My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho
| My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho | |
|---|---|
 Promotional Poster for My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox | |
| Genre | Romantic comedy, Romance |
| Written by | Hong Jung-eun Hong Mi-ran |
| Directed by | Boo Sung-chul |
| Starring | Lee Seung-gi Shin Min-ah No Min-woo Park Soo-jin |
| Ending theme | Fox Rain by Lee Sun-hee |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 (KST) |
| Original release | |
| Network | Seoul Broadcasting System (HD Version) |
| Release | 11 August – 30 September 2010 |
My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox (Korean: 내 여자친구는 구미호; Hanja: 我的女友是九尾狐; also known as My Girlfriend is a Gumiho) is a 2010 South Korean romantic comedy series starring Lee Seung-gi and Shin Min-ah.[1] It aired on Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) from August 11 to September 30, 2010 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 16 episodes.
Synopsis
Cha Dae-woong (Lee Seung Gi) accidentally releases a troublesome gumiho, a legendary fox with nine tails, sealed inside a painting by Grandma Samshin (三神). Fleeing the scene, Dae-woong suffers a life-threatening fall and is only saved by the gumiho giving him her "fox bead" (여우 구슬). When Dae-woong awakes and meets a mysterious pretty girl, he initially treats her as eccentric or mentally ill, before fully understanding she is a gumiho in disguise—at which point he tries to research gumihos, but fails to find correct information in the library or on the internet. He agrees to stay with her and he tries to keep her happy, while hiding her true identity as a gumiho from all others by introducing her as his friend, Mi Ho. Slowly, however, he becomes less scared of her and more protective of her—finally admitting to himself and to her that he loves her.
As the story unfolds, Mi Ho (Shin Min Ah) pursues her goal of becoming human, with the half-human, half-supernatural Park Dong Joo, who has a career as a veterinarian and has been living as a half-human for hundreds of years, informing her that to do so, she must drink his blood and allow a human to keep her fox bead inside their body for a full 100 days - faithfully entering into a Love Contract, and keeping the bead from being harmed by remaining chaste. However, Dong Joo does not mention that at the end of the 100 days the human will die. Mi Ho and Dae Woong fall in love without fully knowing the consequences of fulfilling her goal: namely, that Woong will die if she becomes fully human.
Cast
- Lee Seung Gi as Cha Dae-woong, an immature aspiring actor who lost his parents at a young age (and was subsequently raised by his affluent grandfather and aunt). When his grandfather tries to enroll him in a strict boarding school, Dae-woong runs away and eventually ends up at a Buddhist temple, where a woman's voice tells him to draw nine tails on a painting of a fox. He later meets a girl who informs him that she is the gumiho (later called Mi ho). He ends up trying to keep her happy (mostly by buying her meat, especially beef, her favorite food) and hide the fact that she is a gumiho from others. Later, Dae-woong falls in love with Mi ho.
- Shin Min Ah as Gu Mi ho, a legendary nine-tailed fox who was sealed inside a painting for 500 years. She dreamed of becoming a human, but was unable to find the necessary human husband after a rumor was spread that she would eat their livers. When she meets Dae-woong, she starts wanting to act and be human somehow, though she exerts her superhuman strength (she can run exceptionally fast, jump very far and high safely, and smell people and things from very far off accurately). Mi ho also gives Dae-woong her fox bead which helps him stay alive due to a fall from a cliff. She becomes Dae-woong's girlfriend and tries to mold their relationship into that of a normal girlfriend-boyfriend. Despite most gumihos being ferocious, her personality is more cute and nice (though she still has a characteristic fear of Water, because she is a special gumiho made from Fire).
- No Min-woo as Park Dong Ju, a half-human, half-supernatural being who disguises himself as a normal veterinarian and is the series' chief antagonist—or second protagonist, since he is actually eventually protective of Mi Ho also. He initially tries to capture Mi ho and put her back into the painting, but when Mi ho tells him that she wants to become a human, he changes his mind and tells her the process for doing so (though he does not mention Dae-woong will die in the process). Since Dong Ju sees Miho as similar, in appearance and situation, to a reincarnation of Kil-Dal, a goblin he once loved, he tries to keep her safe, supplying her with information about humans, warning her that humans cannot be trusted in the end, and setting her up with all the necessary identifications and papers to assume a human life as "Park Seon Joo," once the 100 days have passed and she is entirely human.
