* Title: Thank You
* Also known as: We Were There / There We Were
* Genre: Melodrama, Romance, Comedy
* Episodes: 16
* Broadcast network: MBC
* Broadcast period: MAR212007-MAY102007
* Air time: Wednesdays & Thursdays 09:55PM

Taken from Drama Wiki

Thank You is set in the beautiful background of the fictional Pureundo island, Thank You will tell a story about a talented doctor Min Gi Seo (actor Jang Hyuk) who meets Lee Young Shin (actress Kong Hyo-jin), a single mother whose 8-year-old daughter, Bom (Seo Sin-ae), has AIDS. But Lee Young Shin never loses hope that her daughter will be cured from AIDS, and as Min Gi Seo gradually opens his heart to the people close to him, a miracle happens in his life.

Actor Jang Hyuk appeared in the TV series Great Ambition in 2003 and went on to star in the leading role of several major films. Thank You will be his first TV series in 4 years. Kong Hyo-jin co-starred with Jang Hyuk in the movie Whasango before and this is her second time to be cast together with him. Kong Hyo-jin will play the role of Lee Young Shin, a single mom who is regarded by her neighbors as the prettiest woman in Pureundo. It will be the actress's first role as a young mother. Seo Sin-ae, who has appeared in many TV commercials, will play the character Bom, who is the daughter of Lee Young Shin. The child actress will be making her TV debut with Thank You. Actress Choi Kang-hee, who is dating Director Lee Jae-dong in real life, will make a cameo appearance as Jang Hyuk's former girlfriend, Ji-min. The other cast members include Shin Sung-rok (Seok Hyun, Young Shin's first love), Shin Koo (Young Shin's father), Kang Bu-ja (Seok Hyun's mother), Kim Sung-eun (Eun-hee, Seok Hyun's fiancee), and Ryu Seung-soo (Dr. Jong-soo of the Pureondo Public Heath Center).

Thank You will mark the return of Jang Hyuk and is drawing a lot of interest from fans. Most of the scenes in the TV series will be shot in Jeungdo, a small town in Shinan-gun, Jeollanam-do. Shooting already began in late January and the cast and crew have been working together smoothly. Director Lee Jae-dong spent weeks searching for an ideal shooting location and settled on Jeungdo, which is located on the east coast of Korea. In the TV series, Lee Young Shin's house was specifically selected by director Lee Jae-dong and renovations were made to the house with permission from the town residents,

Lee Jae-dong is a well-known director who also directed Sweet Buns and Rules of Love. In Thank You, the director has set his sights on creating a TV series with a fairy tale-like story set under the warm spring weather of Pureundo.

Taken from MBC Global

Jang Hyuk as Min Gi Seo
He is arrogant, but a very talented surgeon. His arrogance is what drives him to excel. In the surgery room, it sees no bounderies. Gi seo is also disillusioned by his father, who's life fell apart after a medical scandal and the death of his sister. The only person who he showers with his genuine affection is his girlfriend Cha Ji Min. But fate deals him a bitter blow when Ji Min is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. With only saving the life of his beloved in mind, he attempts to save her by performing a risky surgery. It's to no avail since the cancer has spread all over her body. All they can do now is wait until her life ends. It's also because of this ending that Gi Seo is able to experience life's miracles.

Ji Min has always felt responsible for giving HIV to one of her patients. She sets out to Pureundo Island and extracts a promise from Gi Seo to let Bom know that it was her fault that she contracted HIV. What she ultimately wishes for is forgiveness. Gi Seo doesn't at first realize that the mother and daughter that he meets on the ferry to the Island is who Ji Min intented to meet. Because of his mother's development plans he ends up back on the Island. His fate is once again tangled with Young Shin and her family. He rents a spare room from Young Shin and eventually becomes a part of her life. Gi Seo hates how Young Shin lacks the ability to stand up for herself. How she constantly bows to her elders and follows all the advice they tell her, no matter how hurtful. This seems to be one of the reasons why he chooses not to leave the Island and becomes a consultant for the local clinic. It's as if a part of him can't accept being away from Young Shin, Bom and Mr. Lee. He becomes their savior, the person who continually stands up for them, comes to their rescue and no matter what remains at their side. He eventually sees that to him, they are his miracle. He's been living a life without meaning and connection. Young Shin and Bom are his miracle.

Gong Hyo Jin as Lee Young Shin
She is selfless, filial and a very kind hearted woman. She has been raised by her father and grandfather to be kind of everyone and to respect everyone's wishes above her own. She has trouble going against her elders and she will do whatever she can to make them happy, even if it means making her life miserable. She's completely devoted to her family and no matter what she wants to carry on. Young Shin is also a single mother. She chose to bring up Bom on her own. The fact that Bom contracted HIV through a blood transfusion only made her life more difficult. She teaches Bom how to treat herself if she bleeds and reiterates that she must not accept any help from anyone. She loves her daughter wholeheartedly. She constantly worries about Bom's future and knows that nothing good will come out if the townpeople find out about her disease.

