My Dearest

My Dearest (Korean: 연인) is a 2023 South Korean television series starring Namkoong Min, Ahn Eun-jin, Lee Hak-joo, Lee Da-in, Kim Yoon-woo, and Lee Chung-ah. According to writer Hwang Jin-young, it is inspired by the 1936 novel Gone with the Wind.^[8] It aired on MBC TV from August 4 to November 18, 2023, every Friday and Saturday at 21:50 (KST).^[1] It is also available for streaming on Wavve in South Korea, and on Viki in selected regions.^[9][10]

My Dearest
Promotional poster
Hangul	연인
Hanja	戀人
Lit.	Lover
RR	Yeonin
MR	Yŏnin
Genre	Historical drama[1] Melodrama[1] Romance[2]
Inspired by	Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Developed by	MBC (planning)[3]
Written by	Hwang Jin-young[4]
Directed by	Kim Seong-yong[5] Lee Han-jun[3] Cheon Soo-jin[5]
Starring	Namkoong Min Ahn Eun-jin Lee Hak-joo Lee Da-in Kim Yoon-woo Lee Chung-ah
Music by	Kim Soo-han[6]
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	21
Production
Executive producer	Hong Seok-woo (CP)[3]
Producers	Kim Jae-bok[3] Yoon Kwon-su[3] Kim Ji-ha[3]
Running time	60–90 minutes[7]
Production companies	MBC[3] 9ato Entertainment[3]
Original release
Network	MBC TV
Release	August 4 (2023-08-04) – November 18, 2023 (2023-11-18)

The series was divided into two parts: Part 1 aired from August 4 to September 2, 2023, for ten episodes, while Part 2 aired from October 13 to November 18, 2023, for eleven episodes.^[11][12]

Synopsis

The series is set during the Qing invasion of Joseon, and portrays the inspiring story of people who find hope and positivity even in the most challenging times.^[13]

Cast

Main

• Namkoong Min as Lee Jang-hyun: an enigmatic nobleman who does not give his sincerity to anything, but after getting to know a woman, he opens the door to his unexpected fate.^[13][14]
  • Moon Seong-hyun as young Lee Jang-hyun^[15]
• Ahn Eun-jin as Yoo Gil-chae: the daughter of a noble family who gets entangled with Jang-hyun.^[14]
• Lee Hak-joo as Nam Yeon-joon: a promising Confucian student at Sungkyunkwan.^[1]
• Lee Da-in as Kyung Eun-ae: Yeon-joon's fiancée and Gil-chae's closest friend.^[4]
• Kim Yoon-woo as Ryang-eum: Jang-hyun's close friend who is the best pansori singer in Joseon.^[16]
• Lee Chung-ah as Gak-hwa: Hong Taiji's daughter and princess of Qing dynasty.^[17]

Supporting

People around Gil-chae

• Ji Seung-hyun as Gu Won-moo: a military officer.^[18]
• Park Jung-yeon as Jong Jong-yi: Gil-chae's maid.^[19]
• Kwon So-hyun as Bang Du-ne: Eun-ae's maid.^[20]

People around Jang-hyun

• Park Kang-seop as Gu-jam: Jang-hyun's servant.^[21]
• Choi Moo-sung as Yang-cheon: a gangster.^[18]

Joseon royal family and subjects

• Kim Jung-tae as King Injo: the sixteenth ruler of Joseon.^[18]
• Kim Moo-jun as Crown Prince Sohyeon: King Injo's eldest son.^[22]
• Jeon Hye-won as Crown Princess Kang: Crown Prince Sohyeon's wife.^[23]
• So Yoo-jin as Royal Consort So-yong Jo: King Injo's favorite concubine.^[24]
• Yang Hyun-min as Pyo Eon-gyeom: Crown Prince Sohyeon's loyal eunuch.^[17]
• Kim Tae-hoon as Choe Myeong-gil: a pragmatist who does not bend his decisions and prioritizes the national interests.^[25]
• Choi Jong-hwan as Kim Sang-heon: a loyal subject.^[17]
• Ha Kyung as Shin I-rip^[17]
• Jung Byung-cheol as Bong-si: King Injo's eunuch.^[17]

People from Qing dynasty

• Choi Young-woo as Yonggoldae: a military officer.^[26]
• Kim Jun-won as Hong Taiji: the emperor of Qing dynasty.^[27]
• Kang Gil-woo as Jung Myung-soo: an interpreter.^[28]

People in Neunggun-ri

• Oh Man-seok as Yoo Gyo-yeon: Gil-chae's father.^[17]
• Jo Seung-yeon as Kyung Geun-jik: Eun-ae's father.^[17]
• Park Jong-wook as Gong Sun-yak: the only son of the village head.^[17]
• Park Eun-woo as Yoo Young-chae: Gil-chae's younger sister.^[29]
• Jung Han-yong as Song-chu: a clerk at Neunggun-ri seowon.^[17]
• Nam Gi-ae as Yi-rang: Song-chu's wife.^[17]
• Park Jin-woo as Park Dae: Du-ne's husband and Gil-chae's helper.^[30]
• Jin Geon-woo as Dae-oh: a Confucian scholar.^[31]
• Kim Ga-hee as Yoo-hwa^[17]
• Kim Eun-soo as Jun-jeol: a Confucian scholar.^[17]
• Ha Gyu-rim as Im-chun: a lady who has bright and cheerful personality.^[17]
• Nam Tae-hoon as Tae-seong: a Confucian scholar.^[32]
• Choi Su-gyeon as Jung-yeon^[17]

Others

• Moon Sung-keun as Jang-cheol: spiritual leader of Confucian scholars.^[33]
• Min Ji-ah as In-ok: a captive woman taken by barbarians.^[17]

