How can a mermaid from the Joseon era survive in modern society?

Shim Cheong (Jun Ji Hyun) is a mermaid who follows her one true love, a nobleman’s son named Kim Moon from the Joseon Dynasty, to modern-day Seoul. Moon’s modern doppelgänger is Heo Joon Jae (Lee Min Ho), a highly skilled scam artist who first becomes interested in Shim Cheong because of a jade bracelet worth $6 million that Shim Cheong wears.

With nowhere to go, Shim Cheong is taken in by Joon Jae, who also finds his con partners, Jo Nam Doo (Lee Hee Joon) and Tae Oh (Shin Won Ho), hiding out in his home from a vengeful past victim of their scams. Shim Cheong discovers a rival for Joon Jae’s heart in Cha Shi Ah (Shin Hye Sun), a researcher at KAIST who deals with ancient artifacts.

When a dangerous killer named Ma Dae Young (Sung Dong Il) sent by Joon Jae’s stepmother who wants to make her own son the heir to Joon Jae’s fortunes, can Shim Cheong survive her strange new environment while also helping Joon Jae avoid the dangers that await him?

“The Legend of the Blue Sea” is a 2016-2017 South Korean drama series directed by Jin Hyuk. The story is inspired by a historical tale about a mermaid contained in a short story anthology known as Eou Yadam by Joseon-era scholar Yu Mong In.

This drama marks the last acting role for superstar Lee Min Ho before he entered his mandatory two-year military service and the first acting role for Jun Ji Hyun after giving birth to her first child. Parts of the drama series were filmed on the Pacific island of Palau and in Spain.