A Gentleman's Dignity

A Gentleman's Dignity
Promotional poster
Genre Romance
Comedy
Drama
Written by Kim Eun-sook
Directed by Shin Woo-chul
Kwon Hyeok-chan
Starring
Country of origin South Korea
Original language Korean
No. of episodes 20
Production
Executive producer Kang Shin Hyo
Producers Yoon Ha Rim
Choi Kwan Yong
Production location Korea
Running time 60 minutes
Production companies Hwa&Dam Pictures
CJ E&M
Original release
Network SBS
Release 26 May –
12 August 2012

A Gentleman's Dignity (Korean신사의 품격; Hanja紳士의 品格; RRShinsa-ui Pumgyeok) is a 2012 South Korean romantic comedy television series starring Jang Dong-gun, Kim Ha-neul, Kim Soo-ro, Kim Min-jong, and Lee Jong-hyuk. It aired on SBS from May 26 to August 12, 2012 on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.

The series marked Jang Dong-gun's return to television after twelve years. It was directed by Shin Woo-chul and written by Kim Eun-sook, the same team behind hit dramas Secret Garden, On Air, Lovers in Prague, and Lovers in Paris.

Synopsis

A Gentleman's Dignity is about the careers and love lives of urban professionals. It tells the story of four men in their forties who have been friends since they were eighteen, as they go through love, breakup, success and failure.

Kim Do-jin is a confident playboy who meets Seo Yi-soo and falls for her. To his surprise, she doesn't give him the time of day and he discovers that she has a crush on his best friend Im Tae-san. He begins a one-sided love for the first time in his life and tries to win her heart.

Im Tae-san starts dating Yi-soo's roommate, Hong Se-ra, but troubles arise when Yi-soo's crush is revealed and when Se-ra tells him she doesn't want to get married.

Choi Yoon is a lawyer who is still recovering from his wife's death four years ago but begins to have feelings for Tae-san's much younger sister, Im Meari. Meari has always had a crush on Yoon. However, Yoon refuses to give into his feelings and jeopardize his friendship with Tae-san.

Lee Jung-rok is married to a rich woman, Park Min-sook, but constantly flirts with other women which causes problems and trust issues in their marriage.

Meanwhile, a teenager named Colin comes to Korea looking for the four men and claims one of them is his biological father.

Cast

Main

A confident ladies' man who heads his own architectural firm with Im Tae-san. Do-jin has a memory loss problem in times of stress and records everything in his daily life with a voice recorder pen. He loves his car and named it "Betty".
A high school ethics teacher who also umpires amateur baseball games in her free time. Yi-soo has had a secret crush on Tae-san for three years.
A partner at Do-jin's firm, heading the construction division. He a member of the Blue Cats baseball team, and long-time friend of Yi-soo.
A lawyer who is still recovering from his wife's death four years ago and a member of the Blue Cats baseball team.
Owner of a Mango Six cafe and a bar. He is married to a rich woman, Park Min-sook, but constantly flirts with other women.

Supporting

A pro golfer. She is Tae-san's girlfriend and Yi-soo's roommate.
Jung-rok's extremely wealthy wife.
Tae-san's younger sister and Yi-soo's past student. Meari came back to Korea after studying in America and has an interest in bag design. She has had a crush on Yoon for a long time.
An American-born Korean who comes to Korea, claiming that one of the four guys is his biological father. He develops a crush on Meari.
A student of Yi-soo who often gets into trouble at school. He has a crush on Yi-soo.
Colin's mother and the first love of the four guys.
  • Nam Hyun-joo as Teacher Park
  • Park Ah-in as Attorney Kang
  • Yoon Joo-man as Team leader Choi
  • Min Jae-sik as Mango Six Cafe's manager
  • Kim Chang-seong as Sang-hyun
  • Kim Geun as Kim Geun, Hwa Dam's employee
  • Lee Joon-hee as Kwon, Hwa Dam's employee
  • Jo Hyeon-gyu as Hyeon-gyu, Hwa Dam's employee
  • Han Eun Sun as Young-ran, Hwa Dam's employee
  • Ahn Jae-min as Yoo Seong-jae
  • Kim Yoon-seo as Kim Eun-ji, Do-jin's ex-girlfriend
  • Lee Yong-yi as Lee Mi-kyung, Yoon's mother-in-law
  • Kim Sun-hwa as Director Song

