MBC TV's new weekend drama, "Song of the Han River," revolves around the lives of a vibrant middle-aged woman, her two daughters and a cast of other characters surrounding them. Like your mother back home, who would take a switch to you if you were bad and give you a pat on the back when you were feeling down, "Song of the Han River" is a warm but enervating story of ordinary people dealing with the normal difficulties of life. To bring about a sort of renaissance in MBC's weekend drama offerings, "Song of the Han River" ambitiously reunites the team of Kim Jeong-su and Choi Jong-su from the popular MBC drama "You and I" for the first time in 6 years.

Planning and preparations for this new presentation were undertaken from last May, and the target audience ranges from those in their early 30s to those in their 50s. Producer Choi Jong-su revealed that his intention was to create a drama dealing with a variety of characters. "Song of the Han River" also portrays the linkage between the past and present by making use of the Han River as a central theme. Throughout its entire length, this new drama portrays a range of Korean emotions and sentiment, and particular care was taken in casting so as to attract young viewers in addition to the targeted middle-age group.

The title comes from the eponymous theme song, "Song of the Han River," originally a folk song that has been re-cut with an upbeat modern feel by the group The Bubble Sisters. Work is underway however, to connect the mood of the song's original version with the drama's overall feel, and it will be interesting to see just how this is accomplished.

SYNOPSIS

Episode 1
As usual, Kim Young-hee (Ko Du-shim) is selling fish at the market. Strangely though, there are few customers today and Young-hee hears from another fishmonger, Ok-shim, that a new nearby grocery store is selling fish at special prices. Finally, Young-hee puts her fish in a cart and takes Da-young (Lee Yoon-ji), who is at the market today, to the front of the store.

They begin selling fish cheaply. Na-young (Kim Min-seon) comes walking up and sees Da-young and her mother, but she covers her face with her purse and runs off. Tae-geun (Han In-su), Dan-ok (Pak Jeong-su) and Jun-mi (Ahn Se-mi) are enjoying themselves at a resort. A Japanese tourist sees Dan-ok and seems to know her, but an embarrassed Dan-ok quickly flees the scene.

Ga-young (Kim Hye-soo), a lifestyle magazine reporter, is doing a cover shoot at Sin-ryul's caf? and accidentally breaks a glass. She apologizes and offers compensation but Sin-ryul just glances at her and walks off. A drunken Jun-ho (Kim Seok-ho) has something he must say to Ga-young and he asks her to meet him, but then he passes out.

The two of them spend the night in a hotel and Jun-ho has no idea of what happened. Su-yeong (Choi Seong-jun) meets Mi-ae (Pak Han-byeol) in a convenience store where he is working part time and brings her back to his room. Na-young is showing off her new cell phone to Da-young when some strange women show up at the house. They're looking for Ga-young, claiming that some girl seduced their son-in-law, and Young-hee is shocked.

Then, Ga-young comes home and the women apologize, saying that she's not the same person in a photograph they have. Na-young pleads with her angry mother, saying that she didn't know the man she was seeing was married. Kang-su feels sad when he hears Young-hee beating her daughter.

Episode 2
Ga-young (Kim Hye-soo) asks Yoo-na, while she is sitting next to Jun-ho, if she likes him, and she boldly states that she loves him. Surprised, Ga-young quickly turns and walks away with Jun-ho following behind. Ga-young tells a pleading Jun-ho that she wants to end their relationship and that she never wants to see him again. Su-yeong gives some rice and vegetables that Na-young was preparing to eat to Mi-ae and she devours it with relish.

Na-young later looks up Gang-su, while he is busy working in the meat section at the grocery store, and asks to borrow some money, which Kang-su lends her. Na-young goes to meet the married man and pretends to cry, saying she can't believe he was married. She tells him that it's her birthday and he buys her some clothes and a new cell phone. Ga-young finds a glass like the one she broke in Sin-ryul's caf?, buys it, and takes it to the caf?. She tries to give him the box with her business card in it, but he's apathetic. Na-young exchanges the clothes she received from the married man for a refund and pays back Gang-su.

Ga-young, Na-young and Da-young (Lee Yoon-ji) spend a few fun hours together in a sauna. Jun-ho keeps calling Ga-young but she refuses to answer, so he finally goes to Young-hee's (Ga-young's mother) shop in the market. Not knowing what's happened, Young-hee and Ok-shim talk about the wedding and Jun-ho doesn't know what to say. Jun-ho goes to see Ga-young who is taking a walk on a hillside, apologizes to her and asks her to reconsider, and she flatly rejects him again. Tae-geun (Han In-su), Dan-ok (Pak Jeong-su) and Jun-mi (Ahn Se-mi) return from their trip.

Sin-ryul films Ga-young with a hidden camera while she is at work in his caf?. Ga-young sees that the box she gave him hasn't been touched so she approaches him to say something and leaves. Only then does Sin-ryul open the box and find Ga-young's business card. Su-yeong brings Mi-ae over again and a big fuss takes place when they accuse her of being a thief

Episode 3
Turning the tables on her, Jun-ho tells Ga-young that he is afraid of her and apologizes. He now says that he wants to end it, and she is confounded. Meanwhile, Na-young (Kim Min-seon) takes pictures of designer goods in front of a store and wishes she could have them. Then she runs into Sin-ryul. She sees him driving away in his car and she starts thinking that he's just perfect for her. Su-yeong and Mi-ae sit together on a hillside, looking into a stream and talking.

They are starting to really like each other and Gang-su gives Su-yeong some advice. He suggests that Su-yeong, who wants to take care of Mi-ae, lie to his family and tell them that she is pregnant. Young-hee tells Ga-young while she's getting ready to leave one morning to go see Jun-ho's relatives and set up a date for the wedding. Ga-young responds that she's not getting married. Dan-ok (Pak Jeong-su) calls Ga-young and tells her to stop over for a visit and Ga-young wishes her a happy birthday.

Jun-ho brings Yoo-na (Han Se-mi) home and Dan-ok is bewildered. Ga-young runs into Jun-ho's younger sister Jun-mi in front of their house and when they go inside, Ga-young is speechless to see Yoo-na there. Na-young also sees Jun-ho and Yoo-na together when she goes to see him at his office. She calls Ga-young and hears that Jun-ho is indeed cheating on her sister. While Yoo-na is in the restroom, Na-young follows her in and pours some dirty water on her