The Matchmakers (TV series)
2023 South Korean television series
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The Matchmakers (Korean: 혼례대첩) is a 2023 South Korean television series starring Rowoon and Cho Yi-hyun. It aired on KBS2 from October 30 to December 25, 2023, every Monday and Tuesday at 21:45 (KST) for 16 episodes.[2] It is also available for streaming on Wavve in South Korea and, on Viki and Viu in selected regions.[4][5]
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| The Matchmakers | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Hangul | 혼례대첩 |
| Hanja | 婚禮大捷 |
| Lit. | Wedding Battle |
| RR | Hollye daecheop |
| MR | Hollye taech'ŏp |
| Genre | |
| Written by | Ha Soo-jin[2] |
| Directed by | |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Park Seung-jin |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Yoon Jae-hyuk (KBS) |
| Producers |
|
| Production companies |
|
| Budget | ₩17.2 billion[3] |
| Original release | |
| Network | KBS2 |
| Release | October 30 – December 25, 2023 |
Synopsis
The series tells the story about a young widower, named Shim Jung-woo, and a young widow, named Jung Soon-deok, joining forces to marry off three unmarried women who represent the problem of "old maids" in Joseon.
Cast
Main
- A Confucian scholar who becomes the youngest person to pass the state civil service examination.
- Cho Yi-hyun as Jung Soon-deok[6]
- A widow and the second daughter-in-law of the Left State Councilor, she secretly works as Yeoju-daek, the best matchmaker and bangmul seller in Hanyang.
Supporting
People around Shim Jung-woo
- Kim Hyun-mok as Kim Oh-bong[7]
- Jung-woo's butler.
- Kim Geon-ho as Yoo Eui-won[7]
- Jung-woo's doctor. He is a member of the State Council.
- Kim Yeon-woo as Shim Myung-woo[8]
- Jung-woo's older brother.
- Lee Sang-gu as Shim Jin-ho[8]
- Jung-woo's father.
People around Jung Soon-deok
- Heo Nam-jun as Jung Soon-gu[9]
- Soon-deok's older brother. He works as a government inspector.
- Bang Eun-jung as Gae Dong-yi[10]
- Soon-deok's maid who supports her double life.
The Left State Councilor's family
- Park Ji-young as Lady Park So-hyeon[6]
- Soon-deok's mother-in-law.
- Lee Hae-young as Jo Yeong-bae[6]
- Soon-deok's father-in-law who is the Left State Councilor.
- Lee Soon-won as Park Bok-ki[11]
- Lady Park's younger brother who is a Minister of Military Affairs.
- The famous daughter of the Jo family and Soon-deok's sister-in-law. She is considered Hanyang's best bride material with a lot of talent.
- Kim Si-woo as Jo Geun-seok[8]
- The son of Soon-deok's deceased elder brother-in-law and the eldest grandson of the Jo family. Currently registered as Soon-deok's son.
- Park Seong-jin as Jo In-hyeon[8]
- The deceased eldest son of the Left State Councilor.
- Yoon Yeo-won as Jo In-guk[8]
- Soon-deok's deceased husband.
- Kim Ga-young as Sam-wol's mother[7]
- The family maid and Lady Park's right-hand woman.
People in the palace
- Jo Han-chul as the King[6]
- King of Joseon and Jung-woo's father-in-law.
- Jin Hee-kyung as the Queen[6]
- The crown prince's mother.
- Hong Dong-young as Lee Jae
- The crown prince.
- Seo Jin-won as Do Seung-ji[11]
- The king's closest right-hand man.
- Park Hyun-jung as Royal Noble Consort Sukbin Park[7]
- Prince Jin-seong's mother and a concubine who was favored by the King.
- Kim Da-heein as Kim Moon-gun[7]
- A minister.
- Park Bok-ki's close aide who is good at literary and martial arts.
- Park Chae-young as Princess Hyojeong
- Jung-woo's deceased wife.
The Maeng family
- Choi Hee-jin as Lady Cho[6]
- Mother of the three Maeng sisters and a former matchmaker.
- Jung Shin-hye as Maeng Ha-na[6]
- The eldest daughter of the Maeng sisters.
- Park Ji-won as Maeng Doo-ri[13]
- The second daughter of the Maeng sisters who is known as Mak De-nyeo (a woman with a harsh tongue) due to her foul mouth.
