The World of the Married (Korean: 부부의 세계) is a South Korean television series starring Kim Hee-ae, Park Hae-joon, and Han So-hee. Based on BBC One's drama series Doctor Foster written by Mike Bartlett, it tells a story of a married couple whose betrayal of one another leads to a whirlwind of revenge, grief, forgiveness and healing. It aired on JTBC on Fridays and Saturdays from March 27 to May 16, 2020. With its final episode reaching a nationwide rating of 28.371%, the series became the highest-rated drama in Korean cable television history, overtaking Sky Castle. It also recorded the highest average rating for a drama on cable television, with an average rating of 18.829%. Although the series was criticized for its portrayal of sex and violence, it received critical acclaim for its screenplay, direction and acting performances, with Mo Wan-il winning Best Director and Kim Hee-ae winning Best Actress at the 56th Baeksang Arts Awards.
Plot Ji Seon-u (Kim Hee-ae), a revered family medicine doctor and associate director at Family Love Hospital in Gosan, South Korea, believes she has a perfect life with her aspiring director husband Lee Tae-oh (Park Hae-joon) and their son Lee Jun-yeong (Jeon Jin-seo). However, her world shatters when she discovers Tae-oh's affair with the young and attractive Yeo Da-kyung (Han So-hee). Shocked and betrayed, Seon-u decides to divorce and meticulously plans her revenge. After the divorce, Seon-u identifies Tae-oh's financial status and puts him on the verge of bankruptcy, revealing his affair to Da-kyung's parents. Tae-oh and Da-kyung eventually get married, but Tae-oh's dishonest behavior and lies destabilize their relationship. Seon-u tries to reorganize her life and restore her relationship with her son, Jun-yeong. However, Tae-oh is still obsessed with Seon-u and tries to ruin her life. Eventually, Tae-oh ends up in a catastrophe and also breaks up with Da-kyung. The drama ends with Seon-u overcoming her wounds and getting back on her feet.
Cast and characters
Kim Hee-ae as Ji Seon-u Park Hae-joon as Lee Tae-oh Han So-hee as Yeo Da-kyung Park Sun-young as Go Ye-rim Kim Young-min as Son Je-hyuk Chae Gook-hee as Seol Myung-suk Lee Geung-young as Yeo Byung-gyu Kim Sun-kyung as Uhm Hyo-jung Jeon Jin-seo as Lee Jun-yeong Shim Eun-woo as Min Hyun-seo Jung Jae-soon as Bae Jung-shim Lee Hak-joo as Park In-Gyu Lee Moo-saeng as Kim Yoon-gi Seo Yi-sook as Chairman Choi's wife
Episodes
Production
Development and filming
In 2018, JTBC Studios acquired the rights to remake the scripted format of Drama Republic's series Doctor Foster from BBC Studios. Kang Eun-kyung, who wrote popular TV series such as King of Baking, Kim Takgu (2010) and Dr. Romantic (2016–2020), served as the creator. Gaemi (Kang Dong-yoon), who previously worked on the soundtracks of popular series such as Descendants of the Sun (2016) and When the Camellia Blooms (2019), took charge of the music production. The series was directed by Mo Wan-il of the 2018 romance-thriller series Misty. In response to questions about the difference between the series and the British original, Mo said, "While the original is focused more on the main character, in adapting the story for the Korean series, we wanted to portray a whirlwind of emotions to rage around the main character and the people around her". Mo then emphasized that unlike the original series, The World of the Married does not just focus on one person but also focuses on the relationships in which the main female character, Ji Seon-u, is involved. The first script-reading was held on September 30, 2019. The primary filming location was in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, which is the fictional city of Gosan in the series. The Gosan Station featured in the series was shot at Gangneung Station. Much of the filming also took place at an American village called Humphreys Landing, which is Gosan Premium Townhouse Complex in the series, in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. The crew wrapped up the last shoot on May 12, 2020.
Casting Kim Hee-ae and Park Hae-joon were confirmed to star in the drama series on September 30, 2019. Park Hae-joon initially said no to the series saying that, "I wanted to do it, but I was worried about whether I could do it well". Speaking to GQ Korea, he revealed that he was hesitant due to the strong extreme traits of the male lead character who cheats on his wife. He also stated that he did not feel confident to give justice to the role of a cheating husband with the needed intensity as he did not have much time to prepare. However, he eventually accepted the offer after talking to a friend. Subsequently, Han So-hee and Lee Moo-saeng were confirmed to join the cast on October 7 and on December 4, 2019, respectively.
Content rating The first to the sixth episodes were fixed at late-night hours so that only those aged 19 or older can watch them under the Juvenile Protection Act. The series's scenes were deemed unfit to be shown to those who are under 19. For the seventh and eighth episodes, they were lowered to allow those aged 15 or older to watch them. However, after facing criticisms from a portion of viewers for including some aggressive scenes in Episode 7 and Episode 8, the rating was altered back to 19 or older starting from the ninth episode.
Broadcast and home video The World of the Married was originally broadcast on JTBC on Fridays and Saturdays from March 27 to May 16, 2020. It is available for streaming online via Viu in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Myanmar. The series became the most-watched drama on the streaming platform, being watched by more than 55% of Viu's audience in Asia since the beginning of its screening. It is also available to stream on Iflix in Southeast Asia with subtitles in Indonesian, English, Malay and Vietnamese. The drama is also available on Netflix and Disney+ in selected territories.
Original soundtrack
The series's soundtrack is compiled in a two-part album released on May 25, 2020. The album contains 6 original soundtracks and 28 musical scores. The following lists are the track listings for the online streaming of the album.
Reception
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