The World Of The Married is based on the 2017 British series Dr. Foster: A Woman Scorned and follows its main storyline. The main character in the drama is a successful doctor, who is happily married and has a son. She has a financially rewarding career while her husband is struggling with his business. She also has friends and colleagues who she thinks she can rely on.
However, there are several significant differences between the two TV dramas. The Korean adaptation alters some of the character's storylines in the original series as it progresses. So far, here are some of these differences.
Sun Woo's (Kim Hee Ae) patient Hyun Soo (Shim Eun Woo) and boyfriend Park In Gyu (Lee Hak Joo)
Hyun Soo and her boyfriend In Gyu play major roles in the life of Sun Woo and her husband, Tae Oh (Park Hae Joon), in The World Of The Married than their British counterparts. In the K-drama, Hyun Soo befriended Tae Oh's mistress, Da Kyung (Han So Hee), after Tae Oh's mother died and Sun Woo saw them kissing in his car. In Doctor Foster, Gemma's (Suranne Jones) patient, Carly (Clare-Hope Ashitey), connected to Simon's (Bertie Carvel) mistress, Kate (Jodie Comer), early on in the series.
In Gyu also blackmailed Sun Woo for using his girlfriend in following Tae Oh and Kate. In the BBC One series, Carly's boyfriend, Daniel (Ricky Nixon), did not blackmail Gemma. In fact, it was Gemma who tried to pay Daniel so he would drop the complaint against her.
Most importantly, In Gyu constantly harassed Sun Woo on Tae Oh's order in WOTM. He also brutally attacked the doctor when she was alone at home. In Doctor Foster, Daniel was only seen in Season 1 and he doesn't have any interactions with Simon at all.
Sun Woo's neighbors vs Foster's neighbors and Sun Woo's colleague Dr. Sul
Sun Woo's neighbors, couple Son Je Hyuk (Kim Young Min) and Ko Ye Rim (Park Sun Young), are having conflict about having a baby. This was laid out early on in the K-drama but wasn't tackled much in the British show.
After Tae Oh's affair was revealed, Sun Woo's relationship with her neighbor turned sour. She slept with Je Hyuk only to get financial information about Tae Oh's business.
In Doctor Foster, Gemma's relationship with Neil (Adam James) and Anna Baker (Victoria Hamilton) improved overtime despite everything that happened between them. Neil also helped Gemma to find out how Simon became rich and he and Anna have a great relationship with Gemma and Simon's son, Tom (Tom Taylor).
Gemma also rekindled friendship with her fellow doctor, Ros (Thusitha Jayasundera). The OB-Gyne specialist was one of the people who knew about Simon's affair but kept it a secret from Gemma. Ros betrayed her once but it never happened again.
In the Korean adaptation, it is the opposite. Dr. Sul (Chae Gook Hee) continued to work behind Sun Woo's back. She is even eyeing for Sun Woo's position at the hospital.
Tae Oh's feelings toward Sun Woo post-divorce
Both Tae Oh and Simon treated their ex-wives harshly when they returned to town, two years after their divorce. But Tae Oh seems to still have feelings for his ex-wife as compared to Simon.
In the BBC One series, it looks like what Simon feels about Gemma when he returns to his hometown was anger until the end. It is also worthy to note that Da Yung appeared in many scenes in The World Of The Married as compared to Kate's screen time in Doctor Foster.
Father and son's relationship during the affair
Both sons in the dramas have a great relationship with their dads. However, they have different circumstances on how they discover the secret affair of their father.
Tom did not know the affair until the last episode of Season 1 although he suspects that something is going on between his parents. Tom only finds out about Kate when Gemma drops him off at her place where Simon spent the night after the confrontation at Park's house.
In the Korean adaptation, there was a similar scene but it wasn't Tae Oh's son, Yoon Young (Jeon Jin Seo), in the door. It was a delivery man who served with the divorce papers. Joon Young found out about the ex-marital affair in the early episodes after he saw the video of his father and Da Yung kissing at Tae Oh's birthday party.
Moreover, Tae Oh fought for the custody of his son and questioned Sun Woo's state of mind to the hospital executive. Whereas in the original series, Simon seems to have taken his son for granted and took off town with his mistress.
Sun Woo's traumatic past, wedding portrait, song ("My One and Only Love"), and romance backstory
All of these were seen or mentioned on several occasions in The World Of The Married. Sun Woo and Tae Oh romance backstory and wedding were played in almost all opening scenes in the Korean adaptation. Tae Oh also used the death of Sun Woo's mother due to a car crash to throw her ex-wife's mental state out of balance.
In Doctor Foster, how Gemma and Simon met was mentioned in passing over family dinner. Gemma's trauma when her mother died and her and Simon's favorite song were only mentioned towards the end of the series.
There are just five of the differences between the two TV series. There could be more as The World Of The Married air its remaining episodes and how it will end this month. Episode 11 airs on May 1 on JTBC.