- Jung Bo-min as Maeng Sam-soon[6]
- The third daughter of Maeng sisters who is a novelist. She disguises herself as a man using the pen name "Hwa Rok".
Groom candidates
- Son Sang-yeon as Lee Si-yeol[11]
- A Sungkyunkwan Confucian student and the eldest grandson of the Sungkyunkwan Daeseong family. He is considered the best groom material in Hanyang.
- Choi Kyung-hoon as Yoon Bu-gyeom[11]
- Jo Ye-jin's first love. He is an only son and orphan who farms with his grandparents.
- Bin Chan-wook as Heo Sook-hyun[8]
- A scholar who dreams of becoming a colonel.
- Jung Woo-jae as Kim Jip[8]
- A romanticist traveling around the eight provinces in search of a woman who will truly love him rather than his family.
- Cho Chang-hee as Jang Chun-bae[8]
- He is using his wealth to find a young bride.
- Go Deok-won as Han Jong-bok[8]
- He has been preparing for the civil service exam for 10 years. He is looking for a bride who can support him well.
People in the Hongwol Gaekju
- Park Hwan-hee as Yeoju-daek[11]
- A merchant who makes and sells makeup. She lives in Hanyang with her daughter.
- Jeong Seung-gil as Hong Cheon-soo[14]
- The owner of Hongwol Gaekju, who sets the trend for Hanyang noble ladies.
- Jeong Yeon as Mrs. Lee[8]
- A member of the Bangmul Merchants.
- Jeong Ji-an as Masan-daek[8]
- A member of the Bangmul Merchants.
- Park Bo-bae as Jonju-daek[8]
- A member of the Bangmul Merchants.
- Lee So-e as Gaeseong-daek[15]
- The youngest member of the Bangmul Merchants.
- Lee Ye-ju as Bok-hee[8]
- Yeoju-daek's daughter.
Others
- Kim Dong-ho as Ahn Dong-gun[11]
- A former sergeant, but nowadays he is a laborer who hunts down runaway slaves.
- Woo Hyun-joo as Lady Jung[7]
- Lee Si-yeol's mother.
- Lee Chang-min as Mae Gol-seung[8]
- A monk at Seonhwasa Temple.
- Jang Hye-jin as Lady Song[8]
- Yang A-reum as Lee Cho-ok[8]
- Maeng Ha-na's friend who supposedly committed suicide. Jung Soon-gu is investigating her death.
Production
Casting
On July 5, 2023, Rowoon and Cho Yi-hyun confirmed their appearances in the series.[16]
Reception
Viewership
The Matchmakers : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)
Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.[17]
| Season | Episode number | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ||
| 1 | 733 | 593 | 696 | 657 | 611 | 633 | N/A | 664 | 728 | 591 | 755 | 739 | 797 | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)[17][18] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | Seoul | ||
| 1 | October 30, 2023 | 4.5% (13th) | 4.2% (12th) |
| 2 | October 31, 2023 | 3.6% (14th) | 3.4% (13th) |
| 3 | November 6, 2023 | 4.0% (17th) | 4.0% (15th) |
| 4 | November 7, 2023 | 3.9% (12th) | 3.7% (13th) |
| 5 | November 13, 2023 | 3.5% (18th) | 3.5% (16th) |
| 6 | November 14, 2023 | 3.7% (13th) | 3.4% (12th) |
| 7 | November 20, 2023 | 3.3% (21st) | 3.6% (16th) |
| 8 | November 27, 2023 | 3.9% (16th) | 4.1% (12th) |
| 9 | November 28, 2023 | 4.1% (12th) | 4.0% (10th) |
| 10 | December 4, 2023 | 3.4% (18th) | 3.4% (16th) |
| 11 | December 5, 2023 | 4.3% (13th) | 4.2% (9th) |
| 12 | December 11, 2023 | 4.3% (16th) | 4.3% (13th) |
| 13 | December 12, 2023 | 4.4% (10th) | 4.6% (9th) |
| 14 | December 18, 2023 | 5% (12th) | N/A |
| 15 | December 19, 2023 | 5% (10th) | |
| 16 | December 25, 2023 | 5.8% (9th) | |
| Average | 4.2% | —[a] | |
| |||
Accolades
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2024 | Technical Award | Ha Ji-hee (Art direction) | Nominated | [19] |
Notes
- Due to multiple unpublished ratings, the exact average rating is unknown.
