Faith (Korean: 신의; Hanja: 信義; RR: Sin-ui; also known as The Great Doctor) is a 2012 South Korean television series starring Lee Min-ho and Kim Hee-sun. It was broadcast by SBS from August 13 to October 30, 2012, on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 (KST) for 24 episodes. It is about a modern-day plastic surgeon, who is kidnapped and brought back in time to the Goryeo period, 700 years in the past, where she falls in love with her kidnapper, a warrior who is the leader of the royal guard.[1][2][3]
| Faith | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Also known as | The Great Doctor |
| Genre | Fantasy Historical fusion Romance Medical drama |
| Written by | Song Ji-na |
| Directed by | Kim Jong-hak Shin Yong-hwi |
| Starring | Lee Min-ho Kim Hee-sun |
| Music by | Oh Jun-seong |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Production | |
| Production location | Korea |
| Cinematography | Seok Deuk-won Lee Young-cheol |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Faith SPC |
| Original release | |
| Network | SBS TV |
| Release | 13 August – 30 October 2012 |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 신의 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Sin-ui |
| McCune–Reischauer | Sin-ŭi |
Title
editThe title Sin-ui, can mean faith, as in belief in justice. The Hanja 神醫 means Divine Doctor, but in Hangul it also means divine healer or great doctor.[4][5][6]
Synopsis
editAfter King Gongmin of Goryeo (Ryu Deok-hwan) marries the Yuan princess, Noguk (Park Se-young), they return to Goryeo. On their way, they are attacked, and the queen is fatally injured. According to the advice of his royal advisor, the king orders the Captain of the Royal Guard, Choi Young (Lee Min-ho), to pass through a mystical portal ("heaven's gate") and find the "heaven's doctor". Choi Young travels to the future and brings back Yoo Eun-soo (Kim Hee-sun), a modern-day doctor from Seoul, to save the queen's life. He promises that he will return her to her world once she saves the queen, but the royal advisor schemes and persuades King Gongmin to force Eun-soo to stay as she can be useful to him.
As Eun-soo accustoms herself to her new surroundings, she and Choi Young gradually fall in love with each other. But problems arise as others become fascinated with her as the "Heaven's doctor", and Eun-soo becomes a pawn in the political power plays between King Gongmin, the Yuan overlords, the sociopathic nobleman Ki-chul (Yu Oh-seong) and Prince Deok-seung (Park Yoon-jae), King Gongmin's uncle. Constantly risking his life, Choi Young thwarts numerous attempts by Ki-chul and Deok-seung, who are out to have Eun-soo in their possession.
The series follows how Choi Young and Eun-soo evade and overcome impending problems and whether or not they succeed in getting her to heaven's door in time before it closes for good.
Cast
editMain
edit- Lee Min-ho – General Choi Young[7][8][9]
- In the mid-1300s, approximately 1352, Choi Young is a bodyguard to King Gongmin of the Goryeo Dynasty. He is 29 years old and has no regrets in life, no ambition for women or money, and his hobby is sleeping. As a brave captain and strategist of the Woodalchi warriors, he is not afraid of death.
- A 33-year-old plastic surgeon in the year 2012. Eun-soo was originally a general surgeon but quickly found that it was an overworked, under-paid profession and jumped ship to plastic surgery. Her dream is to someday open her own practice. But one day a strange man whom she thinks is a drama extra kidnaps her and takes her back to the Goryeo era. In Goryeo, she is believed to be the apprentice of the famous Chinese surgeon, Hwata, sent from heaven.
