Playful Kiss is a 2010 South Korean romantic-comedy television series, starring Jung So-min and Kim Hyun-joong. It aired on MBC from September 1 to October 21, 2010 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 16 episodes. It is based on the Japanese mangaItazura Na Kiss written by Tada Kaoru. The Korean series is the third television adaptation of the manga following the Taiwanese It Started with a Kiss in 2005, and its sequel They Kiss Again in 2007. Though Playful Kiss received low ratings in South Korea in the five to seven percent range, it was sold to 12 countries in Asia for approximately and developed a strong cult following, having been streamed 70 million times on Viki and earning in ad revenue through online streaming. Due to its international popularity, a short special edition was aired on YouTube after the series finale.
Plot
A ditsy and unpopular Oh Ha-Ni is in love with her opposite, Baek Seung-Jo who is a smart and popular boy. Tension rises when Oh Ha-Ni writes and delivers her love letter to Baek Seung-Jo to which he gives back, graded. Embarrassed and heart-broken, Oh Ha-Ni goes home only to have her house collapse in on her, her father and her three friends. As fate would have it, Oh Ha-Ni and her father – Oh Ki-Dong end up being invited to live with Baek Seung-Jo and his family. Oh Ha-Ni, who is still devoted to Baek Seung-Jo works hard to try and impress Seung-Jo. Along the way,Ha-Ni becomes tired of Seung-Jo's cold and uncaring attitude. Bong Joon-gu, who has been liking Ha-Ni for a long time, began chasing for her affection and ultimately, her hand for marriage. Seung-Jo then realises that she is about to slip away and starts chasing her to win her back.
To show Ha-ni and Seung-jo's married life, Playful Kiss: Special Edition was released on YouTube beginning November 2, 2010. The seven 10-minute webisodes were subtitled in English, Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish, among others. The online series was popular, with the first episode initially receiving over 1,000,000 hits in the first two days, and over 19,000,000 hits for the entire 7 episodes. Kim Hyun-joong was later interviewed by Anna Coren on CNN's TalkAsia in which he discussed the significance of YouTube in spreading awareness about Korean culture.
Theatrical version
On October 19, 2012 it was announced that the drama would be edited down into a film version. This theatrical edition was released exclusively in Japan on a limited run to selected theaters in Tokyo and Osaka in December 2012. It was screened with the original Korean dialogue with subtitles in Japanese. Afterwards, a DVD of the theatrical edition was also released in Japan.
International broadcast
In Taiwan, it aired on Joong-cheon TV beginning December 2010, where it was the highest-rated program in its timeslot. In Singapore, it aired on StarHub TV Channel 825 on Saturdays at 10:30 p.m. beginning April 16, 2011. In Japan, it first aired in December 2010 on Korean cable channel Mnet Japan, followed by reruns in May 2011 on Fuji TV's Hallyuα channel and Japanese cable channel DATV. Kim Hyun-joong and Jung So-min held a promotional event on May 3, 2011 which was attended by 6,000 fans; part of the proceeds were donated to victims of the March 11 earthquake. In the Philippines, it aired on GMA Network in an afternoon timeslot on Mondays through Fridays from May 30 to July 15, 2011. In the Philippines, it aired on RED by HBO begins January 30, 2016 every Saturday at 10:00pm to 11:00pm In the Middle East, it aired on MBC 4 dubbed as al koubla al mo'zia, beginning January 19, 2014 from Sundays to Thursdays at 4:00 p.m., with reruns at 11:00 p.m. In India, it aired on Puthuyugam TV on Mondays to Fridays at 7:30 p.m dubbed in the Tamil language during the K-series TV block. In Indonesia, it aired on RTV on Mondays to Fridays at 2:00 p.m.
