Jung So-min, Kim Ji-suk
JTBC’s latest drama Monthly House has confirmed its two leads: Jung So-min (Soul Repairer) and Kim Ji-suk (My Unfamiliar Family). It’s described as a romance between a man buys houses and a woman who lives in them. In Korea, housing is one of the top issues that most people are concerned by, and this drama strives to tackle what the meaning and value of “home” are.
Jung So-min’s character is an editor for a magazine called Monthly House. She’s been an ordinary worker in the workforce for ten years, but she’s been unable to accumulate any nest egg because she’s had to contend with spending most of her income to pay her monthly rent. To her, “home” means a place where she can truly be herself and let out all her emotions. Therefore, even though she lives in a rental property, she decorates and cleans as if the home is her own.
One day, her landlord becomes Kim Ji-suk, who is her devil-like boss, and so begins her dreams of owning her own property. Kim Ji-suk’s character is the CEO of Monthly House, and he views houses as assets that will rise in value or as places to briefly rest. Because he believed that in Korea the only way to get rich was real estate, he studied real estate during the day, was a waiter at a restaurant at night, decreased his sleep, and worked at a construction site on weekends to earn enough money to begin buying property. He used those earnings to became a successful entrepreneur and real estate investor.
Monthly House, written by Myung Soo-hyun (Drinking Solo) and directed by Lee Chang-min (Welcome to Waikiki), will begin airing on JTBC in the beginning half of 2024.