REVIEW: Pinocchio
| Title | Pinocchio |
| Male Lead | Lee Jong-Suk |
| Female Lead | Park Shin-Hye |
| Writer | Park Hye-Ryun |
| Episodes | 20 Episodes | 58 Minutes per Episode |
| Release | November 12, 2014, to January 15, 2015 |
| Genre | Romance, Drama, Comedy, Family Drama |
| Language | Korean |
| Country of Origin | South Korea |
Plot Summary
Ki Ha-Meong is a student who lives a relatively uneventful life with his family in a small town in South Korea. He has an older brother, Ki Jae-Myung, who is caring. His father is the captain of a firefighting squad who is well respected by his colleagues. His mother is a cheerful lady who is a homemaker.
Their life is typical and very ordinary. Ha-Meong is a bright student. He excels in school and he is well-loved and supported by his family.
The Fire That Changed Everything
One day, a big fire caused by an explosion in a factory changed the course of their lives. Ha-Meong’s father, along with his team members, died in the accident. MSC, one of the local news stations, reported a sensationalized story about the incident that got Ha-Meong’s father painted as the bad guy.
His brother, Jae-Myung, was taken to a precinct because of an incident with Song Cha-Ok, one of MBC’s reporters. Feeling hopeless, Ha-Meong’s mother jumps off a cliff with his younger son. When Jae-Myung is released and learns about what happened to his mother and brother, he blames the media and especially Song Cha-Ok for every misfortune that happened to his family.
What is even more difficult than putting someone else’s money into your pocket is forcing your own ideas into someone else’s head.
Living Another Person’s Life
Unknown to everybody, Ha-Meong was saved by Choi Gong-Pil when his body was washed away near Hyangri island. He is an elderly man who had memory problems and lost his eldest son while he was still a child. He mistook Ha-Meong to be his long-lost son and because he had nowhere else to go, he chose not to correct this mistake. He placed him as his eldest son in the family registry. From then on, Ha-Meong lived as Choi Dal-Po, the son of Gong-Pil.
Five months later, Gong-Pil’s younger son, Dal-Pyung gets divorced from his wife who is incidentally Song Cha-Ok, the reporter who caused great pain to Ha-Meong’s family. He takes his daughter, In-Ha back to Hyangri to live with his father. He is surprised to find that his father is calling a young boy his older son but he goes along with it so as not to cause his father’s distress.
Niece-Uncle Tandem
In-Ha has the “Pinocchio syndrome” which causes her to hiccup whenever she is not telling the truth. At first, she is wary of Dal-Po and his relationship with the family. She adores her mother very much and she doesn’t like living on the island. She goes to school with Dal-Po and they develop an unusual relationship as niece-uncle-friends-classmates since they belong to the same year and class.
After finishing school, In-Ha works very hard to train as a reporter like her mother while Dal-Po becomes a taxi driver. In a twist of faith, they both end up being reporters in opposing network stations. In-Ha becomes a member of MBC where her mother Song Cha-Ok is the news anchor while Dal-Po becomes a member of YGN, the rival network.
Understanding Choices
Both of them begin to understand that there is more to being a reporter than just telling facts. They uncover hard truths as they get to know the system. They get into situations when they have to choose between circumstances that will have grave effects on real people. Sometimes even their families and friends are involved.
They both begin to understand and realize that they are always faced with difficult choices. Choosing one over the other might not necessarily be the ideal choice that they imagined. While they grow and mature as individuals, they also develop a romantic relationship that they are both trying to deny at first.
There are many times in life when i’m made to realize just how small this world truly is. I’m sure there’s been times in everyone’s lives when you meet a perfect stranger and come to realize their fate is intertwined with yours.
Binge Star Rating – 9 Stars
Pinocchio Quick Review
I give Pinocchio a solid 4.5 stars with its evocative writing, good casting, and great performances from all the actors. The writer explored the meaning of truth viewed from different perspectives. Oftentimes, we only view truth from our one-sided perspective. We seldom consider other people’s perspectives when we are in difficult situations. In this drama, the writer delves into how presenting different angles of the same situation can alter its meaning.
Notable Characters
The Dutiful Son
Kim Young-Kwang as Seo Bum-Jo is our endearing second lead. You are almost okay with In-Ha ending up with him instead of Dal-Po. He is a chaebol heir to a retail conglomerate. The only child of a doting mother who is the chairwoman of a big corporation. You can say he is a mama’s boy. He is a kind-hearted and honest man. The choices he had to make are a testament to his good character. He formed a reluctant bond with Dal-Po born out of their understanding of each other’s situation. They might be rivals when it comes to In-Ha’s heart but in uncovering the truth they are allies.
The Doting Mother
Park Ro-Sa as portrayed by veteran powerhouse actress Kim Hae-Sook is your typical doting rich mom. She is very loving and always indulgent of her only son. At first glance, she is kind and mild-mannered. Always on the lookout for her son and always giving him exactly what he wants. It is a different story when it comes to business. She is a ruthless chairwoman who would stop at nothing to achieve success. Underneath her calm and kind demeanor, she is manipulative and scheming. She is always concerned only about the bottom line.
In The Newsroom
The cast members of Pinocchio provided a well-balanced mix of personalities that make the show such a joy to watch. Yoo-Rae provides comic relief with her misinterpretation of Dal-Po’s actions towards her. She thought that he liked her and was very clear at drawing the line at first. It is funny to see her feeling herself every time she thinks Dal-Po was paying her extra attention. Gyo-Dong’s character tries to make up for past mistakes by helping Dal-Po with his supposed revenge for what happened to his family.
Song Cha-Ok shows a mature character that has seen it all and thinks she knows better, but the younger generation shows her a different take on situations that she has encountered before herself. This makes her rethink her past actions and eventually finds it in her heart to feel guilty.
Friends and Family Ties
Shin Jung-Keun as Choi Dal-Pyeong, he is the father of Choi In-Ha. He used have a promising career in banking but was a victim of office gossip. 
Byun Hee-Bong as Choi Gong-Pil, he is the adoptive father of Dal-Po who saved him during the troubled time in his life. 
Yoon Gyun-Sang as Ki Jae-Myeong, he is the older brother of Ha-Meong. 
[left] Lee Joo-Seung as Ahn Chan-Soo and [right] Lim Do-Yoon as Go Ji-Hee. Chan-Soo is a police officer and Ji-Hee is his wife. They are both classmates of Dal-Po and In-Ha in highschool.
The show has succeeded in making me rethink truths beneath the surface. Taking into account situations that may be behind people’s actions. These may be causing them to act the way they do. Overall, Pinocchio is more than your typical drama. If you want an engaging story that will keep you entertained, this drama just might be what you are looking for.
Re-Watch Value
While this drama has a great storyline and superb acting, it is not my usual go-to genre when I just want to chill. I will re-watch it but it is not on top of my list. But this is only because when I rewatch a series, I tend to rewatch those that are in the rom-com genre where I will be entertained but will not be feeling on edge while watching.
Where to Watch
Watch the full drama with complete English subtitles on the Netflix website.
Images from promotional materials from SBS may be subject to copyright. [Last Update 04262024]
