Mask Girl

Mask Girl

Mask Girl (Korean: 마스크걸) is a 2023 South Korean black comedy crime thriller television series written and directed by Kim Yong-hoon, and starring Lee Han-byeol in her acting debut, Nana, Go Hyun-jung, Ahn Jae-hong, and Yeom Hye-ran. It is based on the Naver webtoon of the same name by Mae-mi and Hee-se, which was published between 2015 and 2018. It was released on Netflix on August 18, 2023.

Synopsis

Mask Girl

Kim Mo-mi, an office worker who is insecure about her looks, becomes a masked internet personality by night—until a chain of unexpected, ill-fated events begins to overtake her life.

Cast

Main

• Lee Han-byeol as Kim Mo-mi/Mask Girl (in 2009, before surgery) • Nana as Kim Mo-mi/A-reum (after plastic surgery) • Go Hyun-jung as Kim Mo-mi/No. 1047 (in 2023) • Ahn Jae-hong as Ju Oh-nam: an ordinary office worker who is Mo-mi's co-worker and Mask Girl's regular viewer whom he admires • Yeom Hye-ran as Kim Kyung-ja: Oh-nam's overprotective mother who seeks revenge against Mo-mi

Supporting

• Park Jung-hwa as Lee A-reum: Mo-mi's colleague • Choi Daniel as Park Gi-hoon: Mo-mi's boss • Kim Min-seo as Kim Ye-chun: Mi-mo's best friend • Moon Sook as Sim Young-hee: Mo-mi's mother • Shin Ye-seo as Kim Mi-mo: Oh-nam and Mo-mi's daughter • Han Jae-yi as Kim Chun-ae: Mo-mi's best friend • Kim Ga-hee as Yoo Sang-soon: Mo-mi's colleague • Lee Soo-mi as Ahn Eun-suk • Jang Won-young as Manager Kim • Lee Seon-hee as Chief Oh: a prison warden • Lee Jun-young as Choi Bu-yong: Chun-ae's boyfriend in a special appearance

