Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo (2016)
Quick Take: Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo (2016), starring Nam Joo-hyuk and Lee Sung-kyung. 9.7/10. 16 episodes, 60 minutes each.
Synopsis: Adorable weightlifter Kim Bok-joo is struggling to improve. A chance encounter with a good-looking doctor leads her to enroll in a weight-loss program at the same time her coaches are trying to get her to gain weight. She tells the doctor that she plays cello, about which she is clueless. However, the doctor’s younger brother is a swimmer at the same sports university and knows who she is. A lot of lying and pretending goes on, which of course must all come out eventually. Subplots include a childhood friendship, a childhood trauma, a coach’s scandal, several secondary romances, and family support that fails to be supportive.
Review: The English titles of Korean dramas can seem awkward to Western audiences. Where we would say for example “She dances like an angel,” Koreans would say “like a fairy.” (Angels are Christian mythology, after all.) Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo is one of the classics of 2016, widely recognized as the best year ever for K-drama. It shares a basic plot and the male lead with 25-21 (2022), but of the two, Weightlifting Fairy would be the lite version, with more comedy and less angst. Props to costuming for bulking up Lee Sung-kyung with clothes to disguise the fact that she’s way too slender for a weight-lifter. Costuming also deserves recognition for having on hand a dozen different winter jackets for Nam Joo-hyuk. He never wears the same one twice.
Recommended
Rewatchable - 5, Compelling - 5, Plot/ Story/Writing - 10, Acting/Casting - 10, Production - 10, Bonus - 7. Bonus for the leads. Love them both!
Notes:
Nam Joo-hyuk
began his career as a model in 2013 and started acting in 2014. See him also in Cheese in the Trap (2016), Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016), The Bride of Habaek (2017), Radiant (2019), Start-Up (2020), and Twenty-five Twenty-one (2022).
Lee Sung-kyung
is best known for her roles in television series Cheese in the Trap (2016), The Doctors (2016), Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo (2016), Dr. Romantic 2 (2020), and Sh**ting Stars (2022). She is a talented comedian and tall — 175 cm, 5 ft. 9.
Lee Jae-yoon
has accrued film and/or drama credits steadily since his acting debut in 2004. However, in spite of second-lead roles in Weightlifting Fairy and Another Miss Oh, both 2016, first lead status has so far eluded him.