''Miss Korea'' () is a South Korean television series starring

Lee Sun-kyun Lee Sun-kyun (born March 2, 1975) is a South Korean actor. After beginning his career in musical theatre, for many years Lee was relegated to minor and supporting roles onscreen, only getting to play lead characters in one-act dramas on KBS ''D ...

Lee Yeon-hee Lee Yeon-hee (born January 9, 1988) is a South Korean actress. She is most known for her work in the television series '' East of Eden'' (2008), ''Phantom'' (2012), ''Miss Korea'' (2013), '' The Package'' (2017); and in the films ''A Millionair ...

Lee Mi-sook Lee Mi-sook (born April 2, 1960) is a South Korean actress. One of the best-known actresses of 1980s Korean cinema, Lee's most famous films from this era include Bae Chang-ho's ''Whale Hunting'' and ''The Winter That Year Was Warm'', Lee Doo-yong ...

, Lee Sung-min,

Song Seon-mi A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

, and

Lee Ki-woo Lee Ki-woo (born October 23, 1981) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in '' The Classic'' (2003), ''Tale of Cinema'' (2005), ''A Love to Kill'' (2005), ''Flower Boy Ramyun Shop'' (2011), '' Rain or Shine'' (2017–2018), and ...

. It aired on MBC from December 18, 2013, to February 26, 2014, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.

Plot

Set in the year 1997, a cosmetics company is in bad financial shape during the IMF crisis, so to save the company, Hyung-joon along with his fellow employees attempt to make 25-year-old Ji-young into

Miss Korea Miss Korea ( ko, 미스코리아) is a national beauty pageant in South Korea. Lee Seung-hyeon won the title on October 26, 2022. History The first Miss Korea competition took place in 1957 and was sponsored by the Korean newspaper Hankook I ...

, a nationwide beauty pageant winner. Back in their high school days, Ji-young was the most beautiful and popular girl on campus, but she now works as an elevator girl.

Cast

Main

as Oh Ji-young :25 years old, "Dream" department store elevator girl. She was Kim Hyung-joon's junior in high-school and his first love. *

as Kim Hyung-joon :29 years old, president of ViVi cosmetics, who has huge debt to loan sharks (for his cosmetics factory) and additionally needs money for launch new developed product of his company - BB cream. *

as Ma Ae-ri :54 years old, ex-Miss Korea, owner of Queen Beauty Salon, coach of future Miss Korea. * Lee Sung-min as Jung Seon-saeng :39 years old, gangster working for loan shark. He is assigned to Kim Hyung-joon to ensure collecting debt from him. His given name (Seon-saeng) means ''teacher'' in Korean. Because of that, his full name sounds like family name with title (teacher Jung). *

as Go Hwa-jung :31 years old, chief researcher of ViVi cosmetics. *

as Lee Yoon :29 years old, investment agent of M&A company Human Partners Korea. He was Kim Hyung-joon's classmate in high-school.

Supporting

Queen Beauty Salon

Ko Sung-hee Ko Sung-hee (; born June 21, 1990) is a South Korean actress. She played her first leading role in the fantasy-period drama ''Diary of a Night Watchman ''Diary of a Night Watchman'' () is a 2014 South Korean television series starring Jung Il ...

as Kim Jae-hee, Miss Korea candidate, coached by Queen Beauty Salon. Daughter of congressman Kim Sung-chul. *Heo Seung-jae as Yoon Sil-jang, Ma Ae-ri's assistant *Park Guk-sun as Choi Soo-yeon, Miss Korea candidate, coached by Queen Beauty Salon. * Kang Tae-oh as Ma Ae-ri's son

Cherry Beauty Salon

*Hong Ji-min as Yang Choon-ja, owner of Cherry Beauty Salon. Ma Ae-ri's ex-assistant who become her rival. *

Kang Han-na Kang Han-na（ ko, 강한나; born January 30, 1989) is a South Korean actress. Kang played several lead roles in films and television series, including '' Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo'' (2016), '' Rain or Shine'' (2017), ''Familiar Wife'' (2 ...

as Im Seon-joo, Miss Korea candidate, coached by Cherry Beauty Salon. *

Ha Yeon-joo Ha Yeon-Joo (born August 6, 1987) is a South Korean actress. She is also a member of Mensa International. Personal life Ha prepared to marry a non-celebrity boyfriend. They are scheduled to marry on June 20, 2021. Filmography Television ser ...

as Shin Sun-young, Miss Korea candidate, coached by Cherry Beauty Salon.

