Name: Saimdang, Light's Diary
Genre: Historical, Romance, Drama
Released: 2017-01-26
Rating: 9.4
Cast: Song Seung Heon, Lee Young Ae, Lee Joo Yeon, Oh Yoon Ah, Lee Hae Young

Song Seung Heon is a popular South Korean actor who is instantly recognizable for his full, distinctive eyebrows and chiseled good looks. Born on October 5, 1976, he began his career as a model for the jeans brand STORM (just like actor So Ji Sub). He broke into acting with the 1996 television sitcom “Three Guys, Three Girls,” and a very successful acting career followed. His popularity increased tremendously with the 2000 drama “Autumn in My Heart,” which made him one of the most recognized Hallyu stars and much sought-after actor. Song Seung Heon has since starred in many popular films and dramas, including “East of Eden” (2008), “My Princess” (2011), “Dr. Jin” (2012), “When a Man Loves” (2013) and “Saimdang, Light's Diary” (2017). In 2009, he founded his own management company, Storm S Company, which was later renamed Better ENT. Song Seung Heon also owns an Italian restaurant in Korea called Blacksmith.

Song Seung Heon

Lee Young Ae is a celebrated and award-winning South Korean actress. Born on January 31, 1971, she is best known for her roles in the historical television drama “Jewel in the Palace” (2003) and the film “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” (2005), both of which garnered many acting accolades for Lee Young Ae. She began her career in 1991 as a model and then made her acting debut in the 1993 television drama “How’s Your Husband?” She won the Best New Actress award for that role at the 1994 SBS Drama Awards. After a 13-year hiatus, Lee Young Ae returned to the small screen with a dual role in drama “Saimdang, Light’s Diary” in 2017. Lee Young Ae married Korean-American businessman Jeong Ho Young in 2009. In addition to acting, Lee Young Ae is known for her charity work, including as an UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Lee Young Ae

Lee Joo Yeon is a South Korean singer and actress. Born on March 19, 1987, she made her debut with the K-pop girl group After School in late 2008 and then “graduated” from the group in mid-2015. She made her acting debut in the 2007 film “My Tutor Friend 2” before gaining wider attention in the 2010 television drama “Smile Again.” She has since appeared in other popular films and dramas, including “A New Leaf” (2014) and “Immortal Goddess” (2016) before landing her first starring role in the web drama “The Facetale: Cinderia” (2016).

Lee Joo Yeon

Oh Yoon Ah is a South Korean actress and model. Born on October 14, 1980, she started her career as a racing model after winning the first Cyber Race Queen Contest in 2000. She worked as an entertainment reporter for “Section TV” in 2003 before branching into acting in the 2004 television series “Into the Storm.” Her supporting role in the 2006 film “Old Miss Diary” catapulted her to fame, and she has since appeared in many popular television dramas, including the recent “Incarnation of Money” (2013), “You’re All Surrounded” (2014), “Angry Mom” (2015) and “Oh My Geum Bi” (2016-17). Oh Yoon Ah was married to advertising executive Song Hoon from 2007 to 2015.

Oh Yoon Ah

Lee Hae Young is a South Korean actor. Born on September 7, 1970, he made his acting debut in the 2002 film “Over the Rainbow.” He has since had a prolific career in both films and television dramas, including the recent “Liar Game” (2014), “Pied Piper” (2016), “Voice” (2017) and “Saimdang, Light’s Diary” (2017).

Lee Hae Young

Jung Min Seok

Yang Se Jong is a South Korean actor. Born on December 23, 1992, he became interested in acting while in high school after watching school plays. He worked as a fashion model for a short period of time in 2011 and then made his acting debut in the 2016 television drama “Romantic Doctor Kim.” He also has appeared in “Saimdang, Light’s Diary” (2017), “Duel” (2017), “Degree of Love” (2017) and “Thirty But Seventeen” (2018).

Yang Se Jong

Hong Jin Ki

Ha Do Kwon, born Kim Yeong Gu, is a South Korean actor. He was born on March 3, 1977 and made his acting debut in 2014. Since then, he has appeared in various films and television dramas, including “Gogh, the Starry Night” (2016), “Thirty But Seventeen” (2018), “The Last Empress” (2018), “Stove League” (2019), and “Stove League: The Real” (2020).

