Overview of Nice Guy
A man is betrayed by the woman he loves. To extract revenge, the man uses another woman who lost her memory. The KBS South Korean drama ‘Nice Guy’ portrays a riveting yet good revenge story. The drama aired on KBS2 for 20 episodes from September 12 to November 15, 2012. The three lead actors, Song Joong-ki, Moon Chae-won, and Park Si-yeon did a fantastic job of bringing their characters to life.
Profile
- Drama: Nice Guy
- Directors: Kim Jin-won and Lee Na-jeong
- Writer: Lee Kyung-hee
- Network: KBS
- Episodes: 20
- Release Date: 12 September – 15 November 2012
- Language: Korean
- Country: South Korea
Cast
- Song Joong-ki as Kang Ma-ru
- Kang Chan-hee as young Ma-ru
- Moon Chae-won as Seo Eun-gi
- Park Si-yeon as Han Jae-hee
- Park So-young as young Jae-hee
Supporting
- Lee Kwang-soo as Park Jae-gil
- Lee Yu-bi as Kang Choco
- Han Seo-jin as young Kang Choco
- Lee Sang-yeob as Park Joon-ha
- Kim Tae-hoon as Ahn Min-young
- Yang Ik-june as Han Jae-sik
- Kim Yeong-cheol as CEO Seo Jung-gyu
- Jin Kyung as Hyun Jung-hwa
- Oh Yong as Jo Young-bae
- Jo Hwi-joon as Seo Eun-seok
- Kim Ye-won as Kim Yoo-ra
- Oh Hee-joon as Han Jae-shik
- Jo Sung-ha as Dr. Seok Min-hyuk (cameo, ep 1, 12, 20)
- Danny Ahn as Kim Jung-hoon (cameo, ep 2 & 15)
Synopsis
Kang Ma-ru (Song Joong-ki) is a promising medical student. He lives with his younger sister, Kang Choco (Lee Yu-bi), who suffers from poor health. Meanwhile, Han Jae-hee (Park Si-yeon) is working as a reporter at HBS Broadcasting Company.
Ma-ru and Jae-hee come from poor family backgrounds. However, they try hard to achieve their dreams: Ma-ru to become a doctor, and Jae-hee to become an anchorwoman. Kang Ma-ru is deeply in love with his slightly older neighbour, Han Jae-hee.
Jae-hee desperately wants to escape poverty, and her life takes a turn when she meets a rich CEO who introduces her to a life of comfort. So she turns her back on Ma-ru, choosing money over love.
One day, Ma-ru goes home and finds his sister sick. While he puts socks on his ill sister, Ma-ru receives a phone call from Jae-hee. Jae-hee sounds panicky, and she asks Ma-ru to come over. Ma-ru’s sick sister begs him not to leave her alone, however, Ma-ru rushes over to help Jae-hee.
When Ma-ru arrives at the motel room, he finds Jae-hee completely shaken and the dead body of a man lying on the floor near her. Ma-ru is shocked, and he attempts to counsel Jae-hee to turn herself into the police. With a broken spirit, when Jae-hee begins to call the police, Ma-ru hangs up the phone. He kisses Jae-hee and then goes through the motel room to wipe away Jae-hee’s fingerprints. Ma-ru takes all the blame and turns himself into the police. Meanwhile, Jae-hee betrays him and marries the owner of a big company.
The brutal betrayal completely changes Ma-ru; he becomes an angry, broken person. After 5 years, the 30-year-old Ma-ru gets out of jail and becomes a bartender and gigolo, having no other options left to survive and care for his family. Ma-ru is no longer a nice guy.
Later one day, he meets a young woman named Seo Eun-gi (Moon Chae-won), who is a rich and arrogant girl but also has a kind-hearted side. Eun-gi is a person who does everything to protect her mother’s memories. She has a troubled relationship with her father and stepmother, as she blames them for being a reason for her mother’s death.
The rich heiress has been groomed to become the successor to the Taesan Corporation. One day, when Seo Eun-gi pulls her car over in front of her home, Eun-gi sees a woman hug her father. The woman hugging her father is Jae-hee.
Six years later, after serving a 5-year prison sentence, Ma-ru travels to Aomori, Japan, to retrieve money from a woman who swindled his best friend Park Jae-gil (Lee Kwang-soo). Park Jae-gil is Ma-ru’s sister and Kang Choco’s lover.
