''My Rosy Life'' () is a 2005 South Korean television drama series starring

Choi Jin-sil Choi Jin-Sil (December 24, 1968 – October 2, 2008) was a South Korean actress. She was considered one of the best actresses in South Korea, nicknamed "The Nation's Actress". She played leading roles in 18 films and 20 television dramas, appea ...

Son Hyun-joo Son Hyun-joo (born June 24, 1965) is a South Korean actor. Since 1991, he has starred in numerous television series and films, such as '' First Love'' (1996), ''To Be With You'' (2002), ''My Rosy Life'' (2005), '' Tazza'' (2008), ''My Too Perfec ...

, and Lee Tae-ran. It aired on

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

from August 24 to November 10, 2005 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 24 episodes. ''My Rosy Life'' was a huge hit, with average viewership ratings of 34.2%, and reaching 47% at its peak. It was the second top-rated

Korean drama Korean dramas (; RR: ''Han-guk deurama''), more popularly known as K-dramas, are television series in the Korean language, made in South Korea. They are popular worldwide, especially in Asia, partially due to the spread of Korean popular cultu ...

of 2005 (next to MBC's ''

My Lovely Sam Soon ''My Lovely Sam Soon'' (, lit. ''My Name Is Kim Sam-soon'') is a South Korean television series based on the internet novel of the same title by Ji Soo-hyun, which was published on March 9, 2004. Touted as the Korean version of '' Bridget Jones's ...

''), and was the highest rated among all the KBS dramas aired that year. It is especially notable for the much-praised performance of lead actress

. Playing the role of a deserted wife who later discovers that she has

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, ''My Rosy Life'' resurrected Choi's career. Widely known as "Korea's Sweetheart" in her 15-year acting career, Choi's image as the eternal

girl next door The girl next door is a young female stock character who is often used in romantic stories. She is so named because she often lives next door to the protagonist or is a childhood friend. They start out with a mutual friendship that later often ...

was destroyed in 2004 after her acrimonious and highly publicized

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

from baseball player

Cho Sung-min Cho Sung-min (; April 5, 1973 – January 6, 2013) was a South Korean professional baseball player with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan and the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League. He also received media attention for his much-publicized marriage ...

, and industry insiders predicted that her career was over. But Choi made a successful comeback in ''My Rosy Life'', as she reinvented herself as a more approachable "

ajumma Ajumma ( ko, 아줌마), sometimes spelled ajoomma, is a Korean word for a married, or middle-aged woman. It comes from the Korean word ''ajumeoni'' ( ko, 아주머니). Although it is sometimes translated "aunt An aunt is a woman who is a s ...

" (the Korean term for a middle-aged married woman), gaining six kilograms for the role. The pain and suffering of Choi's character blurred the line between reality and fiction, and her performance aroused empathy from TV audiences; with ''My Rosy Life'', she received the best reviews of her career from viewers and critics alike. The cast received acting recognition at the year-end

KBS Drama Awards The KBS Drama Awards () is an awards ceremony presented by the Korean Broadcasting System The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean te ...

, winning nine awards combined, including Top Excellence Awards for

and

Kim Hae-sook Kim Hae-sook (; born December 30, 1955) is a South Korean actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such ...

, and an Excellence Award for

. At the

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 2006, Choi also won Best Actress in a TV Drama, as did Kim Jong-chang for Best TV Director.

Plot

Maeng Soon-yi (

) has sacrificed everything in her life for the sake of others. She missed out on her youth because she was too busy taking care of her father (

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) ...

), who started drinking heavily after her mother abandoned them when Soon-yi was 10 years old. Soon-yi gave up on her own education so that she could earn the money to pay for her younger siblings' tuition. Soon-yi's younger sister Young-yi ( Lee Tae-ran), is now a successful career woman. She is having an affair with a married man, Lee Jung-do (Jang Dong-jik). Jung-do was Young-yi's first love, but he broke up with her for the sake of his career. While younger brother Chul-soo has settled down in the United States where he's earning his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

degree, completely ignoring his responsibilities at home. Soon-yi perseveres despite the constant hardships that life throws at her. Until one day, she is jolted when Ban Sung-moon (

), her husband with whom she has two daughters, tells her that he has fallen in love with another woman and demands a divorce. Worse, she is diagnosed with stomach cancer shortly after. Abandoned by everyone around her, all those who she has worked so hard to make happy her entire life, Soon-yi decides that it's never too late to start living the life you want, and begins to be a little selfish and find some true happiness. When they find out about her disease, her family finally realizes what she means to them. And her husband Sung-moon also rethinks his actions and finally shows her the genuine meaning of marital love.

