신데렐라 언니 (a.k.a. Cinderella's Sister)

Cinderella’s Sister

신데렐라 언니

2010

KBS

Main Cast:

Moon Geun-young 문근영 as Song Eun-jo 송은조 (stepsister of Hyo-sun, very cynical, cold, and shy)

Chun Jung-myung 천정명 as Hong Ki-hoon 홍기훈 (young college student working for Gu Dae-sung, Eun-jo’s love interest)

Seo-woo 서우 as Gu Hyo-sun 구효선 (our Cinderella, very naive and bubbly)

Taecyeon 택연 as Han Jung-woo 한정우 (Eun-jo’s friend from her past)

Lee Mi-sook 이미숙 as Song Kang-sook 송강숙 (Eun-jo’s mother, manipulative, the reason for Eun-jo’s cynicism)

Kim Kap-soo 김갑수 as Gu Dae-sung 구대성 (Eun-jo’s stepfather, kind and loving father to Eun-jo and Hyo-sun)

Synopsis:

Song Eun-jo, who lives with her mother since years ago (and also her mother's current lover), finally gets a new family and a home when her mother remarries to a kind man who owns a winery. At first, she denied it, and even attempted to escape rather than dealing with the attempt of being schooled. The cynical Eun-jo is unable to accept the affection of her new step-sister Hyo-sun and step father Gu Dae-sung. Hyo-sun, with her bright character, is the apple in her father's eyes and Eun-jo's mother goes out of her way to fulfill the role of Hyo-sun's mother, causing her to neglect and act harshly towards Eun-jo. However, Eun-jo finds a friend in Hong Ki-hoon, a college student working at the winery who becomes her own prince. Ki-hoon eventually leaves to take care of personal issues, but Hyo-sun's jealousy of Eun-jo causes her to make Eun-jo believe that he has abandoned her. The three reunite 8 years later to begin the main plot - a modern adaptation of Cinderella with a twist. Han Jung-woo, a boy that Eun-jo considered her little brother 8 years ago, appears in order to be near her and fulfills the role of a "fairy godmother" to her. A love triangle forms when Hyo-sun falls for Ki-hoon, who is still in love with Eun-jo. The feeling of betrayal lasts with Eun-jo, creating misunderstandings and difficulties. However, the kindness of Eun-jo's stepfather (Gu Dae-sung, Hyo-sun's father) begins to change everyone's lives, making this a tale of growth and redemption.

Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella%27s_Sister

Review:

        Cinderella’s Sister’s plot follows a few basics of a classic Cinderella story. Evil stepmom and stepsister, daughter of dad who passes away early on, rich inheritance left to stepmom, who is plotting to have everything left to her own daughter (and young son).

        
        However, like the title says, this story is about the stepsister of Cinderella. The plot is much darker and heavier than most other Cinderella story. And Cinderella does not end up with the man. Not that you want her to. Sometimes you hate Eun-jo, the sister. Sometimes you feel very sympathetic and sorry for her. Sometimes you feel so bad for Hyo-seon (Cinderella) for how naive and oblivious she is, and how ill treated she is by her step family, yet here I was rooting for Eun-jo to end up with the man, Ki-hoon. The storyline itself wasn’t all that unique or extraordinary, so the main point of this drama is more about the character development and the interaction and conversations between the characters.

        It did get frustrating that Eun-jo was so cold and hateful to everyone around her, even her stepdad, who genuinely loved her. You could tell that sometimes she wanted to respond differently, but she is surrounded by this defensive wall that she could not break through, so ends up constantly pushing everyone away. The female lead, Moon Geun-young, did an amazing job with this drama. Every time she cried, her grief was so genuine that I cried along with her. The few times she smiled, I smiled. And the rare laugh made me laugh too. The role of Eun-jo could not have been an easy one, especially when compared to her usual happier characters in the movies Innocent Steps and My Little Bride. 

        Chun Jung-myung is Hong Ki-hoon, the kind-hearted and gentle college student living at the Gu Dae-sung Winery. Hyo-seon has a huge crush on him and is always claiming him as her man. Ki-hoon felt a strong bond with Eun-jo when they first meet because he saw his past self in her cynicism and bitter hatred. He changed and became the kind loving man he is because of Hyo-seon’s father, Dae-sung. He begins to warm Eun-jo’s cold heart slowly as he never gives up on her and takes care of her. When Eun-jo won an award in school, the only praise she wanted to hear was his. For most of the drama, you never see Eun-jo smile. Eventually, with the help of her family, Ki-hoon, and her childhood acquaintance Jung-woo, she begins to smile, laugh, and love.

        I was very impressed by the casting. I felt everyone fit their roles perfectly. The people you were supposed to hate really made you hate them, the characters meant to be loved really made you love them. The depth of their characters was believable. The character development was well written. Everyone grew up and became better people. They learned something about themselves and about life and about the people around them. They learned where their loyalties lie, what family is, how to love and be loved. And of course, the villains got what they deserved (my personal favorite type of ending). 

        Overall, the soundtrack isn’t uber amazing, but one or two songs stand out. My favorite is “It Has to be You” by Yesung of Super Junior (directly translated it the title says “If it’s not you, it can’t be”. It went so well with the drama, and the song itself is nice to listen to.

        I would love to watch this drama again (if only it wasn’t so long). I tend to enjoy every drama I watch, so my way of determining if it really stood out is if I would buy it or not. Even though it definitely was a heavier drama, certainly not a romantic comedy, Cinderella’s Sister is definitely on my to buy list!