Queen of Housewives (Korean: 내조의 여왕; also known as My Wife Is a Superwoman) is a 2009 South Korean romantic comedy television series, starring Kim Nam-joo, Oh Ji-ho, Yoon Sang-hyun, Lee Hye-young, Choi Cheol-ho, and Sunwoo Sun. It depicts the life of "naejo," housewives who devote their entire lives to their husbands' success, but with a more comedic and aggressive twist.[1] It aired on MBC from March 16 to May 19, 2009 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.
| Queen of Housewives | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Also known as | My Wife is a Superwoman |
| Genre | |
| Written by | Park Ji-eun |
| Directed by | Go Dong-sun |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Park Ho-joon |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Ko Dong seon Kim Seung mo |
| Producer | Park Min-yeop |
| Production location | South Korea 🇰🇷 |
| Production company | DRM Media |
| Original release | |
| Network | MBC |
| Release | March 16 – May 19, 2009 |
| Related | |
| Queen of Reversals | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Naejoui Yeowang |
| McCune–Reischauer | Naejoŭi Yŏwang |
The hit drama topped the ratings chart during its run, and created new trends among married women in terms of fashion and makeup. Actress Kim Nam-joo received numerous accolades for her acting comeback after an 8-year hiatus,[2] and the series also served as the breakout vehicle of actor Yoon Sang-hyun.[3]
Plot
editChun Ji-ae (Kim Nam-joo) had it all... in high school. Pretty and popular, she was the school's queen bee, while awkward Yang Bong-soon (Lee Hye-young) was the exact opposite. The two were initially friends, until Ji-ae stole Bong-soon's crush, Han Joon-hyuk (Choi Cheol-ho). Fast-forward to middle-aged married life, and their roles have become reversed. Ji-ae struggles with household finances because she married Ohn Dal-soo (Oh Ji-ho), a once-promising university graduate turned unemployed pushover, while Joon-hyuk, whom Bong-soon married after Ji-ae dumped him, is now a successful executive.
Dal-soo finally gets a shot at a decent job at top company Queen's Food, where Joon-hyuk happens to be his new boss. Joon-hyuk still carries a torch for Ji-ae, and he makes it a point to make Dal-soo's internship as difficult and demeaning as possible. Meanwhile, determined to help her smart but clueless husband climb the corporate ladder, Ji-ae joins a social wives club to support him. The wives' power plays are directly correlative to their husbands' positions in the company (meaning, the higher-ranking the husband, the higher-ranking the wife), and Ji-ae sets aside her pride to curry favor and jockey for position. She immediately thrives within the wives' inner circle, but she's constantly thwarted by her ex-best friend, Bong-soon.
Then Dal-soo runs into his college friend Eun So-hyun (Sunwoo Sun), wife of Heo Tae-joon (Yoon Sang-hyun), the current president of Queen's Food. Stuck in a loveless marriage, So-hyun wants to have an affair with Dal-soo, while indolent chaebol Tae-joon gradually finds himself attracted to Ji-ae. The three couples interact in a confusing mix of romance, friendship, and workplace politics.[4]
Cast
editMain characters
edit- Kim Nam-joo as Chun Ji-ae
- Oh Ji-ho as Oh Dal-soo
- Lee Hye-young as Yang Bong-soon
- Yoon Sang-hyun as Heo Tae-joon
- Choi Cheol-ho as Han Joon-hyuk
- Sunwoo Sun as Eun So-hyun
- Kim Chang-wan as Kim Hong-shik
- Na Young-hee as Jang Young-sook
Supporting characters
edit- Ji-ae and Bong-soon's high school classmates
- Park Joo-hee as Go Mi-young
- Lee Seung-ah as Kim Young-sun
- Jung Soo-young as Ji Hwa-ja
- Kim Do-yeon as Ahn Jung-sook
- Queen's Food husbands and wives
- Kim Yong-hee as Ha-chang
- Choi Ye-jin as Hwang-sook (Ha-chang's wife)
- Kim Jung-hak as Department chief Yang
- Hwang Hyo-eun as Lee Seul (chief Yang's wife)
- Hwang Jae-hee as Gong Young-min (HR manager's nephew)
- Joo Min-ha as Jung Go-woon (Young-min's wife, art gallery assistant)
- Lee Mae-ri as Jung-ran
- Extended cast
- Kang Soo-han as Han Hyuk-chan (Bong-soon and Joon-hyuk's son)
- Kim Sung-kyum as President Heo (Tae-joon's father)
