I'm Not a Robot
I'm Not a Robot[2] (Korean: 로봇이 아니야; RR: Robosi Aniya) is a South Korean television series starring Yoo Seung-ho, Chae Soo-bin and Um Ki-joon. It is written by Kim Sun-mi and directed by Jung Dae-yoon. Producing the series for MBC is May Queen Pictures.[3] It aired on MBC from December 6, 2017 to January 25, 2018 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 (KST) for 32 episodes.[4][5][6]
| I'm Not a Robot | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Also known as |
|
| Hangul | 로봇이 아니야 |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Han Hee for MBC |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Jung Dae-yoon |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language(s) | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 32 x 30 minutes (Viki) 16 x 62 minutes (Netflix) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Kim Jin-chun |
| Producer(s) | Yoo Hyun-jong |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 48-62 minutes |
| Production company(s) | May Queen Pictures |
| Distributor | MBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | MBC TV |
| Audio format | Dolby Digital |
| Original release | December 6, 2017 – January 25, 2018 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| Production website | |
Synopsis
The two principal characters of this story are Kim Min-kyu (Yoo Seung-ho) and Jo Ji-ah (Chae Soo-bin). Kim Min-kyu lives a luxurious but isolated life due to a severe allergy to physical contact with other human beings. He develops extreme life-threatening rashes that rapidly spread over his body whenever he makes any form of skin contact. Jo Ji-ah is trying to make it in life by creating businesses based on her inventions, notably two networked heart-shaped lamps. The two first meet when Kim Min-kyu hires her to purchase an exclusive toy, but the transaction leads them into a fight.
Kim Min-kyu is the chairman and largest shareholder the KM Financial company. He inherited his shares from his parents, who died in a car accident 15 years earlier. He was brought up by his father's friend and colleague, Hwang Do-won (Son Byong-ho), whose son, Hwang Yoo-chul (Kang Ki-young), is the same age as Kim Min-kyu. Both are executives at KM Financial and Hwang Hyu-chul has become the CEO.
KM Financial owns the Santa Maria team. The team is headed by professor Hong Baek-kyun (Um Ki-joon). Professor Hong's team has secretly created an advanced humanoid robot called AG3 (pronounced Aji 3), whose face and other features he modeled on those of his ex-girlfriend Jo Ji-ah (the sound of the robot’s name is Ji-Ah backwards).
Hwang Yoo-chul and his father Hwang Do-won try to sell the Santa Maria team to Bold Group, owned by a foreign investor, Martin, who has learned about the Aji 3 and wants to use it as a weapon. To convince Kim Min-kyu not to sell the Santa Maria team, Hong Baek-kyun sends the robot to him as a demonstration. Just before the Aji 3 is delivered, a crucial internal mechanism inside the robot's body is accidentally damaged by a single drop of water. Hong Baek-kyun approaches Jo Ji-ah, asking her to pose as the robot since she was its original model, giving the team time to repair Aji 3. Desperate for the 10 million won fee, Jo Ji-ah agrees, and impersonates the robot under the supervision of the Santa Maria team and the robot's computer brain.
Gradually, Kim Min-kyu falls in love with Jo Ji-ah, believing that she is Aji 3. He is disturbed by this, and reboots the Aji 3, erasing its memory. Professor Hong Baek-kyun replaces Jo Ji-ah with the real Aji 3. Jo Ji-ah, who has also fallen in love with Kim Min-kyu, leaves the city to work in her aunt's restaurant, in an attempt to forget him.
Kim Min-kyu discovers that Jo Ji-ah had replaced the robot, and has a sudden and violent allergic reaction, which nearly kills him. Hong Baek-kyun saves him by injecting him with ephedrine, but he is furious and breaks completely with Jo Ji-ah. Nevertheless, in a climactic scene, Jo Ji-ah confesses everything to Kim Min-kyu and they rediscover their love, this time between humans.