- Park Soo Jin as Eun Hye In, a former love interest of Dae-woong and the series' chief antagonist. Though the two once had strong feelings for each other, Dae-woong loses interest and starts ignoring her when he finds out she was using him. When Mi ho becomes Dae-woong's girlfriend, she becomes jealous, trying to ask Dae-woong out and learn Mi ho's true identity.
- Sung Dong Il as Ban Doo Hong, the director of Dae-woong's acting school and the widowed father of Ban Seon Nyuh. He is very fond of Dae-woong's acting skills and favors him greatly. He has feelings for Dae-woong's aunt, Cha Min Sook, which can be seen during their first encounter, when he takes the blame for a potentially embarrassing faux pas in an elevator. Interestingly, most of Min Sook's and Doo Hong's scenes together involve accidents or embarrassing physical situations (like the flatulence). Doo Hong is obsessed with action stars generally, and in particular with the Hong Kong star Chow Yun Fat, whom he constantly caricatures.
- Hyo Min as Ban Seon Nyuh, Dae-woong's classmate and friend and the daughter of Doo Hong. She has feelings for Dae-woong, though she is shown to accept Mi ho is his girlfriend and even be friends with her. She eventually ends up with Byung Soo.
- Byeon Hee-bong as Dae-woong's strict but loving grandfather. He shows great concern over Dae-woong's ability to make good choices, though he eventually accepts his dream of becoming an actor after seeing him mature—as shown by Dae-woong's care for and acceptance of responsibility for Mi Ho, whom the grandfather is fond of.
- Yoon Yoo Sun as Cha Min Sook, Dae-woong's aunt. She is shown to be very obedient to Dae-woong's grandfather and to have feelings for Ban Doo Hong, which she is unable to express and, subsequently, she often ends up making a fool of herself while in his presence. They are the comic version of lovers in the story, and they eventually do pair up.
- Kim Ho Chang as Kim Byung Soo (Dino Kim), Dae-woong's classmate and friend. He is supportive of Dae-woong and has feelings for Seon Nyuh (which she is initially unaware of).
Cast members of the writers' previous drama, You're Beautiful, made cameo appearances in the series, with Uee as a student in episode 5, Lee Hongki as Jeremy in a photoshoot in episode 16, and Park Shin Hye as Go Mi Nyeo on the bus in episode 6.
Ratings
South Korea
| Date | Episode | Nationwide | Seoul |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-08-11 | 1 | 12.7 (6th) | 13.0 (6th) |
| 2010-08-12 | 2 | 12.6 (8th) | 13.1 (8th) |
| 2010-08-18 | 3 | 14.6 (6th) | 14.9 (6th) |
| 2010-08-19 | 4 | 14.1 (7th) | 14.0 (7th) |
| 2010-08-25 | 5 | 14.0 (6th) | 14.1 (6th) |
| 2010-08-26 | 6 | 14.2 (8th) | 14.1 (8th) |
| 2010-09-01 | 7 | 13.4 (9th) | 13.4 (9th) |
| 2010-09-02 | 8 | 13.4 (12th) | 13.6 (12th) |
| 2010-09-08 | 9 | 13.2 (9th) | 12.8 (9th) |
| 2010-09-09 | 10 | 12.3 (11th) | 12.6 (11th) |
| 2010-09-15 | 11 | 13.0 (9th) | 12.8 (9th) |
| 2010-09-16 | 12 | 10.7 (11th) | 10.4 (11th) |
| 2010-09-22 | 13 | 20.9 (1st) | 21.3 (1st) |
| 2010-09-23 | 14 | 20.9 (1st) | 21.3 (1st) |
| 2010-09-29 | 15 | 18.6 (3rd) | 18.6 (3rd) |
| 2010-09-30 | 16 | 21.3 (2nd) | 21.0 (2nd) |
Source: TNS Media Korea[full citation needed]
Awards and Nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nomination | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Awards, Actor (Drama Special) | Lee Seung Gi | Won | |
| Excellence Awards, Actress (Drama Special) | Shin Min Ah | Won | |||
| Top 10 Stars Awards | Lee Seung Gi & Shin Min Ah | Won | |||
| Best Couple Awards | Lee Seung Gi & Shin Min Ah | Won | |||
| Best New Actor Awards | No Min-woo | Won | |||
| Melon Music Awards | Top 10 Artist Awards | "Losing My Mind" - Lee Seung Gi | Won | ||
| Special Ost Awards/Best Ost Awards | "Losing My Mind" - Lee Seung Gi | Won | |||
| 2012 | 8th USTV Awards | Best Foreign Drama (Soap Opera) | My Girlfriend Is Gumiho | Won |