Song Ji Hyo’s casting in tvN’s weekend drama 100 Days of Deception has sparked speculation about the identities of two mysterious characters: Lee Ga Kyung’s (played by Kim You Jung) mother and Kim Tae Woong’s (Park Jin Young) mother.
Kim Tae Woong is the adopted son of Sato Shinichi (Jin Sun Kyu), the Japanese Government-General of Korea’s chief of political affairs. Although he was born in Korea, he now lives under the Japanese name Sato Hideo.
Song Ji Hyo first appeared in Episode 4, which aired on October 18th. During a flashback to Kim Tae Woong’s childhood, a woman was shown from behind as she greeted him with, “Did you have a good day?” Her face remained hidden, and she had only a brief line. However, some viewers immediately speculated that Song Ji Hyo was playing the character because of her signature voice. Their guess was proven right just a day later.
The character’s name has not yet been revealed. According to the drama’s storyline, she was Sato Shinichi’s Korean wife who disappeared after giving birth to a daughter. Sato Shinichi later left for Japan with Kim Tae Woong and his newborn daughter.
Kim Tae Woong’s adoptive mother was the first person he opened his heart to. After he became Sato Shinichi’s adopted son, he found comfort in the fact that his new mother was Korean, just like him. He once asked whether he could call her “eomeoni,” the Korean word for mother, instead of “okaasan,” the Japanese term. She agreed.
More than a decade later, Kim Tae Woong returned to Gyeongseong and began searching for her behind his father’s back.
Episode 4 offered the clearest look yet at his search. Kim Tae Woong told Ryu Gwansil (Seo Jeong Yeon), a Korean housekeeper who manages the household, that he had been looking for his mother ever since arriving in Gyeongseong. He also asked whether she knew his mother’s Korean name, but she said she had never heard it.
The drama also introduced a potential clue. While sorting through his belongings in Tokyo, Kim Tae Woong found a sewing kit his mother had left behind. Inside was a pawn ticket bearing the name “Shin Tae Jin.” He remembered seeing his mother carefully handling the sewing kit when he was young, so he kept the ticket in his wallet. However, Lee Ga Kyung pickpocketed him and took the wallet, making the ticket an object that ultimately connected the two protagonists.
Meanwhile, viewers have begun wondering whether Lee Ga Kyung’s mother could be the same woman. In Episode 3, a gangster named Mun Mak claimed that Ga Kyung’s mother had been a Kisaeng who served Japanese men. Kisaeng were enslaved women from outcast or enslaved families who were trained to be courtesans, providing artistic entertainment and conversation to men of the upper class. Ga Kyung grew up facing judgment from other Koreans because of her mother’s reputation, which also contributed to her reluctance to embrace the independence movement.
Some viewers have pointed to a necklace that appears in scenes involving both women, along with similarities in their circumstances. Both are portrayed as Korean women connected to Japanese men, fueling speculation that they may be the same person.
Another theory suggests that Ga Kyung’s mother may have disguised herself as a Kisaeng to approach Japanese men while secretly working as an independence activist. However, the drama has yet to confirm either theory.
Meanwhile, 100 Days of Deception continues to gain viewers. According to Nielsen Korea, Episode 4 recorded an average nationwide household rating of 9.0%, with its peak reaching 9.8% and setting a new personal best for the series. The drama ranked No. 1 across all channels, including public broadcasters. It also topped all channels among viewers aged 20 to 49, a key demographic for tvN.
100 Days of Deception airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9:10 PM KST on tvN.
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