Supporting
edit- Yu Oh-seong – Ki-chul
- Ryu Deok-hwan – King Gongmin
- Park Se-young – Princess Noguk, queen consort of King Gongmin
- Lee Phillip – Jang Bin[15]
- Sung Hoon – Chun Eum-ja[16]
- Shin Eun-jung – Hwa-su-in
- Lee Byung-joon – Jo Il-shin
- Kim Mi-kyung – Court Lady Choi, Choi Young's aunt
- Park Sang-won – Sohn-yoo
- Baek Kwang-doo – Bae Choong-seok
- Kim Jong-moon – Oh Dae-man
- Kang Chang-mook – Deol-bae
- Yoon Kyun-sang – Oh Deok-man
- Kim Soo-yeon – Deo-ki
- Park Yoon-jae – Prince Deok-seung
- Jung Yoo-chan – Joo-seok
- Kwon Min – Ahn Do-chi
- Kim Hyun as Ji-ok's criminal
- Ahn Jae-wook – Eun-soo's doctor ex-boyfriend (cameo, ep. 1)
- Oh Kwang-rok – fortune teller (cameo, ep. 1)
- Choi Min-soo – Moon Chi-hoo, leader of Jeokwoldae (cameo, ep. 4)
- Oh Jae-moo – Yi Seong-gye (이성계)
Original soundtrack
edit| Faith OST | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Recorded | 2012 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Language | |
| Label | Loen Entertainment Starhaus Entertainment |
Part 1
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Carry On" (계속하다) | Ali | 4:22 |
Part 2
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Because My Steps Are Slow" (걸음이느려서) | Shin Yong-jae (4Men) | 4:27 |
Part 3
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bad Person" (나쁜사람) | Jang Hye-jin (ft. MC Sniper) | 4:00 |
Part 4
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Teardrop" (눈물이한방울) | Younha | 3:54 |
| 2. | "Teardrop" (Inst.) | 3:54 | |
| Total length: | 7:08 | ||
Part 5
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Look At" (그대를봄니다) | Sung Hoon (Brown Eyed Soul) | 4:00 |
Part 6
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Wind's Song" (바람의노래) | Youngjun (Brown Eyed Soul) | 3:38 |
| 2. | "Because It's You" (그대니까) | One Piece | 3:34 |
| Total length: | 7:32 | ||
Part 7
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love" (사랑아) | Rumble Fish | 4:46 |
| 2. | "Love" (Inst.) | 4:46 | |
| Total length: | 8:43 | ||
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Faith (Opening title)" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:59 |
| 2. | "Attack Point" | Oh Joon-sung | 1:39 |
| 3. | "Bad Guy" | Oh Joon-sung | 3:59 |
| 4. | "Bad Table" | Oh Joon-sung | 3:01 |
| 5. | "Bloody Warrior" | Oh Joon-sung | 1:36 |
| 6. | "Dancing in the Moonlight" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:18 |
| 7. | "Forever (Carry on PP ver.)" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:31 |
| 8. | "Faith (Choral ver.)" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:59 |
| 9. | "Flower Garden" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:14 |
| 10. | "Happy Dance" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:09 |
| 11. | "I'm Woodalchi (Great Big Choi Young)" | Oh Joon-sung | 1:51 |
| 12. | "I'm Woodalchi (String ver.)" | Oh Joon-sung | 1:51 |
| 13. | "Knife Wood" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:52 |
| 14. | "Missing You" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:15 |
| 15. | "Moon of the Princess" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:46 |
| 16. | "Move and Run (String ver.)" | Oh Joon-sung | 1:36 |
| 17. | "Move and Run (Original ver.)" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:13 |
| 18. | "Old Market" | Oh Joon-sung | 1:38 |
| 19. | "Smile (Lovely Face Eun soo)" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:28 |
| 20. | "Sadness (String ver.)" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:55 |
| 21. | "Shadow Man" | Oh Joon-sung | 3:38 |
| 22. | "The Blade of Red-Moon" | Oh Joon-sung | 1:42 |
| 23. | "The Palace Story" | Oh Joon-sung | 1:59 |
| 24. | "The Dangerous Time (Choral ver.)" | Oh Joon-sung | 1:28 |
| 25. | "The Justice" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:27 |
| 26. | "Tears of Soldier" | Oh Joon-sung | 1:55 |
| 27. | "Trick" | Oh Joon-sung | 1:30 |
| 28. | "War of the Fire" | Oh Joon-sung | 1:44 |
| 29. | "White Night" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:45 |
| 30. | "Witch Prayer" | Oh Joon-sung | 2:01 |
| 31. | "Worry or Afraid" | Oh Joon-sung | 1:48 |
| 32. | "You and Me" | Oh Joon-sung | 1:34 |
Production
editFaith was '90s drama queen Kim Hee-sun's comeback project, her first TV appearance in five years after her marriage and childbirth. The production of Faith was riddled with problems. The initial budget was 10 billion won (about US$10 million) but the series got its budget slashed, and was pushed back multiple times because of the leading actor. The drama was announced in 2009 with Lee Joon-gi as a main lead. However, the actor had to be replaced because he was drafted in the army. Born in 1982, Lee would normally have time to enlist until the end of 2010 but he received his papers early, shortly after beginning his new film project. This forced him to drop Faith, as well as his horse-racing movie Grand Prix, which had already begun shooting. Lee had tried to postpone enlistment to finish these two projects by the end of the year, but was unable to do so.[17]
He was replaced by Kang Ji-hwan (Coffee House) who, however, had to withdraw after a request by the Entertainment Management Association because of his ongoing contract dispute and legal fight with his former and current management companies.[18] The antagonist, Kim Seung-soo, also left, with the majority of the original cast at that time. This was a severe blow to the budget, as 10 million won had reportedly been spent on promotion with Kang as the lead.[19] Actors like Oh Ji-ho and Lee Sang-yoon were considered for the main role, before finally deciding for Lee Min-ho.[20]
Filming for Faith began on May 24, 2012 and it aired from August 13 to October 30, 2012. The ratings were mediocre but rarely dropped below 10%.