Cast

Main

as Maeng Soon-yi *

as Ban Sung-moon * Lee Tae-ran as Maeng Young-yi

Supporting

Na Moon-hee Na Moon-hee (; Na Kyung-ja, ; November 30, 1941) is a South Korean actress. Since 1960, Na has had a prolific acting career in television and film spanning more than five decades. She established a classic Korean mother persona with her TV drama ...

as Ggot Soon-yi, Sung-moon's mother *Jang Dong-jik as Lee Jung-do * Kim Ji-young as Miss Bong *Ahn Sun-young as Ban Sung-hae *

Kwon Hae-hyo Kwon Hae-hyo (born November 6, 1965) is a South Korean television, film and stage actor. He is also an activist, involved in the Unite Our People Movement Headquarters, the Abolish the Family Registry and Create Family Equality Organization, the ...

as Chun Won-man *

as Mr. Maeng * Jo Eun-sook as Oh Mi-ja, Sung-moon's mistress *

Choi Ji-na Choi Ji-na (born May 17, 1975) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 1995, and became best known as a supporting actress in television dramas, notably ''My Rosy Life'' (2005), ''A Happy Woman'' (2008), and ''My Too Perfect So ...

as Hong Jang-mi, Jung-do's wife *

as Soon-yi's birth mother *

Namkoong Min Namkoong Min (Hangul: 남궁민, born March 12, 1978) is a South Korean actor, director and screenwriter. He first gained recognition with neo-noir film ''A Dirty Carnival'' (2006), and has since received praise for his performances in '' Rememb ...

as Dr. Ji Bak-sa

Contract dispute

Rival network MBC initially wouldn't allow actress

to star in KBS's ''My Rosy Life'', claiming she was still under contract with them to act in 300 drama episodes, of which she had completed 250. Since her divorce and its ensuing scandal, MBC had not cast Choi in any dramas for one year, and Choi asked to be released from her contract, but the network refused and took legal action. They eventually reached an out-of-court settlement that enabled Choi to make the KBS drama, after which she finished the remainder of her contract by starring in the 2007 MBC drama ''

Bad Woman, Good Woman ''Bad Woman, Good Woman'' () is a 2007 South Korean television series starring Choi Jin-sil, Lee Jae-ryong, Sung Hyun-ah, and Jeon No-min. It aired on Mondays to Fridays at 19:45 on MBC from January 1 to July 13, 2007 for 140 episodes. The dail ...

''.

Awards and nominations

2005

*Top Excellence Award, Actress:

*Excellence Award, Actor:

*Best Supporting Actress: Kim Ji-young *Popularity Award: Lee Tae-ran and

*Netizen Award: Choi Jin-sil *Best Couple Award: Choi Jin-sil and Son Hyun-joo 2006

*Best TV Actress: Choi Jin-sil *Best TV Director: Kim Jong-chang *Nomination - Best Drama *Nomination - Best TV Actor: Son Hyun-joo *Nomination - Best TV Screenplay: Moon Young-nam

International broadcast

In 2006, it was aired in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

, and in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Indosiar PT Indosiar Visual Mandiri, commonly known as Indosiar, is an Indonesian over-the-air television network. It broadcasts nationwide on UHF and can be received throughout the Indonesian archipelago on analog PAL television sets, established on ...

. The Tagalog-dubbed version was re-aired three times on

GMA Life TV GMA Life TV is a 24-hour Philippine pay television channel launched in February 2008 by GMA Network. Programming The programming of GMA Pinoy TV consists mostly of shows from the Philippines from GMA Network and GTV as well as previously ai ...

from January 20, 2014 – April 11, 2014; June 30, 2014 – September 19, 2014 and June 29, 2015 – September 18, 2015.

References

External links

''My Rosy Life'' official KBS website
* * {{Works by Pan Entertainment 2005 South Korean television series debuts 2005 South Korean television series endings Korean Broadcasting System television dramas Korean-language television shows South Korean melodrama television series Television series by Pan Entertainment