Lovers in Paris

Synopsis

Kang Tae-young (Kim Jung-eun) is the daughter of a film director and carrying on her father's wishes, she studies film in Paris. To make ends meet, she works as a housekeeper for Han Ki-joo (Park Shin-yang), which she loves because she can watch his movies and drink his wine.

Unhappy with her services, he fires her. However, when he realizes that she is from the same hometown as the wife of a potential business partner, he hires her to act as his fiancee to warm up to his business partner. She agrees in exchange for getting her housekeeping job back. During the two dates that he takes her out, she is smitten by the fairy tale quality of the event. In turn he finds himself unexpectedly captivated by her. However, the fake girlfriend plan backfires, and they part ways on bad terms in Paris. Through a series of events she also meets Yoon Soo-hyuk (Lee Dong-gun), who is Ki-joo's nephew.

Recalled by his father, Ki-joo returns to Korea, and Tae-young also returns to attend her father's death anniversary. Both are reunited coincidentally in Seoul and have their misunderstandings resolved. She prepares to return to Paris, but discovers her uncle has squandered away her family house and run away, leaving her 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, she meets Ki-joo again. Through multiple coincidental encounters, he finds himself attracted to her. Soo-hyuk also returns to Korea to track Tae-young down. He stays at her place and tries to win her heart. But he is devastated when he realizes that his uncle is also vying for her affections.

The situation is further complicated with the introduction of Moon Yoon-ah, the daughter of an influential politician whom Ki-joo's father has selected to become Ki-joo's wife. She also happens to be Tae-young's classmate in high school and is determined to win Ki-joo as her husband.

As Ki-joo and Tae-young open their hearts to each other, a scheming Yoon-ah and an emotionally wounded Soo-hyuk plot to split them up. Matters are further complicated when a long-held family secret is revealed: Soo-hyuk's mother Ki-hae is in fact Ki-joo's mother and not his older sister. Ki-hae had been in love with Ki-joo's father, but due to the difference in their wealth and status, the young couple was forced to separate by her father. She gave birth to Ki-joo out of wedlock, and to save face, the Han family raised Ki-joo as Ki-hae's younger brother. Then Ki-hae was married off to a rich man she didn't love, Soo-hyuk's father. Ki-joo reels from the revelation, and must deal with the lie at the center of his identity. Soo-hyuk also realizes that the closeness between his emotionally distant mother and Ki-joo was not that of siblings', but because Ki-joo was Ki-hae's more favored son. His bitterness grows that the two most important women in his life, his mother and Tae-young, have always chosen Ki-joo over him.

Meanwhile, Park Young-ji, an executive at GD Motors who wants to bring down Ki-joo, takes advantage of Soo-hyuk's feelings of envy and rivalry. He schemes with Soo-hyuk to leak the latest car design to the rival of GD Motors. The new car is announced and GD Motors is petrified because their latest design had been stolen. Later, Ki-joo figures out that Soo-hyuk was the culprit, but forgives him. The fact that Ki-joo forgave him so easily drives Soo-hyuk crazy. After getting into a car accident while blazing through the streets, he gets amnesia and loses his recent memories. (However, he was only pretending he had amnesia, as a final selfless act so that Tae-young and Ki-joo can be together guilt-free.) Yoon-ah also decides to let go of Ki-joo and throws her engagement ring into the Han River.

Ki-joo and Tae-young can finally be together. Unfortunately because of his family's disapproval of her, they decide to separate temporarily. She goes back to Paris and he stays in Korea. After 2 years, the new car is announced and is a success. Ki-joo immediately catches a flight to Paris. For some time, they do not know where the other is and keep missing each other.

Then one day, just like in the beginning of the series, Ki-joo throws a coin into a fountain and makes a wish to see Tae-young again. As he turns, he sees her standing there. The next scene shows them sitting by a river. Tae-young breaks the silence and asks, "If we had not met in Paris, do you think we would still have ended up together?" Ki-joo answers, "Most likely we would have."

Cast

Production

Many of the scenes were filmed on location in Paris, France, and Seoul, South Korea. The Korean filming locations are as follows:

Reception

With an average viewership rating of 40+% and a peak of 56.3%, Lovers in Paris became one of the most highly rated Korean dramas of all time. It also received several high-profile awards, making it one of the most successful series aired on SBS. The drama's quotes, fashion and music made their way to mainstream pop culture (sparking trends and parodies), notably when Soo-hyuk put Tae-young's hand over his heart and said, "You are in here"; and Ki-joo's two lines "Let's go, baby"; and "Why can't you say it? Why can't you say that this is my man, that this is the man I love?"

Episode ratings

Source: TNS Media Korea

International broadcast

Musical theatre adaptation

It was adapted into a stage musical that ran at the D-Cube Arts Center in 2012, starring Lee Ji-hoon and Jung Sang-yeon as Han Ki-joo, Bang Jin-wi and Oh So-yeon as Kang Tae-young, and Lee Hyun, Jung Woo-soo and Run as Yoon Soo-hyuk.

Remake

The Philippines produced a remake in 2009, starring KC Concepcion (in her first primetime leading role), Piolo Pascual and Zanjoe Marudo.

The Indonesian remake was titled Pacar Pilihan.