When I first heard of KBS weekend drama My Golden Life it was all around the controversial casting of male lead Park Shi Hoo who had been surrounded by scandal since a rape allegation from 5 years ago was settled out of court. I totally didn’t bother to check out the production team but now I’m super torn in really wanting to watch it because it’s from established and ratings-hit screenwriter So Hyun Kyung who wrote Brilliant Legacy/Shining Inheritance, 49 Days, My Daughter Seo Young, Two Weeks and most recently Second Time Twenty Again. She also wrote Prosecutor Princess wherein lies the Park Shi Hoo connection, and most importantly her weekend drama streak is absolutely golden, pun intended. My Golden Life continued the KBS weekend drama streak and premiered with 19.7% ratings in episode 1 and rose 4% to 23.9% in episode 2. Looks like Park Shi Hoo isn’t deterring viewers from the drama which has a sprawling ensemble cast of Shin Hye Sun, Lee Tae Hwan, Seo Eun Soo, Lee Tae Sung and veterans Chun Ho Jin and Kim Hye Ok.
I love Shin Hye Sun she’s a really good actress. Don’t really pay attention to Park Si Hoo.
Great acting PSH ^^ Welcome
people want see the drama,not only park shi ho.
weeeh?? if you hate PSH, you will never watch any of his drama or works. the truth of the fact is, he still got some star power. some say its because of lead female, she’s a newbie and I dont even know her, Id take a look at this because of PSH acting ability and not because of his so-called scandal, which was big FYI the charge was dropped, so we can only guess if the charge was either extortions or harassment or misunderstanding, you can take your pick be my guest!, as long as he is free and doesnt do raping rampage, the guy is fine and deserve to be back on work.
I am sure Park Shi Hoo still has some fans but you’re deluding yourself if you think Shin Hye Sun is a newbie with zero influence. She is Yeon Tae from Five Enough and that role was massively loved. Recently, she won over critics and viewers alike as Eun Soo in Secret Forest. This isn’t Park Shi Hoo’s drama alone. Get your facts right.
The real star power here belongs to the network+time slot – KBS weekend dramas have ruled that slot for the last six years, so please stop deluding yourself that Park Shi Hoo is some special draw.
Even a block of cardboard cast in the lead role would have got those ratings, and KBS knows what it’s doing by giving a guaranteed hit family drama to an alleged rapist to clean up his image.
Let’s look at the facts: A was introduced to Park Shi Hoo by a mutual acquaintance, Kim. According to CCTV tapes, A appeared so drunk on February 14th (even though she didn’t drink that much) that Kim had to carry her on his back to Park Shi Hoo’s apartment. While Park raped A (who sustained minor injuries from that rape), Kim sexually assaulted her. All the charges were dropped because A withdrew the claim after a settlement. Basically, Park Shi Hoo raped her (with the help of his friend) and paid her off. A rape is still a rape, whether the victim got paid off. Korea should start treating rape as a serious crime, not as a petty nuisance.
Yess, I always wait for the weekend to see MGL because I want to meet PSH, he always works well
I’m sure the writer really like Cheon Ho-jin and Kim Hye-ok. They were in My Daughter Seo-yeong and Two Weeks too.
Uee probably regretting she didn’t take the role. I wouldn’t mind seeing PSH in evil roles but I don’t think I can stomach seeing him romancing any girls
Haha, that was exactly what I was thinking. I kind of feel bad for her because her current drama has the all time lowest rating and this weekend drama is doing good.
At least she is not associated with the alleged rapist. Ratings are not everything. Having a clean reputation is important.
staring with an aledgedly rapist has nothing to do with reputation. Acting is acting, let alone nobody know for sure if he is guilty or not. Shin Hye Seon and also the drama is doing so well. too bad for UEE
You are a negative person, a PSH antifan, do not waste your time doing futility, being a bad person or hurting others.
This isn’t just a Park Shi Hoo drama, it has a pretty solid and well loved female lead in Shin Hye Sun. Her stars are rising and this show is about her life and struggles. Also, the secondary cast is well liked. Also, this has a famous writer. Also, maybe domestic viewers don’t care enough about the scandal that rose and died on its own. Remember, we don’t know the details of what happened beyond the initial he did, she did drama. So, yeah I am not surprised by the numbers.
Feel bad for Uee. She wanted to avoid scandal by associating with Park Shi Hoo but instead is now a part of a sinking ship.
I’m guessing PSH has REALLY great connections to score the male lead for a well stacked drama like this.
He comes from a very wealthy family. He has a lot of money and connections.
Agree wholeheartedly ?
‘Agree wholeheartedly’ with Gem, that is?
I feel like park shi hoo face really change a lot frm the last time i saw him..don’t know what it is but his face look different like now I’m thinking he’ll suit the villain role better than the main lead romancing the girl lol..
I agree. He can totally play a real rapist now. Or a criminal. He looks like a total villain.
Yess, I always wait for the weekend to see MGL because I want to meet PSH, he always works well
You are a true antifan, stop watching PSH if you hate him so much. You insist he’s guilty of passing evidence to the police, or do not shut up
Not that surprised. It’s a big cast and kbs weekend dramas always do pretty well. I’m surprised he was given a role like this though.
Oh balcony to all the comments above. The male leads can determine a drama. If Park Shi Hoo’d acting sucked then K-nets would complain about it all over the internet and stop watching it. The reason this show is doing well is the same reason woods Allen continues to be a successful film maker and Mel Gibson continues to be relavent in Hollywood.
There a lot of people who can ignore scandal while continues to enjoy the talent. Case and point Lee Byung Hun, GDragon, Chris Brown, Casey Affleck.
i will not forget what chris brown did to rihanna.
True, but there is no denying is popularity hasn’t been affected by it in the least. Even BTS considers Chris Brown one of their idols and look up to his music majorly.