Before the reboot, Aji 3 had stored all the video footage and data from the trials with Kim Min-kyu in a secret cache. This cache gets hacked, revealing everything about Kim Min-kyu's illness. This knowledge is used to attempt a take-over of KM Financial, to remove Kim Min-kyu as chairman of the company and complete the sale of the Santa Maria team and Aji 3 to Martin. Kim Min-kyu manages to thwart the attempt at the last moment. He uncovers evidence that Hwang Do-won and Martin were involved in the murder of his parents, and restores the Aji 3 to the Santa Maria team. The Santa Maria team successfully launches a new robot after changing its appearance.
Cast
Main
- Yoo Seung-ho as Kim Min-kyu (28 years old)
- The largest shareholder of the country's largest financial company with an IQ of 159 but is a "human allergy" patient who cannot be in contact with people. Through his company, he owns Aji 3, an android robot which gets sent to him to be tested. When the robot is damaged in an accident, Ji-ah is used to replace Aji 3. He develops feelings for Ji-ah as the robot and falls in love with her.
- Chae Soo-bin as Jo Ji-ah (28 years old) / Aji 3
- Jo Ji-A: A passionate young entrepreneur with a high emotional intelligence and an imaginative inventor who was inspired by her father while spending time with him in his car repair shop. She is recruited by the Santa Maria robot team to pretend to be Aji 3. She has an IQ of 94.
- Aji 3: The world's most advanced humanoid robot among the artificial intelligence models released.[2]
- Um Ki-joon as Hong Baek-kyun (34 years old)
- Ji-Ah's ex-boyfriend who is a world-renowned genius robotics professor who creates the android named Aji 3 and bases her appearance on Ji-ah.
Supporting
Santa Maria team
- Park Se-wan as "Pi" Angela Jin (30 years old)
- Song Jae-ryong as "Hoktal" Kang Dong-won (33 years old)
- Ko Gun-Han as "Ssanip" Eddie Park (29 years old)
KM Financial
- Kang Ki-young as Hwang Yoo-chul (28 years old)
- Min-kyu's childhood best friend who is the CEO of the company.
- Hwang Seung-eon as Ye Ri-el (28 years old)
- Min-kyu's childhood friend and first love.
- Son Byong-ho as Hwang Do-won
- Yoo-chul's father and the president of the company.
- Lee Byung-joon as Ye Sung-tae
- Ri-el's father and one of the founders of the company.
- Lee Hae-young as Mr. Yoon
- KM Group Managing Director.
People around Min-kyu
- Um Hyo-sup as Doctor Oh
- Min-kyu's doctor. Having cared for him for fifteen years, he is initially the only other person aware of his condition.
- Kim Ha-kyun as Butler Sung
People around Ji-A
- Seo Dong-won as Jo Jin-bae
- Ji-ah's older brother who is the research team leader of KM Financial.
- Lee Min-ji as Sun-hye (28 years old)
- Ji-ah's friend who is a cafe owner and is a fortune-teller and an expert on romance.
- Yoon So-mi as Hong-ju (28 years old)
- Ji-ah's schoolmate friend and Jin-bae's wife.
- Lee Han-seo as Jo Dong-hyun (8 years old)
- Jin-bae and Hong-ju's child.
Extended
- Kim Ki-doo as Miami, a hired thief.
