Park Shi-yeon becomes Miss Mom for Greatest Marriage

by javabeans

This drama’s been flying under my radar a bit, but it’s almost go-time for Greatest Marriage, whose launch is less than a week away. It comes to us via cable station TV Chosun, where it’ll take up residence for the next two months as their new weekend drama.

The production held a press conference on September 22, with the cast in attendance to talk about the show, which focuses on four couples navigating the world of romance with a frank and modern approach. (You’d think it were a provocative melo from the drama’s poster, pictured above, but judging from the teasers it actually looks fairly light and comedic.)

Park Shi-yeon leads the cast as the star news anchor who finds herself pregnant and decides, against the baby’s father’s wishes (that’d be Noh Min-woo, a news-corp chaebol and hotshot reporter who’s not ready for marriage) to have the child on her own. Bae Soo-bin will play another love interest, a talented anchor who’s nevertheless facing some uncertainty in his career. Uhm Hyun-kyung rounds out the main quartet as an AD on a temporary contract with the station, who’s more interested in using the job to find a husband than cultivate a career.

In the teaser, Park announces at a press conference, “More than a husband, I wanted a child.” Meanwhile, a man’s voice demands, “Why’d you get pregnant and tell me? You should have just taken care of it on your own.” (Gar, rage.) But it’s okay, because Park Shi-yeon appears to be able to handle things just fine on her own, framing her choice as a “sperm donation” that led to “a successful pregnancy.”

I do like the first poster’s tagline, which reads: “We have finally become independent from marriage.” I wonder if that’ll hold true through the entire show, or if our happily ever after will end with wedding bells after all. I won’t hold my breath for it, but frankly I’d really love if they stuck with the heroine’s decision and gave her a happy ending without the ring.

This drama marks Park Shi-yeon’s first project since giving birth last year to a daughter who’s now approaching her first birthday. Perhaps that’ll give her added insight into her character, while Bae Soo-bin became a father more recently (his boy just had his 100 day birthday). And while the topic of single mothers voluntarily having children out of wedlock (the drama calls this character a “Miss Mom”) isn’t necessarily racy for television, especially on a cable station, PD Oh Jong-rok did say that TV Chosun has a lot of older and more conservative viewers, which was a consideration in deciding how to express the story. Perhaps it’ll be done with an insightful touch, given that the story is reportedly infused with the writer’s personal experiences.

Greatest Marriage will air on Saturday and Sunday nights on TV Chosun, and is planned for 16 episodes. It premieres September 27.

Via TV Report, My Daily, Star News, Hankook Ilbo

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