Cats on the Roof | |
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![]() Promotional poster | |
Also known as |
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Written by |
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Story by | Kim Yu-ri |
Directed by | Kim Sa-hyun |
Starring | |
Country of origin | South Korea |
Original language | Korean |
No. of episodes | 16 |
Production | |
Running time | 50 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation |
Release | June 2 July 22, 2003 | –
Cats on the Roof | |
Hangul | 옥탑방 고양이 |
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Hanja | 屋塔房 고양이 |
Revised Romanization | Oktapbang Goyangi |
McCune–Reischauer | Okt'appang Koyangi |
Cats on the Roof[1] (Korean: 옥탑방 고양이; RR: Oktapbang Goyangi; lit. Rooftop Room Cat) is a 2003 South Korean television series starring Kim Rae-won, Jeong Da-bin, Choi Jung-yoon and Lee Hyun-woo.[2] It aired on MBC from June 2 to July 22, 2003 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 16 episodes.
A comedy with light touches of drama about friendship, love and cohabitation, the series is loosely based on a web novel written by Kim Yu-ri.[3][4] It was a hit, receiving an average viewership rating of 26.3% and a peak rating of 37.3%.
Kyung-min, a law student, is in desperate straits, so he decides to take it upon himself to help Hye-ryun's poor friend, Jung-eun. This is the beginning of an extremely volatile friendship that somehow ends with the two of them living together under one roof, or to be more specific, living in a room on top of the roof of an old building.
This romantic setting provides the backdrop for this unlikely love story. Kyung-min's bratty ways clash with Jung-eun's simple living, as he steadily takes advantage of her kindness and good nature.
Cats on the Roof was adapted from a web novel on the female-oriented web portal Miclub.[5] Min Hyo-jung and Goo Sun-kyung co-wrote the series; it was the first miniseries both had penned.[6] At the time of its announcement, Kim Rae-won had been cast as the male lead, but the female lead had not yet been chosen.[5][7] It reportedly ran into troubles with casting;[8] an Ilgan Sports article in April stated that Han Eun-jung would play alongside Kim as the female lead,[9] but by May Jeong Da-bin was said to have taken the role.[10]
An additional episode was arranged to air a week after the drama's planned ending, but it was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts with Kim Rae-won.[11] Additionally, the ending was changed last minute—originally, Jung Da-bin's character, Jeong-eun, would visit Kyung-min, Kim's character, after three years spent studying abroad. On the morning before the last episode's airing, the script was modified so that Jeong-eun would not study abroad and instead live with Kyung-min.[12]
It was adapted into a stage play of the same title in 2010, with Lee Sun-ho and Hwang Bo-ra in the leading roles.[13]