Young Shin dreams of a fairytale family. At one point, she dreams of being with Choi Suk Hyun, her first love, and Bom's biological father. After years of living without Suk Hyun, she sees him again, back in the Island with his loving girlfriend. But what is unexpected is Suk Hyun also bringing along with him Min Gi Seo. She vaguely remembers him from the ferry incident, but doesn't realize that this is the man that'll forever change her life. While silently pining away for Suk Hyun for years, she is surprised to see Min Gi Seo's interest up front. The chemistry between the two is obvious, but they don't initially accept the attraction. They're lives are too convoluted without love, yet they can't help but fall in love. With the presence of Gi Seo, Young Shin doesn't have to face everything on her own. He is there to help her whenever she needs him. He becomes a part of her family. She sees how important Gi Seo has become in Bom and Mr. Lee's life. She has always felt so alone with such a heavy burden to carry and she can't help but love this new man in her life. No matter how much she tries to drive him away, he has yet to falter. She never set out to fall in love with him, but she does.

Seo Shin Ae as Lee Bom
Bom is a kind, smart and loving 8 year old. She is raised by her mother, Young Shin and great grandfather Mr. Lee. Bom is very carefree, she is loved by her friends and community. They are unaware, as is she, that she carries an incurable disease, HIV. Her mother has taught her to be respectful to her elders and also to be more self reliant. She has to follow four set rules if she finds herself bleeding and injured. She must not accept anyones help because they must not see her blood. Bom has accepted it, thinking her blood holds special powers. She does not know who her father is, or has only heard stories about him. She does occassionally hear the rumors in town that one of the grandmother's looks exactly like her (Suk Hyun's mother).

The arrival of Min Gi Seo is a blessing for her. She easily connects with him and he becomes her Guardian Angel Number one. He becomes her protector when the town realizes that she is HIV positive. He becomes a part of her life. Like her mother, she welcomes Gi Seo's help. She probably even has a crush on him. She is devastated when Young Shin tries to drive him away. Bom also develops a close relationship with her biological father, Suk Hyun. Although she has no idea that he's her father, she regards him as her Guardian Angel Number Two. She is heartbroken when she is treated like a pariah by the townspeople, because of her disease. She won't allow anyone to touch her because she thinks that touch alone can spread the disease. She sometimes ends up in situations where events spiral out of control. The adults in her life care for her very deeply. She understands this and she fully reciprocates their love.

Shin Sung Rok as Choi Suk Hyun
He returns to the Island when he is sent by his employer to develop a new department store. He has been absent from Bom and Young Shin's life. A part of him knows that Bom is his daughter, yet he doesn't want to go against his mother who's adamant that there's no relation whatsoever. He sees that Min Gi Seo has been easily accepted into Young Shin's family. A part of him is jealous at the fact that Gi Seo easily connected with them when he himself has been struggling for 8 years. He can remember that he has always cared for Young Shin. Yet he has been influenced by his mother to stay away. He struggles with this because what he has done to Young Shin and Bom is exactly what his own father has done to him. The only difference is that he at least had 12 years with his father, while Bom has had none. He is constantly battling with what his mind tells him to do as opposed to what he truly feels in his heart. It's not until Gi Seo opened his eyes to the possibility of being happy with Young Shin and Bom that he takes the steps that he's been afraid to take for years.

What Suk Hyun doesn't envision is that Young Shin has moved on. Although she loved him dearly in the past and truly grateful for giving her Bom, she is no longer in love with him. Her heart is now filled with Gi Seo. Suk Hyun also realizes this. And he remembers what Gi Seo said, he's too late. For years he's known that he's the father, yet he did nothing. Even if his heart wanted to be with Young Shin and Bom, his timing is simply too late. Although he now appreciates them, his actions are just years too late. He does learn to let go and follows Young Shin's wishes by not telling Bom that he is her father.

Episodes 1-16 Summary
I will be editing this and add my comments and summary.

Taken from MBC Global

Thank You has to be one of my all time favorite Korean Drama. I thought it would take a super romantic drama to knock I'm Sorry, I Love You off my number one list, but Thank You managed to do it. Of course, it's the same writer, so really the writer, Lee Kyung Hee, just out did herself. To be honest, I was weary of watching this drama. I didn't especially like the ending of MISA, Sang Doo or A Love to Kill. I knew that they were inevitable, but it felt unsatisfactory. The dramas were just so heartbreaking that death seemed to be the only end. But I'm so glad that I gave Thank You a try. I grew to hate then love every single character. When I speak of hate, I mean dislike, and then accept their flaws. Each character had their major flaws, yet you couldn't completely despise them. It was pretty rare to watch a Korean Drama without a character being overly annoying or just plain hateful. In Thank You, you had all these people, but then the characters were so well developed that you found the reasons why they acted the way they did.