Ha Do Kwon

Jang Seo Kyung is a South Korean actress who was born on April 25, 1991, in Seoul, South Korea. She studied at the Korea National University of Arts, and made her acting debut in the film “Innocent Thing” (2014), playing the role of Joo Hee. She followed up the following year with her small-screen bow in the series “Yong Pal,” and more recently appeared in the series ”Rugal” (2020).

Jang Seo Kyung

Shin Soo Yeon is an up-and-coming South Korean actress who was born on November 29, 2004. She made her small-screen debut while aged just five years old in the hit sitcom “High Kick Through the Roof” (2009). She has since gone on to appear in scores of hit movie and drama titles, including “Queen of Reversals” (2010-2011) and “Doctor Stranger” (2014). More recently, she has appeared in the drama “Do You Like Brahms?” and the movie “Steel Rain 2” (2020).

Shin Soo Yeon

Song Min Hyung is a South Korean actor who was born on March 2, 1954. He graduated from Dongguk University’s Seoul Campus, where he majored in Film and Drama. He rose to prominence in the mid-2000s, appearing in season 1 of “Ugly Young-A” in 2007. He has since gone on to appear in smash-hit drama series titles such as “Flower of the Queen” (2015), as well as the more recent “Fatal Promise” and “Mr. Queen” (2020).

Song Min Hyung

Park Hye Soo is a South Korean singer and actress. She was born on November 24, 1994 in Seoul, South Korea, and made her debut in the entertainment world in 2014 when she participated in the survival reality show, “K-pop Star 4” (2014). She made her acting debut in 2015, when she took her first role in a television drama. Since then, she has appeared in various films and television dramas, including “Swing Kids” (2018).

Park Hye Soo

Park Sang Hoon is a South Korean actor. He was born on May 2, 2005 and made his acting debut in 2014. Since then, he has appeared in a number of films and television dramas, including “Mirror of the Witch” (2016), “Saimdang, Light’s Diary” (2017), “King Maker: The Change of Destiny” (2020), and “River Where the Moon Rises” (2021).

Park Sang Hoon

Can a secret diary shed light on the authenticity of a centuries-old painting? 

Seo Ji Yoon (Lee Young Ae) is an art history lecturer who has devoted the best years of her life to earning her Ph.D. and working under her mentor, department chairman Min Jung Hak (Choi Jong Hwan), in the hopes of being named a full-time professor at her university. 

When Jung Hak entrusts Ji Yoon to write the thesis for his find-of-the-century historical painting, “An Gyeon’s Mount Geumgang,” Ji Yoon is ecstatic and finally feels like she is about to earn her professorship. But in a matter of days, her whole world comes crashing down around her. 

First, her husband, Jung Min Seok (Lee Hae Young), suddenly becomes a fugitive when his company comes under investigation and the Russian Mafia comes after him for dirty money, forcing Ji Yoon, her son, and her mother-in-law, Kim Jung Hee (Kim Hae Sook), to be kicked out of their home. Then, Ji Yoon’s career comes to a crashing halt when grad student Han Sang Hyun (Yang Se Jong) publicly challenges the authenticity of the Mount Geumgang painting and Ji Yoon does not adequately defend Jung Hak’s reputation. 

An enraged Jung Hak has Ji Yoon fired and ostracized from the art history community. At the bottom of her life, Ji Yoon discovers the secret diary of Shin Saimdang (1504-1551), a Korean artist, writer, calligraphist and poet who was the mother of Yi I, one of the two most prominent Korean Confucian scholars during the Joseon Dynasty. The diary sheds new light on the life of Saimdang (also played by Lee Young Ae, her relationship with painter Lee Gyeom (Song Seung Heon), and the Mount Geumgang painting. 

With the help of Sang Hyun and her best friend, Go Hye Jung (Park Jun Myun), an antiquities researcher, can Ji Yoon get her life and career back? 

“Saimdang, Light’s Diary” is a 2017 South Korean drama series directed by Yoon Sang Ho.

Saimdang, Light's Diary

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Saimdang, Light's Diary

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