by: Raine

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Inspired by uri oppa, Park Shi-hoo, I began How to Be a Perfect Neighbor despite its mixed reviews. I hope to not only be able to sit through the drama, but actually enjoy it. As I progress, I will update the character profiles and I may include a few spoilers that will be written in white between two black parentheses like this: (Stuff written in white means SPOILER.)

character introductions

Baek Soo-chan

Actor: Kim Seung-woo

Nicknames: the professor

Baek Soo-chan is immediately established as the town Jebi, or ladies’ man (and sometimes the more unsavory gigolo). He is an assistant professor of horticulture who is romancing a married full-time professor in hopes of securing a permanent position. He is smooth, handsome and adept at making himself into what a woman wants and needs. He, predictably, gets off to a rocky start with our heroine, Jung Yoon-hee.

Jung Yoon-hee

Actor: Bae Doo-na

Nicknames: none

She is our spirited, snarky heroine who, despite her strong personality, caters to her selfish unni’s every whim. I think its more out of love than weakness, but the plot will reveal the truth. She discovers that Soo-chan is a jebi and harbors immediate animosity towards him for leading on her very gullible sister.

She is a secretary at J Corporation, first for the president, now for Joon-suk. She is not much of a secretary. In fact, she is rather forgetful, clumsy and directionally challenged.Instead, she was hired by the president because of her ability to make him laugh and keep him entertained. She is the first person in a long time to make Yoo Joon-suk smile.

Yoo Joon-suk

(Park Shi-hoo when he was 29 and sporting that really hot facial hair we all loved in The Princess’ Man)

Actor: Park Shi-hoo

Nicknames: none

Joon-suk is a cold, no nonsense chaebol with a dark past that haunts him and who has also just returned from America. He is known for having low tolerance for mistakes and failures and also for saying, “so what?” (There are two variations he uses that I could catch, “kuraeseyo” and “keurumdeyo”. I’m not sure about those spellings, but you’ll hear them.) There are most definitely some daddy/mommy issues going on. Oh, and some past love agonies. He has cracked a few small, but notable smiles, all at Yoon-hee’s expense.

He is the current Project Manager at J Corporation, his father’s company.

Go Hye-Mi

Actor: Min Ji-hye

Nicknames: Evil

We are briefly introduced to her as she fights with a seemingly needy boyfriend. She comes across as bitchy and cold. (Hrm, why am I NOT surprised?) Her boyfriend tries to murder/suicide by driving off the side of a cliff. He gets stuck in his seat belt underwater and she leaves him. She is saved by Professor Baek Soo-chan but leaves the hospital without a word, worrying him. They meet each other again in Seoul where we discover that she works at Yoo Joon-suk’s company and is to marry Joon-suk. She’s trying hard to fulfill her duties, but Joon-suk could care less about their impending marriage. Her father is Chairman Go Chang-shik.

Yang Duk-gil

Actor: Son Hyun-joo

Nicknames: none

I’m loving this guy. He’s an extremely awkward man in his 40s who is a single father of a spunky son. He goes to Cambodia to find a wife and meets his former friend and current thieving debtor Baek Soo-chan. Soo-chan ran off with his money ten years prior and had been completely incommunicado. But the friendship is rekindled as suave Soo-chan aids clumsy Duk-gil in wooing his Cambodian woman. When the woman disappears with his money in what turns out to have been a marriage scam, Duk-gil shows up at Soo-chan’s door, claiming refuge. We have an awesome odd-couple bromance going on now.

Duk-gil also seems to have a thing for Yoon-hee. I’d love it if he ended up with Mi-hee.

Yang Go-ni

Actor:  Shin Dong-woo

Nicknames: none

Duk-gil’s son who looks to be about 10. He’s got quite a mouth on him and isn’t afraid to tell his dad exactly what’s on him mind. He loves his Cambodian mother and is disappointed at her betrayal. Go-ni gets along well with Soo-chan, so much so that Duk-gil seems a little jealous…perhaps overly so. Is there a secret here?

Go-ni is also quite the neighborhood ladies’ man and is the midst of wooing Mi-hee’s daughter, Ye-seul.

Jung Mi-hee

Actor: Kim Sung-ryung

Nicknames: Stalker

She is Yoon-hee’s very selfish, shallow, alcoholic unni. who is obsessed with winning over Baek Soo-chan. She plans the trip to Cambodia to follow him, believing she can become closer to him. Each time her plans are foiled, she wallows in drink. She also treats Yoon-hee like a slave. It’s rather infuriating.

I think she has quite a bit of money, either from work or alimony or something. She, her mother and her daughter look down on Yoon-hee.

Sun Woo

Actor: Park Won-sook

Nicknames: none

Yoon-hee and Mi-hee’s mother. She, too, has a little thing for Soo-chan, like all the neighborhood ahjummas. But she wants him as a son-in-law…via Mi-hee. She doesn’t think it’s possible for Yoon-hee to actually get a guy. Her lack of faith is astounding.

Her favorite past times seem to be hanging out with Duk-gil and the ahjummas, picking on Yoon-hee and insulting Yoon-hee.

Ahn Ye-seul

Actor: Park Yeon-ah

Nicknames: none

Mi-hee’s only daughter who has quite the little attitude. Go-ni has a crush on her.

