Plot

An art history lecturer, unfairly disgraced for refusing to certify a suspicious painting, endeavors to set the record straight by exploring the mystery of a 16th-century artist using a diary that may lead her to the genuine painting.

An art history lecturer, unfairly disgraced by her superior for refusing to certify a suspicious painting, endeavors to set the record straight by exploring the mystery of a 16th-century artist using a diary that may lead her to the genuine painting.

Seo Ji Yoon (Lee Young Ae) is an art history lecturer who has devoted the best years of her life to earning her Ph.D. and working under her mentor, department chairman Min Jung Hak (Choi Jong Hwan), in the hopes of being named a full-time professor at her university. When Jung Hak entrusts Ji Yoon to write the thesis for his find-of-the-century historical painting, "An Gyeon's Mount Geumgang," Ji Yoon is ecstatic and finally feels like she is about to earn her professorship. But in a matter of days, her whole world comes crashing down around her. First, her husband, Jung Min Seok (Lee Hae Young), suddenly becomes a fugitive when his company comes under investigation and the Russian Mafia comes after him for dirty money, forcing Ji Yoon, her son, and her mother-in-law, Kim Jung Hee (Kim Hae Sook), to be kicked out of their home. Then, Ji Yoon's career comes to a crashing halt when grad student Han Sang Hyun (Yang Se Jong) publicly challenges the authenticity of the Mount Geumgang painting and Ji Yoon does not adequately defend Jung Hak's reputation. An enraged Jung Hak has Ji Yoon fired and ostracized from the art history community. At the bottom of her life, Ji Yoon discovers the secret diary of Shin Saimdang (1504-1551), a Korean artist, writer, calligraphist and poet who was the mother of Yi I, one of the two most prominent Korean Confucian scholars during the Joseon Dynasty. The diary sheds new light on the life of Saimdang (also played by Lee Young Ae, her relationship with painter Lee Gyeom (Song Seung Heon), and the Mount Geumgang painting. With the help of Sang Hyun and her best friend, Go Hye Jung (Park Jun Myun), an antiquities researcher, can Ji Yoon get her life and career back?

Lee Young Ae (Jewel in the Palace) and Song Seung Hun (Autumn in My Heart, When a Man Loves) star in a historical drama about the untold story of the artist who defied the limitations of her society and became a legend. Seo Ji Yoon (Lee Young Ae) is a Korean art history lecturer who discovers the diary of historical figure Shin Saimdang (also Lee Young Ae), an artist and mother of famed 16th century Korean Confucian scholar Yulgok. In Seo Ji Yoon's world, Saimdang is a legend who is even on the 50,000 won bill. In Joseon times, that legend was still in the making and Saimdang was simply known as a bold and talented artist, poet, and calligraphist. Those qualities were enough to leave a lasting impression on Lee Gyeom (Song Seung Hun), a fictional character who was basically the Renaissance Man of the dynasty as a talented writer, musician, and dancer in his own right. From the moment he met the young Saimdang, he dedicated his life to purely her love. As Seo Ji Yoon learns more about Saimdang through her diary, she begins to unravel the secret behind a historical painting and unearths the unbelievable truth behind one of history's biggest mysteries. Adding to the drama are Whieumdang Choi (You Are All Surrounded and All About Marriage alum Oh Yoon Ah), a girl from a humble background who once wished to better Saimdang as an artist but could not do so and blames her for the rejection she faced at the hands of Lee Gyeom, and Lee Won Soo (Jealousy Incarnate actor Yoon Da Hoon), Saimdang's husband who is less than fond of his wife's closeness with an incredibly talented and gorgeous artist. Also known as "Saimdang, Her Story," Saimdang: Light's Diary is directed by Yun Sang Ho, who fans will remember from his work on Bride of the Century, and written by Park Eun Ryeong, who last worked with the same director on Saving Mrs. Go Bong Shil. The series marks Lee Young Ae's return to the screen, nearly thirteen years after her work on Jewel in the Palace.