| Smile Again | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Romance, Drama |
| Written by | Yoon Sung-hee |
| Directed by | Hong Sung-chang |
| Starring | Kim Hee-sun Lee Dong-gun Lee Jin-wook |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | South Korea Switzerland |
| Running time | 60 minutes Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 (KST) |
| Production company | Victory Contents |
| Original release | |
| Network | Seoul Broadcasting System |
| Release | May 17 – July 6, 2006 |
Smile Again (Korean: 스마일 어게인; RR: Seumail Eogein) is a 2006 South Korea television series starring Lee Dong-gun, Kim Hee-sun, Lee Jin-wook and Yoon Se-ah. It aired on SBS from May 17 to July 6, 2006 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 16 episodes.[1][2]
Ban Ha-jin is calculating and ambitious. Even though he's an orphan and a high school drop out, he will use any means to fulfill his ambition. Through coincidence, he meets Yoon Jae-myung at a bar in Switzerland. Jae-myung is a popular former baseball player who went to the same high school as he did, and Ha-jin manipulates a series of events to become Jae-myung's best friend. He also runs into Oh Dan-hee, the girl he loved and hurt in high school.
Despite her painful childhood, Dan-hee grew up to be a tenacious, optimistic go-getter who dreams of becoming a world-class professional softball player. Although tormented from the memory of being humiliated by her ex-boyfriend Ha-jin, Dan-hee makes a pact with herself to move on. Her sports hero is Yoon Jae-myung.
After Switzerland, the three again become part of each other's lives back in Korea. Ha-jin starts working in Jae-myung's father's company and does everything to make the rich chairman like him, shrewdly climbing the corporate ladder until he becomes the boss's right-hand man. Dan-hee, who also works for the same company, is a softball player on the company's league team. Jae-myung becomes the team's coach, and he falls in love with Dan-hee whose headstrong and optimistic personality attracts him. Jae-myung tries every possible way to win her heart, as Ha-jin becomes torn between his ambition and his love for Dan-hee.
In this table, The blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
| Episode # | Original broadcast date | Average audience share (TNMS) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area | ||
| 1 | May 17, 2006 | 13.4% (3rd) | 14.3% (4th) |
| 2 | May 18, 2006 | 14.5% (5th) | 14.8% (5th) |
| 3 | May 24, 2006 | 12.8% (3rd) | 13.1% (4th) |
| 4 | May 25, 2006 | 14.2% (6th) | 15.6% (6th) |
| 5 | June 1, 2006 | 11.5% (7th) | 12.1% (6th) |
| 6 | June 2, 2006 | 13.0% (10th) | 13.3% (11th) |
| 7 | June 7, 2006 | 10.8% (11th) | 10.7% (12th) |
| 8 | June 8, 2006 | 12.2% (9th) | 12.5% (9th) |
| 9 & 10 | June 15, 2006 | 11.6% (12th) | 10.0% (17th) |
| 11 | June 21, 2006 | 10.4% (15th) | 10.4% (14th) |
| 12 | June 22, 2006 | 10.0% (16th) | 9.4% (15th) |
| 13 | June 28, 2006 | 10.3% (14th) | 10.0% (13th) |
| 14 | June 29, 2006 | 11.6% (11th) | 11.6% (12th) |
| 15 | July 5, 2006 | - | 10.0% (19th) |
| 16 | July 6, 2006 | 11.1% (15th) | 10.6% (19th) |
| Average | 11.160% | 11.887% | |
The drama's rating is imperatively decreased at the middle of the series was due to a football season. However, it still manage to stay above 10%.
