''Style'' () is a 2009 South Korean television series starring

Kim Hye-soo Kim Hye-soo (; born September 5, 1970) is a South Korean actress. Kim was one of the most popular teen stars in the 1980s and 1990s. She is known for her headstrong independence and regularly playing strong-willed, sophisticated women. Kim bega ...

Lee Ji-ah Kim Sang-eun (; born August 6, 1978), known professionally as Lee Ji-ah, is a South Korean actress. She rose to fame with her role in the television drama'' The Legend'' (2007), and has since further participated in '' Beethoven Virus'' (2008) ...

, Ryu Si-won, and

Lee Yong-woo Lee Yong-woo (born April 15, 1981) is a South Korean actor and dancer. He graduated from the Korea National University of Arts with a degree in Dance and joined the modern dance company Laboratory Dance Project in 2001. Lee made his acting debut ...

. It aired on SBS from August 1 to September 20, 2009 on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:45 for 16 episodes. Based on the popular 2008

chick lit Chick lit is a term used to describe a type of popular fiction targeted at younger women. Widely used in the 1990s and 2000s, the term has fallen out of fashion with publishers while writers and critics have rejected its inherent sexism. Novels id ...

novel of the same title by former fashion reporter Baek Young-ok, ''Style'' depicts the inner workings of a fictional fashion magazine.

Synopsis

Park Ki-ja (

) is the perfectionist editor at ''Style'' magazine. She's extremely confident, stubborn, and self-centered, but also has a killer fashion sense. In her youth, Ki-ja dreamed of studying at

Parsons The New School for Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhat ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, but her hopes were crushed after the Korean economic crisis led her father to commit suicide. Soon after her father's death, Ki-ja's mother moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, but Ki-ja stayed behind in Korea. At the time she couldn't leave her boyfriend Seo Woo-jin ( Ryu Si-won) behind, who was studying to become a doctor. But Woo-jin eventually dropped out of medical school and moved to New York to become a chef. Since that time, Ki-ja has worked her way up from a lowly assistant to a highly respected editor. Meanwhile, Woo-jin has become a

macrobiotic A macrobiotic diet (or macrobiotics) is a fad diet based on ideas about types of food drawn from Zen Buddhism. The diet tries to balance the supposed yin and yang elements of food and cookware. Major principles of macrobiotic diets are to reduce ...

chef and eventually returned to Korea to open a restaurant. His restaurant named ''Mackerel'' became a success, especially with the ladies. Woo-jin himself is a ladies man, having good looks and exemplary culinary talents. He then meets Ki-ja again, as well as her assistant Lee Seo-jung (

). Lee Seo-jung has worked as Ki-ja's assistant for over a year, even though she has come close to having a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

because of her demanding boss. Seo-jung initially hoped to become a writer, but because of her financial situation took a part-time job at ''Style'' magazine. When Seo-jung meets Woo-jin, she becomes enamored with him. She knows that Woo-jin is Ki-ja's ex-boyfriend, but she can't control her feelings for him. Lastly, Kim Min-joon (

) is a photographer at ''Style'' magazine. He follows Ki-ja around like a lost puppy dog due to his overwhelming feelings for her. Because of Ki-ja, Min-joon has stayed at ''Style'' magazine even when better offers came calling. When Min-joon notices the attention that Woo-jin receives from both Ki-ja and Seo-jung, he feels jealousy.

Cast

Main characters

as Park Ki-ja :Park Ki-ja is the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of a famous fashion magazine called ''Style''. Editor Park has a gorgeous appearance as well as outstanding abilities in journalism. However, she has a strange personality and nervous temperament. She is not liked by her underlings because of her excessive passion for work. Her character is similar to Miranda Priestly in '' The Devil Wears Prada''. Editor Park is Lee Seo-jung's boss and clashes with her about everything. *

as Lee Seo-jung :Lee Seo-jung is a 26-year-old assistant for the features section. She is a mere beginner with just one year of experience. However, Seo-jung overcomes the difficulties of working at the bottom of ''Styles corporate ladder. She has to deal with office politics and fierce competition in the fashion world and the luxury goods industry. * Ryu Si-won as Seo Woo-jin :Seo Woo-jin is a former

plastic surgeon Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniof ...

who currently owns a restaurant. He appears in front of Seo-jung just as she is facing the biggest crisis of her life – she is betrayed by her boyfriend whom she has been with for three years. Woo-jin also happens to be Editor Park's ex-boyfriend. *

as Kim Min-joon :Kim Min-joon is a photographer at ''Style'' magazine. His character will explore bisexuality through Min-joon's interest in both Ki-ja and Woo-jin.

