Actors Hyun-woo, Ryu Jin and Kang Shin-il unite as the three men of the Lee household.
The new KBS 1TV daily drama slated to premiere in October, Mari and the Unusual Dads (directed by Seo Yong-soo, written by Kim Hong-joo), is a drama depicting Mari's frantic search for her father! It tells the story of the birth of an unusual family whose ties are thicker than blood and more tenacious than genes.
Today (25th), the Mari and the Unusual Dads side released stills of Hyun-woo (as Lee Kang-se), Ryu Jin (as Lee Pung-joo) and Kang Shin-il (as Lee Ok-soon), sparking interest in the narrative of the three men hidden beneath their blunt exteriors.
◆ Kang-se x Pung-joo, handsome inside and out — heart-melting brothers!
In the drama, Kang-se is the youngest son of the Lee family and is spending his first year as a resident influenced by his capable older brother Pung-joo, who is a physician. Pung-joo, who seems cold to others, is disarmed and becomes a doting brother in front of Kang-se, who idolizes and follows him. One day, Pung-joo, who had been working in New York, returns to Korea at his mentor's suggestion, and the brothers end up living under the same roof for the first time in 15 years. But when a huge secret connecting Kang-se's love interest Kang Mari (Ha Seung-ri) and Pung-joo is revealed, the brothers' bond is shaken. Curiosity rises about what turmoil could befall the once warm relationship between the brothers.
◆ Family split caused by "marriage"? the prelude to Pung-joo x Ok-soon clash
Waiting for Pung-joo, who returns after 15 years, is his father Ok-soon's nagging. Ok-soon is earnest about Pung-joo's marriage, and as soon as he arrives in Korea she pushes him to marry. But Pung-joo, who prefers work to love, does not follow Ok-soon's wishes and worries her, and ultimately Ok-soon resorts to the desperate gamble of 'running away from home.' By coincidence, the house that Ok-soon rents a room in turns out to be Mari's family home, and Pung-joo, who had thought she was merely a part-time worker, becomes deeply entangled with her. This incident marks the full start of fate's tricks surrounding the Kang-se and Mari households, enriching the progression of the drama.
◆ Kang-se x Ok-soon, close yet distant, an oddly awkward atmosphere
Kang-se is kind and warm to everyone, but even he has someone with whom he feels strangely awkward: his father Ok-soon. Because Kang-se is Ok-soon's child born out of wedlock, he cannot simply smile at his father's affectionate fuss asking to see him. With both being family but not entirely comfortable, and with troubles connected to Mari's household added in, questions surge about where the relationship between the two will head.
Thus, Mari and the Unusual Dads will captivate viewers not only with Mari's story but also with the rich narratives of the three men in Kang-se's family (Kang-se, Pung-joo, Ok-soon). Their portrayals of a real family's dynamics and their attitudes toward the "parentage issue" will be another viewing point that is expected to further elevate the drama's completeness.
KBS 1TV's Mari and the Unusual Dads will premiere on Oct. 13, Monday at 8:30 p.m., succeeding Catch Your Luck.
[Photo] Provided by KBS
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