Dal-ja's Spring

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Dal-ja's Spring
Promotional poster
Also known as
  • Dal-ja's Springtime
  • Spring of Dal-ja
  • My Dear Dal-ja
  • Dalja's Spring
Genre
Written byKang Eun-kyung
Directed byLee Jae-sang
Starring
ComposerJi Kyung-won
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes22
Production
Producers
  • Kim Kyung Min
  • Lee Deok-geon
Running time60 minutes
Production companyKim Jong-hak Production
Original release
NetworkKorean Broadcasting System
ReleaseJanuary 3 (2007-01-03) –
March 15, 2007 (2007-03-15)

Dal-ja's Spring (Korean: 달자의 봄; RR: Dalja-ui Bom) is a 2007 South Korean romantic comedy television series starring Chae Rim, Lee Min-ki, Lee Hyun-woo, Lee Hye-young and Gong Hyung-jin. It aired on KBS2 from January 3 to March 15, 2007, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 22 episodes.[1][2]

Chae Rim won a Top Excellence Award in Acting at the 2007 KBS Drama Awards.

Plot[edit]

Oh Dal-ja is a managing director at a home shopping network. 33 years old and single, marriage is heavy on her mind, mostly due to societal and familial pressure. Although she has everything - a successful career, supportive friends, a loving family - she still dreams of the perfect romance and marriage. She falls for her flirty colleague Shin Se-do, but after he dumps her for Wee Seon-joo, the stylish host of the home shopping TV show, Dal-ja decides to seek revenge. Enter Kang Tae-bong, a guy 6 years younger with a mysterious past. For ₩3 million (approximately US$3,200), Tae-bong signs a dating contract with Dal-ja to pretend to be her boyfriend for three months. But then Dal-ja meets Uhm Ki-joong, seemingly the perfect man: rich, good-looking, intelligent, and courteous, but recently separated from his wife. For the first time in her life, Dal-ja finds herself in a love triangle.[3]

Dal-ja's Spring comically and candidly deals with issues in Korean society, such as women dating younger men,[4] the everyday social pressures encountered by single women over 30, and mothers juggling work and family.

Cast[edit]

Main characters[edit]

33-year-old home shopping channel managing director. She's extremely good at her job, but is a disaster at her love life. Even though she's in her thirties and considered an "old maid," she's naive and inexperienced with men and still has girlish dreams of a grand romance. She initially hires a boyfriend by contract, Kang Tae-bong, to seek revenge on a cheating ex, but finds that she enjoys having him around.
27-year-old freelancer for a proxy dating agency. Dal-ja hires him as her pretend boyfriend, but he soon develops genuine feelings for her. He has a frank and outspoken personality, but beneath is a warm and nurturing nature. Seemingly a debt-ridden slacker, Tae-bong actually comes from a rich family, but he gave up his career as a lawyer, and dreams of becoming a chef.
36-year-old successful businessman who heads an importing firm of foreign brand goods. He's the perfect catch on paper: smart, rich, polite, and cultured. But he hides a secret obsession with cleaning, and is recently separated from his wife. The more he encounters Dal-ja, the more he grows attracted to her.
33-year-old home shopping network show host. A former top model, she disappeared from the public eye when she married at 29, then returned three years later as a divorcee. Seon-joo is something of a diva, and constantly gets on Dal-ja's nerves. She is a master at the dating game, and with her charms and wiles, she can bring any man to heel, including Shin Se-do. But more importantly, Seon-joo always knows her self worth, which earns Dal-ja's grudging admiration. After a small glimpse into Seon-joo's vulnerability, the two women later form an unlikely friendship.
Home shopping network TV director. He and Dal-ja get along as colleagues, and thinking he's a nice guy, she develops a crush on him and begins dating him. But belying his average looks, Se-do is actually the office playboy, and he quickly dumps her when she tells him she's not quite ready for a sexual relationship. But Se-do gets his comeuppance when he falls in love for real with the equally commitment phobic Seon-joo.