Supporting characters

Na Young-hee Na Young-hee (, born September 20, 1961), born Bang Suk-hui, is a South Korean actress. Na was born in Boeun, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Filmography Film *Note: the whole list is referenced. Television series Awards * 2021 ...

as Son Myung-hee *Choi Gook-hee as Kim Ji-won *

Shin Jung-geun Shin Jung-geun (born September 26, 1966) is a South Korean actor. He is most active as a supporting actor in films such as '' Running Turtle'' (2009), '' In Love and War'' (2011), ''The Grand Heist'' (2012), and '' The Five'' (2013), as well as ...

as So Byung-shik *

Han Chae-ah Han Chae-ah (born Kim Kyung-ha on March 24, 1982) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her 2012 television dramas, playing a detective in ''Hero'', and a Japanese collaborator in '' Bridal Mask''. Personal life According to Mystic E ...

as Cha Ji-sun * Park Hee-jin as Yoon Jung-hwa *Han Seung-hoon as Kwak Jae-suk *Hwang Hyo-eun as Lee In-ja *Kim Hak-jin as Shim Gyun * Kim Ga-eun as Wang Mi-hye *Oh Kyung-jin as Ahn Jin-shil *

Park Ji-il Park Ji-il (Korean: 박지일, born September 1960) is a South Korean theatre, film and television actor. He is known for his supporting roles in various TV series and films. His better known works are: 2011 TV series '' The Thorn Birds'', 2013 ...

as Lee Suk-chang *Kim Shi-hyang as Hwangbo Kam-joo *Hong Ji-min as Oh Yoo-na *Kim Kyu-jin as Nam Bong-woo *Kim In-tae as Myung-hee and Woo-jin's father *Park Soon-chun as Seo-jung's mother *

Kim Yong-rim Kim Yong-rim (born March 3, 1940) is a South Korean actress. Kim made her acting debut in 1961 and has since worked steadily in Korean dramas, notably ''Silver Grass'', for which she won the Grand Prize (Daesang) at the MBC Drama Awards The ...

as Lee Bang-ja

Cameo appearances

Jessica Gomes Jessica Gomes (born 25 September 1985) is an Australian model who appeared in the '' Swimsuit Issue'' of the American publication ''Sports Illustrated'' every year from 2008 to 2015. She works extensively in Australia and Asia. Gomes was the f ...

as herself (ep 1) * Kang Ji-hwan as himself (ep 6) * Cha Ye-ryun as herself (ep 6) *

Bada Bada (stylized as bada; Korean: ) is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Samsung Electronics for devices such as mid- to high-end smartphones and tablet computers. The name is derived from " (bada)", meaning "ocean" or "sea" in ...

as herself (ep 6) *

Lee Hong-gi Lee Hong-gi (; born March 2, 1990), also known mononymously as Hongki, is a South Korean singer, actor, and media personality. He is best known as the front man of rock band F.T. Island. In 2015, Lee debuted as a solo artist with the rel ...

as himself (ep 6) * Lee Jae-jin as himself (ep 6) * Choi Min-hwan as himself (ep 6) * 2NE1 as themselves (ep 6) *

2PM 2PM (; romanized; ''Tupiem'') is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of six members: Jun. K (formerly known as Junsu), Nichkhun, Taecyeon, Wooyoung, Junho and Chansung. Originally a seven-piece group, fo ...

as themselves (ep 6) * Park Sol-mi as Choi Ae-young (ep 7-8) *

Seo In-young Seo In-young (Hangul: ; born on September 3, 1984), also known as Elly, is a South Korean singer, dancer, model, television host, and actress. She was a member of girl group Jewelry and featured on the reality show '' We Got Married'' with Cr ...

as designer Alley (ep 11-12) *

Byun Jung-soo Byun Jung-soo (born April 15, 1974) is a South Korean model and actress. As a model in the 1990s, Byun walked the runways in Seoul, Paris and New York, notably for the brand Kenzo. She began acting in 2002, and starred in television dramas such ...

International broadcast

* It aired 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 ...

during 2009 and dubbed into Bahasa Indonesia. * It aired in Vietnam on

HTV3 HTV3 is a channel of Ho Chi Minh City Television in Vietnam and used to be administered by Tri Viet Media Corporation (TVM Corp.). Originally, HTV3 aired shows for youth audiences. HTV3 always has the copyright from the creator and production of ...

from April 10, 2010, under the title ''Tạp chí thời trang''. * It aired in Thailand on Channel 3 starting February 7, 2014.

References

External links

* * *{{IMDb title, 2056264 Seoul Broadcasting System television dramas 2009 South Korean television series debuts 2009 South Korean television series endings Korean-language television shows South Korean romance television series Television shows based on South Korean novels Fashion-themed television series