Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo (2016)
Title: Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo
Hangul: 역도요정 김복주
Writer: Yang Hee-seung, Kim Soo-jin
Director: Oh Hyun-jong, Nam Sung-woo
Network: MBC
Episodes: 16
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo Cast and Characters
Lee Sung-kyung as Kim Bok-joo
Nam Joo-hyuk as Jung Joon-hyung
Lee Jae-yoon as Jung Jae-yi
Kyung Soo-jin as Song Shi-ho
Cho Hye-jung as Jung Nan-hee
Lee Joo-young as Lee Seon-ok
Ji Il-joo as Jo Tae-kwon
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo Ending Explained
Does Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo Have a Happy Ending?
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo has a very happy ending. Bok-joo and Joon-hyung are in a happy relationship and are both national athletes training hard for the Tokyo Olympics. Bok-joo, Seon-ok, Nan-hee, and Joon-hyung all graduated. Jae-yi and Dr. Go are engaged and have set their wedding date. The series ends on a high note, with all characters maturing and on the path to achieving their dreams.
What Happened to Kim Bok-joo?
Bok-joo earns a spot on the national weightlifting team and leaves to start training at the Taereung National Training Center. She misses her friends, her father, and Joon-hyung.
While Bok-joo is away and focusing on her weightlifting training. Bok-joo’s father is hospitalized for a kidney transplant. However, Bok-joo is kept in the dark about her father’s condition as her father doesn’t want to worry her before her upcoming competition in China.
Bok-joo injures her back during training at Taereung, which worries her coach who gives her a day off to recover at home.
Upon returning home, Bok-joo finds out about her father’s kidney transplant despite the best attempts by Dae-ho, Joon-hyung, and her father. She promises her father that she will win the gold medal for him as long as he is okay after surgery.
Bok-joo wins her final competition in China, fulfilling her promise to her father to win the gold model.
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What Happened to Jung Joon-hyung?
Joon-hyung trains hard for his next swim meet, determined to win an invitation to join Bok-joo at Taereung. Joon-hyung overcomes his starting jitters but despite a strong swim, finishes in second place.
While Bok-joo settles in at Taereung, Joon-hyung turns his focus to improving his swimming times to earn a place at Taereung. Joon-hyung also keeps Bok-joo’s father company during his hospital stay and helps him keep Bok-joo in the dark about his condition.
He watches Bok-joo’s competition in China with Dae-ho and Bok-joo’s father and they are all overjoyed when she wins.
Joon-hyung gets the approval of Bok-joo’s father after they have a heart-to-heart conversation and Joon-hyung gushes about what a warm and loving person Bok-joo is.
Two years later, Joon-hyung is shown wearing a national team jacket, indicating that he has made the national team. According to his sunbae, Joon-hyung has finally moved up from being an alternate on the team.
He graduates alongside Bok-joo and introduces his family to Bok-ju’s family.
Do Bok-joo and Joon-hyung End Up Together?
Yes, Bok-joo and Joon-hyung end up together at the end of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo.
The two are briefly separated when Bok-joo leaves for Taereung to train and when she goes to a weightlifting competition in China.
While Bok-joo is away, he keeps Bok-joo’s father company while he’s in the hospital and helps him and Dae-ho keep his condition a secret from Bok-joo.
This leads to misunderstandings and tensions between Bok-joo and Joon-hyung with Bok-joo worrying that Joon-hyung is cheating.
When Bok-joo reaggravates her injury, she is given a day off to go home and recover. She and Joon-hyung spend time together but Joon-hyung’s suspicious behaviour upsets Bok-joo.
Despite Joon-hyung and everyone else’s best efforts, she finds out the truth about her father and realizes that Joon-hyung was looking after her father like she asked him to.
Two years later, Bok-joo and Joon-hyung introduce their families to one another on graduation day. Prior to this, the in-laws mostly communicated through Bok-joo and Joon-hyung and their chicken and vitamin deliveries.
Later, Bok-joo and Joon-hyung walk by their old haunts and reminisce about their time on campus. Bok-joo and Joon-hyung make a bet about who will win the most medals at the Tokyo Olympics.
Joon-hyung tells Bok-joo that if he wins a gold medal, they should get married. Bok-joo says she’ll think about it.
This counts as a marriage proposal right?
What Happened to Shi-ho?
Shi-ho decides to let go of her gymnastics dream. She starts seeing a therapist (finally) and interviewing for coaching positions.
What Happened to Seon-ok?
Two years later, Seon-ok graduates and pursues weightlifting on a pro team.
What Happened to Tae-kwon?
Two years later, Tae-kwon is a sergeant doing his mandatory military service. He is on leave to attend graduation.
Do Seon-ok and Tae-kwon End Up Together?
It’s unclear if Seok-ok and Tae-kwon end up together.
Seon-ok and Tae-kwon start dating secretly, with Nan-hee unknowingly third-wheeling their dates.
Two years later, Seon-ok and Tae-kwon are shown together with Nan-hee on graduation day and there is no confirmation if the two are still dating.
Do Jae-yi and Dr. Go End Up Together?
Yes, Jae-yi and Dr. Go end up together.
Two years later on Bok-joo and Joon-hyung’s graduation day, Bok-joo reveals that Jae-yi and Dr. Go have finally set a wedding date.
What Happened to Bok-joo’s father?
Bok-joo’s father has a kidney transplant surgery scheduled for the day of Bok-joo’s final competition in China.
Joon-hyung and Uncle Dae-ho look after him and help keep Bok-joo in the dark so she can focus on the competition and not worry about him.
He successfully undergoes his kidney transplant surgery.
What Happened to Uncle Dae-ho?
Uncle Dae-ho and Joon-hyung look after Bok-joo’s father and hide his condition from Bok-joo while she trains for her competition.
Dae-ho also gets a girlfriend, the cute delivery girl (whose name is never mentioned?) played by the amazing Kim Seul-gi.
Do Coach Yoon and Coach Choi End Up Together?
Yes, Coach Yoon and Choi end up together!
Two years later, Coach Yoon and Coach Choi are revealed to be together when they high-five and the team notices they’re wearing matching couple rings.
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo Ending Review
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo is one of the most consistently good kdramas I’ve ever watched. While many kdramas lose steam and falter in the end, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo was a strong drama all the way through.
There are no annoying last-minute twists and frustrating developments. The drama just chugs along as it has for the previous 15 episodes and I’m happy with that!
I wish we got to see what happened to Shi-ho. Her character got a lot of screentime in the drama and not seeing her after the drama jumped forward 2 years made her story feel unfinished. It would’ve been nice to see her as a coach or whatever path she chose to pursue after giving up gymnastics.
The Seon-ok and Tae-kwon relationship felt very underbaked and I was baffled at the time spent on them in the finale when they weren’t even shown when the drama jumped 2 years later. What was the point?
We didn’t really get to see them date or even know if they were still together in the end! Their relationship is one of the few missteps the drama made in 16 episodes.
What did you think of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo?