- Choi Dong-gu as Alps
Cameo
- Ahn Se-ha
- Lee Si-eon as Man cutting in line (Ep. 1)
- Park Chul-min
- Hong Yoon-hwa as couple in public bathhouse (Ep. 10)
- Kim Min-ki as couple in public bathhouse (Ep. 10)
Production
- Dong Ha and Bang Min-ah were first offered the lead roles, but ultimately declined.[8][9]
- The first script reading of the cast was held on September 27, 2017 at MBC Station in Sangam-dong.[10]
Soundtrack
Part 1
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Something" | Seo Dong-sung | Park Sung-il, Uncle Sam | Sung-hoon (Brown Eyed Soul) | 03:15 |
| 2. | "Something" (Inst.) | Park Sung-il, Uncle Sam | 03:15 | ||
| Total length: | 06:30 | ||||
Part 2
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Know Me" (날 알아줄까) | Lohi | Lohi | Stella Jang | 03:35 |
| 2. | "Know Me" (Inst.) | Lohi | 03:35 | ||
| Total length: | 07:10 | ||||
Part 3
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Words Of Your Heart" (마음의 말) | Lee Chi-hoon | Choi Jae-man | Kim Yeon-ji | 05:05 |
| 2. | "Words Of Your Heart" (Inst.) | Choi Jae-man | 05:05 | ||
| Total length: | 10:10 | ||||
Part 4
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Loving A Thing With All One's Heart" (마음 다해 사랑하는 일) | Kim Dam-so | Kim Dam-so | Damsonegongbang | 03:46 |
| 2. | "Loving A Thing With All One's Heart" (Inst.) | Kim Dam-so | 03:46 | ||
| Total length: | 07:32 | ||||
Part 5
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Here I Stand" (여기 서 있어) | Juniel | Juniel | Juniel | 04:05 |
| 2. | "Here I Stand" (Inst.) | Juniel | 04:05 | ||
| Total length: | 08:10 | ||||
Part 6
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Slow Down" (천천히 할래) | Vincent Blue | Vincent Blue | Vincent Blue | 04:05 |
| 2. | "Slow Down" (Inst.) | Vincent Blue | 04:05 | ||
| Total length: | 08:10 | ||||
Ratings
The series was a commercial failure only averaging 3.22% in audience share, and received the lowest viewership ratings in its time-slot throughout its run.[11] However, it has gained positive reviews since airing and is the 11th all-time most popular Korean drama on Viki as of October 2019.
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNmS[12] | AGB Nielsen[13] | ||||
| Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | Seoul | ||
| 1 | December 6, 2017 | 4.0% (NR) | 4.4% (NR) | 4.1% (NR) | 4.5% (NR) |
| 2 | 4.3% (NR) | 5.1% (NR) | 4.5% (NR) | 5.3% (NR) | |
| 3 | December 7, 2017 | 3.3% (NR) | 3.9% (NR) | 3.0% (NR) | 3.6% (NR) |
| 4 | 3.4% (NR) | 4.0% (NR) | 3.1% (NR) | 3.7% (NR) | |
| 5 | December 13, 2017 | 3.0% (NR) | 3.4% (NR) | 2.8% (NR) | 3.2% (NR) |
| 6 | 3.4% (NR) | 3.7% (NR) | 3.1% (NR) | 3.4% (NR) | |
| 7 | December 14, 2017 | 4.3% (NR) | 5.1% (NR) | 2.9% (NR) | 3.7% (NR) |
| 8 | 4.8% (NR) | 5.5% (NR) | 3.4% (NR) | 4.0% (NR) | |
| 9 | December 20, 2017 | 3.4% (NR) | 4.1% (NR) | 2.6% (NR) | 3.3% (NR) |
| 10 | 3.9% (NR) | 4.5% (NR) | 3.3% (NR) | 3.8% (NR) | |
| 11 | December 21, 2017 | 2.7% (NR) | 3.1% (NR) | 2.6% (NR) | 3.0% (NR) |
| 12 | 3.3% (NR) | 4.2% (NR) | 3.2% (NR) | 4.1% (NR) | |
| 13 | December 27, 2017 | 3.1% (NR) | 3.2% (NR) | 2.4% (NR) | 2.5% (NR) |
| 14 | 3.7% (NR) | 3.9% (NR) | 2.7% (NR) | 2.8% (NR) | |
| 15 | December 28, 2017 | 3.1% (NR) | 3.7% (NR) | 2.8% (NR) | 3.4% (NR) |
| 16 | 3.3% (NR) | 3.8% (NR) | 3.1% (NR) | 3.6% (NR) | |
| 17 | January 3, 2018 | 3.3% (NR) | 3.4% (NR) | 3.3% (NR) | 3.5% (NR) |