On October 19, a little before the end, the news was published that Lee Phillip (who played Dr. Jang Bin), sustained an eye injury and had to pull out of the drama. The injury did not arise during drama filming, but because he was scheduled for surgery next week he would not be able to continue shooting. Many viewers agreed that "It's too bad that he leaves so close to the drama's finale without getting to be a part of it. On the other hand, it's both fortunate for the drama and a damn shame for him that he's barely a presence in the show to begin with, despite the setup hinting at a much meatier role".[21]
The writer Song Ji-na uploaded the original script on her website and it was obvious that there were considerable changes in the final product, some of them because of lack of money. However, Faith had financial problems almost from its start and they did not finish after the drama wrapped. Six months after the end of its airing, many of the cast and crew of that drama had not been paid. The acting, editing, and producing salaries which had not been paid amounted to 1.7 billion won. Drama producer and direction Kim Jong-hak, whose credits include Eyes of Dawn, Sandglass, Daemang (2002) and Legend (2007), was accused of double-contracting the Faith OST rights (to two separate companies) in the fall of 2012 became the subject of a police investigation for embezzlement and breach of trust. Kim was sued in February 2013 under the charge that he had embezzled 2 billion for personal use and summoned by police for ongoing investigation. He took his own life on July 23, 2013, by carbon dioxide, in a gositel room.[22][23][24] This tragic death and many of the "ills" of Korean dramas have been attributed to the outsourcing of production to independent companies which struggle to cover the exorbitant cost of writers and stars.[25]
Faith was sold to 6 Asian countries including Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia, with 90% of the total pre-sales amount of ₩4 billion coming from Japan.[26]
Ratings
editIn the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nielsen Korea[27] | TNmS | ||||
| Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | Seoul | ||
| 1 | August 13, 2012 | 9.4% | 10.8% | 12.2% | 13.8% |
| 2 | August 14, 2012 | 10.3% | 11.4% | 11.8% | 13.1% |
| 3 | August 20, 2012 | 10.3% | 11.6% | 13.4% | 15.8% |
| 4 | August 21, 2012 | 11.5% | 12.8% | 13.2% | 15.5% |
| 5 | August 27, 2012 | 10.6% | 10.6% | 12.9% | 14.5% |
| 6 | August 28, 2012 | 12.2% | 13.5% | 13.1% | 14.8% |
| 7 | September 3, 2012 | 9.8% | 10.9% | 12.3% | 13.9% |
| 8 | September 4, 2012 | 11.0% | 12.4% | 12.6% | 13.9% |
| 9 | September 10, 2012 | 11.8% | 13.2% | 11.6% | 12.8% |
| 10 | September 11, 2012 | 11.2% | 11.4% | 11.7% | 13.0% |
| 11 | September 17, 2012 | 10.4% | 11.3% | 11.8% | 13.5% |
| 12 | September 18, 2012 | 10.1% | 11.0% | 11.2% | 12.2% |
| 13 | September 24, 2012 | 9.7% | 10.9% | 10.7% | 12.2% |
| 14 | September 25, 2012 | 9.0% | 9.7% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 15 | October 1, 2012 | 9.3% | 9.9% | 11.1% | 12.7% |
| 16 | October 2, 2012 | 9.5% | 9.7% | 9.6% | 10.2% |
| 17 | October 8, 2012 | 10.5% | 11.4% | 13.2% | 14.1% |
| 18 | October 9, 2012 | 9.9% | 10.6% | 11.5% | 13.0% |
| 19 | October 15, 2012 | 8.8% | 9.5% | 9.2% | 10.6% |
| 20 | October 16, 2012 | 9.9% | 10.9% | 10.7% | 11.9% |
| 21 | October 22, 2012 | 9.3% | 10.5% | 10.2% | 11.7% |
| 22 | October 23, 2012 | 8.9% | 10.0% | 9.7% | 11.6% |
| 23 | October 29, 2012 | 8.7% | 9.7% | 9.1% | 10.3% |
| 24 | October 30, 2012 | 10.1% | 10.9% | 10.5% | 11.4% |
| Average | 10.1% | 11.0% | 11.4% | 12.8% | |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 20th Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actress | Kim Hee-sun | Won |
| SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Lee Min-ho | Won | |
| Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Kim Hee-sun | Nominated | ||
| Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Yu Oh-seong | Nominated | ||
| Special Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Ryu Deok-hwan | Nominated | ||
| Special Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Shin Eun-jung | Nominated | ||
