After wholesome K-dramas like Crash Landing On You and Itaewon Class took the world by storm, a more mature series has been raking in ratings recently: JTBC’s The World of the Married. Also known as The World of a Married Couple, this new K-drama that's available outside South Korea via streaming platform Viu has made records by overtaking Itaewon Class swiftly as Korea’s second highest-rated drama in South Korean cable history — and it’s not even halfway through yet.
Starring Kim Hee-Ae (Ji Sun-Woo) and Park Hae-Joon (Lee Tae-Oh), it's a remake of BBC’s Doctor Foster, which revolves around a woman who is successful both in her career and family life. However, everything changes when she finds out her husband is having an affair — and everyone surrounding her is in on the secret. While such themes are not new to television and film, the gripping acting and directing — as well as plot twists in every episode — undoubtedly captured the interest of many viewers. And chances are, you clicked on this story because you're hooked too.
While [im]patiently waiting for the next two episodes coming this week, find out if your The World of the Married plot and ending predictions are the same as ours. Warning, though: there are some spoilers ahead.
Min Hyun-Seo survives and Lee Tae-Oh covers up a crime
Let’s start with where the last episode ended. Everything was already looking pretty positive for Min Hyun-Seo when we realised that she was now willing to turn her back from her toxic (and dangerous) relationship with Park In-kyu. However, everything immediately turned sour when he was able to catch up to her at the train station before she can even depart for Ulsan. Fast forward to Ji Sun-Woo learning about Hyun-Seo's failed departure and seeing a body covered with a white sheet being carried away by paramedics, leaving behind a bloody scarf — the one she gave Hyun-Seo before they parted.
It’s easy to assume that Hyun-Seo is the one under the white sheet with all the clues given. However, we have an inkling that it's Park In-kyu. Episode 11’s preview suggests that while In-kyu was pursuing Hyun-Seo, her scarf was already missing and was even shown being blown away by the wind, making it impossible to be close by if it were her body that was recovered. Plus, we know that Lee Tae-Oh was on his way to meet In-kyu at the station, which may suggest that they've encountered each other. We also learned from the preview that the CCTV footage when the incident happened was nowhere to be found, suggesting that a powerful and financially capable person — or people — may have paid for it to be destroyed. Chairman Yeo and Lee Tae-Oh, we’re looking at you!
Yeo Da-Kyung leaves Lee Tae-Oh for good
The World of the Married's plot is as complicated as it is because of Da-Kyung, one of the most hated characters in the show. But it’s also inevitable to see the vulnerable girl under the brazen facade, especially after finding proof of Tae-Oh stalking his ex-wife. From Episode 11’s preview, it seems like she will discover another one of his horrible secrets. We can totally imagine this as the start of a 180-degree turn for her character; atonement and realising that she deserves better as a woman, a wife, and a mother seems to be on the horizon. While reconciling with Sun-Woo seem to be farfetched, leaving Tae-Oh for her self and their daughter's benefit is definitely a bright possibility.
Lee Tae-Oh goes to jail
Chairman Yeo may have Tae-Oh's back because of his daughter, but once Da-Kyung pushes for divorce, we’re sure things will go down from there. He thrived while the women he got involved with suffered the blows. So it's only fitting that he gets a proper sendoff when the series wraps up. With his piling crimes of assault, adultery, embezzlement, and even attempted murder — and the possibility of Hyun-Seo being alive to testify against him — we can definitely see jail time in the cards for him. Does anyone really see a different end?
Sul Myung-Sook gets a taste of her own medicine
If there's a character that gets as much hate, if not more than Tae-Oh, it's definitely Sul Myung-Sook. As Gosan's resident two-faced gossip, she betrays anyone (and everyone), even those she claims to be her friends, as long as the tides are in her favour. What makes it worse is that she continues to do it with false righteousness even after being called out many times. It's a bit tough to predict how justice will be served for her, but we're picturing one of her latest schemes backfiring. The worst scenario we can think of is her getting fired from her current post at the hospital because of her forked tongue. That's nowhere near the damage she's done so far, but hey, we'll take what we can get.
Go Ye-Rim and Son Je-Hyuk reunite and finally have a baby
The World of the Married's plot makes it hard to root for anyone. Son Je-Hyuk’s and his chronic cheating patterns are definitely one we can't get behind, especially with his last fling happening after everything seemed to have settled between him and his wife, Ye Rim. Still, after they decided to finally try to have a baby, we see Je-Hyuk sincerely starting his redemption arc by ending his last fling and actually looking pretty excited to start anew. However, everything hit a wall when Tae-Oh succeeds in causing a bigger rift between the two, eventually causing Ye Rim to throw her husband out of their house.
While we couldn’t forgive Je-Hyuk for his previous infidelities and we’re glad that Ye Rim finally decided to push back after years of staying mum about her husband’s escapades, we can’t help but feel sorry for these two. They were just starting to heal and rebuild their relationship. We can’t see them reuniting very soon but we hope that if there’s a time skip, we see them finally rekindling their relationship and maybe even building a family. There may not be hope for the other couples in this drama, but this is one pair we're actually crossing our fingers for.
Joon-Young finally engages in a mature and honest conversation with his parents
Sun-Woo and Tae-Oh’s son is also proving to be problematic; he even received scolding from his childhood acquaintance and current classmate No-Eul about “giving kids of divorced parents a bad reputation” for doing petty theft. As the plot progresses, we can't help but think that a budding friendship, if not romance, is in store for the two youngsters. Joon-Young may finally have a support system in No-Eul, which may encourage him to confront his situation and his parents. Only Joon-Young has the ability to snap sense back into his parents, which we believe would be pivotal to how the series will conclude.
However, with our prediction that Tae-Oh will do jail time, it may also be that Joon-Young will finally choose between his parents after getting closure from his father. He will then learn to understand his mother more, accompanying her to a new chapter in their lives.
Ji Sun-Woo leaves Gosan
She has remained a powerful force throughout the series, balancing family life, successful career, and of course, the events before and after her divorce. She withstood many trials, most of which have occurred when Tae-Oh and Da-Kyung came back to Gosan as a newly married couple, making her the subject of pity and gossip by the whole town. And yet, she continued to stand tall — at least on the surface.
However, her resistance to leave Gosan to prove Tae-Oh wrong has turned into an obsession that is keeping her from healing and attaining inner peace. It’s never good to back down from a fight, sure, but with everything that’s happened, the ending we hope for Ji Sun-Woo is that she finally gets to resign from all the things that are causing her pain and regret. This means driving away from Gosan and leaving her past behind not because of what other people will say but because she's finally chosen to free herself from misery. It’s definitely a fitting ending for her and us, who will be bidding the crazy events of TheWorld of the Married's plot goodbye when the final episode gets released.
(Cover photo from: @jtbcdrama)
Already scouting a new K-drama to watch after this one? Check out our list of upcoming dramas featuring collaborations between today's hottest Hallyu stars.
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