Ma-ru seduces the woman and retrieves the money stolen from his friend. At the same time, Eun-gi and her now-stepmother, Jae-hee, are also in Aomori, Japan. Eun-gi looks down upon her stepmother as nothing but a person who forms a relationship with another purely to extract money from them.
On the way back to Korea, Ma-ru collapses onto Eun-gi. Ma-ru waits to use the restroom on the flight, and when the restroom door opens, Eun-gi walks out. Ma-ru ignores Eun-gi and walks back to his seat. An unexpected incident happens as Eun-gi’s condition quickly worsens and the airhosters ask if there is any doctor on the flight. Since nobody comes forward, Ma-ru is compelled to help Eun-gi.
While providing medical aid to Eun-gi, he asks for the woman’s help. At this time, Jae-hee walks over to the scene and states that she is her mother. Jae-hee also has a child next to her who is calling her mom.
Ending Explained
The situation gets even more complicated when Kang Ma-ru decides to take revenge and Seo Eun-gi falls in love with him. Ma-ru decides to take revenge on his ex, Jae-hee, and bring her down from her position after his sister, Kang Choco, is rushed to the hospital because of Jae-hee.
Ma-ru, though initially having no plans as such, uses Eun-gi to take revenge on Jae-hee. At the beginning of her relationship with Ma-ru, Eun-gi finds out the real reason why he approached her, and they eventually break up. A car accident causes Eun-gi to lose her memory, and she enters Ma-ru’s life again.
Theme
‘Nice Guy’ revolves around greed and betrayal for love and power among the three main characters, Kang Ma-ru (Song Joong-ki), Seo Eun-gi (Moon Chae-won), and Han Jae-hee (Park Si-yeon). Being in the melodrama genre, the drama focuses more on relationships, revenge, betrayal, and romance. With realistic and memorable characters and an addicting and intense plot, ‘Nice Guy’ drives the audience to look at the consequences of obsession—whether it be with love, money, or power. The series successfully portrays the aftereffects that occur when one sacrifices too much and uses other people.
The characters displayed themselves in a very mature and remarkable way. The well-developed and multi-layered characters like Kang Ma-ru and the path he takes in this drama are dark and full of suffering, and it’s interesting to see how he develops on his journey.
Awards
- 20th Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards – 2012
Top Excellence Award, Actor – Song Joong-ki - 1st K-Drama Star Awards – 2012
Top Excellence Award, Actor – Song Joong-ki - KBS Drama Awards – 2012
Best Couple Award – Song Joong-ki and Moon Chae-won
Netizens’ Award – Song Joong-ki, Moon Chae-won
Top Excellence Award, Actor – Song Joong-ki
Top Excellence Award, Actress – Moon Chae-won
Interesting Facts about Nice Guy
- The first script reading occurred in late June 2012 at KBS Annex Broadcasting Station in Yeouido, South Korea.
- The drama took over the KBS2 Wednesday and Thursday 21:55 time slots previously occupied by the K-drama ‘Bridal Mask’ followed by the Korean fantasy series ‘Jeon Woo-Chi’ on November 21, 2012.
- The Korean title, when translated, means ‘Nowhere in the World Does a Good Man Exist’.
- The series is written by Lee Kyung-hee, who previously wrote K-dramas ‘Will It Snow for Christmas?’, ‘Thank You’, ‘A Love to Kill’, ‘I’m Sorry, I Love You’, and ‘Sang Doo! Let’s Go to School’.
- The English title of the drama is ‘The Innocent Man’.
FAQs
- Who are the writer and directors of the K-drama ‘Nice Guy’?
The drama is written by Lee Kyung-hee and directed by Kim Jin-won and Lee Na-jeong.
- What type of drama is ‘Nice Guy’?
‘Nice Guy’ falls into the romance, and melodrama genres.
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How many episodes are in ‘Nice Guy’?
‘Nice Guy’ has concluded a successful 20-episode run. - Is the K-drama ‘Nice Guy’ worth watching?
If you love melodramas, it’s worth your time! With realistic and memorable characters, plot twists, powerful emotion, and a very realistic ending, it’s an outstanding drama and worth watching. - What is the Instagram ID of Song Joong-ki?
hi_songjoongki is the Instagram ID of Song Joong-ki. - What is the Instagram ID of Park Si-yeon?
l.h.mom is the Instagram ID of Park Si-yeon.
