Overview of Full House

How situations and emotions are communicated is what matters. Simplicity, lighthearted context, and amazing depiction of complex human sentiments are well portrayed in the South Korean television series ‘Full House’ aired on KBS2 on Monday and Friday at 21:50 (KST) timeslot for 16 episodes from July 14 to September 2, 2004.

Based on the manhwa “Full House” by Won Soo-yeon, the classic rom-com love-hate relationship is a remarkable allegory that intensely illustrates that you can’t be where you’re not meant to be, and although destiny can be influenced, fate is inevitable.

When an arrogant, hot-bod and high-nosed movie star, Lee Young-jae, encounters an average-looking, aspiring, and ambitious writer, Han Ji-eun, he loathes her.

Profile

• Drama: Full House
• Director: Pyo Min-soo
• Writer: Min Hyo-jung
• Network: Korean Broadcasting System
• Episodes: 16
• Release Date: July 14 – September 2, 2004
• Language: Korean
• Country: South Korea

Cast

• Song Hye-kyo as Han Ji-eun
• Rain as Lee Young-jae
• Han Eun-jung as Kang Hye-won
• Kim Sung-soo as Yoo Min-hyuk

Supporting

• Jang Yong as Mr. Lee, Young-jae’s father
• Sunwoo Eun-sook as Mrs. Kim, Young-jae’s mother
• Kim Ji-young as Young-jae’s grandmother
• Lee Young-eun as Yang Hee-jin, Ji-eun’s friend
• Kang Do-han as Shin Dong-wook, Hee-jin’s husband
• Im Ye-jin as Dae Pyo, Young-jae’s manager

Synopsis

Han Ji-eun (Song Hye-kyo) is an innocent woman who lives in a house called ‘Full House’, built by her late father and gifted to her upon his death. Ji-eun works as a novelist and scriptwriter, and this aspiring soul has trouble making ends meet in this expensive, big house.

Han Ji-eun has two friends whom she trusts implicitly; one is a pregnant woman, Yang Hee-jin (Lee Young-eun) and Hee-jin’s unemployed and desperate husband Shin Dong-wook (Kang Do-han). One day, they both tricked Han Ji-eun into believing she had won a free trip to see Shanghai, China. Upon hearing this, Han Ji-eun rushes to the airport, and she takes off. In Han Ji-eun’s absence, her friends deceived her and sold her house.

Meanwhile, on the plane, Han Ji-eun is seated next to the famous actor Lee Young-jae (Rain). Lee Young-jae is egotistical and stubborn by appearance, but he deeply cares for his friends. He also possesses secret, unrequited feelings for his childhood friend, Kang Hye-won (Han Eun-jung).

Through a bizarre series of events in China, Lee Young-jae and Han Ji-eun become acquainted. One day, Young-jae gives her money because he mistakenly thinks she’s a troubled old girlfriend of his best friend, Yoo Min-hyuk (Kim Sung-soo). Yoo Min-hyuk is a rich playboy who is the director of a large media company that manages Young-jae’s career. He usually stays detached from people because of his busy lifestyle; however, he is Lee Young-jae’s close friend.

Ji-eun briefly meets Min-hyuk separately since he’s on a business trip with Young-jae. Min-hyuk develops feelings for Han Ji-eun, and he even tries to get her to like him. Meantime, Ji-eun concocts a story to get some cash once she figures out her friends might have taken advantage of her since they are not picking up her phone calls and she doesn’t have money to get home.

Once Ji-eun gets home, she has a huge shock awaiting her. Not only has her house been sold out from under her, but the person who bought it is none other than the actor Lee Young-jae. Young-jae tells her to leave the place as it no longer belongs to her, however Ji-eun refuses to leave her home.

They fight constantly until Ji-eun gets a high fever from being forced to sleep outside, and Young-jae finally takes pity on her. He hears her story about the illegal sale of the house and comes up with the compromise that she can stay in the house for free as his housekeeper, since he is a stickler for cleanliness. With no option left, she agrees and says that one day, she is going to pay him back and get her house back.

Ending Explained

Lee Young-jae has been secretly head over heels in love with his personal manager and dresser, fashion designer, Kang Hye-won. They are both childhood friends, and he plans to propose to her; he buys a ring and invites her to dinner. Hye-won takes Young-jae’s feelings for granted, and she yearns for Young-jae’s business manager, the handsome Yoo Min-hyuk, who has feelings for Ji-eun. Hye-won leaves Young-jae and pursues Min-hyuk instead.

Consumed with jealousy, Young-jae asks Ji-eun for a fake marriage ceremony with him in the hope that this will make Kang Hye-won jealous and wake her up to realise her true love is Young-jae, not Min-hyuk.

Lee Young-jae tells Ji-eun that if she agrees to the fake marriage for six months, he will sign the title of the house over to her after completing it for six months. Ji-eun is thrilled, and she agrees, but little does she know she is going to start to fall in love with Young-jae herself!

Gradually, Lee Young-jae begins to realise he feels attracted to his so-called wife after all. The thawing of the hardest relationship had surprisingly taken place during their honeymoon trip to Thailand.

Theme

The story centres around the fake marriage of Lee Young-jae and Han Ji-eun. A ditzy girl becomes involved with an arrogant actor after her friends sell her house to him behind her back. In this fluffy romantic comedy, as the plot unfolds, the couple with benefits stands the test of time, defying all odds until their fate connects, forming a fulfilling arc of love and their destiny.

Awards

• KBS Drama Awards – 2004
  Top Excellence Award, Actress, Song Hye-kyo
  Excellence Award, Actor, Rain
  Popularity Award, Actor – Rain
  Popularity Award, Actress – Song Hye-kyo
  Best Couple – Rain and Song Hye-kyo

Interesting Facts about Full House

1. The house where the filming took place was built specifically for this series at a cost of approximately $1 million US dollars and is made mostly of wood.
2. The house remained a tourist attraction until it was torn down in April 2013 due to irreparable damage caused by a typhoon.
3. In real life, Rain and Song Hye-kyo are very close to each other, and the friends once lived in the house next door.
4. The drama ‘Full House’ was remade in the Philippines, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Turkey and Indonesia.
5. A musical adaptation of the drama was made in 2014 in South Korea, starring Leo from the boy band VIXX and the K-pop group in lead roles.
6. The word “Full House” was first said in the third episode of the drama when the character Han Ji-eun was reading the marriage contract.

FAQs

1. Who are the writer and director of ‘Full House’?
   The drama is written by Min Hyo-jung and directed by Pyo Min-soo.
   
2. What is the genre of ‘Full House’?
   The drama falls into the rom-com and drama genres. 
   
3. How many episodes are in ‘Full House’?
   The drama has concluded a successful 16-episode run.
4. Is the K-drama ‘Full House’ worth watching?
   Absolutely, the romantic comedy series is worth watching for the expert cast, character depth and slapstick humour. The gleeful and heartwarming tale delivers solid entertainment with love-hate relationships.
5. What is the Instagram ID of Song Hye-kyo?
   kyo1122 is the Instagram ID of Song Hye-kyo.
6. What is the Instagram ID of Jung Ji-hoon?
   rain_oppa is the Instagram ID of Jung Ji-hoon.