Maids (“More than a Maid”) ~ From Noblewoman to Maid Servant
“Maids” (“More than a Maid”) is a 2015 Korean drama series, with 20 episodes, categorized as Action, Romance, Historical fiction, Historical Period, Costume and Period; streaming free with ads on OnDemandKorea.
SUMMARY: My life as a noblewoman was typical. My marriage would be arranged. What was not typical was that my future husband and I were in love. But in Joseon one could be a noble one day and the next day your family is branded as traitors. Your father is executed and you become a slave, a maid servant in a nobleman’s house. A happy marriage with your lover is no longer possible. That’s what happened to me. I witnessed my father’s cruel and unjust death and wanted to die too. But then I found a reason to survive.
♦ I Want to Die! No! I Want to Survive!
In “Maids (“More than a Maid”), you could say that Kook In-Yeob leads the perfect life. She is from a noble family and is about to be married into noble family to Kim Eun-Gi. The couple are both in love and eagerly anticipate their wedding night. Not only is Kook In-Yeob beautiful on the outside but she is beautiful on the inside as well.
She has a noble character and is very kind. Just more reasons for her husband-to-be to love her even more. But on their wedding day, tragedy struck. The king sent his soldiers to arrest her father for treason. He had been framed, but everything happened so fast. One minute, she is bowing to her future husband. The next minute, she’s being told that she’s now a slave, a maid servant.
Kook In-Yeob was not supposed to witness her father’s execution, but she broke away from the male slave, Moo-Myeong, who was taking her to her new owner. She ran to the site of the execution and watched her father’s body being ripped apart. His death was gruesome, and seeing it was too much to bear. How can she go on living? Why would she want to keep living?
Moo-Myeong gave her a reason. “You have to stay strong and live”, he told her. Then he added, “That way you can get your revenge.” Revenge? Kook In-Yeob didn’t think long about it. She watched her father die. What he said motivated her to overcome her harsh life of servitude and gave her a reason to live.
Revenge was the reason Moo-Myeong had chosen to live. He hated the king. One day he was going to get close enough to take the king’s life. He had dreamed of this since he was a young child, and had everything planned out so carefully. He didn’t know that he was of royal blood because there was someone who had been manipulating him ever since he was a child.
That person gave him a reason to want to kill the king, not telling him that the king was his father. But suppose he found out the truth. When the day comes, will Moo-Myeong still kill his own father? After all, he’s been living as a slave his entire life. Why had he not been recognized as part of the royal bloodline?
Kim Eun-Gi eventually learned that his father had a hand in destroying the family of his future wife. Of course, the father justified his actions and decisions by saying that everything he did was to secure the future of his beloved son. Kim Eun-Gi might find that hard to accept. The woman he dearly loved was taken away from him, and he was forced to marry a woman he didn’t even want to touch! He was robbed of the wonderful future life he had imagined.
Kim Eun-Gi had to make a hard decision. Should he defy his father, thwart his father’s greedy ambitions, and help the woman he loves regain what had been stolen from her? Kook In-Yeob should never have been forced to live as a maid. She should have been Kim Eun-Gi’s wife.
Main Characters:
- Kook In-Yeob (played by Jung Yu-Mi, “Wonderful Mama”, “Queen Woo”, “Celebrity”, “Partners for Justice 1 and 2”, “Rooftop Prince” )
- Moo-Myeong (played by Oh Ji-Ho, “The Grand Heist”, “Chuno” (“Slave Hunters”), “Heo’s Diner”, “Love Song for Illusion”)
- Kim Eun-Gi (played by Kim Dong-Wook, “Hijack 1971”, “Seoul Busters”, “My Perfect Stranger”, “Along With the Gods 1 and 2”, “Find Me in Your Memory“,“The Guest“, “You Are My Spring”)
Viewership and Rating:
- IMDb: 7.2 of 10 stars
- My Drama List: 7.8 of 10 stars
- Dramabeans: 7 of 10 stars
My personal rating is 8 out of 10 stars.
Nominated in two categories for the 8th Korea Drama Awards. In my opinion, the series is perfect for newbies or if you need a K-drama to binge-watch on a cold or rainy day. “Maids (“More than a Maid”) got added to my watch list because it’s a historical period drama, and also because I was searching for more Korean dramas with Oh Ji-ho. His best role ever was in the 2010 series “Chuno” (“Slave Hunters”). That series made me a fan.
In “Maids”, Oh Ji-ho also plays a strong, reliable male character. I don’t know why he doesn’t get more parts where he portrays a strong male lead. He can handle both emotional intensity and physicality for action films or shows. This South Korean actor is underdeveloped and underappreciated. Don’t you think so?
LINKS OF INTEREST:
Korean drama – Maids (2015) | swytla
TRAILER/TEASER:
Ani-Hongo. (2019). Maids (2014) – Trailer [Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXhajoOKo8c.
♦
