[News] Jung Kyeo-woon joins Sung Yuri in 'Maids'.

[News] Jung Kyeo-woon joins Sung Yuri in 'Maids'.
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So far, so good: As previously teased, Jung Kyeo-woon has been added to the cast of the upcoming romantic-comedy series Maids, which stars Sung Yuri as, well, a maid.

She plays Noh Soon-geum, a young woman who’s afraid of nothing and finds herself, through an unfortunate turn of circumstances, joining in the family profession (both Mom and Grandma are maids). Thanks to Dad’s gambling problem, the money Mom had so carefully saved up for her tuition goes flying out the window, and Soon-geum takes up the job of housekeeping for the upscale denizens of Seoul’s Kangnam neighborhood. She also has a part-time job working at a barbecue restaurant, where she clears out mounds of trash and has no qualms about sneaking leftovers from the tables of patrons.

Jung Kyeo-woon, then, plays a chaebol for whom (I presume) Sung will work. After playing a cop (Sign) and an exuberant athlete (Dr. Champ), Jung says, “I’m really excited. Everyone’s envious that I get to work with Sung Yuri on a drama.” He describes his character as “originally very nice, but he comes back from New York very macho and masculine. He’s rude to women, and is a cold, hard-to-please type.”


Sung Yuri is reportedly busily practicing her cooking and cleaning skills to portray Soon-geum as the “queen of housekeeping.” With this drama, she’s taking a pretty big step away from her usual image — innocent, pretty, chic — which I think it’s a good thing. (It’s not her first time playing a bubbly character, but her cheery personality in Hong Gil Dong was also a departure from the norm. It’s also (imo) her most successful performance, so I’m thinking she may do a pretty good job here.) It also recalls the character Kim Tae-hee recently played in My Princess, and that role went a LOOOONG way in rehabilitating Kim’s image as a bad actress into one who’s appealing, adorable, and pretty good with the waterworks.

Neither the story nor characters is all that original, but with good chemistry between the leads, I can see it working. This is the kind of drama that’s pretty predictable and familiar, but whose charm (or lack thereof) will hinge upon the little moments, the comic beats, the cute banter between offbeat maid and snooty employer. (Like My Princess, I suspect this drama will soar when The Cute is in full effect, and sink if/when it gets bogged down in The Melodrama.)

Plus, this is sounding like a pretty good companion piece to tvN’s Manny, no? One has the cold New York man as the haughty employer, while the other makes him the employee. Hee.

Maids, which comes from the writer of Pasta, airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays on KBS following Thorn Birds. It premieres on May 11 — which means that for much of its run, it’ll be airing on the same night as Manny (and broadcasts right after Manny ends). It’s like Fate totally wants you to watch ‘em both, together! And who am I to thwart Fate?