Special appearances

  • Sa-hee as Do-jin's seducer in the pub in (ep 1)
  • Ahn Hye-kyeong as Yoon's client (ep 2 and 10)
  • Shin Hye-jeong as Na Jong-seok's daughter (ep 3)
  • Choi Sung-jo as Min-sook's fitness trainer (ep 3)
  • Kim Kwang-kyu as High school teacher (ep 4)
  • Choi Soo-young as herself (ep. 5)
  • Hwang Eun-soo as Hong Se-ra's golfing junior (ep 9 and 12)
  • Kim Dong-gyun as Na Jong-seok (ep 11)
  • Jung Yong-hwa as himself and a past student of Yi-soo (ep 13)
  • Juniel as street performer at Hongdae playground (ep 13)
  • Kim Sung-oh as army instructor (ep 15)
  • Jang Joon-yoo as Tae-san's blind date (ep 16)
  • Cha Hwa-yeon as Yi-soo's mother (ep 16 and 19)
  • Bae Ji-hyun as reporter (ep 20)

Prologues

A unique feature of this drama is at the beginning of every episode, a prologue (or cold open) is shown. The prologues involve anecdotes about Do-jin, Tae-san, Yoon and Jung-rok's friendship through the years, and they carry a humorous tone with the exception of episode 16's. The prologues are not related narratively to the previous episode's ending or the present storyline, however they underline each episode's theme.

Original soundtrack

The drama has released seven parts of the soundtrack in two OST albums, the first part is "High High" by Kim Tae-woo and the second part features various artists including Jeon Geun-hwa with single "Beautiful Words", Kyung-woo with single "When I Look At You" and Park Eun-ooh with single "Everyday". Actors Jang Dong-gun, Lee Jong-hyun and Kim Min-jong also contributed songs to the soundtrack included in A Gentleman's Dignity OST 2.

A Gentleman’s Dignity OST 1
No. Title Artist Length
1. "My Heartache (가슴이 시린 게)" Lee Hyun (8eight) 4:34
2. "High High" Kim Tae-woo 3:13
3. "Love… What to Do (사랑… 어떡하나요)" Yangpa 4:30
4. "Beautiful Words (아름다운 말)" Jeon Geun-hwa 4:27
5. "Everyday" Park Eun-ooh 3:59
6. "When I Look At You (널 보면 말이야)" Gyun Woo 3:28
7. "You Are Everywhere" Big Baby Driver 3:14
8. "Spring I Love You Best" Big Baby Driver 2:27
9. "High High (Bossa Nova Story)" Various Artists 2:36
10. "My Heartache (Piano Ver.)" Various Artists 1:55
11. "Love… What to Do (Inst.)" Various Artists 4:30
12. "O.S. Love" Various Artists 2:38
13. "You Are Everywhere (Guitar Story)" Various Artists 2:48
14. "Everyday (Comic Story)" Various Artists 2:23
15. "Smile (Feat. Jay Kim)" Various Artists 3:00
A Gentleman’s Dignity OST 2
No. Title Artist Length
1. "More Than Me (나보다 더)" Jang Dong-gun 4:31
2. "My Love (내 사랑아)" Lee Jong-hyun (CNBLUE) 3:46
3. "Beautiful Pain (아름다운 아픔) (2012 New Ver.)" Kim Min-jong 4:02
4. "Your Sun Is Stupid" Big Baby Driver 2:35
5. "More Than Me (Inst.)" Various Artists 4:31
6. "My Love (Inst.)" Various Artists 3:46
7. "Fighting Allows (Fighting 있게)" Various Artists 1:44
8. "It's Imagination (상상하는 걸로)" Various Artists 2:14
9. "Offensive Hips (공격형 엉덩이)" Various Artists 1:32
10. "Indelible scent (지울 수 없는 향기)" Various Artists 2:51
11. "Happy Footstep" Various Artists 1:47
12. "Crazy Time" Various Artists 1:25
13. "You Anywhere (너는 어디서나)" Various Artists 1:50
14. "That Person That Love (그 사람 그 사랑)" Various Artists 2:27
15. "Starting Today, Lover (오늘부터 연인)" Various Artists 2:05

