Pinocchio (2014 TV Series)

Pinocchio is a 2014-2015 South Korean / television series starring Lee Jong-suk and Park Shin-hye.It aired on SBS from November 12, 2014 to January 15, 2015 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes. Also it aired on TV5 from November 17, 2014 to January 23, 2015 at 23:00 PM after The Amazing Race Philippines then it moved at 18:00 before Aksyon for 38 episodes.

Plot
In the year 2000, Ki Ha-myung is leading a happy life with his parents and older brother Jae-myung, until his father Ki Ho-sang, the captain of the firefighting squad, dies in a factory explosion during a rescue attempt along with several of his men. When Ho-sang's body is initially missing, the media sensationalizes the case by scapegoating him. In a battle for ratings, cold and calculating MSC reporter Song Cha-ok alleges that Ho-sang survived the blast, and is currently in hiding because he was responsible for the deaths of his men. This causes the Ki family to become outcasts in their neighborhood and objects of national scorn. Ha-myung's mother attempts to kill herself and her younger son by jumping off a cliff, and Jae-myung blames their deaths on the media, particularly Cha-ok.

But Ha-myung is alive, having been rescued from the water by Choi Gong-pil, a kind elderly man who lives on Hyangri Island. Gong-pil, who may either have Alzheimer's disease or trauma-induced memory loss, believes that Ha-myung is his older son Choi Dal-po, a simpleton who had died thirty years ago. Ha-myung, who has no one else in the world, embraces the deception and treats Gong-pil as his father. Gong-pil officially adopts Ha-myung, now named Dal-po, and places him in the family register as his eldest son. So five months later, when Gong-pil's younger son Choi Dal-pyung moves to the island with his daughter Choi In-ha, they are flabbergasted to be told by Gong-pil to address a mere boy as their "older brother" and "uncle," respectively. In-ha has "Pinocchio syndrome," which causes her to hiccup whenever she tells a lie. She idolizes her mother, and hates living on the island after her parents' divorce. The fledgling friendship between Dal-po and In-ha is dashed, however, when he learns that In-ha's mother is none other than Song Cha-ok.

Five years later, Dal-po and In-ha are high school seniors and classmates at their small-town high school in 2005. Dal-po, who is actually a genius, pretends to be dumb (like the real Dal-po) and gets all zeroes in his test scores. With his last-place class standing and scruffy, country bumpkin hair, Dal-po is friendless at school while In-ha is the most popular girl. At the TV studio, he runs into the show producer Hwang Gyo-dong, who had been a YGN reporter and one of Cha-ok's rivals, but changed careers after what happened to the Ki family. After seeing Dal-po on TV, and despite knowing that her Pinocchio syndrome limits her career choices, In-ha decides to become a journalist.

In 2013, the Choi family has moved back to the city. While In-ha has spent the last three years after college studying to become a reporter after failing her job interviews 35 times, Dal-po works as a taxi driver. Cha-ok, who hasn't seen her daughter in a decade and is now MSC's nightly news anchor and section chief, fails In-ha at her final interview, saying a reporter with Pinocchio syndrome would be useless. Seeing how hurt In-ha is at her mother's rejection, Dal-po becomes determined to help her achieve her dream so he announces that he wants to become a reporter as well. A month later, In-ha and Dal-po apply at YGN's "blind" audition for broadcast news reporters, but only Dal-po gets hired. When confronted by Gyo-dong, now-chief of YGN's news desk, Dal-po confesses his real identity as well as his real motive for taking the job: he wants to find his older brother Jae-myung and clear their father's name. But what he doesn't know is that Jae-myung has taken revenge on the factory workers who lied about their father by killing two of them and framing the third one. Meanwhile, with MSC's credibility rating at an all-time low, Cha-ok hires In-ha, using her Pinocchio syndrome in a publicity stunt. Thus, Dal-po and In-ha become rookies at rival networks, and among their colleagues are Seo Beom-jo, who comes from a rich, sheltered chaebol background and has a connection to In-ha via a wrong cellphone number, and Yoon Yoo-rae, once an idol sasaeng fan who now uses those obsessive and determined traits in her new job.

Main characters

 * Lee Jong-suk as Choi Dal-po/Ki Ha-myung
 * Nam Da-reum as young Ha-myung/Dal-po
 * Ki Ha-myung decides to forget his past and start a new life after being rescued by Choi Gong-pil, as the latter's eldest son. He adopts the name Dal-po and hides his brilliant brain and past memories with the pretense of being a simple old-fashioned country bumpkin. His feelings for In-ha have always been conflicted with his hatred for her mother, but he finds that he cannot deny them as they grow older. After years of being a taxi driver, he decides to become a reporter with In-ha to prove to reporter Song Cha-ok his family's innocence and to show what a true reporter is. However, Dal-po soon realizes that a reporter must constantly struggle with the idea of justice and truth in a world where everyone wants to hide the facts.


