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Queen of Housewives
Promotional poster
Also known as	My Wife is a Superwoman
Genre	Romance Workplace comedy Drama
Written by	Park Ji-eun
Directed by	Go Dong-sun
Starring	Kim Nam-joo Oh Ji-ho Lee Hye-young Yoon Sang-hyun Choi Cheol-ho Sunwoo Sun
Music by	Park Ho-joon
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	20
Production
Executive producers	Ko Dong seon Kim Seung mo
Producer	Park Min-yeop
Production location	South Korea 🇰🇷
Production company	DRM Media
Original release
Network	MBC
Release	March 16 (2009-03-16) – May 19, 2009 (2009-05-19)
Related
Queen of Reversals

Queen of Housewives (Korean: 내조의 여왕; also known as My Wife Is a Superwoman) is a 2009 South Korean romantic comedy television series, starring Kim Nam-joo, Oh Ji-ho, Yoon Sang-hyun, Lee Hye-young, Choi Cheol-ho, and Sunwoo Sun. It depicts the life of "naejo," housewives who devote their entire lives to their husbands' success, but with a more comedic and aggressive twist. It aired on MBC from March 16 to May 19, 2009 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.

The hit drama topped the ratings chart during its run, and created new trends among married women in terms of fashion and makeup. Actress Kim Nam-joo received numerous accolades for her acting comeback after an 8-year hiatus, and the series also served as the breakout vehicle of actor Yoon Sang-hyun.

Plot

Chun Ji-ae (Kim Nam-joo) had it all... in high school. Pretty and popular, she was the school's queen bee, while awkward Yang Bong-soon (Lee Hye-young) was the exact opposite. The two were initially friends, until Ji-ae stole Bong-soon's crush, Han Joon-hyuk (Choi Cheol-ho). Fast-forward to middle-aged married life, and their roles have become reversed. Ji-ae struggles with household finances because she married Ohn Dal-soo (Oh Ji-ho), a once-promising university graduate turned unemployed pushover, while Joon-hyuk, whom Bong-soon married after Ji-ae dumped him, is now a successful executive.

Dal-soo finally gets a shot at a decent job at top company Queen's Food, where Joon-hyuk happens to be his new boss. Joon-hyuk still carries a torch for Ji-ae, and he makes it a point to make Dal-soo's internship as difficult and demeaning as possible. Meanwhile, determined to help her smart but clueless husband climb the corporate ladder, Ji-ae joins a social wives club to support him. The wives' power plays are directly correlative to their husbands' positions in the company (meaning, the higher-ranking the husband, the higher-ranking the wife), and Ji-ae sets aside her pride to curry favor and jockey for position. She immediately thrives within the wives' inner circle, but she's constantly thwarted by her ex-best friend, Bong-soon.

Then Dal-soo runs into his college friend Eun So-hyun (Sunwoo Sun), wife of Heo Tae-joon (Yoon Sang-hyun), the current president of Queen's Food. Stuck in a loveless marriage, So-hyun wants to have an affair with Dal-soo, while indolent chaebol Tae-joon gradually finds himself attracted to Ji-ae. The three couples interact in a confusing mix of romance, friendship, and workplace politics.

Cast

Main characters

• Kim Nam-joo as Chun Ji-ae
• Oh Ji-ho as Oh Dal-soo
• Lee Hye-young as Yang Bong-soon
• Yoon Sang-hyun as Heo Tae-joon
• Choi Cheol-ho as Han Joon-hyuk
• Sunwoo Sun as Eun So-hyun
• Kim Chang-wan as Kim Hong-shik
• Na Young-hee as Jang Young-sook

Supporting characters

Ji-ae and Bong-soon's high school classmates

• Park Joo-hee as Go Mi-young
• Lee Seung-ah as Kim Young-sun
• Jung Soo-young as Ji Hwa-ja
• Kim Do-yeon as Ahn Jung-sook

Queen's Food husbands and wives

• Kim Yong-hee as Ha-chang
• Choi Ye-jin as Hwang-sook (Ha-chang's wife)
• Kim Jung-hak as Department chief Yang
• Hwang Hyo-eun as Lee Seul (chief Yang's wife)
• Hwang Jae-hee as Gong Young-min (HR manager's nephew)
• Joo Min-ha as Jung Go-woon (Young-min's wife, art gallery assistant)
• Lee Mae-ri as Jung-ran

Extended cast

• Kang Soo-han as Han Hyuk-chan (Bong-soon and Joon-hyuk's son)
• Kim Sung-kyum as President Heo (Tae-joon's father)
• Yu Ji-in as Tae-joon's mother
• Kim Young-ran as Ji-ae's mother
• Baek Seung-hee as Hyang-suk
• Kim Ik-tae as jeweller
• Min Joon-hyun as Ohn Dal-soo's co-worker
• Lee Seung-ho
• Kim Seung-woo as police officer (cameo, ep 3)
• Shindong as couple in sauna (cameo, ep 11)
• Kim Shin-young as couple in sauna (cameo, ep 11)
• Kim Sung-min as Tae-joon's friend (cameo, ep 16)
• Jun Jin as job applicant (cameo, ep 20)
• Yoo Jae-suk as job applicant (cameo, ep 20)
• Park Myung-soo as job applicant (cameo, ep 20)
• Jung Hyung-don as job applicant (cameo, ep 20)

Ratings

Source: TNS Media Korea

Awards and nominations

International broadcast

• Philippines: IBC, title "My Wife is a Superwoman"

References

1. Han, Sang-hee (March 10, 2009). "New Types of Husbands to Sneak Onto TV Screen". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
2. "Kim Nam-joo Still in Shape After 8-Year Hiatus". The Chosun Ilbo. April 18, 2009. Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
3. Hong, Lucia (April 21, 2010). "Yoon Sang-hyun to attend screening of Housewives". 10Asia. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
4. "My Wife is a Superwoman". MBC Global Media. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
5. Kim, Lynn (December 23, 2009). "Government names Kim Nam-joo top actor of 2009". 10Asia. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
6. Han, Sang-hee (January 3, 2010). "2009 Drama Awards Wrap Up With No Surprises". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
7. Lee, Hyo-won (December 31, 2009). "Ko Hyun-jung Wins Top Drama Award". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
8. Park, So-yeon (December 31, 2009). "Ko Hyun-joung wins grand prize at MBC Acting Awards". 10Asia. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
9. "Kim Nam-joo Wins Top Acting Award in China". The Chosun Ilbo. June 22, 2010. Archived from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
10. Kim, Jessica (June 21, 2010). "Kim Nam-joo wins grand prize at award ceremony in China". 10Asia. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2012.

External links

• Queen of Housewives official MBC website (in Korean)
• Queen of Housewives at HanCinema
• Queen of Housewives at IMDb

• MBC TV television dramas
• 2009 South Korean television series debuts
• 2009 South Korean television series endings
• Korean-language television shows
• Television shows written by Park Ji-eun
• Television series by Doremi Entertainment