''Because This Is My First Life'' () is a 2017

South Korean television series Korean drama (), also known as K-drama or Koreanovela, refers to Korean-language television shows made in South Korea. These shows began to be produced around the early 1960s, but were mostly consumed domestically until the rise of the Korean Wa ...

starring

Lee Min-ki Lee Min-ki (born January 16, 1985) is a South Korean actor, singer, and model. Lee's first leading role in television was in the 2005 sports drama ''Taereung National Village''. He has gone on to star in many television series, including ''Lov ...

and

Jung So-min Kim Yoon-ji (; born March 16, 1989), known professionally as Jung So-min (), is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut with a supporting role in the Korean drama, television series ''Bad Guy (TV series), Bad Guy'' (2010). Jung is know ...

that explores different points of view on careers, relationships, marriage, and love. The series marks Lee Min-ki's first small-screen lead role since 2007. It aired on tvN from October 9 to November 28, 2017, every Monday and Tuesday at 21:30 ( KST).

Synopsis

Socially awkward IT employee Nam Se-hee (

) and broke homeless writer Yoon Ji-ho (

) agree to a

marriage of convenience A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. Cases whe ...

by signing a contract of two years, wherein they agree to the terms and conditions of only being landlord and tenant, sharing their home based on common goals and values. Things do not go as planned when the housemates' pact of platonic cohabitation is interfered with by their trauma, social expectations, and familial interventions.

Cast

Main

as Nam Se-hee, a quirky and apathetic computer designer who has bought an expensive townhouse and rents out his extra room to help with the mortgage. He spends his days at work or home with his cat and has no plans to date or marry. After a series of bad tenants, he rates Ji-ho very highly and, believing she is a male, he offers her the room. *

as Yoon Ji-ho, an assistant screenwriter who moves out of the home she shares with her brother when he marries his pregnant girlfriend. Currently between projects, she rents the room from Se-hee (who she thinks is female) because the rent is affordable and no deposit is required. After working hard at her career throughout her twenties, at age 30 she has never dated and has a career crisis that causes her to rethink her goals.

Supporting

Esom Lee So-young (; January 30, 1990), known by her stage name Esom (), is a South Korean actress. Career She gained recognition for her leading role in the 2014 film '' Scarlet Innocence'', for which she was nominated for Best New Actress in five ...

as Woo Su-ji, a school friend of Ji-ho who works in a corporate office. Her dream was to be the CEO of her own business but she is trapped in a well-paying position where she must bear with frequent sexual harassment from her male colleagues. *

Park Byung-eun Park Byung-eun (; born July 14, 1977) is a South Korean actor. Early life and education Park majored in drama at Chung-Ang University. Park was set to debut with 90s South Korean boy group Taesaja in 1997, but gave up due to him feeling that ...

as Ma Sang-goo, Se-hee's friend since college and CEO of the company where Se-hee works. *

Kim Ga-eun Kim Ga-eun (; born January 8, 1989) is a South Korean actress. Filmography Television series Web series Film Awards and nominations References External links * * 1989 births Living people South Korean television actress ...

as Yang Ho-rang, a school friend of Ji-ho who is a hostess at a restaurant/bar and dreams of becoming a wife and mother. * Kim Min-seok as Sim Won-seok, Ho-rang's long-time boyfriend who is the CEO of a startup company which is having problems getting an investor.

People around Nam Se-hee

Kim Eung-soo Kim Eung-soo (; born February 12, 1961) is a South Korean actor. Kim lived in Japan for seven years, where he studied filmmaking at the Japan Institute of the Moving Image. Filmography Film Television series Variety show Web sh ...

as Nam Hee-bong, Se-hee's father who is a former high school principal. *

Moon Hee-kyung Moon Hee-kyung (; born December 22, 1965) is a South Korean actress. Moon made her acting debut in musical theatre in 1995. She has also played supporting roles in films and television series, notably ''Skeletons in the Closet'' (also known as ...

as Jo Myung-ji, Se-hee's mother who is a full-time housewife.

People around Yoon Ji-ho

Kim Byeong-ok Kim Byeong-ok (born October 11, 1960) is a South Korean actor. A veteran supporting actor, he is best known for his role as Mr. Han in '' Oldboy''. Career In 2015, he was featured in a controversial Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: En ...

as Yoon Jong-soo, Ji-ho's father who is a car center operator. * Kim Sun-young as Kim Hyun-ja, Ji-ho's mother who is a full-time housewife. *

Noh Jong-hyun Noh Jong-hyun (born January 16, 1993) is a South Korean actor. Career Noh Jong-hyun made his television debut in the 2017 romantic comedy '' Because This Is My First Life'' in which he portrayed the female lead's little brother. The following ...

as Yoon Ji-suk, Ji-ho's younger brother. * Jeon Hye-won as Lee Eun-sol, Ji-suk's pregnant wife.

Extended

* Kim Min-kyu as Yeon Bok-nam, a colleague of Ji-ho's. *

Lee Chung-ah Lee Chung-ah (; born October 29, 1984) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the films ''Temptation of Wolves'' (2004) and '' My Tutor Friend 2'' (2007), as well as the cable dramas '' Cool Guys, Hot Ramen'' (201 ...

as Go Jung-min, Se-hee's ex-girlfriend, a successful businesswoman. *

Yoon Bo-mi Yoon Bo-mi (; born August 13, 1993), known mononymously as Bomi, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known as a member of the South Korean girl group Apink. Yoon made her acting debut with a cameo role in the 2012 television serie ...

as Yoon Bo-mi, a data analyst who works with Se-hee. *

Hwang Seok-jeong Hwang Seok-jeong (born February 2, 1971) is a South Korean actress. She has mostly played supporting roles in films and television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content prod ...

as Writer Hwang.

Special appearances

Yoon Doo-joon Yoon Doo-joon (; born July 4, 1989), also known mononymously as Doojoon or Dujun, is a South Korean singer and actor. He is the leader of the South Korean boy group Highlight. Early life Yoon Doo-joon was born in Goyang, South Korea on Ju ...

(Episode 1) *

Yoon So-hee Yoon So-hee (; born May 7, 1993) is a South Korean actress. Early life and education Yoon was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on May 7, 1993, and lived there for six years before returning to Seoul. In 2011, she enrolled as a Chemical and Biomolec ...

(Episode 1) * Kim Wook as a director

Production

The series is directed by Park Joon-hwa, and written by Yoon Nan-joong. The first script reading session of the cast took place on August 25, 2017 at

Studio Dragon Studio Dragon Corporation () is a South Korean Korean drama, drama production, marketing and distribution company under CJ ENM CJ ENM Entertainment Division, Entertainment Division. It was established on May 3, 2016, as a Corporate spin-off, sp ...

Sangam-dong Sangam-dong () is a legal '' dong'' (neighborhood) of Mapo District, Seoul, South Korea. In the wake of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, a large apartment complex and DMC business district have been created and developed into the center of western Seoul. ...

Original soundtrack

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8 Commercial performance

Ratings

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{TvN (South Korean TV channel) television dramas (2006–2019) Korean-language television shows TvN (South Korean TV channel) television dramas 2017 South Korean television series debuts 2017 South Korean television series endings South Korean romantic comedy television series Television series by Studio Dragon