Extended

• Kim Seo-an as Young-rang: a young kisaeng.^[34]
• Jeon Guk-hyang as Ae-bok^[35]
• Kim Eun-woo as a general of the Qing dynasty^[36]
• Lee Young-seok as Deok-chul: a blacksmith worker.^[37]
• Lee Nam-hee as Lee Young-ik^[38]
• Jeon Jin-oh as Maeng-tan^[39]
• Yoo Ji-yeon as Hwa-yu^[40]
• Kim Jung-ho as Yoon Chin-wang^[41]

Special appearances

• Lee Soo-min as So-ya^[42]
• Yoo Jae-suk as a farmer^[43]
• Haha as a farmer^[43]
• Joo Woo-jae as a farmer^[43]
• Park Jin-joo as a farmer^[43]
• Lee Yi-kyung as a farmer^[43]
• Lee Mi-joo as a farmer^[43]
• Lee Mi-do as Yang-sseu^[41]

Production

The script reading of the cast was held in December 2022.^[44]

In May 2023, MBC announced the termination of the contract with an external company providing background actors, after it was revealed that an actor who was cast for a minor role in My Dearest was one of the twelve perpetrators of a sexual assault in 2004.^[45][46]

On November 9, 2023, it was announced that the series would be extended by one episode due to its popularity, and would end with 21 episodes. The final episode aired on November 18.^[47]

Reception

Viewership

My Dearest : South Korea viewers per episode (millions)

Part		Episode number											Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	1	1.011	0.728	0.991	0.976	1.441	1.752	1.955	1.843	1.883	2.269	–	1.485
	2	1.441	1.812	1.835	2.231	2.020	2.099	2.018	1.911	2.229	2.301	2.388	2.026

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.^[48]

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share
		Nielsen Korea[48]		TNmS[49]
		Nationwide	Seoul	Nationwide
Part 1
1	August 4, 2023	5.4% (9th)	5.4% (6th)	N/A
2	August 5, 2023	4.3% (8th)	4.4% (6th)
3	August 11, 2023	5.5% (11th)	5.3% (11th)	4.3% (18th)
4	August 12, 2023	5.2% (4th)	5.0% (4th)	4.4% (12th)
5	August 18, 2023	8.4% (3rd)	8.3% (3rd)	6.5% (7th)
6	August 19, 2023	8.8% (2nd)	8.3% (2nd)	N/A
7	August 25, 2023	10.6% (2nd)	10.1% (2nd)	8.0% (5th)
8	August 26, 2023	10.3% (2nd)	9.9% (2nd)	N/A
9	September 1, 2023	10.6% (2nd)	9.8% (2nd)	9.0% (4th)
10	September 2, 2023	12.2% (2nd)	11.5% (2nd)	N/A
Part 2
11	October 13, 2023	7.7% (4th)	7.5% (2nd)	6.6% (6th)
12	October 14, 2023	9.3% (2nd)	9.5% (2nd)	6.9% (2nd)
13	October 20, 2023	10.3% (1st)	9.9% (1st)	7.9% (5th)
14	October 21, 2023	11.7% (2nd)	10.9% (2nd)	N/A
15	October 27, 2023	11.8% (1st)	11.2% (1st)	9.5% (3rd)
16	October 28, 2023	12.0% (2nd)	11.3% (2nd)	N/A
17	November 4, 2023	11.4% (2nd)	11.3% (2nd)
18	November 10, 2023	10.8% (1st)	10.3% (1st)	7.6% (4th)
19	November 11, 2023	11.6% (2nd)	11.3% (2nd)	N/A
20	November 17, 2023	12.4% (1st)	12.5% (1st)
21	November 18, 2023	12.9% (2nd)	12.7% (2nd)
Average		9.7%	9.4%	—[A]
Special	September 8, 2023[B]	3.4% (18th)	3.5% (15th)	N/A
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. N/A denotes ratings that were not published.

Accolades

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee(s) of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee / Work	Result	Ref.
Baeksang Arts Awards	2024	Best Actor	Namkoong Min	Won	[51]
		Best Drama	My Dearest	Won
		Best Actress	Ahn Eun-jin	Nominated	[52]
Grimae Awards	2023	Best Actor	Namkoong Min	Won	[53]
		Best Actress	Ahn Eun-jin	Won
		Directing Award	Kim Seong-yong and Cheon Soo-jin	Won
		Grand Prize (Daesang)	My Dearest	Won
		Lighting Award	Kwon Min-gu	Won
MBC Drama Awards	2023	Best Character Award	Kim Jong-tae [ko]	Won	[54]
		Best Couple Award	Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun-jin	Won
		Best New Actor	Kim Mu-jun [ko]	Won
			Kim Yoon-woo	Won
		Best New Actress	Park Jung-yeon	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Choi Young-woo [ko]	Won
		Drama of the Year	My Dearest	Won
		Grand Prize (Daesang)	Namkoong Min	Won
		Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries	Ahn Eun-jin	Won	[55]
			Lee Chung-ah	Nominated
		Best Character Award	Choi Moo-sung	Nominated	[56]
		Best New Actress	Jeon Hye-won	Nominated	[57]
		Best Supporting Actress	Kwon So-hyun	Nominated	[58]
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Lee Hak-joo	Nominated	[59]
		Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries	Lee Da-in	Nominated
		Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Namkoong Min	Nominated	[60]
Seoul International Drama Awards	2024	Outstanding Korean Drama	My Dearest	Nominated	[61]

Notes

1. Due to multiple unpublished ratings, the exact average rating is unknown.
2. A special episode of the series titled "My Dearest Part 1 Rewind Film" aired on September 8, 2023, with narration by (G)I-dle's Miyeon.^[50]