I Love You Ten Million Times Tells Surrogate Mother Story

[hallyuwood]

The overwhelming success of the SBS drama "Temptation of Wife" testified to the power of the extreme melodrama - where the highly theatrical plotline of a wronged woman out for revenge turned the series into a veritable telenovela. Telenovelas generally refer to soap operas that are presented as miniseries in Latin America.

Now SBS is testing the waters with yet another melodramatic telenovela. Titled "Cheonmanbeon Saranghae" - which roughly translates to "I Love You Ten Million Times" - the brand new weekend series takes a look into the controversial issue of surrogate pregnancy.

The practice was once famously portrayed in the period piece "The Surrogate Womb" (1986). Set in the Joseon Dynasty, the film garnered actress Kang Soo-yeon the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice International Film Festival in 1987 for her moving portrayal of a surrogate mother.

Now SBS' latest drama addresses surrogacy in a modern-day context, where the practice itself institutes modern technology - artificial insemination, for example - but is motivated by a traditional belief system: The mother of the household wants a male heir.

The heroine, played by "Soulmate" actress Lee Soo-kyung, agrees to serve as a surrogate mother in order to pay for liver transplant surgery for her ailing father. In an unusual twist of fate, she falls for the younger brother of the man whose child she carries.

"Because there are lots of people who remember my previous image, I initially worried about whether or not I would be able to do the character justice," said actress Lee of her role as a surrogate mother in a press release from SBS.

"Insofar as this is a classic drama, I will completely rid myself of my comic persona and I will show parts of myself that have remained hidden up until now," she declared.

Despite - or perhaps, because of - the controversial subject matter of the series, the first episode, which aired on Saturday, garnered nationwide ratings of 13 percent (AGB Nielsen Media Research). Nationwide ratings shot up to15.8 percent (AGB Nielsen Media Research) the following day.

The controversial nature of the series, which casts the mother-in-law in an evil light as the woman who will stop at nothing to obtain an heir, and its scandalous nature, featuring surrogacy as the axis around which the convoluted and dramatic lives of its characters revolve, raises the question: Are audiences ready to tune into a series that deals with modern-day surrogacy?

When asked if there has been any serious criticism or debate over the subject matter, an SBS representative answered: "Not yet."

Only into its second episode, it remains to be seen how surrogate motherhood will be portrayed in I Love You Ten Million Times. In other words will it be used to send audiences a moral message or will it serve as a vehicle for a dramatic plotline? It also remains to be seen if viewer ratings will continue to rise.

"Women of the Sun" actor Jung Gyu-woon stars as the heroine's love interest. "Mom is That Upset" actor Ryu Jin plays the heirless husband.

I Love You Ten Million Times airs on SBS on Saturdays and Sundays at 8:50 p.m.

Credit: Korea Herald