My Dearest
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My Dearest (Korean: 연인) is a 2023 South Korean television series starring Namkoong Min, Ahn Eun-jin, Lee Hak-joo, Lee Da-in, Kim Yoon-woo, and Lee Chung-ah. According to writer Hwang Jin-young, it is inspired by the 1936 novel Gone with the Wind. It aired on MBC TV from August 4 to November 18, 2023, every Friday and Saturday at 21:50 (KST). It is also available for streaming on Wavve in South Korea, and on Viki in selected regions.
The series was divided into two parts: Part 1 aired from August 4 to September 2, 2023, for ten episodes, while Part 2 aired from October 13 to November 18, 2023, for eleven episodes.
Synopsis
The series is set during the Qing invasion of Joseon, and portrays the inspiring story of people who find hope and positivity even in the most challenging times.
Cast
Main
- Namkoong Min as Lee Jang-hyun: an enigmatic nobleman who does not give his sincerity to anything, but after getting to know a woman, he opens the door to his unexpected fate. Moon Seong-hyun as young Lee Jang-hyun
- Ahn Eun-jin as Yoo Gil-chae: the daughter of a noble family who gets entangled with Jang-hyun.
- Lee Hak-joo as Nam Yeon-joon: a promising Confucian student at Sungkyunkwan.
- Lee Da-in as Kyung Eun-ae: Yeon-joon's fiancée and Gil-chae's closest friend.
- Kim Yoon-woo as Ryang-eum: Jang-hyun's close friend who is the best pansori singer in Joseon.
- Lee Chung-ah as Gak-hwa: Hong Taiji's daughter and princess of Qing dynasty.
Supporting
People around Gil-chae
- Ji Seung-hyun as Gu Won-moo: a military officer.
- Park Jung-yeon as Jong Jong-yi: Gil-chae's maid.
- Kwon So-hyun as Bang Du-ne: Eun-ae's maid.
People around Jang-hyun
- Park Kang-seop as Gu-jam: Jang-hyun's servant.
- Choi Moo-sung as Yang-cheon: a gangster.
Joseon royal family and subjects
- Kim Jung-tae as King Injo: the sixteenth ruler of Joseon.
- Kim Moo-jun as Crown Prince Sohyeon: King Injo's eldest son.
- Jeon Hye-won as Crown Princess Kang: Crown Prince Sohyeon's wife.
- So Yoo-jin as Royal Consort So-yong Jo: King Injo's favorite concubine.
- Yang Hyun-min as Pyo Eon-gyeom: Crown Prince Sohyeon's loyal eunuch.
- Kim Tae-hoon as Choe Myeong-gil: a pragmatist who does not bend his decisions and prioritizes the national interests.
- Choi Jong-hwan as Kim Sang-heon: a loyal subject.
- Ha Kyung as Shin I-rip
- Jung Byung-cheol as Bong-si: King Injo's eunuch.
People from Qing dynasty
- Choi Young-woo as Yonggoldae: a military officer.
- Kim Jun-won as Hong Taiji: the emperor of Qing dynasty.
- Kang Gil-woo as Jung Myung-soo: an interpreter.
People in Neunggun-ri
- Oh Man-seok as Yoo Gyo-yeon: Gil-chae's father.
- Jo Seung-yeon as Kyung Geun-jik: Eun-ae's father.
- Park Jong-wook as Gong Sun-yak: the only son of the village head.
- Park Eun-woo as Yoo Young-chae: Gil-chae's younger sister.
- Jung Han-yong as Song-chu: a clerk at Neunggun-ri seowon.
- Nam Gi-ae as Yi-rang: Song-chu's wife.
- Park Jin-woo as Park Dae: Du-ne's husband and Gil-chae's helper.
- Jin Geon-woo as Dae-oh: a Confucian scholar.
- Kim Ga-hee as Yoo-hwa
- Kim Eun-soo as Jun-jeol: a Confucian scholar.
- Ha Gyu-rim as Im-chun: a lady who has bright and cheerful personality.
- Nam Tae-hoon as Tae-seong: a Confucian scholar.
- Choi Su-gyeon as Jung-yeon
Others
- Moon Sung-keun as Jang-cheol: spiritual leader of Confucian scholars.
- Min Ji-ah as In-ok: a captive woman taken by barbarians.
Extended
- Kim Seo-an as Young-rang: a young kisaeng.
- Jeon Guk-hyang as Ae-bok
- Kim Eun-woo as a general of the Qing dynasty
- Lee Young-seok as Deok-chul: a blacksmith worker.
- Lee Nam-hee as Lee Young-ik
- Jeon Jin-oh as Maeng-tan
- Yoo Ji-yeon as Hwa-yu
- Kim Jung-ho as Yoon Chin-wang
Special appearances
- Lee Soo-min as So-ya
- Yoo Jae-suk as a farmer
- Haha as a farmer
- Joo Woo-jae as a farmer
- Park Jin-joo as a farmer
- Lee Yi-kyung as a farmer
- Lee Mi-joo as a farmer
- Lee Mi-do as Yang-sseu
Production
The script reading of the cast was held in December 2022.
