# Lovers (TV series)

Lovers (Korean: 연인; RR: Yeon-in) is a South Korean television series starring Kim Jung-eun and Lee Seo-jin who play a plastic surgeon and a gangster who enter into an unlikely romance. The series is based on the Lee Man-hee stage play Turn Around and Leave, the same work that inspired the 1998 blockbuster film A Promise  [ko] starring Jeon Do-yeon and Park Shin-yang. It aired on SBS from November 8, 2006 to January 11, 2007 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.
It is the third and final installment of the "Lovers" trilogy by writer Kim Eun-sook and director Shin Woo-chul. Unlike previous installments Lovers in Paris (which Kim also starred in) and Lovers in Prague which were partly shot in Europe, Lovers filmed on location in China's Hainan Island.

## Synopsis

Yoon Mi-ju (Kim Jung-eun) is the daughter of a reverend, who has adopted many children and set up an orphanage, and works as a plastic surgeon in a hospital, although her dream is to open a clinic of her own. Ha Kang-jae (Lee Seo-jin) is an orphan raised by Kang Choong-shik, a gangland boss, and his trusty right hand. The two meet when Mi-ju mistakes Kang-jae for her adoptive sister's former boyfriend, who dumped her after discovering she was pregnant; as Mi-ju learns a little later, Kang-jae is actually in a relationship with Park Yu-jin (Kim Gyu-ri), Mi-ju's neighbor. Kang-jae is also the potential buyer for the land that houses Reverend Yoon's orphanage, and that Mi-ju wants to sell, not knowing that the land and the house are at risk for seizure because of his father. When Kang-jae is wounded by some Chinese gangsters, Mi-ju treats him and he begins to fall for her; meanwhile, Kang Se-yeon (Jung Chan), son of the boss Kang-jae works for, falls in love with Mi-ju, who his mother wants as a daughter in law because she considers her a good catch.

## Cast
### Main

Source:
* Lee Seo-jin as Ha Kang-jae
    34 years old, orphan, gangster, right hand of gang boss Kang Choong-shik who raised him
* Kim Jung-eun as Yoon Mi-ju
    31 years old, reverend's daughter, plastic surgeon, supports her father and his orphanage
* Jung Chan as Kang Se-yeon
    33 years old, Kang Choong-shik's son, MBA educated, who returns to Korea after years spent abroad
* Kim Gyu-ri as Park Yu-jin
    28 years old, owner of bakery, Kang-jae's girlfirend, Seo-yeon's first love

### Others

Source:
* Kim Nam-gil as Tae-san, Kang-jae's subordinate
* Yeon Mi-joo as Choi Yoon, Se-yeon's assistant
* Lee Ki-young as Uhm Sang-taek, Kang-jae's right hand
* Park In-hwan as Reverend Yoon Mok-sa, Mi-ju's father
* Choi Ha-na as Hong Soon-jung, nurse in plastic surgery clinic, later living with Mi-ju
* Yoo Jung-hyun as Seol Won-chul, plastic surgery clinic president
* Choi Il-hwa as Kang Choong-shik, gang boss turned Chairman & CEO Baek Eun Construction
* Yang Geum-seok as Jung Yang-geum, Se-yeon's mother, Kang Choong-shik's wife
* Kim Roi-ha as Nam Chang-bae, gangster, nightclub president
* Jang Hang-sun as Baek Jong-dae, Baek Eun Construction Director
* Lee Se-chang as Lee Jin-soo, garage owner, tire dealer
* Moon Jeong-hee as Sang-taek's wife
* Yoo Dong-hyuk as young Se-yeon
* Kim Ki-bang as Dae-suk, a gangster working under Ha Kang-jae
* Kim Dong-gyun as Kim Dong-hoon, an employee of the construction company

## Ratings

In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
| Date | Episode | Nationwide | Seoul |
| 2006-11-08 | 1 | 11.3% | 12.1% |
| 2006-11-09 | 2 | 12.2% | 12.8% |
| 2006-11-15 | 3 | 14.3% | 14.8% |
| 2006-11-16 | 4 | 15.6% | 15.9% |
| 2006-11-22 | 5 | 14.7% | 15.5% |
| 2006-11-23 | 6 | 15.6% | 15.6% |
| 2006-11-29 | 7 | 16.1% | 16.4% |
| 2006-11-30 | 8 | 16.0% | 16.2% |
| 2006-12-06 | 9 | 16.2% | 16.7% |
| 2006-12-07 | 10 | 15.8% | 15.9% |
| 2006-12-13 | 11 | 16.3% | 16.3% |
| 2006-12-14 | 12 | 19.5% | 20.3% |
| 2006-12-20 | 13 | 17.0% | 17.4% |
| 2006-12-21 | 14 | 18.0% | 19.0% |
| 2006-12-27 | 15 | 18.3% | 19.4% |
| 2006-12-28 | 16 | 16.6% | 17.5% |
| 2007-01-03 | 17 | 21.0% | 22.2% |
| 2007-01-04 | 18 | 23.2% | 23.9% |
| 2007-01-10 | 19 | 20.8% | 21.8% |
| 2007-01-11 | 20 | 25.3% | 26.8% |
| Average | Average | 17.2% | 17.8% |
Source: TNS Media Korea