This romantic-comedy drama first aired on November 16th, 2015, for a total of 16 episodes. The interesting thing about this drama is the discrimination against body shape, also known as “Body Shamming” which often really happens around us, even without realizing we have experienced it.
Oh My Venus: Review
Kim Young-ho, a.k.a. John Kim, is a personal trainer to Hollywood stars. Despite his family’s wealth, Young-ho suffered a devastating illness in his childhood. But he believes living a healthy lifestyle and exercise is the only way to survive. He uses this to run from his family issues. He fears his father and pities his grandmother. A Hollywood scandal with an actress has him on the run back to Korea. Kang Joo-eun was once an ulzzang in her teens, semi-famous for her pretty face and enviable figure. Now a 33-year-old lawyer, she has gained a lot of weight since. She passes out on a flight from the U.S. back to Korea and John Kim is the only medical personnel on the flight who takes charge. He watches out for her even after they arrive home. After getting dumped by her boyfriend, Im Woo Shik, she finds that she has the press pass for John Kim and proceeds by blackmail to convince him to help her lose the excess weight. She discovers that Young Ho has a weakness for being a knight in shining armor. She moves in with him, Ji Woong and Joon Sung (Korean Snake), after a stalking incident and also his brother needing money for marriage anyway cause her to sell her apartment. As they work on her physical transformation, both discover they feel more for each other than what they are willing to admit. As they grow closer they heal each other’s emotional wounds and fall in love. In the end, Kim Young-ho proposes to Kang Joo-eun in a romantic way, with the ring knitted as part of the scarf, unraveled by Young Ho. Joo-eun accepts his proposal, and Young-ho slips the ring on her finger as they grant their mutual wish that they are together forever. 6 months later, prior to getting married, Young-ho leaves to give assistance to people in a flooded area, and he’s just now returning for the wedding. Joo-eun comes to the airport and she again has put on some weight. She opens up her coat to show him the ribbon tied around her belly. She’s not overweight, she’s pregnant with twins! And then Young-ho realizes he’s going to be a daddy. It’s a really interesting drama and not boring at all. Even though this drama has low ratings in Korea, but it’s really popular outside Korea, especially among international Korean drama fans. There is no complicated plot twist or anything, but this drama gives well-developed characters, humor, and plotlines in new ways, so the viewers can enjoy this drama until the end.
Oh My Venus: The Cast
Main Cast
So Ji-sub as Kim Young-ho/John Kim Young-ho is a personal trainer of Hollywood stars in America where he uses the alias, John Kim. After a Hollywood scandal with a famous actress puts the spotlight on him, Young-ho returns to Korea to wait for the scandal to die down. On the plane back to Korea, Young-ho saves Kang Joo-eun after she suddenly collapses. A series of events bring the two together on several occasions with Young-ho saving Joo-eun from pitiful situations several times. Things become further complicated when he is prevented from returning to America by his grandmother, the CEO of his family’s company, who hopes Young-ho will one day become her successor. Despite his personal and family issues, Young-ho has a kind heart and tries to help others. Shin Min-ah as Kang Joo-eun Kang Joo-eun is a 33-year-old lawyer and formerly called the “Venus of Daugu” in her hometown. After finishing high school and fulfilling her dream of becoming a lawyer, Joo-eun gains weight and feels she is no longer beautiful. After being dumped by her long-term boyfriend on their 15-year anniversary, Joo-eun takes an overseas trip to America for work. On the ride back to Korea she faints after too much alcohol, medication and a corset put her into respiratory distress. Young-ho saves her and they meet several more times, often with Joo-eun in an embarrassing situation. After finding out the identity of Young-ho as John Kim, she asks him to help her lose weight in return for not telling anybody about his dual identity. She is a blunt and hard-working person. Jung Gyu-woon as Im Woo-shik Im Woo-shik is a former national swimmer. After meeting her while she was still in high school, Woo-shik falls in love with Joo-eun and she becomes his long-time girlfriend. Despite claiming she is his first love, Woo-shik begins to lose interest in Joo-eun and secretly goes out with Oh Soo-jin, Joo-eun’s former best friend. Eventually, Woo-shik officially breaks up with Joo-eun. Despite the change in their relationship, he continues to worry about Joo-eun and keeps watch over her. He is curious about the relationship between Kim Young-ho and Joo-eun. Yo In-young as Oh Soo-jin As an overweight girl in school, Soo-jin was very self-conscious and was lonely until Joo-eun befriended her. Now a successful lawyer, Soo-jin has shed the weight and has the body of a supermodel. She takes a job at the same company as Joo-eun as her superior and dates Woo-shik to exact revenge on Joo-eun, who she had always been jealous of because of her good looks.
Supporting Cast
Sung Hoon as Jang Joon-sung He is a professional MMA fighter trained by John Kim, his alias is “Korean Snake.” He used to be an orphan but John Kim gladly took him as his student and trained him to become a successful MMA fighter. Henry Lau as Kim Ji-woong Ji-woong is naturally the mood-maker, a goofy and nice person. He works as Joon-sung’s manager. Jung Hye-sung as Jang Yi-jin Jang Yi-jin is a CF Queen of South Korea, also a girl full of aegyo (meaning “acting cute” in Korea). After she confesses to Joon-sung saying that she is a big fan of his, she always follows him around and is obsessed with him. Despite her career in the entertainment industry, she is the daughter of a rich CEO. Jin Kyung as Choi Hye-ran Hye-ran is the second wife of Young-ho’s father, Kim Sung-chul, who married him after Young-ho’s mother died. Hye-ran has a son and wants him to get attention from Young-ho’s family but he is not treated as an equal because he has no blood relation to them (Young-ho’s father is the son-in-law of Young-ho’s grandmother thus he is not a Gahong bloodline). Jo Eun-ji as Lee Hyun-woo Hyun-woo is Joo-eun’s friend and a single mother. She works as a chef in a restaurant and is a loyal friend to Joo-eun. She has a strong bond with Joo-eun and they act almost like sisters. She is also close to Joo-eun’s younger brother. Choi Jin-ho as Min Byung-wook Byung-wook is a trust-worthy secretary for Young-ho’s family and also a private secretary, he is a person whom Young-ho can depend on and trust. He is also concerned about Young-ho and helps him out.
