The Innocent Man (South Korean TV series)
South Korean television series
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The Innocent Man (Korean: 세상 어디에도 없는 착한 남자; RR: Sesang eodiedo eomneun chakhan namja; lit. 'The Nice Guy Never Seen Anywhere in the World') is a 2012 South Korean television series starring Song Joong-ki, Moon Chae-won, and Park Si-yeon. It is known on Netflix as Nice Guy.[3]
| The Innocent Man | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Also known as | Nice Guy[1][2][3] |
| Hangul | 세상 어디에도 없는 착한 남자 |
| RR | Sesang eodiedo eomneun chakhan namja |
| MR | Sesang ŏdiedo ŏmnŭn ch'akhan namja |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Jeong Seong-hyo (KBS Drama) |
| Written by | Lee Kyung-hee |
| Directed by |
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| Starring | |
| Ending theme | |
| Composers |
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| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original languages |
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| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Beak Kyung Soo |
| Producer | Ham Young-hoon |
| Production locations | |
| Cinematography |
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| Camera setup | Multiple-camera setup |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | iHQ |
| Original release | |
| Network | KBS2 |
| Release | 12 September – 15 November 2012 |
It is a dark melodrama involving betrayal and romance.[4][5][6][7] It aired on KBS2 for 20 episodes from September 12 to November 15, 2012.
Synopsis
Smart and promising medical student[8][9] Kang Ma-ru (Song Joong-ki) is deeply in love with his slightly older neighbor Han Jae-hee (Park Si-yeon), a television reporter.[10][11] But when her situation takes a turn for the worse and Jae-hee becomes desperate to escape poverty,[12] she meets a man who changes everything—a rich CEO who introduces her to a life of comfort. So she turns her back on Ma-ru, choosing money over love.[13]
The brutal betrayal leaves Ma-ru fractured—not just angry, but a completely changed man. A few years later, Ma-ru is now 30 years old and works as a bartender and gigolo, no longer a "nice guy."[14] He then meets Seo Eun-gi (Moon Chae-won), a young chaebol heiress who's being groomed to take over her father's conglomerate.[15][16] Eun-gi is cold and calculating, business-savvy, and raised by her father to never show emotion to anyone.[17][18]
Ma-ru decides to take revenge on his ex Jae-hee and bring her down from her position after his sister, Kang Cho-co (Lee Yu-bi) is rushed to the hospital because of Jae-hee. Ma-ru, though initially had no plans as such, uses Eun-gi to take revenge on Jae-hee[19][20] Just when Ma-ru is beginning to love Eun-gi, she finds out the real reason why he approached her and they break up. But a car accident causes Eun-gi to lose her memory, and she enters Ma-ru's life again.[21]
Cast
Main
- Song Joong-ki as Kang Ma-ru
- Kang Chan-hee as young Ma-ru
- A smart but poor medical student who has to look after his little sister without any parents. He was in love Jae-hee but she left him for a rich CEO as she always dreamt of being rich, but she always loved Ma-ru and still harbours feelings for him. Six years after Jae-hee left he became arrogant and a playboy who works as a bartender. He approached Eun-gi as part of his revenge plan against Jae-hee but he started to care for her and eventually fell in love.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]
- Moon Chae-won as Seo Eun-gi
- A rich and arrogant girl but also has a kind-hearted side who does everything to protect her mother's memories who has a troubled relationship with her father and step-mother as she blames them for her mother leaving and her death. She falls for Ma-ru without knowing the real reason he approached her and she suffers a memory loss after landing in a car accident. After her memory loss, she is a much nicer person who searches for clues in order to get her memory returned.[30][31][32]
- Park Si-yeon as Han Jae-hee
- Park So-young as young Jae-hee
- Although she is stone-hearted and loves Ma-ru, she loved money more than Ma-Ru and she left Ma-ru and became the mistress of a CEO and had his son. She and Eun-gi don't get along and she also doesn't care for her and tries to hurt her in many ways. She plans to take over Taesan Company after killing her husband.[33]
Supporting
- Lee Kwang-soo as Park Jae-gil
- Ma-ru's best friend and Choco's lover.[34]
- Lee Yu-bi as Kang Choco
- Han Seo-jin as young Kang Choco
- Lee Sang-yeob as Park Joon-ha
- Eun-gi's secretary and helper who loves and respects her.[38]
- Kim Tae-hoon as Ahn Min-young
- The secretary of the CEO who likes Jae-hee.
- Yang Ik-june as Han Jae-sik
- Jae-hee's older brother who was abusive towards her.
- Kim Yeong-cheol as CEO Seo Jung-gyu
- Eun-gi and Eun-seok's father, who found Jae-hee and took her as his mistress. Although good hearted, he sides with Jae-hee rather than his daughter as Eun-gi is stubborn and acts childish at times. He dies later in the season and gives his property and estate to Eun-gi but before she could be in charge, she lands in a car accident and suffers a memory loss.
- Jin Kyung as Hyun Jung-hwa
- Eun-gi's assistant. After the car accident which caused Eun-gi's memory loss, she took her away and cared for her for a year where nobody could find her.
