A reporter is someone who writes news articles or someone who broadcasts news reports. Their job involves researching, writing, and reporting the latest news or other current information so that we can get updated on what is happening around the world. They may also be assigned a specific beat or area of coverage. Among all the Korean dramas that have been made, there is one especially interesting that has a story that revolves around the topic of being a reporter. It is the drama titled Pinocchio that was aired on SBS. Do you want to know what kind of drama is it? Let’s take a look at it!
A Girl Who Suffers from Pinocchio Syndrome which Results in Her being Unable to Lie Without Getting the Hiccups
Pinocchio is a drama that is focused on a story revolving around reporters. In this drama, the main characters are a man named Choi Dal-po, who has a real name Ki Ha-myung, and a woman named Choi In-ha. In the past, Ki Ha-myung lived happily with his parents and his older brother, Kim Jae-myung. However, when his father Ki Ho-sang, the captain of the firefighting squad, dies in a factory explosion during a rescue attempt along with a few of his men, his family’s life completely changes. As the body of his father is missing, the media starts to sensationalize the case by scapegoating Ki Ho-sang. In the midst of the battle of rating between television networks, Song Cha-ok, a reporter from MSC, reports that Ho-sang survived the blast and currently is in hiding because he is responsible for the death of his men. Because of this false report, the family of Ki Ha-myung become outcasts in their neighborhood, which leads to Ki Ho-sang’s wife to take her own life and Ki Ha-myung’s by jumping off a cliff. Meanwhile, Ki Ha-myung’s older brother, Ki Jae-myung, is still alive and blames the death of his family on the media, especially Song Cha-ok. However, Ki Ha-myung is actually still alive and was saved by Choi Gong-pil, an elderly man who lives on Hyangri Island. But, as he either suffers from Alzheimer or trauma-induced memory loss, Choi Gong-pil believes that Ki Ha-myung is his older son Choi Dal-po who already died thirty years earlier. Ki Ha-myung, who has no one else in the world, lives under the deception and treats Choi Gong-pil as his father. Later, Choi Gong-pil’s younger son Choi Dal-pyung moves to the island with his daughter Choi In-ha. Surely, they became flabbergasted as Choi Gong-pil orders them to call a mere boy as their “older brother” and “uncle.” Meanwhile, Choi In-ha is a woman who has a Pinocchio Syndrome which causes her to hiccup whenever she tells a lie. Her mother is Song Cha-ok, and she idolizes her mother so much. After her parent’s divorce, she actually hates the idea of living on an island. After getting into school, she witnesses Choi Dal-po on television and decides to become a reporter even though her syndrome limits her career choices. A few years later, Choi In-ha has graduated after she went to college to become a reporter, but continuously fails her job interviews. She was even failed by her own mother at her final interview, saying that a reporter with Pinocchio syndrome would be useless. After that, she is reunited again with Choi Dal-po, who is forced to become a taxi driver due to the poverty-stricken condition. Seeing how Choi In-ha is hurt by her mother, he decides to help In-ha realize her dream and says that he also wants to become a reporter. A month later, they apply at YGN’s blind audition for a broadcast news reporter position. Unfortunately, Choi Dal-po is the only one who gets accepted. At a later time, when MSC’s credibility rating is at its lowest, Song Cha-ok hires Choi In-ha and uses her syndrome in a publicity stunt. The plot climaxes when Choi In-ha finally discovers that Song Cha-ok was the one who made the Ki family go through a lot of suffering for a long time. In a lecture that was held by her mother, she stands up against her and in the process, reveals that Ki Ha-myung is actually alive to Ki Jae-myung. Together, they try to bring down her mother through their honest reports while they uncover a bigger conspiracy in the news industry. Overall, while this drama has many sweet moments between Choi Dal-po and Choi In-ha that could make us squeal, we cannot forget the thick plot that revolves around the news industry behind it either. This is because the story is completely relatable, as there are also cases like this in real life. While watching this drama, we are able to learn how these kinds of problems exist in our life without us knowing. However, as this is a drama, remember that it also has some seasoning to wrap the story nicely, so we can’t just accept all of it as facts that also happened in real life without filtering it. What do you think about Pinocchio‘s plot? Are you interested in watching it?
The Cast
1. Lee Jong-suk
Lee Jong-suk plays the main character of Pinocchio named Choi Dal-po, who’s actually named Ki Ha-myung. He is the son of Ki Ho-sang, a captain of the firefighter squad who dies in a factory explosion. Because his father is accused that he’s still alive and is responsible for his men’s death, his family’s life changes and leads to his mother taking her own life taking him with her as well, jumping off a cliff. However, he is saved by Choi Gong-pil, a kind elderly man who believes that he is his dead older son. Because he has no one else in the world, he decides to live under the lies and thinks of Choi Gong-pil as his own father. Later, he meets Choi In-ha, who moves to the island together with her father after her parents’ divorce, and their relationship develops further along the years.
2. Park Shin-hye
In this drama, Pak Shin-hye acted as the girl named Choi In-ha, who has a Pinocchio syndrome. She idolizes her mother very much, but after her parents’ divorce, she has to move to the island together with her father even though she hates the idea of it. One way or another, Choi Dal-po makes her confident about achieving her dream to become a reporter despite her syndrome that limits her career choice. Even when she’s interviewing at her mother’s company, MSC, she is failed by her own mother who says that a reporter with Pinocchio syndrome would be useless. However, her mother later recruits her again when MSC’s ratings are at its lowest and uses her syndrome as a publicity stunt. When she finds out the fact that Song Cha-ok is the one who is responsible for the suffering of the Ki family, she gets disgusted by her mother and tries to bring her down.
3. Kim Young-kwang
Kim Young-kwang acted as a side character named Seo Beom-jo, in the drama. He is a young man born in a rich family, and he lives an unexciting but satisfied life until he starts receiving texts from a girl named In-ha, which were actually meant for her mother. He becomes intrigued as the texts steadily came over the years which made him want to meet In-ha. After abandoning his job as a fashion magazine editor, he decides to join In-ha and becomes a reporter. On his journey in learning how to become a reporter, Seo Beom-jo quickly discovers the power of the media and is made to choose between justice and kinship.
4. Lee Yu-bi
In this drama, Lee Yu-bi acted as a side character named Yoon Yoo-rae. She was actually a sasaeng fan in the past, but is now working as a reporter. She turns her determination and obsession from her sasaeng past and uses it for her present job, which becomes her strength in the field.
