Hong sisters

In 2015, they cast Yoo Yeon-seok and Kang So-ra in Warm and Cozy, set in a restaurant on Jeju Island. The title is the English translation of the Jeju dialect phrase "Mendorong Ttottot."

The Hongs reunited with Gong Hyo-jin in Master's Sun (2013), a horror romantic comedy with So Ji-sub about a woman who sees ghosts.

Big (2012), in which an 18-year-old and a 30-year-old swap bodies, starred Gong Yoo and Lee Min-jung. The drama is arguably the Hongs' least successful work thus far, lacking both in ratings and buzz.

Their next drama, 2011's The Greatest Love was again set amidst the gossipy and image-conscious world of entertainment, starring Cha Seung-won as the most beloved star in the nation who falls for a has-been pop singer (Gong Hyo-jin). The drama topped its timeslot during its run, and not only did it sweep the 2011 MBC Drama Awards (including the Writer of the Year award for the Hong sisters), Gong also won Best Actress at the 2012 Baeksang Arts Awards.

The Hongs played with Korean mythology for their next hit drama in 2010. In My Girlfriend Is a Nine-Tailed Fox, the gumiho (or nine-tailed fox) isn't the terrifying femme fatale of legend who feeds on human livers. Instead, she's a cute and clueless girl (played by Shin Min-ah) who loves to eat beef, while an aspiring stuntman (Lee Seung-gi) accompanies her in her quest to become human.

You're Beautiful (2009) starred Jang Keun-suk and Park Shin-hye, in which a naive nun cross-dresses as a male idol singer in a boy band. Unlike the Hongs' early work, the drama did not get high ratings, but it did create a cult following (or "mania" fan base) online and among international viewers. Such was its pan-Asian popularity that remakes were produced in Japan (Ikemen desu ne, 2011) and Taiwan (Fabulous Boys, 2013).

For Hong Gil-dong (2008), the Hongs based their protagonist on the fictional folk hero Hong Gil-dong, a Joseon-era Robin Hood who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. But the fusion period comedy-drama starring Kang Ji-hwan and Sung Yu-ri combined royal plotting and romance with over-the-top stunts, gaudy costumes, toilet humor and anachronistic modern music. The series was popular online, but received average ratings. It also won Best Miniseries at the 2008 Roma Fiction Fest.

The Hongs' winning streak continued with Couple or Trouble (also known as Fantasy Couple, 2006), a remake of the 1987 Hollywood film Overboard. It starred Han Ye-seul as a snooty heiress with amnesia who falls for a handyman played by Oh Ji-ho.

Sisters Hong Jung-eun and Hong Mi-ran were originally writers on a variety show. They made their TV drama writing debut in 2005 with Sassy Girl Chun-hyang, a modern retelling of the famous Korean folktale Chunhyangjeon in which Chun-hyang is no passive heroine, but a headstrong sassy girl. It became a huge hit not only in Korea, but throughout Asia. Their follow-up My Girl (2005), about a cheeky con artist who pretends to be the long-lost granddaughter of a rich man, was equally successful. The two dramas effectively made its young actors -- Han Chae-young and Jae Hee, and Lee Da-hae, Lee Joon-gi, and Lee Dong-wook -- into household names and Korean Wave stars.

Hong Jung-eun (born 1974) and Hong Mi-ran (born 1977), collectively known as the Hong sisters (Korean: 홍자매 ; Hanja: 洪姊妹 ; RR: Hong Jamae), are South Korean television screenwriters currently managed by Studio Dragon. Together, they have written popular romantic-comedies, notably My Girl (2005), You're Beautiful (2009), My Girlfriend Is a Nine-Tailed Fox (2010), The Greatest Love (2011), Master's Sun (2013), Hwayugi (2018) and Hotel del Luna (2019).