In May 2023, MBC announced the termination of the contract with an external company providing background actors, after it was revealed that an actor who was cast for a minor role in My Dearest was one of the twelve perpetrators of a sexual assault in 2004.
On November 9, 2023, it was announced that the series would be extended by one episode due to its popularity, and would end with 21 episodes. The final episode aired on November 18.
Reception
Viewership
| Part | Episode number | Average | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |||
| 1 | 1.011 | 0.728 | 0.991 | 0.976 | 1.441 | 1.752 | 1.955 | 1.843 | 1.883 | 2.269 | – | 1.485 | |
| 2 | 1.441 | 1.812 | 1.835 | 2.231 | 2.020 | 2.099 | 2.018 | 1.911 | 2.229 | 2.301 | 2.388 | 2.026 |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nielsen Korea | TNmS | |||
| Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | ||
| Part 1 | ||||
| 1 | August 4, 2023 | 5.4% (9th) | 5.4% (6th) | N/A |
| 2 | August 5, 2023 | 4.3% (8th) | 4.4% (6th) | |
| 3 | August 11, 2023 | 5.5% (11th) | 5.3% (11th) | 4.3% (18th) |
| 4 | August 12, 2023 | 5.2% (4th) | 5.0% (4th) | 4.4% (12th) |
| 5 | August 18, 2023 | 8.4% (3rd) | 8.3% (3rd) | 6.5% (7th) |
| 6 | August 19, 2023 | 8.8% (2nd) | 8.3% (2nd) | N/A |
| 7 | August 25, 2023 | 10.6% (2nd) | 10.1% (2nd) | 8.0% (5th) |
| 8 | August 26, 2023 | 10.3% (2nd) | 9.9% (2nd) | N/A |
| 9 | September 1, 2023 | 10.6% (2nd) | 9.8% (2nd) | 9.0% (4th) |
| 10 | September 2, 2023 | 12.2% (2nd) | 11.5% (2nd) | N/A |
| Part 2 | ||||
| 11 | October 13, 2023 | 7.7% (4th) | 7.5% (2nd) | 6.6% (6th) |
| 12 | October 14, 2023 | 9.3% (2nd) | 9.5% (2nd) | 6.9% (2nd) |
| 13 | October 20, 2023 | 10.3% (1st) | 9.9% (1st) | 7.9% (5th) |
| 14 | October 21, 2023 | 11.7% (2nd) | 10.9% (2nd) | N/A |
| 15 | October 27, 2023 | 11.8% (1st) | 11.2% (1st) | 9.5% (3rd) |
| 16 | October 28, 2023 | 12.0% (2nd) | 11.3% (2nd) | N/A |
| 17 | November 4, 2023 | 11.4% (2nd) | 11.3% (2nd) | |
| 18 | November 10, 2023 | 10.8% (1st) | 10.3% (1st) | 7.6% (4th) |
| 19 | November 11, 2023 | 11.6% (2nd) | 11.3% (2nd) | N/A |
| 20 | November 17, 2023 | 12.4% (1st) | 12.5% (1st) | |
| 21 | November 18, 2023 | 12.9% (2nd) | 12.7% (2nd) | |
| Average | 9.7% | 9.4% | — | |
| Special | September 8, 2023 | 3.4% (18th) | 3.5% (15th) | N/A |
| In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. N/A denotes ratings that were not published. |
Accolades
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2024 | Best Actor | Namkoong Min | Won | |
| Best Drama | My Dearest | Won | |||
| Best Actress | Ahn Eun-jin | Nominated | |||
| Grimae Awards | 2023 | Best Actor | Namkoong Min | Won | |
| Best Actress | Ahn Eun-jin | Won | |||
| Directing Award | Kim Seong-yong and Cheon Soo-jin | Won | |||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | My Dearest | Won | |||
| Lighting Award | Kwon Min-gu | Won | |||
| MBC Drama Awards | 2023 | Best Character Award | Kim Jong-tae[ko] | Won | |
| Best Couple Award | Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun-jin | Won | |||
| Best New Actor | Kim Mu-jun | Won | |||
| Kim Yoon-woo | Won | ||||
| Best New Actress | Park Jung-yeon | Won | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Choi Young-woo[ko] | Won | |||
| Drama of the Year | My Dearest | Won | |||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | Namkoong Min | Won | |||
| Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Ahn Eun-jin | Won | |||
| Lee Chung-ah | Nominated | ||||
| Best Character Award | Choi Moo-sung | Nominated | |||
| Best New Actress | Jeon Hye-won | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Kwon So-hyun | Nominated | |||
| Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Lee Hak-joo | Nominated | |||
| Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Lee Da-in | Nominated | |||
| Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Namkoong Min | Nominated | |||
| Seoul International Drama Awards | 2024 | Outstanding Korean Drama | My Dearest | Nominated |
Listicles
| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Recipient | Placement | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallup Korea | 2024 | Best Television Couple of the Past 10 Years | Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun-jin | 9th |