Ratings

Episode Date TNmS AGB Nielsen
Nationwide Seoul Nationwide Seoul
1 2012-05-26 13.7% 15.9% 14.1% 16,0%
2 2012-05-27 12.1% 15.2% 12.8% 14.6%
3 2012-06-02 14% 15.6% 14.9% 16.7%
4 2012-06-03 14.8% 19.0% 14.8% 16.5%
5 2012-06-09 17.4% 20.5% 15.9% 17.0%
6 2012-06-10 16.5% 20.3% 16.8% 19.4%
7 2012-06-16 18.7% 22.6% 17.1% 18.6%
8 2012-06-17 18.4% 22.3% 16.6% 18.6%
9 2012-06-23 19.7% 22.9% 18.6% 20.2%
10 2012-06-24 19.8% 22.0% 20.3% 21.9%
11 2012-06-30 23.1% 26.0% 22.0% 23.0%
12 2012-07-01 26.3% 20.3% 21.7%
13 2012-07-07 21.9% 26.0% 22.0% 23.4%
14 2012-07-08 22.8% 26.7% 21.6% 22.3%
15 2012-07-14 26.0% 30.1% 23.5% 24.8%
16 2012-07-15 26.0% 29.6% 23.7% 25.3%
17 2012-07-21 26.7% 30.5% 24.4% 26.1%
18 2012-07-22 21.8% 25.3% 26.0%
19 2012-08-11 18.2% 20.4% 18.1% 19.3%
20 2012-08-12 24.9% 28.8% 23.5% 25.3%
Average 20.0% 23.3% 19.3% 20.8%

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nomination Result Ref
2012 Best Drama A Gentleman's Dignity Nominated
Best New Actress Yoon Jin-yi Won
Best OST "My Love" – Lee Jong-hyun Nominated
Best OST "My Love" – Lee Jong-hyun Nominated
20th Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Nam Hyun-joo Won
Excellence Award, Actress Kim Ha-neul Nominated
Acting Award, Actress Kim Jung-nan Won
Rising Star Award Yoon Jin-yi Won
4th Melon Music Awards Music Style - Best OST "My Love" – Lee Jong-hyun Nominated
T-Store Best Song Award Nominated
"My Heartache" - Lee Hyun Nominated
25th Grimae Awards
Best New Cinematographer Hwang Min-shik Won
Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Weekend/Serial Drama Jang Dong-gun Won
Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Weekend/Serial Drama Kim Ha-neul Won
Excellence Award, Actor in a Weekend/Serial Drama Kim Su-ro Won
Excellence Award, Actress in a Weekend/Serial Drama Yoon Se-ah Nominated
Special Acting Award, Actor in a Weekend/Serial Drama Kim Min-jong Won
Lee Jong-hyuk Won
Special Acting Award, Actress in a Weekend/Serial Drama Kim Jung-nan Won
New Star Award Yoon Jin-yi Won
Lee Jong-hyun Won
Top 10 Stars Jang Dong-gun Won
Kim Ha-neul Won
Popularity Award Kim Ha-neul Won
Best Couple Award Kim Min-jong and Yoon Jin-yi Won
Lifetime Achievement Award Kim Eun-sook Won
2013
22nd High1 Seoul Music Awards
Best OST "My Love" – Lee Jong-hyun Won
Best New Actress (TV) Yoon Jin-yi Nominated
Most Popular Actor (TV) Jang Dong-gun Nominated
Most Popular Actress (TV) Kim Ha-neul Nominated
Yoon Jin-yi Nominated

Novel

A two-part novelization was published in August 2012.