Personal Taste

Personal Match

Promotional poster for Personal Taste
Also known as Personal Preference
Genre Romance, Comedy, Drama
Based on Personal Taste 
by Lee Se-in
Written by Kim Hee-ju
Directed by Son Hyung-suk
Noh Jong-chan
Starring Son Ye-jin
Lee Min-ho
Country of origin South Korea
No. of episodes 16
Production
Producer(s) Han Hee
Running time Wednesdays and Thursday at 21:55 (KST)
Broadcast
Original channel Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Original run 31 March 2010 – 20 May 2010
Chronology
Preceded by The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry
Followed by I Live Without Incident
External links
Website
Korean name
Hangul 개인의 취향
Hanja 個人의 趣向
Revised Romanization Kaeinui Chwihyang
McCune–Reischauer Kaein-ŭi Ch‘wihyang

Personal Taste (Hangul: 개인의 취향; hanja: 個人의 趣向; RR: Kaeinui Chwihyang; MR: Kaein-ŭi Ch‘wihyang; lit. "Kae-in's Taste" or "Kae-in's Preference"; also known as Personal Preference) is a 2010 South Korean television series, starring Son Ye-jin and Lee Min-ho. It is adapted from Lee Se-in's 2007 novel of the same name about a furniture designer, Park Kae-in, who lives together with architect Jeon Jin-ho under the mistaken assumption that he's gay.[1][2][3][4][5][6] It aired on MBC from March 31 to May 20, 2010 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 16 episodes.

Plot

Furniture designer Park Kae-in (Son Ye-jin) is kind, impulsive, clumsy, and a complete slob in her personal habits. She lives in Sanggojae (meaning "a place for mutual love"), a modernized hanok (traditional Korean house) designed by her father, a famous and reclusive architecture professor (Kang Shin-il). Naive and trusting, she has been dating longtime boyfriend Han Chang-ryul (Kim Ji-seok) for years despite the fact that he takes her for granted. One day, without so much as a word of explanation, he breaks up with her and all but disappears. Then Kae-in is invited to the wedding of her good friend and roommate Kim In-hee (Wang Ji-hye) and is horrified to discover that the husband-to-be in none other than Chang-ryul; the two had been cheating on her for some time. When she finally comes face-to-face with them, the wedding ceremony breaks out into utter chaos. Kae-in is heartbroken, and determined to never take a chance on a man again.

Meanwhile, to keep his small firm afloat, architect Jeon Jin-ho (Lee Min-ho) is desperately trying to win a project bid for the Dam Art Center against Future Construction, the prestigious company owned and operated by Chang-ryul's father (Ahn Suk-hwan). In order to win the favor of the Dam Art Center director, and win the moneymaking bid, Jin-ho has to find a way to dig up more information about the art center director’s favorite building: Sanggojae, which has never even once been opened to the public.

Knowing that Kae-in would never let a man (let alone a stranger) be her new roommate, the straitlaced (and straight) Jin-ho pretends to be gay to get access to the house — and all the information that he's sure is hidden within. At the same time, the DAC director (Ryu Seung-ryong), who actually is gay, finds himself attracted to Jin-ho. Once they start living together, Jin-ho gradually embarks on a mission to make over the inveterate tomboy/slob, but in all the mayhem of the makeover and hiding his true orientation, the unexpected happens and the perfectionist architect begins to fall in love with Kae-in. What will happen when the man who’s pretending to be gay and the woman who thinks he’s gay develop feelings for each other?[7][8]

Cast

Architecture

One of the production's main sponsors was Design and Arts Arcadia of Myungseung, and the storyline contains many references to DAAM as the project that all the architectural firms are competing to design for.[15]

The hanok used in the drama series (called Sanggojae in the script) is actually Rakgojae, a traditional guest house in Bukchon Hanok Village, Gye-dong, Jongno District. Meaning "a place to enjoy tradition," Rakgojae was renovated by master carpenter Chung Young-jin. It offers a glimpse of the lifestyle of Joseon-era scholars by incorporating fine art, music, dance and poetry through colorful cultural programs such as a tea ceremony, ink-and-wash painting lessons, Korean musical instrument lessons and kimchi-making classes.[16]

One of the locations frequented by the main characters is Kring art gallery, in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. The creative cultural space showcases a variety of arts ranging from architecture and fashion to installations and digital art. The unique facade of the building is itself a large-scale urban sculpture. Circles are a theme throughout the building, but the front wall is reminiscent of stereo speakers, hinting at the name of the building. "Kring" means "circle" in Dutch.[16]

