Diamond Tears [다이아몬드의 눈물]

Pronounced:

da-ee-ah-mon-deu-ui-noon-mool

Starring:

Kim Seong Min, Yoon Hye-Young, Lee Jae-Hwang, Hong Eun-Hee, Lee Seon-Jin

Directed by:

Heo Woong

Produced by:

Hong Chang-Wook (Magic, To Be Near You, etc.)

Written by:

Han Joon-Young (Escape From Unemployment)

Dates Airing:

September 23 – December 02, 2005

Time Airing:

Fridays 9:55 PM (Korea) 2 episodes per Friday.

Episodes:

21

Genre:

Melodrama/Thriller

Official Website:

[Korean]

Related links:

Soompi Thread (detailed summaries)

Synopsis

Thirty-year-old Son In-Ha (Yoon Hye-Young) works as a secretary in a successful company, owned by Mr. Choi whose only son, Hyeong-Min (Kim Seong-Min), does nothing but play with women day after day, with In-Ha often covering for him in front of the elder Mr. Choi. However, one day the company falls to ruin and Hyeong-Min’s father dies. His sudden death leaves Hyeong-Min with nothing but a trail of debt and his playmates all desert him except for In-Ha who, despite being poor herself and about to be marry another man, gives up everything she has to help Hyeong-Min get back on his feet.

Hyeong-Min who until now has never experienced any hardship realises he needs In-Ha and declares his sudden love for her. In-Ha who always had a crush on him becomes more determined than ever to help rebuild the company from ground up. However In-Ha’s mother, fiancé, and friends are weary of In-Ha being so close to Hyeong-Min who is notorious as a playboy. Despite their opposition, In-Ha sacrifices all that she can to help Hyeong-Min and spends a night with him. The calculating Hyeong-Min then goes to In-Ha’s mother and begs for her acceptance saying he truly loves her. In-Ha’s mother agrees reluctantly seeing that In-Ha has already crossed the point of no return and even sells their house to help Hyeong-Min repay his debt. In-Ha’s mother urges the two to have a simple wedding as soon as possible but Hyeong-Min puts it off. Meanwhile Hyeong-Min’s father’s business associate and friend Mr. Jin returns from being abroad and contacts Hyeong-Min to express his regret. Mr. Jin’s daughter Ga-Hee (Hong Eun-Hee) meets with Hyeong-Min and the two spend a night together at a hotel, while In-Ha waits for him by the clock at home. Ga-Hee suddenly asks Hyeong-Min to marry her and Hyeong-Min sees her as his ticket to wealth again and agrees, leaving In-Ha alone and pregnant.

Years pass by and In-Ha runs into Hyeong-Min again, but she is no longer the same innocent and gullible woman she once was. This time when Hyeong-Min disturbs her she will take revenge. In-Ha begins by befriending Hyeong-Min’s wife, then his mother; but just as her plans succeed a new love, Yi-Seok (Lee Jae-Hwang) tries to stop her from the path of darkness she is on.

Review

This drama is definitely darker than your usual Korean drama. Since neither Kim Seong-Min nor Yoon Hye-Young are extraordinary in acting or appearance, you may not be drawn to it initially; however by the fourth or fifth episode don’t be surprised if you find yourself totally hooked. The pace of the drama feels like a thriller with its many shocking surprises, and once Hong Eun-Hee and Lee Jae-Hwang come on board the drama might appear more appealing than ever. Kim Seong-Min is pretty convincing as the bad boy but the chemistry between him and Yoon Hye-Young is just not quite enough at times, so the story may feel a bit too exaggerated here and there. Yoon Hye-Young is not very convincing at first as the innocent and gullible In-Ha, but the actress gets better as the story unfolds. The two support leads, Hong Eun-Hee and Lee Jae-Hwang really shine in their perspective roles, giving the drama the little push it needed. I recommend this drama to those wanting to try something different than the usual love story.

Rating:

8

Did You Know?

Actor Kim Seong-Min became famous after playing Jang Seo-Hee’s ‘prince’ in the hit drama ‘Mermaid Lady’. The drama continued its success outside Korea in countries like China through the ‘hallyu’ (Korean wave) movement, and the actor, then Kim Seong-Taek, changed his name to the current Kim Seong-Min because he and his management felt the Korean syllable ‘taek’ would be hard for foreigners to remember and say.

Credits:

Graphic by: kiss the rain

Edited by : jiejunwoo