I sympathized with Min Gi Seo. He felt alone and felt salvation when he was with Young Shin and Bom. He finally had people he felt he could share his love and happiness with. He stood by them through thick and thin. Although he had other motives when he first arrived, it was overshadowed by their growing love for him. Young Shin who always put everyone else before her, learned to accept help. She learned to lean on someone else other than herself. She realized that with her family she wasn't so alone. The burden that Gi Seo was willing to carry on her behalf moved her. Bom, who lacked a father figure in her life, immediately accepted the presence of Gi Seo.

I also liked the aspect that Bom's disease, (HIV/AIDS) played in this drama. It wasn't dismissed or used as a prop. It was used as vehicle to move the drama along. From the beginning when not even Bom knew about her illness, the reveal, the trials and aftermath to acceptance and tolerance. It was as if it was directly paralleled to what the characters were experiencing. I especially liked how they addressed most of the common misconceptions and prejudices that came with the disease itself. It was human nature to fear what we know nothing about. The townspeoples' initial reaction was because of their lack of education about the disease. I was saddened when I watched Bom reaction to what people around her were saying. How she was afraid to touch anyone because she thought that a mere touch would transmit her disease. When she kept avoiding the people who passed by her at the amusement park and when she moved herself away from her mother's bed. She didn't understand it herself fully. I wanted Young Shin to have at least explained things to her, but then I don't know if an 8 year old girl can fully comprehend the situation she was in.

I also regretted along with Choi Suk Hyun. He went against his heart and chose to not be in Young Shin and Bom's life. I know that a part of him wanted to hold on. He admitted it himself when he told her that he loved her in the past. He just suffered from impeccably bad timing. He realized too late what Young Shin and Bom meant to him. By the time he reacted, Min Gi Seo was already accepted in. Suk Hyun was just holding onto something that wasn't meant to be. What I did love about his character was that he knew when to stop. He realized that he was simply too late, he didn't try to drive a wedge between Young Shin and Gi Seo. I know that he was selfish at times, to have overlooked Young Shin and Bom, but everyone makes wrong choices. Maybe I'm finding excuses for his actions, because I have a fangirl crush on Shin Sung Rok, but I just can't help it. The writer didn't paint him out to be this evil man. Just a man who has suffered because he lacked the ability to instinctively grasp what he wanted from the bottom of his heart. He now has to live with his past decision and miss out being acknowledged as Bom's father.

The romance! I loved that in this drama. Gi Seo because he was the one that finally came to her rescue. Someone who was willing to share her burden, yet didn't see it as a burden. She welcomed him into her family and her family wholeheartedly accepted him. Suk Hyun, was her first love. The father of her child. Their past relationship still lingered and unfinished even after years of absence. She'll forever be grateful to him for giving her Bom. I knew that both men would make her happy. These were the types of love triangles I love. Where I saw the possibility of either pairing. And whichever outcome, I understood why things would work out that way.

Mr. Lee. Mr. Lee! What a great actor. I saw him in other dramas, MISA especially. I also remembered him in Ruler and Sang Doo. But he was definitely more memorable in this drama. Even a month after this drama has ended, I can still hear him offering Choco Pies. His passing in the end fit the writer's modus operandi. Someone had to pass away. The scene leading to his passing was so heartbreaking. I couldn't keep my tears at bay. He kept begging his hyung to let him deliver all those Choco Pies to their neighbors. He knew his time was up and was really sad to go. Although he missed his wife very much, he didn't want to leave Young Shin and Bom behind. The end of Episode 15 and beginning of Episode 16 had to be the scenes where I cried the most. As Gi Seo was carrying him home and Young Shin walking along with them, I couldn't stop from crying. Mr. Lee was clearly in pain, and he kept trying to stop his tears from coming. Young Shin just wanted to take him home since he nearly died. She didn't understand or didn't want to admit that what Mr. Lee was doing was his dying wish. Gi Seo's action of finishing up Mr. Lee's Choco Pie mission was very touching.

The meaning of thank you in this drama... there were different shapes and forms of thank you. A mother thankful for her daughter, a daughter thankful that she had Young Shin for a mother and a grandfather thankful that his granddaughter had been so caring. A man thankful for finding Young Shin and Bom, his miracle. Young Shin thankful for Gi Seo for saving her grandfather and being a part of her life. The townpeople thankful to Gi Seo for helping someone who was injured. The one thing that wasn't lacking was how grateful everyone was for what they had and how much they expressed their gratitude. That even when one faced such difficulties there were still things that you could be thankful for. Overall this drama was endearing and thoughful. It managed to make the viewer feel and be grateful for what we have. That with all the trials and tribulations fate threw at us, we have each other to cling to and to help us find happiness. I know it was totally sappy, but I really did appreciate this drama. It wasn't just about fluff, romance and all the baggage that came with it. It actually explored the root of human kindness, why it was essential and why those who learn to appreciate were thankful for what they had and come out better human beings.

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