| Mask Girl | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Hangul | 마스크걸 |
| Revised Romanization | Maseukeugeol |
| McCune–Reischauer | Masŭk'ŭgŏl |
| Genre | |
| Based on | Mask Girl by Mae-mi and Hee-se |
| Developed by | Song Sang-beom (planning) |
| Written by | Kim Young-hoon |
| Directed by | Kim Young-hoon |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Jang Young-kyu |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 7 |
| Production | |
| Producers |
|
| Running time | 51–65 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | August 18, 2023 (2023-08-18) |
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,Nana,Go Hyun-jung,Ahn Jae-hong, andYeom Hye-ran.[3] It is based on theNaver webtoon of the same name by Mae-mi and Hee-se, which was published between 2015 and 2018.[4] It was released onNetflix on August 18, 2023.[5][6][7]
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.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Kim Mo-mi" | Kim Young-hoon | Kim Young-hoon | August 18, 2023 (2023-8-18) | |
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. | |||||
| 2 | "Ju Oh-nam" | Kim Young-hoon | Kim Young-hoon | August 18, 2023 (2023-8-18) | |
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. | |||||
| 3 | "Kim Kyung-Ja" | Kim Young-hoon | Kim Young-hoon | August 18, 2023 (2023-8-18) | |
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. | |||||
| 4 | "Kim Chun-ae" | Kim Young-hoon | Kim Young-hoon | August 18, 2023 (2023-8-18) | |
Kim Chun-ae tells Kyung-ja that Mo-mi is her rival at the club they work at, 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. | |||||
| 5 | "Kim Mi-mo" | Kim Young-hoon | Kim Young-hoon | August 18, 2023 (2023-8-18) | |
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 grow 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 of the school. | |||||
| 6 | "Kim Mo-mi" | Kim Young-hoon | Kim Young-hoon | August 18, 2023 (2023-8-18) | |
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. | |||||
| 7 | "Mi-mo and Mo-mi" | Kim Young-hoon | Kim Young-hoon | August 18, 2023 (2023-8-18) | |
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 transfer and escapes. Mo-mi, Ye-chun, and Mi-mo's grandmother individually race to Kyung-ja's house. The trio arrive 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 recover from 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". | |||||
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards | 2024 | Best Supporting Actor | Ahn Jae-hong | Won | [18] |
| Best Supporting Actress | Yeom Hye-ran | Won | |||
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2024 | Best Supporting Actor | Ahn Jae-hong | Won | [19] |
| Best Supporting Actress | Yeom Hye-ran | Won | |||
| Best New Actress | Lee Han-byeol | Nominated | [20] | ||
| Blue Dragon Series Awards | 2024 | Best Drama | Mask Girl | Nominated | [21][22] |
| Best Supporting Actor | Ahn Jae-hong | Won | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Yeom Hye-ran | Nominated | |||
| Critics' Choice Awards | 2024 | Best Foreign Language Series | Mask Girl | Nominated | [23] |
| Seoul International Drama Awards | 2024 | Best Actress | Yeom Hye-ran | Won | [24] |
| Best Actor | Ahn Jae-hong | Won |
