Life Is Beautiful (2010 TV series)


Life Is Beautiful is a 2010 South Korean television series starring Song Chang-eui, Lee Sang-woo, Lee Sang-yoon and Nam Sang-mi. It aired on SBS from September 11 to November 7, 2010 on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:45 for 63 episodes.
Aside from scoring high ratings that were in the mid-twenty range during its run, the series is notable for its sensitive portrayal of a loving, openly gay couple in a Korean drama on primetime network television. Although the approach to homosexual themes is quite sympathetic, it has been argued that "major changes in the last episodes of 'Life is Beautiful' were made due to the strong opposition towards the issue," and that there are "no kissing scenes between the main actors in 'Life is Beautiful' in the midst of endless kissing scenes in other K-dramas that depict heterosexual couples."

Plot

Set in Jeju, the drama revolves around a loving, multi-generation family led by the parents Yang Byung-tae and Kim Min-jae, and their four children Tae-sub, Ji-hye, Ho-sub and Cho-rong, as well as assorted grandparents and uncles. The story follows the family's everyday lives and conflicts, including oldest daughter Ji-hye's marital problems with her husband Soo-il ; younger son Ho-sub's pursuit of his mother's assistant, Yeon-joo ; and oldest son Tae-sub's romantic pairing with divorced professor Kyung-soo, whose homosexual relationship their families react to while addressing issues of personal, social, and familial acceptance, leading to, finally, love and understanding.

Cast

;Yang family
;Lee family
;Park family
;Extended cast

Episode ratings

Source:

International broadcast

It aired on Japan's cable channel KNTV under the title Beautiful Life, beginning February 24, 2011.
It aired in Thailand on True4U beginning November 18, 2015.