Lee Myung-Hee is a supporting character in the Korean comedy-drama series entitled Strong Girl Nam-Soon. The character is played on screen by Choi Hee-jin.
Owner of great wealth Hwang Geum-Ju lacks one thing in her life. That is her daughter Gang Nam-Soon, who went missing at age five during a trip with her father in Mongolia.
Geum-Ju has tried everything to find her but all her efforts failed until she encounters a girl named Hwa-Ja, whose story and physical attributes match a whole lot to those of Geum-Ju’s precious daughter.
The reunion
Geum-Ju has hosted a world championship game for years where she and other judges bear witness to a number of strong girls from across the world.
These games are hosted in order to possibly find Nam-Soon one day. Geum-Ju’s family has always had unnaturally strong women, and Nam-Soon was no different before she went missing.
Naturally, she’d grow up to be strong and if by chance her talents in super strengths find their way to this contest, they would shine the brightest, making it very easy for Geum-Ju to know that she’s her daughter.
When Hwa-Ja takes part in the contest, Geum-Ju thinks she’s finally found her Nam-Soon, owing to the fact that Hwa-Ja is so distinctly stronger than the other women. Her husband and others do cast doubt but she’s convinced.
She confirms it further by asking Hwa-Ja about her upbringing. She says she has always been in an orphanage and has been in Mongolia since she was five.
Later on, Geum-Ju even spots a birthmark at the bottom of her foot like her husband talked about. However, her conformations are but all invalid, with the truth behind Hwa-Ja’s real identity being sinister.
The truth
Hwa-Ja is actually Lee Myung-Hee. She’s a fraudster and works with a gang of thieves and hooligans. They are the ones who initially set this plan in motion to rob Geum-Ju.
They plan on stealing all the riches that are kept inside the grand safe at her house when Lee Myung-Hee finds out about it and informs her accomplices about it as well.
However, ditching that plan for a new one, Myung-Hee decides that she wants to stay as Geum-Ju’s daughter and keep exploiting her that way. To make this happen, she knows she must get rid of Nam-Soon.
She tracks her down and sends her gang to destroy the Ger Nam-Soon had made at the park by the Han River. They do just that but also invite Nam-Soon’s wrath, getting absolutely pummeled in the process.
Myung-Hee witnesses from afar, in shock and horror, before bolting off. Meanwhile, Nam-Soon and Geum-Ju finally reunite, and wanted posters are put up everywhere for Lee Myung-Hee, as she’s hunted for the crime of fraud with a reward of five million upon finding her.
The way forward
With the police looking for her and numerous wanted posters with her face plastered all over, she has to keep busy and keep moving.
She needs a new identity which she gets with the help of her best friend, who hooks her up with the identification of a lady who’s been dead for three years.
Next, she needs a job, which she gets at the logistics company owned by Ryu Si-O. They are hiring female delivery drivers in bulk for secret, nefarious reasons but this is the perfect job for Lee Myung-Hee, who immediately gets on it and starts working.
Meanwhile, judging by the way Geum-Ju always insisted on her secretary Na-Young to be easy on her, despite knowing she’s not her daughter and is up to no good, it’s easy to assume that she’d still be looking for her.
Nam-Soon is also shown to be curious about her whereabouts and since she has such great empathy for disadvantaged people who are forced into crime, she is sure to go easy on her and accept her as her own in the near future.
As for Lee Myung-Hee, things are not so great and she definitely harbors resentment for Nam-Soon and also for the unfairness she has had to contend with, even saying at one point that no one will look for her even when she dies.
She feels all alone in the world and whether it’s because she’s really an orphan or because of some other reason, is not explored thus far in the show.
Also Read: Gang Nam-Soon: Strong Girl Nam-Soon character explained