Full House (풀하우스): Plot, Characters and Cast
Full House (풀하우스, Pul Hauseu) is a contract-marriage romantic comedy that KBS2 aired in 2004. It has 16 episodes, written by Min Hyo-jung and directed by Pyo Min-soo. It's based on a manhwa by Won Soo-yeon, reached a nationwide rating of around 42% and inspired versions in the Philippines and Thailand. Here you have the plot, the characters, the cast and a tongue-in-cheek Saju for each one.
- Cast
- Rain (Jung Ji-hoon), Song Hye-kyo, Han Eun-jung, Kim Sung-soo
- KBS2
- 2004 · 16 episodes
Official video
![[풀 하우스] [EP01-01] 와 대박 맞죠? 내 옆자리 월드 슷타★ [FULLHOUSE2004] | KBS 방송](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/D7Yy_TkkS-A/hqdefault.jpg)
Official video by KBS Drama on YouTube. It only loads if you press play.
Plot (no spoilers)
Han Ji-eun lives in Full House, a seaside home built by her late father. She is cheerful, naive and dreams of becoming a writer. One day, her friends trick her into going on a trip and, behind her back, sell the house. The buyer is none other than Lee Young-jae, one of the most famous actors in the country, who acquires the property without knowing the story it holds.
With no money and no home, Ji-eun finds an unexpected way out: she stays on in the house as Young-jae's housekeeper while she looks for a way to get it back. Living with an arrogant star while seeing her father's memory in every wall is anything but simple.
Then Young-jae needs to get married fast for publicity reasons, and the two sign a six-month marriage contract. What starts as a simple deal gets complicated when two more people appear: Kang Hye-won, an elegant fashion designer Young-jae has had feelings for for a long time, and Yoo Min-hyuk, a rich, kind media executive who takes an interest in Ji-eun. Faking a marriage, it turns out, is much harder when the heart starts writing itself into the contract.
Characters and their Saju
Lee Young-jae 이영재
Rain (Jung Ji-hoon) · Yang Fire · The Sun
Young-jae is a famous, arrogant movie star, used to the world revolving around him. He buys Full House knowing nothing about its history or the girl who lived there. When he needs to marry for image reasons, he sees Ji-eun as the most practical solution.
If Young-jae had a Saju card, it would be Yang Fire · The Sun: dazzling on screen and a bit unbearable up close. He's used to everything orbiting around him, until someone teaches him that warmth is also meant to be shared.
Han Ji-eun 한지은
Song Hye-kyo · Yin Earth · The Garden
Ji-eun is a cheerful, naive aspiring writer who lost the house her father built. She trusts people easily, and this time it costs her dearly. Even so, she doesn't lose her optimism and is determined to get her home back whatever it takes.
If Ji-eun had a Saju card, it would be Yin Earth · The Garden: warm, fertile and deeply tied to her place in the world. A garden like that can be trampled, but it blooms again wherever it has roots, and hers are in that house.
Kang Hye-won 강혜원
Han Eun-jung · Yin Metal · The Jewel
Hye-won is an elegant fashion designer and the woman Young-jae has had feelings for for a long time. Her presence reminds him of what he wanted before the contract. For Ji-eun, she represents a sophisticated world that feels distant and hard to match.
If Hye-won had a Saju card, it would be Yin Metal · The Jewel: refined, polished and with a shine that draws eyes effortlessly. A jewel knows its worth, but sometimes forgets that time also changes what we want.
Yoo Min-hyuk 유민혁
Kim Sung-soo · Yang Wood · The Great Tree
Min-hyuk is a media executive with money and a good heart. Unlike Young-jae, he is kind and attentive, and takes an interest in Ji-eun from the moment he meets her. His gentleness makes him a tempting alternative in the middle of a tangle that was already complicated enough.
If Min-hyuk had a Saju card, it would be Yang Wood · The Great Tree: steady, generous and with open branches that give shelter. He's the kind of tree you want to rest under, even if the heart insists on running somewhere else.
And what would your Saju be? Find out free with your birth date.
Why so many people fell for it
Full House brings together several favorite ingredients of Korean romantic comedy: a contract marriage, forced cohabitation and fights that turn into love. Rain and Song Hye-kyo make an odd couple that works from start to finish. In Korea it reached a nationwide rating of around 42%, inspired versions in the Philippines and Thailand, and in Peru it arrived on Netflix under its original title, Full House.
Facts
- Based on a manhwa by Won Soo-yeon.
- Written by Min Hyo-jung and directed by Pyo Min-soo, in 16 episodes.
- It reached a nationwide rating of around 42%.
- It inspired versions in the Philippines and Thailand.
Ending (spoilers)
Show the ending
Spoiler: after they split up, Young-jae fights to win Ji-eun back and succeeds. The marriage that began as a fake contract ends up a real romance. A happy ending, true to the light, fun spirit of the whole series.
If you liked it, watch next
- Business Proposal 2022 · SBS
- Boys Over Flowers 2009 · KBS2
- Stairway to Heaven 2003 · SBS
Frequently asked questions
What is Full House about?
A young woman loses the house her father built when her friends sell it to a famous actor. She stays on as his housekeeper, and later the two sign a six-month contract marriage.
Who stars in Full House?
Rain (Jung Ji-hoon) plays actor Lee Young-jae and Song Hye-kyo plays Han Ji-eun. Han Eun-jung as Kang Hye-won and Kim Sung-soo as Yoo Min-hyuk complete the main foursome.
How many episodes does Full House have?
Full House has 16 episodes. KBS2 aired it in 2004, and it reached a nationwide rating of around 42% in South Korea.