Kang Yeok-gae

Actor: Kim Roe-ha

Nickname: none

A clumsy, quirky police detective who seems to be a mixture of intuitive and rather too oblivious to be a detective. His gut instincts are a point of ridicule by others in the department.
As of thus far (episode 4), he has latched onto a scent in the murder investigation of Yeon Soo-yeon (the woman from the first scene of the drama) and hasn’t let go. He is hounding the pregnant ahjumma, Dan Myung-hee.

Detective Kim

Actor: Kim Sung-tae

Nickname: Fluffy

He is Kang Yeok-gae’s junior partner who thinks his sunbae is nuts. He also has some seriously fluffy hair.

Han Ok-geum

Actor: Kim Suk-ok

Nickname: none

She is Joon-suk’s stern, old-fashioned mother.

Go Chang-shik

Actor: Jung Dong-hwan

Nickname: Evil dad

The chairman of the J Corporation. His daughter is Go Hye-mi. He is a cold husband to Song Young-ja. He is seriously creepy. He has his thumb in too many pies. In one scene, he’s planning things with Joon-suk’s mother; in another he is manipulating his daughter; in another he is complimenting Yoon-hee; and in another, he is trying to influence Joon-suk’s decisions. What does he want?

Song Young-ja

Actor: Seo Kwon-soon

Nickname: none

Chairman Kim’s emotionally battered wife. Yoon-hee’s mother, Sun Woo, really dislikes her. Young-ja is a show-off but it really just hides her immense unhappiness and insecurities.

Byun Hee-sup

Actor:  Lee Won-jae

Nickname: Stutter

Manager at J Corporation who is a failed business partner and good friend of Jung Yoon-hee. He is married to “Old Ahjumma” Choi Bo-kyung. His son, Byun Yong, is friend’s with Ye-seul, Yoon-hee’s niece.

Choi Bo-kyung

Actor: Kim Sun-hwa

Nickname: Old Ahjumma

Byun Hee-sup’s wife who is completely enamored of Baek Soo-chan. Her son is Byun Yong who is friends with Yoon-hee’s nice, Ye-seul. She is also really cruel and bossy towards her husband.

Byun Yong

Actor: unknown

Nickname: Little Byun

Stutter and Old ahjumma’s kid who is a bit of a bully. He has a thing for Ye-seul. He likes to pick on Go-ni and call him a bumpkin/hick.

Teenage Byun

Actor: Han Ye-in

Nickname: none

Hee-sup and Bo-kyung’s teenage daughter who is stressed by her mother’s constant pushing, nagging and yelling.

Cha Young-Jae

Actor: Kim Jung-hak

Nickname: Stickbutt

J-Corporation executive who acts like he always has a stick up his butt. He takes care of himself and no one else. He is one of the three stooges who Joon-suk picks on. He is newly married to “newly wed ahjumma” Na Ha-ni. His eyesight is continually worsening.

Na Ha-ni

Actor: Jo Han-na

Nickname: New wife ahjumma

A young wife whose husband, Cha Young-jae, has terrible eyesight. She likes to prance around in short shorts to try and get Baek Soo-chan’s attention.

Kim Dae-shik

Actor: Kim Dong-gyoon

Nickname: Leader

Works at J Corporation and is one of the three stooges who constantly get laid into by Joon-suk (along with Byun Hee-sup/Stutter and Cha Young-jae/Stickbutt.) He talks the loudest and thinks he guides them all in their small rebellions against mean Joon-suk. He’s a jerk to his wife, “pregnant ahjumma” Dan Myung-hee.

Dan Myung-hee

Actor: Kim Ye-ryung

Nickname: Pregnant Ahjumma

She has a verbally abusive and very controlling husband. She is quite pregnant and seems to be somehow linked to the murder than Detective Kang is investigating. She, too, pines for Baek Soo-chan.

Wee Dae-han

Actor: unknown

Nickname: Jerk

A control freak who seems to be in the early stages of being an abusive husband. He checks up on his wife, Oh Jung-suk, all the time and really limits what she can do. He received the highest performance assessment several years in a row at his other branch of the company.

He moved into Dae-shik’s house.

Oh Jung-suk

Actor: unknown

Nickname: none

Baek Soo-chan’s college flame who is terrified of her husband, Wee Dae-han. She tries to reason with him and knows that he “loves” her, but she’s too scared to leave him. We can see she has some spunk in her still and I hope her relationship doesn’t turn physically abusive, but all the signs are there.

Park Mi-na

Actor: Kim Young-jin

Nickname: None

Joon-suk’s other secretary who is fluent in Japanese. She’s always asking after Yoon-hee when she comes out of Joon-suk’s office. She’s a bit of a snob.

Yeon Soo-Yeon

Actor: Kim Sung-tae

Nickname: dead girl

The murder victim that Detective Kang and Detective Kim are investigating.

Cambodian Wife

Actor: Unknown

Nickname: Wifey

She is the woman that Duk-gil married in Cambodia. At first she seemed cold and disinterested, but it turns out that she was roped into a marriage fraud scheme by the translator. When she decides to remain with Duk-gil instead and be the mother to his child, she is hit by a car and killed (ep 2).

Chief of Police

Actor: Unknown

Nickname: chief

The chief of police and Detective Kang and Detective Kim’s boss. He’s always ragging on Kang not to use banmal with him. He, along with everyone else, thinks his gut instincts are a joke.

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Production Details

Episodes: 20

Broadcast network: SBS

Broadcast Period: 7.25.07 to 9.27.07

Director: Jo Nam-gook

Screenwriter: Jung Ji-woo

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For the recaps of episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 check out my recaps.