- Oh Yong as Jo Young-bae
- Jo Hwi-joon as Seo Eun-seok
- Jae-hee and Jung-gyu's son, Eun-gi's 4 year old half-brother. He loves his step-sister despite her rudeness and hatred toward him but after her memory loss, she is unable to remember her hatred for him and instead grows closer to him.
- Kim Ye-won as Kim Yoo-ra[39]
- Oh Hee-joon as Han Jae-shik
- Jo Sung-ha as Dr. Seok Min-hyuk (cameo, ep 1, 12, 20)
- Danny Ahn as Kim Jung-hoon (cameo, ep 2 & 15)[40]
Production
The series is written by Lee Kyung-hee, who previously wrote Will It Snow for Christmas?, Thank You, A Love to Kill, I'm Sorry, I Love You, and Sang Doo! Let's Go to School.[41][42][43]
Kim Jin-won was the director of Drama Special episodes Just an Ordinary Love Story, Crossing the Young-do Bridge, Guardian Angel Kim Yeong-goo, Snail Gosiwon, and The Last Flashman.
The series features real-life friends and former Running Man co-stars Song Joong-ki and Lee Kwang-soo for the first time since Song left the variety show.[44][45][46][47]
Soundtrack
Part 1
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Part 2
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Ratings
Beginning episode 5, the series ranked number one in its timeslot for eight consecutive weeks until its finale.[53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGB Nielsen[61] | TNmS[62] | ||||
| Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | Seoul | ||
| 1 | September 12, 2012 | 10.5% | 11.5% | 10.7% | 10.9% |
| 2 | September 13, 2012 | 9.9% | 11.3% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 3 | September 19, 2012 | 13.8% | 14.5% | 13.9% | 14.6% |
| 4 | September 20, 2012 | 13.3% | 14.2% | 13.8% | 15.4% |
| 5 | September 26, 2012 | 14.0% | 15.7% | 14.5% | 14.8% |
| 6 | September 27, 2012 | 16.0% | 18.1% | 16.0% | 17.8% |
| 7 | October 3, 2012 | 17.3% | 18.6% | 17.9% | 18.6% |
| 8 | October 4, 2012 | 15.1% | 16.6% | 15.0% | 14.4% |
| 9 | October 10, 2012 | 15.3% | 17.3% | 15.8% | 17.3% |
| 10 | October 11, 2012 | 14.9% | 15.7% | 16.2% | 17.3% |
| 11 | October 17, 2012 | 14.3% | 15.3% | 15.0% | 16.5% |
| 12 | October 18, 2012 | 15.1% | 15.7% | 16.4% | 17.0% |
| 13 | October 24, 2012 | 17.1% | 18.8% | 18.2% | 18.7% |
| 14 | October 25, 2012 | 16.7% | 18.4% | 18.5% | 19.6% |
| 15 | October 31, 2012 | 18.3% | 20.6% | 17.1% | 17.6% |
| 16 | November 1, 2012 | 17.1% | 18.8% | 18.8% | 19.8% |
| 17 | November 7, 2012 | 16.2% | 16.4% | 18.2% | 19.6% |
| 18 | November 8, 2012 | 18.2% | 19.7% | 16.8% | 18.1% |
| 19 | November 14, 2012 | 17.9% | 19.3% | 18.5% | 19.9% |
| 20 | November 15, 2012 | 18.0% | 19.4% | 18.6% | 20.2% |
| Average | 15.3% | 16.8% | 16.1% | 17.0% | |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 20th Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor | Song Joong-ki | Won | [63] |
| Top Excellence Award, Actor | Song Joong-ki | Won | [64] | ||
| Excellence Award, Actress | Moon Chae-won | Nominated | |||
| Best Couple Award | Song Joong-ki and Moon Chae-won | Won | [65] | ||
| Netizens' Award | Song Joong-ki | Won | |||
| Moon Chae-won | Won | ||||
| Best New Actress | Lee Yu-bi | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Lee Kwang-soo | Nominated | |||
| Lee Sang-yeob | Nominated | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress | Jin Kyung | Nominated | |||
| Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length Drama | Song Joong-ki | Nominated | |||
| Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-length Drama | Moon Chae-won | Nominated | |||
| Park Si-yeon | Nominated | ||||
| Top Excellence Award, Actor | Song Joong-ki | Won | |||
| Top Excellence Award, Actress | Moon Chae-won | Won | |||
| 2013 | Best New Actress (TV) | Lee Yu-bi | Nominated | [66] | |
| 20's Booming Star - Female | Lee Yu-bi | Nominated | |||
| 8th Seoul International Drama Awards | Outstanding Korean Drama OST | "Love Is Like a Snowflake" - Junsu | Nominated | ||
| "Really" - Song Joong-ki | Nominated | ||||
| Outstanding Korean Actor | Song Joong-ki | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Korean Actress | Moon Chae-won | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Korean Drama | The Innocent Man | Nominated |
Remakes
- Günahkar (transl. "Sinner"), starring Seçkin Özdemir, Gülcan Arslan, Hazal Filiz Küçükköse, and Korel Cezayirli, is a Turkish remake that aired on Fox TV beginning November 5, 2014.[69] However, it ended with its 7th episode due to low ratings, causing in an unfinished and unresolved ending.