Ratings

Episode # Original broadcast date Average audience share
TNmS Ratings[17] AGB Nielsen[18]
Nationwide Seoul National Capital Area Nationwide Seoul National Capital Area
1 31 March 2010 12.7% 13.7% 12.5% 13.8%
2 1 April 2010 11.4% 11.9% 12.5% 14.2%
3 7 April 2010 12.9% 14.5% 11.5% 13.0%
4 8 April 2010 12.8% 14.0% 10.9% 12.7%
5 14 April 2010 13.0% 14.3% 11.8% 13.6%
6 15 April 2010 12.2% 13.1% 11.1% 12.7%
7 21 April 2010 13.6% 15.1% 11.6% 14.0%
8 22 April 2010 13.0% 13.9% 11.9% 13.2%
9 28 April 2010 14.2% 15.8% 13.1% 15.1%
10 29 April 2010 13.9% 15.0% 12.1% 13.7%
11 5 May 2010 16.2% 17.6% 12.6% 14.4%
12 6 May 2010 14.3% 15.8% 12.3% 14.0%
13 12 May 2010 12.1% 13.1% 10.9% 12.6%
14 13 May 2010 13.2% 14.3% 10.2% 11.8%
15 19 May 2010 12.4% 13.0% 10.7% 12.1%
16 20 May 2010 14.3% 14.9% 11.1% 12.4%
Average 13.3% 14.4% 11.7% 13.3%

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2010
MBC Drama Awards[19]
 Excellence Award, Actor Lee Min-ho Won
Best New Actor Im Seulong Nominated
Popularity Award Lee Min-ho Nominated
Son Ye-jin Nominated
Best Couple Award Lee Min-ho and Son Ye-jin Nominated
GyaO! Awards (Japan)[20][21]
 Best / Most Shared Foreign Drama Personal Taste Won

International broadcast

Despite middling ratings in Korea,[22] overseas rights to Personal Taste were sold to The Philippines,Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand.[23][24]

The series aired in Japan on cable channel KNTV beginning March 31, 2010.[25] Reruns aired on TBS beginning February 16, 2012;[26] it shared the same timeslot with another Lee Min-ho drama City Hunter, which was airing on Fuji TV.[27]

It aired in Malaysia on 8TV dubbed in Mandarin with Malay subtitles, currently on NTV7

It aired in the Middle East on MBC 4 (dubbed as "الذوق الخاص") beginning February 16, 2014.

References

  1. ↑ Hong, Lucia (26 January 2010). "Son Ye-jin to star in new drama with Lee Min-ho". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
  2. ↑ Lynn Kim, Lee Ji-hye (26 March 2010). "Son Ye-jin says relieved Lee Min-ho "not young-looking" (1)". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  3. ↑ Lynn Kim, Lee Ji-hye (26 March 2010). "Son Ye-jin says relieved Lee Min-ho "not young-looking" (2)". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  4. ↑ Yoon, Hee-seong (16 April 2010). "On the set of MBC TV series Personal Taste". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  5. ↑ Yoon, Hee-seong (16 April 2010). "Personal Taste will gain flavor, says Son Ye-jin - Part 1". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  6. ↑ Yoon, Hee-seong (16 April 2010). "Personal Taste will gain flavor, says Son Ye-jin - Part 2". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  7. ↑ "Personal Taste". Korea Tourism Organization. Retrieved 2012-11-13.
  8. ↑ Lee, Ji-hye (26 March 2010). "PREVIEW: MBC TV series Personal Taste". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  9. ↑ Han, Sang-hee (8 February 2010). "Top Actresses Heading Toward Small Screen". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  10. ↑ Han, Sang-hee (30 March 2010). "Younger Men, Power, Money Fill Dramas". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  11. ↑ Kang, Myoung-seok (4 May 2010). "10LINE: Actress Son Ye-jin". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  12. ↑ Garcia, Cathy Rose A. (1 January 2010). "Lee Min-ho to Star in New MBC Drama". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  13. ↑ Ko, Jae-wan (10 May 2010). "STAR DIARY: Lee Min-ho - Part 10". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  14. ↑ Kim, Jessica (12 October 2010). "PIFF: Interview - 2AM member Im Seulong". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  15. ↑ "MBC 수목드라마 '개인의취향' 소재 다암예술원 눈길" (in Korean). Kyeongin Ilbo. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Kang, Michelle (8 August 2011). "Seoul shows its dramatic side". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  17. ↑ "TNMS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNMS Ratings (in Korean). Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  18. ↑ "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  19. ↑ Hong, Lucia (31 December 2010). "Kim Nam-joo, Han Hyo-joo win grand prize at MBC Acting Awards". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  20. ↑ "Personal Taste Wins Best Foreign Drama Award in Japan". Soompi. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  21. ↑ Sunwoo, Carla (21 November 2012). "Personal Taste claims a Japanese award". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  22. ↑ Hong, Lucia (16 April 2010). "No competition for Sister of Cinderella in TV ratings". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  23. ↑ Kim, Lynn (1 April 2010). "Personal Taste already stirring Asia". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  24. ↑ Ko, Jae-wan (29 October 2010). "Lee Min-ho wins more hearts in Asia with Personal Taste". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  25. ↑ http://www.kntv.co.jp/prog/detail/?p=25300
  26. ↑ Hong, Lucia (2 February 2012). "Lee Min-ho, Son Ye-jin TV series to air in Japan this month". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  27. ↑ Ko, Hong-ju (2 February 2012). "City Hunter and Personal Taste to Air in Japan: Lee Min Ho vs. Lee Min Ho?". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2013-08-20.

External links