 * Park Shin-hye as Choi In-ha
 * Noh Jung-ui as young In-ha
 * While most people with Pinocchio Syndrome choose to withdraw from the world and choose their words carefully, In-ha does the complete opposite. A straight-shooter, she believes in telling it like it is, no matter how painful or embarrassing it might be. Coupled with her stubborn nature and strong-willed personality, In-ha's nickname is the "bluntly speaking witch." After debating on her career path, she chooses to become a reporter because she believes that all news must be completely truthful and it might bring her closer to her mother Song Cha-ok. While she was initially baffled at her "uncle" Dal-po's coldness and antisocial attitude, In-ha eventually discovers Dal-po's warm heart underneath the aloofness and his sharp mind beneath his pretenses and comes to embrace him as family. However, her growing feelings towards him grow undeniable with her hiccups.


 * Kim Young-kwang as Seo Beom-jo
 * As a young man born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Beom-jo grew up never wanting or needing anything that wasn't within his grasp. Raised in such a comfortable and warm environment under a doting mother, he lived an unexciting but satisfied life until he started receiving texts from a girl named In-ha. The texts weren't meant for him, but Beom-jo became intrigued as the texts steadily came over the years, piquing his interest to meet this girl. Abandoning his job as a fashion magazine editor, he decides to join this In-ha girl in becoming a reporter. While he had originally become a reporter to meet In-ha, Beom-jo quickly discovers the power of the media and the thrills of seeking out the truth.


 * Lee Yu-bi as Yoon Yoo-rae

Supporting characters

 * YGN Newsroom
 * Lee Pil-mo as Hwang Gyo-dong
 * Chief of the YGN news desk. Always stiff-faced and a workaholic, Gyo-dong works with the motto "the truth can change the world." He looks out for Dal-po and tries to discreetly help him in proving his family's innocence.


 * Min Sung-wook as Jang Hyun-kyu
 * Kang Shin-il as Lee Young-tak
 * Jo Deok-hyun as Jo Won-gu
 * Choo Soo-hyun as Im Jae-hwan
 * Benjo Leoncio as Allen Dela Cruz


 * MSC Newsroom
 * Jin Kyung as Song Cha-ok
 * In-ha's estranged mother. A cold, merciless woman who chose to abandon her family for her career. Not many people like her due to her cold attitude but no one can deny she is one of the best news anchors in the industry.


 * Kim Kwang-kyu as Kim Gong-joo
 * Chief of the MSC news desk. A man who thinks he has the charisma and leadership of Song Cha-ok but in reality he turns timid around her.


 * Kim Young-hoon as Lee Il-joo
 * Im Byung-ki as Yeon Doo-young
 * Yoon Seo-hyun as Lee Joo-ho


 * Family
 * Jung In-gi as Ki Ho-sang, Ha-myung's father
 * Jang Young-nam as Ha-myung's mother
 * Yoon Kyun-sang as Ki Jae-myung
 * Shin Jae-ha as young Jae-myung
 * Byun Hee-bong as Choi Gong-pil
 * Shin Jung-geun as Choi Dal-pyung
 * Kim Hae-sook as Park Rosa
 * She is a wealthy CEO who owns several malls and seemingly a doting mother who spoils her son Beom-jo. But Rosa hides a darker side, having conspired with Song Cha-ok to deliberately divert the news.

Extended cast

 * Lee Joo-seung as Ahn Chan-soo
 * Park Soo-young as Jung Gi-bong
 * Yoon Jin-young as Firefighter
 * Yeom Dong-hyun as Factory supervisor
 * Choi Jong-hoon as Factory worker
 * Kim Young-joon as Neighborhood boy with Pinocchio syndrome
 * Ahn Sun-young as Broadcast station writer
 * Woo Hyun as Dal-po's homeroom teacher
 * Im Do-yoon as Go Ji-hee
 * Lee Jung-soo as Lost hiker
 * Hong Hyun-hee as Teacher Yoon
 * Lee Seung-woo as Ahn Joon-ki, Chan-soo's eldest child

Cameo appearances

 * Im Sung-hoon as Quiz show host (ep 1-2)
 * Jang Gwang as High school principal (ep 2)
 * Jung Woong-in as Min Joon-gook (ep 2)
 * Jang Hang-joon as Director (ep 2)
 * Kim Min-jung as Dal-po's blind date prospect (photo, ep 3)
 * Lee Bo-young as Hye-sung car navigation (voice, ep 3)
 * Kim Heechul as Yoo-rae's cellphone wallpaper (photo, ep 8)
 * Bae Suzy as Beom-jo's blind date prospect (photo, ep 12)
 * Yoon Sang-hyun as Cha Gwan-woo, Jae-myung's public defender (ep 12)
 * Lee Joon as Fama, idol singer investigated for propofol use (ep 19)
 * Kangnam as Cha-ok's student (ep 20)

Production
This series reunited actor Lee Jong-suk and actress Kim Hae-sook with screenwriter Park Hye-ryun and television director Jo Soo-won, who had collaborated a year before on I Can Hear Your Voice (2013).