Perhaps never in the history of k-drama has a hero been so intent on finding his true love. Bullets did not stop Kim Do Hyung, played by Kim Moo Yeol, in "My Beautiful Bride." Knives and raging fires only temporarily sidetracked him from finding his missing fiancée, Joo Young, played by Go Sung Hee.
The character starts out seeming like a mild-mannered bank employee but when his fiancée disappears, Kim Do Hyung, never gives up looking for her. He rides his bike over cars, endures multiple car crashes and survives being framed for murder.
But then he knew from the start of the drama that she was the only girl for him.
A disapproving mom did not discourage him from wanting to marry Joo Young. Nor did her sordid past as the girlfriend of a brutal loan shark.
Spoiler alert: And that true love paid off. When the drama ended on Aug. 9 he was finally reunited with his love.
It almost didn't happen despite his fearlessness and the commando skills he learned while serving his mandatory military duty. Low life thug Park Tae Gyu, played by Jo Han Chul stabbed and almost killed him. But Kim Do Young survived.
His mission was not easy. The villains in this drama were like video game characters. One would get knocked down and another would appear, once more threatening Joo Young.
In the end the vast network of loan sharks and the "Shadows" that did their murderous collection work, were not completely defeated. The crooked bank manager who dealt with them went to jail. And other gangsters were apprehended or killed but more only took their place.
Lee Si Young played Cha Yoon Mi, a detective who helped Kim Do Hyung find Joo Young. Cha Yoon Mi did not have as happy an ending. Her love and fellow police officer Park Hae Joon was killed, but their relationship would have ended anyway, given that she learned how crooked he was.
And the loan sharks she thought she thought she already defeated, were not only operating in the present but were so elusive they would probably continue to exist despite her best efforts to eradicate them.
Despite her character's unhappy ending, Lee Si Young said that she thoroughly enjoyed working on "My Beautiful Bride.
"I am so grateful to have starred in this movie-like drama. Everyone worked so hard in the blistering heat and I really respect that. Thank you everyone for watching Cha Yoon Mi, who looks strong on the outside but is vulnerable inside. Yoon Mi lost the one she loves, but I was not as lonely as her. I am happy, thanks to those who supported me."
