SBS TV series "Romance in Paris" will be shown on Channel 3 of Beijing Television Station, daily at 10:40 PM from October 17.

Synopsis:

Han Ki Joo (KJ) is the President of GD Motors. He has been living in Paris for 2 years after his failed marriage to Baek Sung Kyung (BSK). KJ is charismatic and a smart man; he has been groomed all his life to take over the position of the Chairman of the company, the next commander of GD Motors.

Kang Tae Young (KTY) is the beloved daughter of a film director. She is carrying on her father's wish and is studying film in Paris. To make ends meet, TY works as a housekeeper for KJ. TY is a simple yet spunky girl with an optimistic outlook in life, she may be goofy at times but her warm, spontaneous personality just makes everyone gravitate towards her.

Yoon Soo Hyuk (YSH) is the free-spirit vagabond nephew of KJ who dropped out of design school in the US to live with him in Paris. He shares a close and intimate relationship with KJ, although KJ being the uncle is not much older than SH. KJ gives the freedom that SH yearns for and supports him monetarily to pursue the kind of life he wishes.

Being the man with high standards, TY is quickly fired by KJ as a housekeeper. However, when KJ realise that TY is from the same hometown as the wife of a potential business partner, he is quick to capitalise on that and hires TY to be his girlfriend to warm up to his business partner. TY agrees in exchange for getting back her job as a housekeeper. During the 2 dates that KJ takes TY out, she is smitten by the entire fairy tale of the event. In turn KJ finds himself unexpectedly captivated by this chatty, unpretentious girl.

However, the fake girlfriend plan backfires on KJ, and both part ways on bad terms in Paris.

SH also meets TY on a different occasion and is taken by her immediately. He sees through TY's insecurities and her weaknesses, and his heart goes out to her and wants to protect her.

Recalled by his father, KJ returns to Korea, and TY took the same plane back as well to attend to her father's death anniversary. Both are reunited coincidentally back in Seoul and manage to have their misunderstanding resolved. TY prepares to return to Paris to continue her studies, and parts with KJ. Unfortunately TY's uncle has squandered away her family house and run away, leaving TY with her young cousin and the debts he has incurred.

While trying to sort out her family problems and retrieve her father's camera that was confiscated by the creditors, TY meets KJ again. Through multiple coincidental encounters, KJ finds himself attracted to TY. Despite his commanding presence and being the next chief of his family's business, on the relationship front KJ is a complete retard. But his heart starts to yearn for a relationship that he has never experienced before.

SH returns to Korea as well to track TY down. He puts up at TY's place and tries to win her heart. He is devastated when he realised that his beloved uncle is vying for TY's affection as well.

The situation is further complicated with the introduction of Moon Yoon Ah (MYA), the daughter of an influential politician whom KJ's father has selected to be KJ's wife. She also happens to be TY's classmate in high school, and she is determined to win KJ to be her trophy husband.

Against the better judgement of all around them, KJ and TY open their hearts to each other. But their union will not be smooth sailing with a scheming MYA, and an emotionally wounded SH plotting to split them up....

Review:

This kdrama broke the ratings record set by "Dae Jang Geum" last year, reaching 57% ratings at its peak, re-capitulating both Park Shin Yang and Kim Jun Eun back into the limelight and marking their successful return to the goggle-box. SBS has once again demonstrated the winning formula of wooing outstanding actors who had crossed over to the movie world to star in their K-drama production.

  Romance in Paris (2004, SBS drama special)

I had yet to watch another 2004 Korea drama production since Stairway to Heaven. For a while, I felt that the genre of Korean dramas had come to be stereotyped and typecast as sappy, romantic, authoritative dramas with each plot made up of repetitive, parallel and analogous storylines.

As I decided to choose a drama production to watch again, I was quite apprehensive on the choice of a drama. But after hearing positive reviews of Romance in Paris and the high ratings that it garnered, I was rather curious about this drama, and wondered if it would be as excellent a drama as others had described it to be.     (Source: www.spcnet.tv)

Review:

Romance in Paris is addictive. With its first three episodes showing the landscape of Paris, it is no wonder why the audience would be beheld by the picturesque scenery of the city of Amour. The Eiffel Tower, Seine River and other sights and sounds of Paris are captivating in the opening scenes of this drama. However, this is not the only captivating factor. The drama itself is also alluring and draws viewers in with each subsequent episode.

This is a Cinderella story. Although there is no real prince living in palace with a line of maids and a butler, the male protagonist here could be said to be a reincarnation of one. Suave, rich, smart, he is everything that you could ask for in a guy. Our Cinderella is, as the name suggests, a poor, optimistic, beautiful lady with an enchanting smile that could melt almost any guy.

The actors in this show are excellent. It seems like the roles were tailored just for them. Our prince is Park Shin-yang, who is better known for his movies like A Promise and The Letter, both of which were hits in the 1990s, rather than drama roles. An outstanding actor, he gave an excellent rendition of the role, Han Ki-joo, who is the GM of a multi-national coporation dealing with cars. Initially, after viewing the first two episodes, his acting seemed a little stiff. In fact, I was wondering why the PD chose someone who cannot act to take upon the lead role. But as subsequent episodes were unveiled, I was really impressed with his performance.

Kim Jung-eun, best known for the movie Marrying the Mafia, is the hard-broke girl Kang Tae-young, who is constantly being fired in her part time jobs. Although she had never taken on the leading role in a drama production, Kim shows her own charisma and proved that she also is worthy of becoming an A-list actress. She is the one who provides the soul for the drama with her forgetful character and cutsey performance.

Of course, we should not forget another actor, Lee Dong-gun, who acts as Yoon Su-hyuk, who together with Park Shin-yang is head over heels for Kang Tae-young. It was amazing to see how much Lee Dong-gun has matured in his acting skills. When I first saw him in Ad Madness in 1999, he was still an aspiring singer acting in minor roles in small productions. But his depth in portraying Su-hyuk's inner emotions was overwhelming. At 24, he is definitely an excellent actor to look out for. In fact, after watching his performance in Romance in Paris, I had the urge to view his earlier works such as Sweet 18.

A Cinderella story, but is it a Cinderella ending? If there is one flaw in the drama, it is definitely the ending. After watching the ending, questions marks were flying in my head. It was simply incomprehensible. In fact, I had to re-watch the last episode again to try to understand the ending. But sad to say, another attempt to do that would be futile. My guess would be that the PD would want the audience to comprehend it at their own discretion.

Nice story, nice scenery, great soundtrack, great cast but bad ending. But if you are contemplating which Korean drama to watch, I would still highly recommend this one. (Review by Kit Lim)          (Source: www.koreanfilm.org)