A new drama, "Sweet Secrets," takes on the subject of single moms. While it's not the first k-drama to do so, it is the third one to tackle the subject this year.
The other two recent single mom dramas are "The Greatest Marriage" and "Mama." "The Greatest Marriage," starring Park Si Yeon, Bae Soo Bin and Noh Min Woo, is about a newscaster who decides she wants a baby but not marriage. Her decision creates a scandal, as she is a national figure. "Mama," with stars Hong Jung Hyun and Song Yun Ah, told the story of a successful painter who is a happy single mom until she learns she has a terminal illness.
And "Nine Plus Boys" even touched on the subject when Oh Jung Se's sister told him that she did not want him to marry a single mom, even though the mom in question was his former girlfriend and a divorcee.
"Sweet Secrets" takes a slightly different angle in that it presents the cute child of a single mom as a dating asset. In "Sweet Secrets" Shim Ji Ho plays Cheon Sung Woon, the director of a corporation known as Winners Group. He's a fashionable and methodical man. When he meets single mom Han Ah Reum, played by Shin So Yul, he's not that impressed. But when he meets her daughter, the child brings out the paternal and tender side of him. As a result he warms toward both mother and daughter.
Shim Ji Ho, who appeared in the 2014 drama "Passionate Love" and the 2013 drama "Family," said he took the role because he was attracted to the character's "manly appeal." So far the mood on set is positive.
"We had our first script reading last week," he said. "And it was really good. Everyone's working really hard."
Shin So Yul, who plays the single mom, also has a role in the film "The Royal Tailors" with Park Shin Hye. She appeared in the film "Private Island" in 2013 and had roles in a dozen dramas, including "Yoona's Street," "Reply 1994," "Ugly Alert," All About My Romance," Cheomdamdong Alice" and "Reply 1997."
Kim Kyung Hee, who wrote Episode 2 of "Secret Love" in 2014, is the drama's screenwriter. The drama's director Park Man Young produced "The Prime Minister and I" and "King Gwanggeto the Great." He also directed "Please Marry Me" and "Strongest Chil Woo."
The drama will air in November after the end of "Two Mothers."
