''Hello Franceska'' () is a South Korean

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

that aired on MBC from 2005 to 2006 on Sundays at 23:00 for three seasons. The first and second seasons aired from January 24 to August 1, 2005 for 29 episodes. The third season, with new cast members, aired from September 9, 2005 to February 27, 2006 for 23 episodes. The ''

Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over a ...

''-inspired show became a

cult hit A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. A ...

. At the 41st

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspap ...

in 2005, ''Hello Franceska'' won Best Entertainment Program and Best Female Variety Performer for Park Hee-jin. It was later adapted into a 2006 animated film titled ''Ani Francesca'' (

voiced Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds (usually consonants). Speech sounds can be described as either voiceless (otherwise known as ''unvoiced'') or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer ...

by some of the original actors), and a 2008

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

titled ''Hi Franceska''.

Plot

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, 2005. The last of the

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

families on earth are sent by their leader to different places all over the world, and told to hide themselves and live among humans until "the glory of their empire" is restored. However, a group of vampires heading for

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

takes the wrong ship and arrives in Korea. They run into Doo-il, a timid and unlucky

salaryman In Japan, a is a salaried worker. In Japanese popular culture, this is embodied by a white-collar worker who shows overriding loyalty and commitment to the corporation where he works. Salarymen are expected to work long hours, to put in addit ...

in his forties who's just been rejected by the woman he loves. One of the vampires, Franceska, bites him by mistake and he becomes one of them. They promise Doo-il that they will turn him back into a human on the day their leader comes to find them; meanwhile, they have to live with him. Left with no other choice, Doo-il reluctantly agrees. Disguised as a family of five, Doo-il and the vampires start new lives in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

. There's Franceska, who acts as Doo-il's wife, with the other three, Elizabeth, Kyeon and Sophia as their fake children. Franceska is a 500-year-old vampire descended from one of the most prestigious vampire families; she is cynical, sophisticated, and seemingly cold, but later becomes addicted to gambling ( horse racing,

Go-Stop Go-Stop (), also called Godori (, after the winning move in the game) is a Korean fishing card game played with a Hwatu () deck. The game can be called Matgo () when only two players are playing. The game is derived from similar Japanese fishi ...

). Pretty and stylish Elizabeth gets a job at a trendy boutique and searches for her perfect mate by dating an endless string of men. Kyeon survived on chicken blood during the worst famine in vampire history, which damaged his brain and made him simple-minded. 1,875-year-old Sophia is the oldest among the four vampires, but trapped in the body of a teenage girl. The vampires find human life alternately odd and fascinating, and as Doo-il constantly worries about everything, they eventually warm to his kind heart.

Cast

Seasons 1-2

Shim Hye-jin Shim Hye-jin (born February 6, 1967) is a South Korean actress and model. She was one of the leading actresses of the 1990s in South Korea. Shim started her career as a model and achieved stardom with a Coca-Cola commercial in the late 1980s. D ...

as Franceska *Lee Doo-il as Doo-il *

Jung Ryeo-won Jung Ryeo-won (born January 21, 1981) is a South Korean-born Korean Australian actress. She began her entertainment career as a singer in the now-defunct girl group Chakra, and first rose to fame in the hit television series '' My Name Is Kim S ...

as Elizabeth *Lee Kyeon as Kyeon *Park Seul-gi as Sophia * Park Hee-jin as Ahn Sung-daek *

Shin Hae-chul Shin Hae-chul (Hangul: 신해철; May 6, 1968 – October 27, 2014) was a South Korean singer-songwriter and record producer known for being a pioneer of Korean experimental rock music. He was referred to by fans as the "Demon Lord" or "The Dev ...

as Andre *Chang Kwang-hyo as Jang Saem *Kim Won-chul as Kim Won-chul *Lee Su-na as Lee Su-na *

Lee Sa-bi Lee Sa-bi (born Lee Eon-jeong on July 3, 1977) is a South Korean model and actress. She began her modelling career as a runway model in Daegu in 1998. Lee was the first native Korean to become a Playboy model. Her nude photo shoot was published i ...

as Victoria ( guest, episode 21) *

Daniel Henney Daniel Phillip Henney (born November 28, 1979) is an American actor and model. He first came into international prominence with his television debut as Dr. Henry Kim on the Korean drama ''My Lovely Sam Soon'' (2005). He has gone on to star in f ...

as Elizabeth's first love ( guest, episodes 47-48)

Season 3

as Franceska *

Kim Soo-mi Kim Soo-mi (born Kim Young-ok on September 3, 1949) is a South Korean actress. She has had a prolific career in film and television. Kim debuted in a talent contest in 1970, then shot to fame in ''Country Diaries''. The landmark TV series aired f ...

as Isabella * Kang Doo as Daniel *

Hyun Young Hyun Young (born Yoo Hyun-young on September 6, 1976) is a South Korean entertainer. She has worked as a model, TV show host, actress, singer, instructor for Public relations and Personal Financial Planning at colleges, companies. Educated at ...

as Diana *Park Seul-gi as Sophia * Lee In-sung as In-sung *

Yeo Woon-kay Yeo is a Chinese, English, and Korean surname. Origins As an English surname, Yeo is a toponymic surname meaning "river", either for people who lived near one of the Rivers Yeo, or any river in general. The word comes from Old English , via sou ...

as Woon-kye *Yoo Tae-woong as Casanova * Kim Chang-ryeol as Carlos *Kim Do-hyang as Do-hyang *Choi Kyu-hwan as ( guest) *Jung Ji-in as In-sung's friend at the academy ( guest) *Jung Ga-eun as ( guest) *

Lee Hwi-jae Lee Hwi-jae (born Lee Young-jae on December 29, 1972) is a South Korean TV presenter, comedian, actor, and singer. Lee studied theater at the Seoul Institute of the Arts, then made his TV debut in 1992 as a comedian after working as a floor dir ...

as ( guest)

References

External links