Overview of Lies Hidden in My Garden
‘Lies Hidden in My Garden’ is a South Korean drama series that aired from June 19, 2023, to July 11, 2023. Korean dramas are now being narrated with a shorter number of episodes, and one such mini-series is the nail-biting suspense-induced drama ‘Lies Hidden in My Garden’.
In Gianni’s great storyline, the drama depicts the lives of two women who live quite different lives; however, the two stories are gravely interconnected in which they both discuss the lives of women who are abused by their partners. While one’s abuse is more physical, the other woman goes through mental and emotional abuse.
Profile
- Drama: Lies Hidden in My Garden
- Directors: Jung Ji-hyun, Heo Seok-won
- Writer: Gianni
- Network: ENA
- Episodes: 8
- Release Date: June 19, 2023 – July 11, 2023
- Language: Korean
- Country: South Korea
Cast
- Kim Tae-hee as Moon Joo-ran, a housewife who has an attractive life in a perfect house and is jealous of everyone around her.
- Lim Ji-yeon as Chu Sang-eun, a pregnant woman who is a victim of domestic violence and wishes to escape from her pitiful reality.
- Kim Sung-oh as Park Jae-ho, Joo-ran’s husband who is a perfectionist doctor.
- Choi Jae-rim as Kim Yoon-beom, Sang-eun’s husband who works as a salesman at a pharmaceutical company.
Supporting
- Cha Seong-je as Park Seung-jae, Joo-ran and Jae-ho’s son.
- Jung Woon-sun as Oh Hae-soo, Joo-ran and Jae-ho’s neighbor.
- Jung Hee-tae as Do-kyung, a police officer.
- Cha Mi-kyung as Sang-eun’s mother who has dementia.
- Woo Hyun as a security guard at the apartment where Sang-eun lives.
- Yoon Ga-i as Lee Su-min
- Moon Soo-young as Joo Tae-kyung, a child prostitution broker.
Synopsis
Moon Joo-ran (Kim Tae-hee) is a woman who appears to live a charmed life with her seemingly perfect husband, Park Jae-ho (Kim Sung-oh), who is a perfectionist, doctor and the couple is gifted by a son, Park Seung-jae (Cha Seong-je). They live in a wealthy house that has a big backyard.
Moon Joo-ran’s peaceful family life is abruptly shaken when she notices a strange smell in her backyard. She even tells this to her husband and son, but they say they don’t smell anything and their response makes her doubtful of her judgment. Joo-ran investigates, and she finds a human hand buried there in the backyard.
Joo-ran’s path crosses with that of Chu Sang-eun (Lim Ji-yeon), a pregnant woman whose life has been filled with struggles. Chu Sang-eun lives a completely different life from Moon Joo-ran, as she lives in a shabby rented apartment with her husband Kim Yoon-beom (Choi Jae-rim). Sang-eun grew up in a poor environment, and even now, she suffers from financial difficulties and domestic violence from her husband and longs to escape from her miserable and pitiful life. Kim Yoon-beom, her husband, works as a salesman at a pharmaceutical company.
One day, Sang-eun receives a call that her husband, Yoon-beom, is dead. Jae-ho and Joo-ran go to the funeral, and in between, Sang-eun tells Joo-ran that Jae-ho killed her husband. After this, Joo-ran starts to suspect her husband, Jae-ho.
Later, Sang-eun comes to know that her late husband had five insurance policies. She is determined to prove death because she can’t get insurance money if the death is concluded as suicide. Both Sang-eun and Joo-ran team up to uncover the truth about their respective husbands.
The Mystery Behind the Foul Smell
Jae-ho and some of his colleagues were involved with a child abuse ring, and he had gotten associated with a girl named Lee Su-min (Yoon Ga-i), a 15-year-old girl. Su-min is now pregnant and shows up at Park Seung-jae’s house to tell him what his father has done. He is shocked and ends up pushing her down the stairs, grievously injuring her; however, she survives the fall from the stairs.
Seung-jae presumes she is dead and leaves for school in the morning but returns to check on Su-min. That is when he sees his father, Jae-ho, trying to strangle Su-min to death, and Jae-ho buries her in the garden. Jae-ho is unaware that his own son witnessed his dreadful act.
