FRIDAY NIGHT DRAMA: Delightful Girl Choon Hyang

For this week’s drama, I’ve decided to go back into the often overlooked “classics” of K-Drama and pull up a drama that’s every bit as delightful as its name implies, the much-loved Delightful Girl Choon Hyang.

Airing from January to March of 2005, Delightful Girl Choon Hyang is a modern take on the classic Korean folktale  Chunhyangjeon or “Tale of Chunhyang” and was the very first drama written by my all-time favorite drama writers, the Hong Sisters. (And for those of you who may not know who the Hong Sisters are perhaps My Girl, Couple or Trouble, You’re Beautiful, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, The Greatest Love, Big and The Master’s Sun will ring a bell… Yes, the Hong Sisters are responsible for them all and I love them for it!)

Delightful Girl Choon Hyang is the story of a trouble-making police chief’s son, Lee Mong Ryong (Jae Hee) and an intelligent and talented student, Sung Choon Hyang (Han Chae Young) who, through a series of unfortunate meetings, end up forced into a marriage that neither of them actually wants. As time passes and the two spend some quality time together, they come to develop true feelings for each other but, of course, a thousand obstacles stand in their way, namely a jealous ex-girlfriend, Hong Chae Rin (Park Shi Eun) and a hot-shot talent agency CEO, Byeon Hak Do (Uhm Tae Woong) who has his eyes set on Choon Hyang.

If you’re at all familiar with the Hong Sister’s work, you know that nothing will come easy for this unlikely couple but that doesn’t mean it’s not an enjoyable drama to watch. In fact, watching Choon Hyang and Mong Ryong try to figure out their feelings for each other and finally be able to admit them, is entertaining all on its own. Then again, I’m such a huge sucker for the relationships that start out as hate and eventually turn to love that it’s not surprising at all, that I love this drama. Being an older drama, there are times when you feel like things are a bit more drawn out than then really need to be but that’s one of those things that comes with watching older dramas and any true drama lover will tell you that suffering through the drawn out parts is worth it in the end.

If you’ve never actually gone back and watched a “classic” K-drama, then Delightful Girl Choon Hyang is a good place to start and if you’re a Hong Sister’s fangirl like I am, you need to watch this drama just because it was their first and remains their highest rated drama ever. Of course, once you’ve finished your weekend marathon, be sure to come back and let me know what you thought of Delightful Girl Choon Hyang. Was it worth the ratings it received or did you think one of the other works by the Hong Sisters should have rated better? I’d love to hear your thoughts so let me know what you’re thinking by leaving me a comment or two below! Happy marathoning!