Successful Story of a Bright Girl

Successful Story of a Bright Girl (Hangul: 명랑소녀 성공기; RR: Myeongrangsonyeo Seonggonggi) is a 2002 South Korean television series starring Jang Na-ra, Jang Hyuk, Han Eun-jung and Ryu Soo-young. It aired on SBS from March 13 to May 2, 2002 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 16 episodes.^[1][2] The romantic comedy series recorded a peak viewership rating of 42.6%.^[3]

Plot

Cha Yang-soon is a simple girl living in the countryside with her grandmother. She spends most of her time dreaming of someday meeting her Prince Charming; in her fantasy, she saves him from harm with her martial arts skills, and they live happily ever after. Han Gi-tae is the spoiled and arrogant president of a successful makeup company, Snowy Cosmetics. While in the country on business, Gi-tae goes parachuting and accidentally falls straight into Yang-soon's outdoor bathtub while she's taking a bath, and it's hate at first sight for the two.

Soon, dire circumstances impel Yang-soon to move to the city in search of a job that will allow her to settle her parents' massive financial debts. To earn all the necessary cash, she becomes a maid for a wealthy family and moves into their house. At her new job, she comes face-to-face with Gi-tae, who happens to be one of her employers. At first Yang-soon has trouble adjusting to city life; she gets bullied at school and doesn't get along with Gi-tae's girlfriend Yoon Na-hee. But she soon makes friends with siblings Song Seok-gu and Hwang Bo-bae; Bo-bae becomes her best friend, and Seok-gu seems attracted to her. Also, the short-tempered Gi-tae slowly warms up to her as Yang-soon teaches him a thing or two about manners with her folksy, down-to-earth, no-nonsense approach to life.

But things take a serious turn when Gi-tae, the heir of the family business, finds himself betrayed by a pair of duplicitous family members: his rival and cousin Oh Joon-tae, and Joon-tae's father. Their behind-the-scenes intrigues lead to Gi-tae's professional downfall. Distraught by the situation and suddenly penniless, Gi-tae has no one to turn to except Yang-soon. She teaches him to stand on his own two feet, and with hard work and creativity, gain back everything he's lost.

Cast

• Jang Na-ra as Cha Yang-soon^[4]
• Jang Hyuk as Han Gi-tae
• Han Eun-jung as Yoon Na-hee
• Ryu Soo-young as Oh Joon-tae
• Yoon Tae-young as Song Seok-gu
• Choo Ja-hyun as Hwang Bo-bae
• Jung Min as Young-chan, Gi-tae's friend
• Oh Seung-eun as Jin-joo, Na-hee's friend
• Lee Hye-sook as Moon Jung-im, Na-hee's mother
• Hong Yo-seob as Director Oh, Joon-tae's father
• Kwon Hae-hyo as Chief Joo, product development chief
• Choi Yong-min as Chief of public relations
• Lee Seung-hyung as Assistant chief of public relations
• Kim Young-ok as Yang-soon's grandmother
• Park Soon-chun as Yang-soon's mother
• Jo Hyung-ki as Yang-soon's father

Awards

2002 SBS Drama Awards

• Top Excellence Award, Actor: Jang Hyuk
• Top 10 Stars: Jang Na-ra, Jang Hyuk
• New Star Award: Ryu Soo-young, Han Eun-jung

2003 Baeksang Arts Awards

• Best New Actress (TV): Jang Na-ra

Remake

A 2011 Taiwanese remake titled Sunny Girl (陽光天使; lit. "Sunshine Angel") starred Rainie Yang and Wu Chun in the lead roles.

An Indonesian remake was titled I Love You, Boss!.

References

External links

• Successful Story of a Bright Girl official SBS website (Korean)
• Successful Story of a Bright Girl at HanCinema
• Successful Story of a Bright Girl at the Internet Movie Database