Episodes

Mask Girl

<table><thead><tr><th>No.</th><th>Title</th><th>Directed by</th><th>Written by</th><th>Original release date</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>"Kim Mo-mi"</td><td>Kim Young-hoon</td><td>Kim Young-hoon</td><td>August 18, 2023 (2023-08-18)</td></tr><tr><td>Kim Mo-mi grew up with dreams of becoming a pop star, but was thwarted by her plain looks. By day, she works in an office, and by night, she runs a popular livestream channel where she wears a mask and performs as "Mask Girl". Mo-mi is distraught when she discovers that Park Gi-hoon, her boss and the man whom she has feelings for, is cheating on his wife with Lee A-reum, one of her co-workers. Mo-mi's popularity plummets after she loses her livestream and confesses her woes to a regular Mask Girl viewer, unaware he is her co-worker, Ju Oh-nam.</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>"Ju Oh-nam"</td><td>Kim Young-hoon</td><td>Kim Young-hoon</td><td>August 18, 2023 (2023-08-18)</td></tr><tr><td>Ju Oh-nam is a socially inept loner and a regular viewer of Mask Girl's channel, recognizing her to be Kim Mo-mi based on the distinct moles on both of her hands. Oh-nam falls in love with Mo-mi, but is unable to express his feelings. Mo-mi meets up with a wealthy Mask Girl fan who tries to rape her, but he is knocked out in a scuffle. Oh-nam, stalking Mo-mi, rushes to her aid; he kills the man himself while disposing of the body for her. Traumatized by her experiences, Mo-mi abruptly quits her job and undergoes plastic surgery. Oh-nam tracks down her address and rapes Mo-mi, who stabs him to death in retaliation.</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>"Kim Kyung-Ja"</td><td>Kim Young-hoon</td><td>Kim Young-hoon</td><td>August 18, 2023 (2023-08-18)</td></tr><tr><td>Kim Kyung-ja is Oh-nam's overbearing mother, who struggled to raise him as a single parent. When Oh-nam becomes uncontactable, Kyung-ja has the police break into his apartment, where they find the remains of Oh-nam's victim. Later, the police also find Oh-nam's remains in a suitcase. Kyung-ja believes that Mo-mi, who has been revealed to the public to be Mask Girl, is Oh-nam's murderer, and vows revenge. Kyung-ja's investigation leads her to a woman named Kim Chun-ae, whom she kidnaps and threatens at gunpoint. Chun-ae insists that she is not Mo-mi, but claims to know her.</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>"Kim Chun-ae"</td><td>Kim Young-hoon</td><td>Kim Young-hoon</td><td>August 18, 2023 (2023-08-18)</td></tr><tr><td>Kim Chun-ae tells Kyung-ja that Mo-mi is her rival at the club where they work, and offers to help Kyung-ja get her revenge. However, this is all a lie; Chun-ae and Mo-mi are actually close friends as they grew up similarly ostracized and had extensive plastic surgery in order to start new lives. Mo-mi helps Chun-ae kill her abusive live-in partner, and the pair make their escape. Mo-mi reveals to Chun-ae that she is pregnant with Oh-nam's child. They are confronted by Kyung-ja, and in the melee, Kyung-ja shoots Chun-ae, who bludgeons Kyung-ja in the head before dying from her wound. Mo-mi dumps both of their bodies in a lake. Sometime later, she is arrested.</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>"Kim Mi-mo"</td><td>Kim Young-hoon</td><td>Kim Young-hoon</td><td>August 18, 2023 (2023-08-18)</td></tr><tr><td>Kim Mi-mo is Mo-mi and Oh-nam's biological daughter. As a baby, Mi-mo was given to her grandmother shortly before Mo-mi surrendered to police and was sent to prison. Growing up, Mi-mo is bullied for being Mask Girl's daughter and becomes a loner who frequently lashes out. At a new school, Mi-mo befriends Ye-chun, a compulsive liar who is also a loner. The pair grows extremely close – with Ye-chun implied to secretly have feelings for Mi-mo – and plan to run away together. One day, Mi-mo overhears that the other students have learned that she is the daughter of Mask Girl; Mi-mo beats up Ye-chun, assuming that she told everyone. However, the info was spread by Kyung-ja, who is still alive, working at a food truck parked outside the school.</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>"Kim Mo-mi"</td><td>Kim Young-hoon</td><td>Kim Young-hoon</td><td>August 18, 2023 (2023-08-18)</td></tr><tr><td>In prison, Mo-mi initially antagonizes An Eun-suk, a prisoner with powerful connections. Years later, an older Mo-mi receives an anonymous letter from Kyung-ja that contains a news article about Mi-mo's troubled life; Mo-mi attempts to escape but fails. After over a month in solitary confinement, Mo-mi seemingly turns over a new leaf and offers to donate her kidney to Eun-suk's daughter, who needs it. Kyung-ja, who has had slight plastic surgery to avoid police, meets Mo-mi and tells her about how she befriended Mi-mo, repeatedly sabotaged her life, and intends for Mo-mi to feel the same pain of the loss of a child.</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>"Mi-mo and Mo-mi"</td><td>Kim Young-hoon</td><td>Kim Young-hoon</td><td>August 18, 2023 (2023-08-18)</td></tr><tr><td>Mi-mo runs away to live with Kyung-ja, who is surprised when Mi-mo treats her lovingly. Despite having second thoughts, Kyung-ja attempts to strangle Mi-mo to death in front of a camera. Mo-mi is taken to the hospital for a kidney transplant and escapes. Mo-mi, Ye-chun, and Mi-mo's grandmother individually race to Kyung-ja's house. The trio arrives in time to save Mi-mo, but not before Kyung-ja stabs Mi-mo's grandmother to death. After the police arrive, Kyung-ja attempts to shoot Mi-mo, but Mo-mi sacrifices herself to protect her daughter and dies in Mi-mo's arms while Kyung-ja is shot by police. Afterward, Kyung-ja's crimes are exposed while Mi-mo is taken by Ye-chun's parents as a foster family. In order to cope with her trauma due to her mother's death, Mi-mo watches a childhood video of Mo-mi, who dances at a talent show, thanking her late mother for making her dream to be "loved by everyone".</td></tr></tbody></table>

Accolades

Mask Girl

<table><thead><tr><th>Award ceremony</th><th>Year</th><th>Category</th><th>Nominee / Work</th><th>Result</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards</td><td>2024</td><td>Best Supporting Actor</td><td>Ahn Jae-hong</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Best Supporting Actress</td><td>Yeom Hye-ran</td><td>Won</td></tr><tr><td>Baeksang Arts Awards</td><td>2024</td><td>Best Supporting Actor</td><td>Ahn Jae-hong</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Best Supporting Actress</td><td>Yeom Hye-ran</td><td>Won</td></tr><tr><td>Best New Actress</td><td>Lee Han-byeol</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Blue Dragon Series Awards</td><td>2024</td><td>Best Drama</td><td>Mask Girl</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Best Supporting Actor</td><td>Ahn Jae-hong</td><td>Won</td></tr><tr><td>Best Supporting Actress</td><td>Yeom Hye-ran</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Critics' Choice Awards</td><td>2024</td><td>Best Foreign Language Series</td><td>Mask Girl</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Seoul International Drama Awards</td><td>2024</td><td>Best Actress</td><td>Yeom Hye-ran</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Best Actor</td><td>Ahn Jae-hong</td><td>Won</td></tr></tbody></table>