- Yu Ji-in as Tae-joon's mother
- Kim Young-ran as Ji-ae's mother
- Baek Seung-hee as Hyang-suk
- Kim Ik-tae as jeweller
- Min Joon-hyun as Ohn Dal-soo's co-worker
- Lee Seung-ho
- Kim Seung-woo as police officer (cameo, ep 3)
- Shindong as couple in sauna (cameo, ep 11)
- Kim Shin-young as couple in sauna (cameo, ep 11)
- Kim Sung-min as Tae-joon's friend (cameo, ep 16)
- Jun Jin as job applicant (cameo, ep 20)
- Yoo Jae-suk as job applicant (cameo, ep 20)
- Park Myung-soo as job applicant (cameo, ep 20)
- Jung Hyung-don as job applicant (cameo, ep 20)
Ratings
edit| Date | Episode | Nationwide | Seoul |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-03-16 | 1 | 8.0% | 8.7% |
| 2009-03-17 | 2 | 10.3% (13th) | 10.7% (13th) |
| 2009-03-23 | 3 | 9.6% (15th) | 10.1% (15th) |
| 2009-03-24 | 4 | 11.2% (12th) | 11.8% (12th) |
| 2009-03-30 | 5 | 11.5% (11th) | 11.8% (12th) |
| 2009-03-31 | 6 | 12.0% (10th) | 11.6% (10th) |
| 2009-04-06 | 7 | 20.0% (2nd) | 20.7% (2nd) |
| 2008-04-07 | 8 | 21.3% (2nd) | 22.0% (2nd) |
| 2009-04-13 | 9 | 21.6% (2nd) | 22.2% (2nd) |
| 2009-04-14 | 10 | 24.1% (2nd) | 25.6% (2nd) |
| 2009-04-20 | 11 | 24.2% (2nd) | 24.9% (2nd) |
| 2009-04-21 | 12 | 24.4% (2nd) | 25.6% (2nd) |
| 2009-04-27 | 13 | 25.2% (2nd) | 26.5% (2nd) |
| 2009-04-28 | 14 | 27.4% (2nd) | 29.3% (2nd) |
| 2009-05-04 | 15 | 26.6% (1st) | 28.4% (1st) |
| 2009-05-05 | 16 | 29.2% (1st) | 31.1% (1st) |
| 2009-05-11 | 17 | 30.4% (1st) | 32.2% (1st) |
| 2009-05-12 | 18 | 30.0% (1st) | 31.8% (1st) |
| 2009-05-18 | 19 | 29.9% (1st) | 31.7% (1st) |
| 2009-05-19 | 20 | 31.7% (1st) | 33.7% (1st) |
| Average | 21.4% | 22.5% | |
Source: TNS Media Korea
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism[5] | Actress of the Year | Kim Nam-joo | Won |
| MBC Drama Awards[6][7][8] | Top Excellence Award, Actor | Yoon Sang-hyun | Won | |
| Top Excellence Award, Actress | Kim Nam-joo | Won | ||
| Excellence Award, Actor | Choi Cheol-ho | Won | ||
| Excellence Award, Actress | Lee Hye-young | Won | ||
| Golden Acting Award, Actor | Kim Chang-wan | Won | ||
| Golden Acting Award, Actress | Na Young-hee | Won | ||
| Best New Actress | Sunwoo Sun | Nominated | ||
| Best Writer | Park Ji-eun | Won | ||
| 2010 | Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Drama | Queen of Housewives | Nominated |
| Best Director | Go Dong-sun | Won | ||
| Best Actor | Yoon Sang-hyun | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress | Kim Nam-joo | Won | ||
| Best Screenplay | Park Ji-eun | Nominated | ||
| CETV Awards[9][10] | Grand Prize | Kim Nam-joo | Won | |
| Top 10 Asian Stars | Won |
International broadcast
edit- Philippines: IBC, title "My Wife is a Superwoman"[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ Han, Sang-hee (March 10, 2009). "New Types of Husbands to Sneak Onto TV Screen". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ^ "Kim Nam-joo Still in Shape After 8-Year Hiatus". The Chosun Ilbo. April 18, 2009. Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ^ Hong, Lucia (April 21, 2010). "Yoon Sang-hyun to attend screening of Housewives". 10Asia. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ^ "My Wife is a Superwoman". MBC Global Media. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
- ^ Kim, Lynn (December 23, 2009). "Government names Kim Nam-joo top actor of 2009". 10Asia. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ^ Han, Sang-hee (January 3, 2010). "2009 Drama Awards Wrap Up With No Surprises". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ^ Lee, Hyo-won (December 31, 2009). "Ko Hyun-jung Wins Top Drama Award". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ^ Park, So-yeon (December 31, 2009). "Ko Hyun-joung wins grand prize at MBC Acting Awards". 10Asia. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
- ^ "Kim Nam-joo Wins Top Acting Award in China". The Chosun Ilbo. June 22, 2010. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ^ Kim, Jessica (June 21, 2010). "Kim Nam-joo wins grand prize at award ceremony in China". 10Asia. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2012.