Meanwhile, Joo-ran is getting really disturbed by the smell, as she associates the decomposing smell with her sister’s death. Joo-ran doesn’t know what happened, and whenever she tries to find out, Jae-ho purposefully misleads her in some manner or another.
The Connection between Park Jae-ho and Kim Yoon-beom
Kim Yoon-beom knows Jae-ho’s secret and has been blackmailing him for money, and he even meets Joo-ran for this purpose. That night, when Jae-ho is disposing of Su-min’s body, Chu Sang-eun (Yoon-beom’s abused wife) kills him. By now, Joo-ran has figured out that Sang-eun was the one to kill her husband to escape from his abuse forever.
Joo-ran was devastated by thinking about how her husband made their own son a murderer just to cover up his lies and criminal deeds. Joo-ran thinks of helping her son to have a clear conscience, but knowing how it will affect their family, she holds herself back. But when Seung-jae tells her that it was Jae-ho and not him who killed Su-min, she decides to get out of the relationship. Then, Joo-ran is joined by Sang-eun to kill her husband, Jae-ho.
She offers Sang-eun 500 million won in exchange for murdering Jae-ho. Sang-eun agrees to this deal as she is in desperate financial need. Finally, it turns out to be a bluff, and it is Joo-ran who gets to kill Jae-ho. Joo-ran gives a statement at the police station that her husband Jae-ho had murdered Yoon-beom and that she wanted to kill Jae-ho so that she could protect her son.
Ending Explained
Since Yoon-beom’s death is now classified as murder, Sang-eun is now able to get the entire amount of his life insurance, finally free herself of her husband’s abuse, and reconnect with the child in her womb.
In the end, when Sang-eun comes to meet Joo-ran in jail and asks her why she did all that, the answer turns out to be of gratitude. It turns out that, actually, this was Joo-ran’s entire plan. If Sang-eun had never entered Joo-ran’s life, she would have never seen the light.
A few months later, Sang-eun delivers a baby boy, and she is leading a happy and satisfied life with a good job in a bakery. Since Yoon-beom died and she finally had stable finances, she was able to happily look after her child. As for Joo-ran, she was released from prison, and she is living happily with her son and her friend and neighbour Oh Hae-soo (Jung Woon-sun).
Theme
‘Lies Hidden in My Garden’ is a unique and interesting K-drama that comes off a slow burn with the potential to overwhelm you one episode after the other. The story sheds light on the troubled pasts of two women fighting with their inner demons, and the gripping drama also explores their lives.
Together, the two protagonists delve deeper into a dark, sinister truth that turns out to be life-threatening. With solid performances and an engaging plot, this captivating drama explores the depths of human nature and is a must-watch for suspenseful thriller drama fans.
- Bechdel Day – 2023
Bechdel Choice 10 – Series Category – ‘Lies Hidden in My Garden’
Best Actress – Series Category – Lim Ji-yeon
Interesting Facts about Lies Hidden in My Garden
- In Amazon Prime Video’s Top TV Show category, ‘Lies Hidden in My Garden’ ranked first in five countries: Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Myanmar.
- The drama ranked in the top 10 in nine Southeast Asian countries.
- The series ranked 8th in the Global Top 10 non-English TV shows.
- Ranked in the top 5 of Viki’s viewing user rankings in 50 countries, including France, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.
- In its second week of release, the drama succeeded in entering the top five for three consecutive weeks in Canada and the United States.
- ‘Lies Hidden in My Garden’ is based on the novel of the same name by Kim Jin-young.
FAQs
- Who are the writer and director of ‘Lies Hidden in My Garden’?
The drama is written by Gianni and directed by Jung Ji-hyun, and Heo Seok-won.
- What is the genre of ‘Lies Hidden in My Garden’?
The drama falls into suspense, thriller and mystery genres.
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How many episodes are in ‘Lies Hidden in My Garden’?
‘Lies Hidden in My Garden’ has concluded a successful 8-episode run. - Is the K-drama ‘Lies Hidden in My Garden’ worth watching?
Absolutely, the drama is a masterpiece of compelling cinematography, acting, and dialogue. Each scene in the drama has a purpose and the overall story is very tense and riveting too. - What is the Instagram ID of Kim Tae-hee?
kimtaehee99 is the Instagram ID of Kim Tae-hee. - What is the Instagram ID of Lim Ji-yeon?
limjjy2 is the Instagram ID of Lim Ji-yeon.