| New Star Award | Park Se-young | Won | ||
| Top 10 Stars | Lee Min-ho | Won | ||
| Popularity Award | Nominated | |||
| Kim Hee-sun | Nominated | |||
| 2013 | 49th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Actress (TV) | Park Se-young | Nominated |
| Most Popular Actor (TV) | Lee Min-ho | Nominated | ||
| Most Popular Actress (TV) | Park Se-young | Nominated | ||
| 8th Seoul International Drama Awards | Popularity Award | Lee Min-ho | Nominated | |
| 2014 | GyaO! Entertainment Awards[28] | Best Korean Drama | Faith | Won |
References
edit- ^ Sunwoo, Carla (13 July 2012). "Kim Hee-sun, Lee Min-ho start filming". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Oh, Jean (9 August 2012). "Boys Over Flowers actor back in time-travel romance". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ Kim, Ji-yeon (10 August 2012). "Kim Hee Sun and Lee Min Ho of Faith Call Each Other Babies". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ 신의. Naver (in Korean). Retrieved 2013-09-16.
- ^ 신. Naver (in Korean). Retrieved 2013-09-16.
- ^ 의. Naver (in Korean). Retrieved 2013-09-16.
- ^ Ho, Stewart (25 July 2012). "Lee Min Ho Makes a Complete Transformation Into Action Star". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ Choi, Bo-ran (13 August 2012). 글자 글자확대 글자축소 이메일 보내기 프린트하기 [Lee Min Ho makes a fresh resolution before his new drama series, Faith, starts airing]. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 2012-11-03.
- ^ Sunwoo, Carla (4 December 2012). "Lee Min-ho promotes Faith in Japan". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Kim Hee-sun to Return to TV After 6-Year Hiatus". The Chosun Ilbo. 14 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ Lee, Hye-ji (10 August 2012). "Kim Hee-seon says "I cursed almost during half of new drama's shooting"". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ Hong, Grace Danbi (4 September 2012). "Lee Min Ho Made Kim Hee Sun's Daughter Cry". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ Ho, Stewart (29 August 2012). "Kim Hee Sun Says Secret Garden, Sun And The Moon Inspired Her to Return to Acting". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ Yu, Ah-jeong (29 November 2012). "After 5 years, TV beauty has Faith in comeback". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Ho, Stewart (18 July 2012). "Lee Philip as a Goryeo Dynasty Physician for Lee Min Ho and Kim Hee Sun's Faith". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ Ho, Stewart (30 July 2012). "Actor Sung Hoon Sheds 5kg for Faith Role". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ "Lee Jun Ki forced to drop out of "Faith"and "Grand Prix"". Dramafever. April 30, 2010. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
- ^ "Faith loses its second leading man in Kang Ji Hwan". Dramabeans. 26 December 2010. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
- ^ "Kang Ji Hwan doesn't want to lose faith". Dramabeans. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
- ^ "Lee Min-ho confirms a role in "Faith" with Kim Hee-sun". Han Cinema. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
- ^ "Philip Lee injured drops out of "Faith"". Dramabeans. October 19, 2012. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
- ^ "Kim Jong Hak suicide,"Faith" director". kpopstarz. July 24, 2013. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
- ^ ""Sandglass", "Legend", "Faith" producer ends life". dramabeans. July 23, 2013. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
- ^ "Director Kim Jong Hak Was Deeply In Debt, Some Blame The System". Kdramastars. Jul 26, 2013. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
- ^ "The Business of Korean Dramas". Lore in Stone Cities. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
- ^ "The power of Lee Min-ho!". Hancinema. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
- ^ "Nielsen Korea". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). Retrieved August 13, 2012.
- ^ Kim, Min-jin (13 November 2014). "Lee Min-ho's Faith tops among K-dramas in Japan". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
External links
edit- The Great Doctor official SBS website (in Korean)
- Faith at HanCinema
- Faith at IMDb