{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2016}} {{Infobox television | image = Miss Mermaid TV poster.jpeg | caption = Promotional poster | alt_name = ''Little Mermaid'' <br/> ''Mermaid Lady'' <br/> ''Story of a Mermaid'' <br/> ''Irene'' | genre = Melodrama <br/> Romance <br/> Family <br/> Revenge | director = {{ubl|Lee Joo-hwan|Shin Hyun-chang (ep 25-129)}} | writer = Im Sung-han | starring = {{Plainlist}} * Jang Seo-hee * Jung Young-sook * Park Geun-hyung * Han Hye-sook * Woo Hee-jin * Sa Mi-ja * Kim Yong-rim * Kim Byung-ki * Kim Sung-taek * Go Doo-shim * Jeong Bo-seok * Lee Jae-eun * Choi Jae-ho {{endplainlist}} | theme_music_composer = | open_theme = | end_theme = | country = South Korea | language = Korean | num_episodes = 248 | company = | executive_producer = Lee Jae-kap | producer = MBC Drama Division | cinematography = | editor = | composer = Oh Jin-woo | location = | camera = | runtime = 35 minutes | network = MBC TV | first_aired = {{start date|2002|1|8}} | last_aired = {{end date|2003|6|30}} | related = }} '''''Miss Mermaid''''' ({{Korean/auto|hangul=^인어아가씨|rr=yes}}) is a South Korean television series starring Jang Seo-hee and Kim Sung-taek.<ref>Kim Sung-taek later adopted the stage name Kim Sung-min.</ref> It aired on MBC from June 24, 2002 to June 27, 2003 on Mondays to Fridays at 20:20 for 248 episodes.
''Miss Mermaid'' became a nationwide hit upon airing, reaching a peak viewership rating of 43.6%.<ref>{{cite web|title=''Likable or Not'' Reach Highest Drama Ratings since 2000|url=http://english.kbs.co.kr/hallyu/entertainment_news_view2.html?No=1020|website=KBS Global|access-date=April 24, 2015|date=April 25, 2008}}</ref> The cast won several trophies at the 2002 MBC Drama Awards, notably the Daesang ("Grand Prize") for Jang Seo-hee.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jang Seo-hee to appear on the stage as main guest of a talk show in China|url=http://www.hancinema.net/jang-seo-hee-to-appear-on-the-stage-as-main-guest-of-a-talk-show-in-china-3250.html|website=Hancinema|access-date=April 24, 2015|date=June 28, 2005|archive-date=October 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002170450/http://www.hancinema.net/jang-seo-hee-to-appear-on-the-stage-as-main-guest-of-a-talk-show-in-china-3250.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The series led to Jang's pan-Asian popularity, particularly in China.<ref>{{cite web|title=Actresses Jang, Yang, Lee Top Chinese Poll|url=http://english.kbs.co.kr/hallyu/entertainment_news_view.html?No=984|website=KBS Global|access-date=April 24, 2015|date=May 11, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Park|first=Jin-hai|title=Jang Seo-hee and ''hallyu'' in China|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/culture/2014/04/386_156065.html|website=The Korea Times|access-date=April 24, 2015|date=April 24, 2014|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304035644/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/culture/2014/04/386_156065.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
But ''Miss Mermaid'' was also criticized for Im Sung-han's sensationalistic writing and unrealistic plot twists, as well as the show's multiple extensions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Viewers Launch Massive Cyber Attack against TV Series ''The Mermaid''|url=http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=130000&biid=2003052875718|website=The Dong-A Ilbo|access-date=April 24, 2015|date=May 27, 2003|archive-date=November 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113061321/http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=130000&biid=2003052875718|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Sun-min|title=Censured drama writer to step down|url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3003456|website=Korea JoongAng Daily|access-date=April 24, 2015|date=April 24, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001201/http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3003456|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Plot== Eun Ah-ri-young is a successful television drama screenwriter with a past. Her father Eun Jin-sub had an affair and left their family for the other woman, and shortly after her autistic brother died and her mother Han Kyung-hye went blind. Ah-ri-young's unrelenting hate for her father throughout her childhood and adolescence drives her to meticulously plan her vengeance. Knowing that Jin-sub's new wife Shim Soo-jung is a popular actress, Ah-ri-young works her way up the ranks until she earns enough cachet in the TV industry. Then she writes a script that's a thinly veiled autobiography of her father's affair and its aftermath, and casts the unsuspecting Soo-jung in the role of the blind mother to make her feel guilty. To complete her revenge and cause the maximum amount of pain, Ah-ri-young also plots to steal the fiancé of her half-sister Eun Ye-young, the gentle-natured Lee Joo-wang. Helping Ah-ri-young in her plans is Jo Soo-ah, her mother's friend whose ulterior motive is that she wants Ah-ri-young to marry her son Ma Ma-joon. But Ah-ri-young finds herself falling in love with Joo-wang for real, and she eventually realizes that there is more to life than hatred and learns the true meaning of forgiveness.
==Cast== === Main === *Jang Seo-hee as Eun Ah-ri-young, a television screenwriter *Jung Young-sook as Han Kyung-hye, Ah-ri-young's mother *Park Geun-hyung as Eun Jin-sub, Ah-ri-young's father, Kyung-hye's ex-husband *Han Hye-sook as Shim Soo-jung, a famous actress, Jin-sub's wife *Woo Hee-jin as Eun Ye-young, a reporter, jin-sub and Soo-jung's daughter *Sa Mi-ja as Geum Ok-sun, Joo-wang's grandmother *Kim Yong-rim as Geum Sil-ra, Joo-wang's mother *Kim Byung-ki as Lee Sung-soo, the president of Sun Daily Newspaper, Joo-wang's father *Kim Sung-taek as Lee Joo-wang, a reporter, Ye-young's fiancé *Go Doo-shim as Jo Soo-ah a.k.a. Jo Young-chun, a friend of Kyung-hye and Soo-jung *Jeong Bo-seok as Ma Ma-joon, Soo-ah's son *Lee Jae-eun as Ma Ma-rin, Soo-ah's daughter *Choi Jae-ho as An Hyung-sun, a television director
=== Supporting === *Seo Kwon-soon as Hong Mi-sung, the mother of Ah-ri-young's ex-boyfriend *Yoo Hye-ri as herself *Jeon Mi-seon as Yoon Sung-mi, a reporter who is friend of Ah-ri-young *Choi Seon-ja as Dong-jin's mother, a housekeeper of the Lee family *Sa Kang as Yoo Jin-kyung, Ma-rin's friend *Park Tam-hee as Baek Soo-rim, Mi-sung's ex-daughter-in-law
==Awards== 2002 MBC Drama Awards *Daesang (Grand Prize): Jang Seo-hee *Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama: Jang Seo-hee *Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama: Woo Hee-jin *Special Acting Award: Han Hye-sook, Jung Young-sook, Park Geun-hyung *Best New Actor: Kim Sung-taek *Writer of the Year: Im Sung-han *Best Couple Award: Kim Sung-taek and Jang Seo-hee *Viewer's Choice, Actress of the Year: Jang Seo-hee *Journalists' Choice, Actress of the Year: Jang Seo-hee
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{hancinema drama|Miss_Mermaid|Miss Mermaid}} {{Im Sung-han}}
Category:MBC TV television dramas Category:2002 South Korean television series debuts Category:2003 South Korean television series endings Category:Korean-language television shows Category:South Korean romance television series Category:South Korean melodrama television series Category:South Korean revenge television series