Women in the Sun

Despite some oversights in the script, this is a great drama on thirst for love, sibling rivalry, revenge and redemption, with convincing performance from all on board.

A media icon, the heroine has everything one could ever dreamt of: intelligence, glamour, an affluent and intellectual background, and engaged to a handsome and successful acquisition professional. She is also a role model for her unusually strong work ethics. Behind the scene though, she looks pensive, sad and insecure, with secrets to hide; not only she is adopted, she had, 20 years ago, tried and succeeded in abandoning the daughter of her foster parents, the cause of her well-disguised guilt, self-imposed isolation, and a dedication to redemption by way of devoting herself to work and good cause. Despite being engaged, she never shares her secrets with her fiancé, whom she barely sees much thanks to their devotion to their careers.

Far away from the spotlight and in a rare moment of being her true self, down and lonesome, she is chanced upon by an expat when paying a farewell visit her dying mother in Hong Kong, and through him, she is reunited, unknowingly, with her sister she would never like to meet again. The sisters hit it off nearly straightaway, and soon the real identity of this new friend is unveiled and from then on it is a string of events that see the role model of all Korean schoolgirls sparing no tricks to stop that truth from being known by anyone.

What is most amazing is when the truth is discovered by the victim and later shared with her orphan friend, all he asks of her is but forgiveness on the evil sister; he accepts the impostor unconditionally and the drama finishes with hints that they are a happy and contented couple. On the other hand, the other couple - the victim and her love interest since childhood, are separated again, as if they don't deserve to have the same blessing from the audience.

Hats off to Kim Ji-soo who also stars in This Charming Girl. It isn't a typical 'adorable' figure one normally come across in Korean drama. She carries the role competently. The scene stealer though is Lee Ha-na who plays the victim, especially in the second half of the series.