Supporting characters[edit]

  • Seo Young-hee as Jang Soo-jin, Tae-bong's ex-girlfriend
  • Lee Kyung-jin as Jung Jung-ae, Dal-ja's mother
  • Kim Young-ok as Lee Kkeut-soon, Dal-ja's grandmother
  • Kil Yong-woo as Kang Soon-hong, Tae-bong's father
  • Kwon Ki-sun as Son Young-shim, Tae-bong's mother
  • Kim Na-woon as Go Soon-ae, Dal-ja's pregnant best friend and colleague
  • Jang Young-nam as Ki-joong's ex-wife
  • Yang Hee-kyung as Team leader Kang
  • Kim Sung-kyum as Tae-bong's grandfather
  • Oh Kyung-soo as Nam Dae-soo, department director
  • Kim Jae-wook as Choon-ha, Tae-bong's friend working at Dongdaemun Market
  • Seo Young as Hong Ji-hee
  • Kim In-tae as Se-do's father
  • Choi Eun-seo as Hee-yeon
  • Lee Mi-so as Ki-joong's secretary

Ratings[edit]

Episode # Title Nationwide Seoul Area
1 Things That Drive Her Crazy 14.9% (6th) 14.6% (6th)
2 Can Love be Hired? 14.9% (9th) 15.4% (7th)
3 A Romantic Inquiry Through a Powerful, Fated Encounter 11.6% (12th) 11.6% (13th)
4 There Was a Prince, Indeed, However... 12.6% (11th) 13.1% (12th)
5 Her Stance on Handling an Unsuitable Relationship 16.7% (4th) 17.2% (4th)
6 The Show Must Go On! 16.7% (5th) 16.5% (6th)
7 We Need 2% Moisture in Our Hearts 18.3% (3rd) 18.0% (4th)
8 The Adverse Effect of Lack of Love on an Old Maid 18.1% (6th) 17.5% (6th)
9 The Weight of One Brick... 18.3% (5th) 17.9% (5th)
10 Sometimes... Remember That We Are Right Next to You! 19.0% (6th) 18.3% (4th)
11 The Rules for Action and Reaction in Dating 18.8% (4th) 18.7% (4th)
12 The Reason Why Our Romance Is Beautiful 19.8% (6th) 19.3% (6th)
13 Happy Valentine's Day to You! 17.3% (7th) 17.6% (6th)
14 It's O.K. Even If You're Not Superwoman! 19.1% (6th) 18.6% (8th)
15 Love Saturates My Heart Like a Spring Shower! 18.6% (5th) 18.4% (5th)
16 There Needs to be Loyalty in Love! 18.3% (7th) 17.7% (7th)
17 The Earnest Things That Need to be Thrown Away While in Love Part 1 16.9% (6th) 16.8% (6th)
18 The Earnest Things That Need to be Thrown Away While in Love Part 2 18.2% (7th) 18.1% (7th)
19 Living As A Man... That's the Way It Is 17.5% (7th) 17.5% (6th)
20 Living As A Woman... That's the Way It Is 16.5% (9th) 16.1% (10th)
21 People That Are Hopeless With Love 16.8% (8th) 16.8% (8th)
22 Spring Comes (Around) Again, Flowers Bloom Again 18.4% (6th) 17.9% (6th)
Average 17.1% 17.0%

Source: TNS Media Korea

Soundtrack[edit]

  1. 기적 같은 사랑 - Lee Kyung-hwa
  2. Sweet Lover - Park Hye-kyung
  3. To You Mine - Pearl's Day
  4. 추억을 열다 - Soyeon
  5. 내 손을 잡아줘 - K-Jun
  6. 나쁜 사랑 - M.R.J (Kang Jae-hyuk)
  7. 심장 - Eun-young
  8. Impression
  9. Ya-Ya-Ya
  10. 추억을 열다 (Inst.)
  11. Lively Breeze
  12. Surprise
  13. To You Mine (Funky Ver.)
  14. Miracle (Orchestra Ver.)
  15. 너에 기억
  16. 기적 같은 사랑 (Original Ver.)

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2007 21st KBS Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actress
Chae Rim
 Won
Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries
Lee Min-ki
 Nominated
Best Supporting Actor
Gong Hyung-jin
 Nominated
Best Supporting Actress
Lee Hye-young
 Nominated

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Chae Lim to Return to TV". KBS Global. 24 November 2006. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  2. ^ "Modern Love". The Dong-a Ilbo. 21 December 2006. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  3. ^ "Dalja's Spring Off to Good Start". KBS Global. 4 January 2007. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  4. ^ Chun, Su-jin (23 January 2007). "TV loves younger men with older women". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  5. ^ "Acting as a Means to an End: Lee Hyun-woo". The Chosun Ilbo. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 2013-07-11.

External links[edit]

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