Is Beautiful | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Also known as | Beautiful Life |
| Hangul | 인생은 아름다워 |
| Hanja | 人生은 아름다워 |
| RR | Insaengeun areumdawo |
| MR | Insaengŭn arŭmdawŏ |
| Genre | Romance Drama Family |
| Written by | Kim Soo-hyun |
| Directed by | Jung Eul-young |
| Starring | Song Chang-eui Lee Sang-woo Lee Sang-yoon Nam Sang-mi |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 63 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Choi Jang-won |
| Producers |
|
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | SBS TV |
| Release | 20 March – 7 November 2010 |
Aside from scoring high ratings that were in the mid-twenty range during its run, the series is notable for its sensitive portrayal of a loving, openly gay couple in a Korean drama on primetime network television.[1][2][3][4][5] Although the approach to homosexual themes is quite sympathetic, it has been argued that "major changes in the last episodes of 'Life is Beautiful' were made due to the strong opposition towards the issue," and that there are "no kissing scenes between the main actors in 'Life is Beautiful' in the midst of endless kissing scenes in other K-dramas that depict heterosexual couples."[6]
Plot
Set in Jeju, the drama revolves around a loving, multi-generation family led by the parents Yang Byung-tae (Kim Yeong-cheol) and Kim Min-jae (Kim Hae-sook), and their four children Tae-sub (Song Chang-eui), Ji-hye (Woo Hee-jin), Ho-sub (Lee Sang-yoon) and Cho-rong (Nam Gyu-ri), as well as assorted grandparents and uncles. The story follows the family's everyday lives and conflicts, including oldest daughter Ji-hye's marital problems with her husband Soo-il (Lee Min-woo); younger son Ho-sub's pursuit of his mother's assistant, Yeon-joo (Nam Sang-mi); and oldest son Tae-sub's romantic pairing with divorced professor Kyung-soo (Lee Sang-woo), whose homosexual relationship their families react to while addressing issues of personal, social, and familial acceptance, leading to, finally, love and understanding.[7][8]
Cast
- Yang family
- Kim Yong-rim as Byung-tae's mother
- Choi Jung-hoon as Byung-tae's father
- Kim Yeong-cheol as Yang Byung-tae
- Kim Hae-sook as Kim Min-jae
- Kim Sang-joong as Yang Byung-joon
- Yoon Da-hoon as Yang Byung-kil
- Song Chang-eui as Yang Tae-sub[9][10][11]
- Lee Sang-yoon as Yang Ho-sub
- Nam Gyu-ri as Yang Cho-rong
- Lee family
- Lee Min-woo as Lee Soo-il
- Woo Hee-jin as Yang Ji-hye
- Jung Da-bin as Lee Ji-na
- Park family
- Lee Sang-hoon as Mr. Park
- Jo Mi-ryung as Yang Soo-ja
- Kang Yi-seok as son
- Extended cast
- Chang Mi-hee as Jo Ah-ra
- Nam Sang-mi as Boo Yeon-joo
- Lee Sang-woo as Kim Kyung-soo
- Yoo Min as Chae-young
- Kim Woo-hyun as Hyun-jin
- Lee Kyun as Dong-geun
- Bang Eun-hee as Jo Nam-shik
- Im Ye-jin as Ji-hye's aunt (cameo)
- Han Jin-hee as Min-jae's ex-husband (cameo)
- Kim Jung-hwa as Woo Geum-ji (cameo)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 3rd Korea Drama Awards | Best Drama | Life Is Beautiful | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Kim Hae-sook | Won | |||
| SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Weekend/Daily Drama | Kim Yeong-cheol | Nominated | [12] | |
| Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Weekend/Daily Drama | Kim Yong-rim | Nominated | |||
| Excellence Award, Actor in a Weekend/Daily Drama | Song Chang-eui | Won | |||
