The new weekend series “My Healing Love,” starring actress So Yoo-jin, centers on the life of hardworking wife Im Chi-woo, who bravely confronts every challenge that life throws at her.

Speaking to the press during a showcase event Tuesday, director Kim Sung-yong said the new show will feature elements of romance and comedy, with the plot and theme centering on family.

Im, 38, is shown as a wife, a daughter-in-law and a daughter before she feels the need to find her true self. Im tries her best to keep a healthy balance between work and home, but growing tensions and drama between family members push the character to her limit and cause her to “explode,” eventually plotting her escape.

(MBC)

Because Im has to take on a variety of part-time jobs -- delivery worker, cafe worker, shopkeeper and gas station attendant, to name a few -- So said she received training from professionals in the fields in an effort to appear more natural on the screen.

Kim, the director, also said the show would touch on the touchy subject of family relations in Korean society.

Whereas other Korean drama series often center on family secrets and secrets surrounding a character’s birth, Kim has chosen to stay away from such recurring themes and instead take a more realistic approach to family life.

The show, he said, will pose important questions about how much sacrifice and how many compromises should be expected for the sake of family.

While the show will focus on Im, showing how she navigates the difficulties she faces, viewers will also get to know her immature husband, Park Wan-Seung, who pushes Im’s buttons and becomes a significant source of stress.

In a trailer played at Thursday’s showcase event, Park, a troublemaker who likes to procrastinate, gets into a car accident and puts his family in debt. This is just a glimpse into the rocky journey that viewers will see the family go through on the show.

The 80-episode show, which launches this week, will air at 8:45 p.m. every Sunday.

By Yim Hyun-su (hyunsu@heraldcorp.com)