Review: My Girlfriend is a Nine-tailed Fox

WARNING: Although mainly spoiler-free, this article contains light spoilers for "My Girlfriend is a Gumiho." If you do not wish to be spoiled, read at your own risk.

To understand why "My Girlfriend is a Gumiho" is such an appealing drama, you need to know what exactly a "gumiho" is. Foxes, particularly cunning ones, are a staple of global folk tales, and the Korean gumiho is a malicious, usually female, nine-tailed fox. They can assume the appearance of a beautiful woman, and eat either human hearts or livers to survive. The most shocking thing about the gumiho, however, is how the male protagonists of these traditional folktales eliminate them — often by tearing off their clothes, thus unveiling the monster within. The message is clear: Women are monsters, and it’s up to men to suppress their demonic nature.

The gumiho, like other dangerous mythical creatures, appears often in television and movies. So what makes "My Girlfriend is a Gumiho" such a standout? The way it subverts, carefully and beautifully, the sexist legend. The gumiho is childish and kind, but doesn’t shy away from her true nature — she has an insatiable appetite for meat and a very high interest in sex. She is neither a bloodthirsty monster (the legends turn out to be rumors spread by jealous women) nor an ashamed recluse, but rather a (usually) friendly girl who happens to be a centuries-old fox spirit.


Miho shows off her nine tails after Daewoong gives her a couple ring. Her tails come out in the moonlight, or simply when she's very happy.

"My Girlfriend is a Gumiho" starts by introducing the audience to Cha Daewoong (singer and variety star Lee Seunggi), a bratty, wealthy university student who aspires to become an action star. Although he has many admirers, his two closest friends are Sunnyeo (T-ara’s Hyomin), the daughter of a famous action director who runs the "action school" Daewoong attends, and Byungsoo (Kim Hochang), an aspiring director himself. He’s also nursing a crush on Hyein (Park Soojin), another aspiring actress, who doesn’t seem to return his feelings but is clearly pleased by the attention.


Daewoong, lost in the countryside, looks for shelter. He eventually wanders to a temple, where he unwittingly helps Miho escape.

After Daewoong’s grandfather cuts him off the family funds and threatens to send him away to school, Daewoong stows away in the back of a truck and ends up in the countryside. While Daewoong looks for shelter, a mysterious voice commands him to draw nine tails on a painting of a fox and an old woman. Frightened (despite his arrogance, Daewoong is hilariously wimpy), he complies, but runs from the temple when a storm arrives. He’s greeted by a cheerful Gu Miho (Shin Mina), newly freed from her constraints, in the morning.


Miho removes the fox bead keeping Daewoong alive. Pitying him, she returns it just minutes later, and he keeps it for most of the drama.

Daewoong wants nothing to do with Miho and refuses to believe she isn’t human, but after returning to Seoul discovers he’s seriously injured and Miho’s magic "fox bead" is the only thing keeping him alive. Despite his faults, Miho, who adores human society and "new" inventions such as soda, grows to like him and decides to become human with the help of a mysterious doctor named Park Dongjoo (No Minwoo). However, the transformation from gumiho to human takes 100 days and requires deadly sacrifices — as Daewoong and Miho fall in love, they scramble to subvert the spell so neither of them will suffer.


Daewoong and Miho look at the calendar counting the days until the spell takes complete hold. Unless they can defy supernatural forces, one of them will die at the end of the 100-day period.

Shin Mina’s Miho is, far and away, the standout character of this drama. Although sometimes she is a little too abnormal, she steals all of her scenes with her likability and hilarious quirkiness. In addition to her libido and undying love for beef, Miho adores beer, thinks body lotions are tasty treats, and is incredibly curious about other mythical creatures, prompting Dongjoo to buy her a picture book of "The Little Mermaid" (Naturally, "My Girlfriend is a Gumiho" draws countless parallels between the two stories). Although Miho is devoted to Daewoong, her gumiho nature isn't the only unconventional thing about her — she’s completely selfless, and although she knows she’s pretty (another one of her powers, of course, is instant attraction), it takes Daewoong’s intervention to get her to shower and wear clean clothes. Miho is a perfect foil for Hyein, who sabotages Miho not because she loves Daewoong, but because she craves the attention and admiration of others.


"Gumiho" draws several parallels between "The Little Mermaid" and Miho's dilemma; Dongjoo initially buys it for her so that she'll realize what she eventually must do -- Kill Daewoong. However, Daewoong knows how the story ends and rips out the final pages, giving Miho the Disney version of the ending.

In fact, despite being the "main" protagonist, it’s Daewoong that’s surprisingly well-written. He starts as a wimpy but arrogant man-child and over the course of the show, takes responsibility for his actions, comes to love something other than himself, and bravely challenges supernatural forces. Lee Seunggi’s acting is often over-the-top, fitting the way Daewoong thinks his life is an action movie, but you can’t help but like him as he, slowly but surely, grows up into a decent human being. Daewoong and Miho are compelling as individuals, but they’re explosive as a couple, and it’s their relationship and the trials it faces that make the drama so interesting.


Daewoong gives his grandfather his signature cheesy thumbs-up. As an aspiring action star, he acts as if he's perpetually in a movie.

The trouble, however, is that none of the "important" side characters or subplots are nearly as developed as the main couple. Hyein competes with Miho for a few episodes, but instead of stepping aside or becoming supportive once she "loses" Daewoong, she meddles. This isn’t uncommon in romantic comedies, but Hyein doesn’t pack much of a punch and instead becomes an unwanted nuisance. Dongjoo’s role is only slightly less deflated; there’s no real villain in "My Girlfriend is a Gumiho," but he tries his hardest to be one. Up until the final moments, he urges Miho to join his pointless lifestyle, living in a city for a few years, making no friends, and leaving once locals realize he doesn’t age. Unlike Hyein, Dongjoo’s meddling is fairly rational and poses a real threat to the central couple, but a mix of poor writing and uninspired acting make him a completely boring character. Not even No Minwoo’s pretty face can make him interesting. A disproportionate amount of screen time is also awarded to a romance between Daewoong’s aunt and Sunnyeo’s director father, which, despite the slapstick antics, manages to be the most flat-out boring part of the show.



Miho, with a chew toy, and Dongjoo watch TV. Other than magic, Dongjoo is the main obstacle between Daewoong and Miho, but doesn't manage to be very interesting in the process.

The Hong Sisters’ 2011 drama, "The Greatest Love," improves on "Gumiho"’s flaws, with more reasonable plot points, better-written satellite characters, and less time devoted to uninteresting ones. But "Gumiho," despite these flaws, is a very enticing drama with a sweet, innocent love story between two people who, through each other, learn to be human.

Source: Koreaboo.com

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