I too cannot forget what Chris did but sometimes I find myself dancing to song and really liking it only to find out its a Chris brown song
I can’t even look at his face after seeing her in bruises. I cannot imagine what kind of people still listen to him.
I watched the first two episodes purely because Park Shi Hoo is in it, I wanted to know what his first prime channel drama come back would be like. I watched his Korean drama comeback, Neighborhood Hero that was on cable network OCN and I actually really enjoyed it.
However as My Golden Life is a weekend drama a lead isn’t really a lead, and thats good because I’m not liking his performance or his character so far then again the story hasn’t really focused on him.
Male leads have the most screen time and their presence only increase as months go by. Clearly you dont dislike his acting as much as yoy claim. Or if you dont Korean viewers seem to be disagreeing with you.
I love Park Shi Hoo so much, I wait for every episode to see him on TV
Off topic a little but I love this writer. I actually want Lee Joon Gi to do another one of her shows, preferably a romantic comedy. A girl can dream.
I am torn about watching this and for all of the same reasons. Love the writer. Have huge crush on second male lead. Adored the lead girl in Five Children. However, can’t stomach the idea of watching PSH romancing someone on camera. Ugh!
Then just stop watching.you are not korean people.just choose other drama,ok?
KBS knows they rule that time slot no matter who is in the male lead role of their drama, so it’s really not about the actor at all, the real star power belongs to the network+time slot. They could have cast a dog in the role and still got the same ratings.
And as @Gem says, it’s obvious there were some connections at work here and KBS is letting their drama be used to clean Park Shi Hoo’s image.
To be fair, Father is Strange was the drama right before this one and it held strong 30% ratings so there could also be a holdover.
Had no intentions of watching this drama since I’ve never liked PSH even before his scandal. However, I do like the female lead and checked it out for her. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by the story; the female lead is no pushover which I love. PSH didn’t bother me as much as I was expecting, maybe because he didn’t have that many scenes. Am looking forward to this week’s eps. At 50 eps though, don’t know how long I’ll last!
N now im waiting for the kim hyung joong comeback drama and for the actress eun hye.
First of all parj si ho’s name was cleared and secondly he is an amazing actor no matter what role he is given…and most importantly it’s not because of the female lead or KBS’s time slot network that the drama has a good starting it’s because of si ho’s amazing acting skill so don’t write a mean comments just because of his forgotten past story we are in the present people!!!! Park si ho oppa fighting ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ May God bless you and your work i will always root for you…????
His name was never cleared. In fact, the police were ready to arrest him. He changed the team of lawyers and paid the girl off when he realized the charges were serious. I am sure they pressured the girl since she sustained minor injuries from that rape.
There were messages of the so-called rape victim discussing with her friend on getting more settlement money by going to the media. And if she claimed to be dead drunk or drugged, how was she able to count the number of times she was “raped”? The fact is we don’t know what truly happened as we were not there. So it’s not fair to make judgment.
You are a negative person, a PSH antifan, do not waste your time doing futility, being a bad person or hurting others.
No matter what you do, do not worry about PSH
I am so happy for Shin Hye Sun first leading role, it is just a refreshing actress to watch, that Five Enough and Strangers showed her very captivating and very hypnotic performanced. Am so overwhelmed that the Korean viewers admire the simple and quiet person actress Shin Hye Sun. During her public appearances, I saw a well bred lady who carry herself regally, well poised and very elegant, her fashion style is simple and stunning. For me, Shin Hye Sun a whole package of brilliant actress. The actress to watch in the days to come she will be a top caliber in Korean dramaland.
<3 love for Shin Hye Seon
People honestly need to get over the Park Shi Hoo prejudice – it was so many years ago, and charges were dropped. The media is a warped tool and frankly I don’t put much credence in any of the salacious stuff that came out of it.
I watched the first four episodes this week, and found it incredibly charming, and both Park Shi Hoo and Shin Hye Sun are incredibly winning in their respective roles. If people don’t intend to watch it, then no need to say anything about it. In my opinion it’s totally worth a look, and the plot is fun and engaging without being overdone (despite the general storyline).
Fighting Park Si Hoo oppa <3. don't mind the haters. it was already 5 years ago but they can't move on. i'm a new fan. i watched my golden life because of park si hoo and also because of the leading lady because she appeared in legend of the blue sea. if you dont like to watch it because of si hoo oppa then dont watch it, we're not pushing you. atleast there's still fans of si hoo. . were going to root you. keep up the good work oppa . . you were so cool in my golden life. saranghae faighting.. dont mind the haters… FIGHTING!!!
PARK SI HOO .. FIGHTING!
Park Si Hoo is a gem. He’s a very talented actor. I really love his role in My Golden Life. Henceforth, his scandal does not bother me one bit, it is irrelevant to his acting skill.
Great acting PSH ^^ Welcome
PSH No.1
I always wait for the weekend to see MGL because I want to meet PSH, he always works well
Yesss……. mee too
park si hoo, FIGHTING! <3 i love the ending of episode 18. such a great chemistry! love them both!. hope to see you in person park si hoo when i go to korea, soon!<3 Fighting My Golden Life!
Check on their rating…keep rising… it proves how it works. Really admire shin hye sun for her acting. And a perfect match to park si hoo even they have 11 years old in age difference
I don’t believed for one moment that PSH is a rapist.
After watching a lot of korean drama,I think korean entertainment industry is not so simple, although not much but what is portrayed in the drama must exist in reality. So do not be too sure what is written in newspapers or internet. Especially park sihoo gets scandal problem as soon as he decided not to renew his contract with his agency Eyagi.
https://www.soompi.com/2013/03/05/park-si-hoos-former-agency-ceo-met-a-prior-to-the-lawsuit-other-revelations/