| 18 | 3.9% (NR) | 4.2% (NR) | 3.6% (NR) | 3.9% (NR) | |
| 19 | January 4, 2018 | 3.3% (NR) | 3.9% (NR) | 2.5% (NR) | 3.3% (NR) |
| 20 | 3.8% (NR) | 4.0% (NR) | 3.5% (NR) | 3.7% (NR) | |
| 21 | January 10, 2018 | 3.9% (NR) | 4.5% (NR) | 3.0% (NR) | 3.6% (NR) |
| 22 | 4.5% (NR) | 4.8% (NR) | 4.0% (NR) | 4.3% (NR) | |
| 23 | January 11, 2018 | 3.3% (NR) | 3.8% (NR) | 2.9% (NR) | 3.4% (NR) |
| 24 | 3.8% (NR) | 4.0% (NR) | 3.9% (NR) | 4.1% (NR) | |
| 25 | January 17, 2018 | 3.9% (NR) | 4.4% (NR) | 3.0% (NR) | 3.5% (NR) |
| 26 | 4.4% (NR) | 4.8% (NR) | 3.6% (NR) | 4.0% (NR) | |
| 27 | January 18, 2018 | 3.2% (NR) | 4.1% (NR) | 2.5% (NR) | 3.4% (NR) |
| 28 | 3.6% (NR) | 4.3% (NR) | 3.2% (NR) | 3.9% (NR) | |
| 29 | January 24, 2018 | 3.2% (NR) | 3.5% (NR) | 3.9% (NR) | 4.2% (NR) |
| 30 | 3.7% (NR) | 3.9% (NR) | 4.3% (NR) | 4.5% (NR) | |
| 31 | January 25, 2018 | 3.3% (NR) | 3.6% (NR) | 3.1% (NR) | 3.4% (NR) |
| 32 | 3.9% (NR) | 4.1% (NR) | 3.4% (NR) | 3.6% (NR) | |
| Average | 3.6% | 3.9% | 3.2% | 3.7% | |
- In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
- NR denotes that the drama did not rank in the top 20 daily programs on that date.
International broadcast
- In Philippines, the drama aired in ABS-CBN on Kapamilya Gold afternoon block on March 5 to April 20, 2018 at 5:00 pm PST under the title I am Not a Robot. The drama is dubbed in Filipino. Meanwhile, the network's regional stations airs the drama at 9:30 am PST to avoid conflict with regional editions of its flagship evening newscast. It also had its re-run on the Asianovela Channel.
- In Singapore and Thailand, the drama can be watched online on Viu.[14]
- In Europe, Netflix distributes the series.
References
- '로봇이 아니야' 강기영-황승언-박세완-서동원-이민지-김기두, 개성파 라인업 확정(공식). Naver (in Korean). Sedaily. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
- "I'm Not a Robot". MBC Global Media. MBC&iMBC. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
- Lee, Mi-young. "[단독]'W' 정대윤 PD, '로봇이 아니야'로 복귀…하반기 편성". Naver (in Korean). Joy News 24. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
- Hong, You-kyoung. "Yoo Seung-ho joins cast of 'I'm Not a Robot'". Joins. Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
- Kim, Mi-hwa. "유승호X채수빈X엄기준, '로봇이 아니야' 출연 확정(공식)". Naver (in Korean). Star News. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
- ‘로봇이 아니야’ 김하균-손병호-이병준-엄효섭, 베테랑 라인업(공식). Naver (in Korean). OSEN. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- Baek, Ji-eun. "[공식] 동하 측 "MBC와 합의 하에 '로봇이아니야' 출연고사"". Naver (in Korean). Sports Chosun. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
- Kim, Ji-hyeon. "[단독] 걸스데이 민아, MBC '로봇이 아니야' 출연불발". Naver (in Korean). TV Report. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
- Park, Jin-young. "[Oh!쎈 컷] '로봇이 아니야' 유승호X채수빈, 열정 가득 첫 대본리딩". Naver (in Korean). Osen. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
- Park, Jin-young. "[美친시청률] '흑기사'vs'로봇' 첫방 대결, 김래원 먼저 웃었다". Naver (in Korean). OSEN. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- "TNMS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNMS Ratings (in Korean). Retrieved October 11, 2017.
- "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
- "Viu". www.viu.com. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
External links
- Official website (in Korean)
- I'm Not a Robot on IMDb
- I'm Not a Robot at HanCinema