ViVi Cosmetics

Oh Jung-se Oh Jung-se (born February 26, 1977) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series ''Missing 9'' (2017), '' When the Camellia Blooms'' (2019), ''Hot Stove League'' (2019), and ''It's Okay to Not Be Okay'' (2020) ...

as Kim Heung-sam, planning director of ViVi cosmetics *Choi Jae-hwan as Kim Kang-woo, researcher of ViVi cosmetics *Jo Sang-ki as Kim Kang-shik, director of BaDa cosmetics, Kim Kang-woo's older brother

Oh Ji-young's family

Jang Yong Jang Yong (born April 8, 1945) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Television series *''Hold Me Tight'' (MBC, 2018) *''Our Gap-soon'' (SBS, 2016-2017) *''Five Enough'' (KBS2, 2016) *'' Flower of Queen'' (MBC, 2015) *''Miss Korea'' (MBC, 2013) ...

as Oh Jong-goo, Oh Ji-young's grandfather *Jung Kyu-soo as Oh Myun-sang, Oh Ji-young's father *Jung Suk-yong as Oh Woong-sang, Oh Ji-young's uncle *

Baek Bong-ki Baek Bong-ki (born December 16, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the noir film ''Once Upon a Time in High School'' (2004) and the military sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational come ...

as Oh Ji-seok, Oh Ji-young's brother

"Dream" department store

*Jang Won-young as Department head Park *Yoo Eun-ho as Jung Eun-ah, "Dream" department store elevator girl * Kim Ye-won as Lee Young-sun, "Dream" department store elevator girl *

Park Ha-na Park Ha-na (born July 25, 1985) is a South Korean actress. Park made her entertainment debut in 2003 as a member of the idol group FUNNY. Since then, she has turned to acting and was in the lead role in ''Apgujeong Midnight Sun'' (2014). Career ...

as Han So-jin, "Dream" department store elevator girl *

Moon Ji-in Moon Ji-in (born Moon Ji-eun on March 1, 1986) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her role in the 2016 SBS television series '' The Doctors''. Career On February 3, 2012, Moon signed an exclusive contract with Entertainment TONG. ...

as Kim Yoo-ra, "Dream" department store elevator girl

Others

*Go In-beom as congressman Kim Sung-chul, Kim Jae-hee's father *

Im Ye-jin Im Ye-jin (born Im Ki-hee on January 24, 1960) is a South Korean actress. As a teenage actress, she reached the peak of her popularity in the 1970s with the "Really Really" film trilogy, which include '' Never Forget Me'', '' I Am Really Sorry'' ...

as Go Bong-hee, Kim Hyung-joon's mother *Jung Seung-kil as President Hwang, loan shark *

Oh Min-ae Oh Min-ae is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as '' Mr. Sunshine'', ''My Liberation Notes'', '' The Penthouse: War in Life'' and '' Blind''. She also appeared in movies '' The Running Actress'', ''Memento Mori ...

as Director Choi *

Jung So-min Jung So-min (; born Kim Yoon-ji on March 16, 1989) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 2010 with a supporting role in the television series ''Bad Guy''. She is known for her leading role in her 2010 TV series ''Playful Kiss'', ...

as gas station attendant whom Ma Ae-ri targets to become Miss Korea 1998 ( cameo, ep 20)

Ratings

In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Original soundtrack

Awards and nominations

International broadcast

* It aired in Japan on cable channel KNTV beginning July 12, 2014. * It aired in Thailand on

PPTV PPTV () is a Chinese video streaming website. Its predecessor, PPLive, was peer-to-peer streaming video freeware created at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, Hubei Province. The group of companies that runs the websi ...

beginning April 16, 2015, dubbed as ''Kerd Ma Pen Dao''. (''"เกิดมาเป็นดาว"'', literally: ''Born to be a Star''). * It aired in Vietnam on

VTV3 VTV3 is a Vietnamese television channel operated and owned by government-owned Vietnam Television. Launched on 31 March 1996 as the country's first sports and entertainment integrated channel, its programs contained sporting events and entertain ...

beginning January 5, 2015, Hoa hậu Hàn Quốc. *It aired in China on

and

Sohu Sohu, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet company headquartered in the Sohu Internet Plaza in Haidian District, Beijing. Sohu and its subsidiaries offer advertising, a search engine (Sogou.com), on-line multiplayer gaming (ChangYou.com) and other ser ...

video，韩国小姐.

References

External links

''Miss Korea'' official MBC website

at MBC Global Media * * {{IMDb title, 3469014, Miss Korea 2013 South Korean television series debuts 2014 South Korean television series endings MBC TV television dramas Television series by SM C&C South Korean comedy-drama television series Television shows written by Seo Sook-hyang Department stores in fiction Television series set in shops