‘World Of The Married’ Stylishly Remakes British Series ‘Dr. Foster’ Earning Record-Breaking Ratings

Kim Hee-ae and Park Hae-joon play husband and wife in ‘World of the Married.’ Credits: JTBC

The remake of the British series Dr. Foster: A Woman Scorned is breaking records for network ratings in Korea. The Korean adaptation, titled World of the Married, had the highest ratings for any premiere episode of a JTBC series. By the sixth episode, Nielsen ratings for the R-rated drama reached 18.816 percent, one of the highest in JTBC history.

The k-drama closely follows the storyline of the 2017 British series. In both dramas, the main character is a successful doctor, who happily thinks she has it all. Sun-woo, played by Kim Hee-ae, has an emotionally and financially rewarding career, a handsome adoring husband and a son she dotes on. She has a circle of friends she thinks she can rely on, but she’s oblivious to how they really feel about her. There’s something smug about her cocoon of happiness that makes others resent her.

Not only does Sun-woo discover early on that her husband is cheating, but the realization leads to other cracks in the glaze of her so-called perfect life. Learning that so many people knew about her husband’s infidelity, but never told her, makes Sun-woo doubt everything she took for granted. Her husband’s betrayal prompts her to act in dangerous and unpredictable ways.

Both Suranne Jones, who played the heroine Gemma Foster in the British series, and Kim Hee-ae, craft complicated not-always-reliable characters, who are undone by a breach of trust. Kim Hee-ae’s Sun-woo at first seems more composed and more afraid of censure than Gemma Foster, but she too must become bolder to protect what’s important to her. The sunny cinematography and stylish set design in the Korean adaptation make Sun-woo’s supposedly perfect life seem even glossier and yet somehow more hollow than that of her British counterpart.

In the British series, the husband, played by Bertie Carvel, is a property developer, whose finances, largely funded by his wife, are in risky territory. In World of the Married, the husband, played by Park Hae-joon, is in the film business and desperately needs financing. He contributes little to the marriage. Park Hae-joon’s character at once seems as manipulative but more vulnerable than his glib British counterpart and certainly a worse liar.

The original story owes some inspiration to the Greek myth of Medea, who supports her husband only to have him leave her for another woman. His betrayal prompts her to seek a vicious revenge. The title of the British series refers to a 17th century poem by William Congreve that coined the phrase “hell has no fury like a woman scorned.” Sun-woo could easily become a victim to her husband’s infidelity, as she really does not want a divorce. Instead she chooses to fight and in her fury becomes a formidable enemy.

Between the first and second series of the British version, there were only 10 episodes, whereas World of the Married is set to have 16, so the Korean remake is likely to alter the storyline as it progresses. Despite the high ratings in Korea, the drama has yet to secure a streaming channel in the U.S.

This article was first published here.