Sometimes ridiculous, sometimes serious family melodrama Red Balloon starring Seo Ji Hye (Adamas 2022) as a 37-year-old single woman who has failed the teacher exam multiple times has us laughing and sometimes crying! Her character, Jo Eun Gang, is surrounded by a dysfunctional family and is fed up with her life and starts to do whatever it takes to realize her dream.
Let's take a look at each main character and see which person are you closest to!
Jo Eun Gang (Seo Ji Hye)
Jo Eun Gang is almost 40 years old and her family is constantly nagging her to get married to her boyfriend, Kwon Tae Gi (Seol Jung Hwan Unasked Family 2019), of four years. She is giving, kind, and generous as she pays for Kwon Tae Gi's rent, groceries, and spending money as he studies to be a civil servant.
She has given up her dream to become a teacher as she has failed the teacher's exam multiple times therefore she is hoping that her boyfriend will pass his exam and get married to him. But in a twist in fate, Eun Gang catches Tae Gi cheating on her with another woman after he has passed the civil servant exam and finally gets a stable job. Tae Gi has taken advantage of her kindness and breaks up with her, leaving her heartbroken.
Eun Gang becomes a stronger person as she realizes that she needs to become her own woman and chase after her dream again. At the same time, she is attracted to her best friend's husband, Go Cha Won, who is a successful doctor.
Han Ba Da (Hong Soo Hyun)
Han Ba Da is Eun Gang's best friend since high school and owns her own jewelry design business. She is married to Go Cha Won but has issues with her mother-in-law. Ba Da constantly butts heads with her mother-in-law who always meddles in her personal business.
Ba Da is strong and independent, but also very generous to her best friend. She even designed couple rings for their wedding! Although she has a very busy life, she always makes time for Eun Gang and treats her like family. She is oblivious to the fact that maybe Eun Gang still has feelings for her husband, Go Cha Won.
Go Cha Won (Lee Sang Woo)
As a plastic surgeon and son of a businessman, Go Cha Won would be considered many to be successful. He is charming and has a beautiful wife and daughter and always has time to help Han Ba Da if she needs him. Cha Won seems to be a "nice guy" on the surface but sometimes we wonder if he has feelings for Eun Gang since they often spend a lot of time together running errands for Ba Da.
Ji Nam Cheol (Lee Sung Jae)
Ji Nam Cheol is much older than his counterparts as he is nearing 50 years old with a family of his own. He feels overlooked by his family as he runs his father-in-law's company but doesn't see any of the money he has earned. He is often belittled in front of his employees by his father-in-law and is disrespected by his wife and daughter. The only person that cares about him is his son, whom he talks with often.
Nam Cheol is introduced to Eun Gang's sister, Jo Eun San (Jung Yoo Min Red Shoes 2021), as the new bookkeeper for the company and quickly builds a bond with her. She is the only person to understand him and takes his side when things get rough with his family. The two develop a romantic relationship.
So which character are you? Which relationship are you rooting for? We would love to hear your input!
Check out Red Balloon every Saturday and Sunday at 9 PM KST on TV Chosun!
Comments