| Best Supporting Actor in a Weekend/Daily Drama | Yoon Da-hoon | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress in a Weekend/Daily Drama | Nam Sang-mi | Nominated | |||
| New Star Award | Nam Gyu-ri | Won | |||
| 2011 | 47th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Director (TV) | Jung Eul-yong | Nominated | |
| Best New Actress (TV) | Nam Gyu-ri | Nominated | |||
Episode ratings
| Date | Episode | Seoul Area | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-03-20 | 1 | 12.3% (10th) | 12.5% (9th) |
| 2010-03-21 | 2 | 12.6% (10th) | 12.2% (10th) |
| 2010-03-27 | 3 | 14.3% (7th) | 15.1% (7th) |
| 2010-03-28 | 4 | 14.8% (7th) | 15.2% (7th) |
| 2010-04-03 | 5 | 15.2% (5th) | 15.6% (3rd) |
| 2010-04-04 | 6 | 16.0% (4th) | 17.2% (3rd) |
| 2010-04-10 | 7 | 17.9% (4th) | 19.0% (4th) |
| 2010-04-11 | 8 | 16.9% (4th) | 17.6% (4th) |
| 2010-04-17 | 9 | 15.7% (3rd) | 16.8% (3rd) |
| 2010-04-18 | 10 | 16.4% (3rd) | 17.6% (3rd) |
| 2010-04-24 | 11 | 17.3% (4th) | 18.1% (4th) |
| 2010-04-25 | 12 | 17.9% (3rd) | 18.9% (3rd) |
| 2010-05-01 | 13 | 17.5% (3rd) | 19.2% (3rd) |
| 2010-05-02 | 14 | 17.9% (4th) | 18.6% (4th) |
| 2010-05-08 | 15 | 17.2% (3rd) | 17.9% (3rd) |
| 2010-05-09 | 16 | 18.5% (4th) | 19.3% (4th) |
| 2010-05-15 | 17 | 14.4% (2nd) | 14.9% (2nd) |
| 2010-05-16 | 18 | 17.6% (4th) | 18.3% (4th) |
| 2010-05-22 | 19 | 18.0% (4th) | 18.9% (4th) |
| 2010-05-23 | 20 | 18.6% (4th) | 19.3% (4th) |
| 2010-05-29 | 21 | 21.8% (3rd) | 22.1% (3rd) |
| 2010-05-30 | 22 | 17.9% (6th) | 18.5% (6th) |
| 2010-06-05 | 23 | 19.7% (4th) | 20.1% (4th) |
| 2010-06-06 | 24 | 20.3% (4th) | 21.2% (4th) |
| 2010-06-27 | 25 | 17.6% (3rd) | 18.0% (3rd) |
| 2010-07-03 | 26 | 17.5% (2nd) | 18.1% (2nd) |
| 2010-07-04 | 27 | 20.3% (2nd) | 21.0% (2nd) |
| 2010-07-10 | 28 | 19.6% (3rd) | 20.6% (3rd) |
| 2010-07-11 | 29 | 20.9% (4th) | 21.4% (2nd) |
| 2010-07-17 | 30 | 21.7% (3rd) | 22.5% (3rd) |
| 2010-07-18 | 31 | 21.5% (3rd) | 21.6% (3rd) |
| 2010-07-24 | 32 | 20.0% (3rd) | 20.5% (2nd) |
| 2010-07-25 | 33 | 21.2% (3rd) | 21.7% (3rd) |
| 2010-07-31 | 34 | 20.1% (1st) | 20.4% (2nd) |
| 2010-08-01 | 35 | 19.7% (4th) | 20.0% (4th) |
| 2010-08-07 | 36 | 20.1% (4th) | 20.6% (3rd) |
| 2010-08-08 | 37 | 20.2% (4th) | 20.7% (4th) |
| 2010-08-14 | 38 | 21.8% (3rd) | 22.2% (3rd) |
| 2010-08-15 | 39 | 21.9% (4th) | 21.6% (4th) |
| 2010-08-21 | 40 | 22.3% (2nd) | 22.6% (3rd) |
| 2010-08-22 | 41 | 22.1% (4th) | 23.0% (4th) |
| 2010-08-28 | 42 | 22.5% (2nd) | 23.1% (2nd) |
| 2010-08-29 | 43 | 22.7% (4th) | 23.5% (4th) |
| 2010-09-04 | 44 | 22.8% (2nd) | 23.9% (1st) |
| 2010-09-05 | 45 | 23.3% (4th) | 23.9% (3rd) |
| 2010-09-11 | 46 | 22.7% (2nd) | 23.3% (2nd) |
| 2010-09-12 | 47 | 23.9% (4th) | 24.5% (3rd) |
| 2010-09-18 | 48 | 23.6% (2nd) | 24.6% (2nd) |
| 2010-09-19 | 49 | 23.4% (3rd) | 24.2% (3rd) |
| 2010-09-25 | 50 | 21.3% (3rd) | 22.2% (3rd) |
| 2010-09-26 | 51 | 25.7% (3rd) | 26.5% (3rd) |
| 2010-10-02 | 52 | 20.7% (2nd) | 20.9% (2nd) |
| 2010-10-03 | 53 | 20.5% (4th) | 20.7% (4th) |
| 2010-10-09 | 54 | 18.9% (3rd) | 19.5% (4th) |
| 2010-10-10 | 55 | 19.4% (4th) | 19.6% (5th) |
| 2010-10-16 | 56 | 19.7% (2nd) | 19.8% (2nd) |
| 2010-10-17 | 57 | 20.3% (4th) | 21.0% (4th) |
| 2010-10-23 | 58 | 18.6% (3rd) | 19.2% (3rd) |
| 2010-10-24 | 59 | 20.1% (3rd) | 20.1% (2nd) |
| 2010-10-30 | 60 | 20.0% (3rd) | 20.8% (3rd) |
| 2010-10-31 | 61 | 20.0% (4th) | 20.3% (4th) |
| 2010-11-06 | 62 | 17.0% (2nd) | 17.5% (2nd) |
| 2010-11-07 | 63 | 20.6% (3rd) | 21.3% (3rd) |
| Average | 19.4% | - | |
Source: TNS Media Korea