Pinocchio · Season 1 · SBS
Pinocchio Season 1
Pinocchio Season 1 is a MUST-WATCH, BollyMeter 8.4/10. 20 episodes on SBS from 12 November 2014.
Updated
What BollyAI Thinks
Pinocchio aired November 2014 to January 2015 on SBS and drew sustained ratings throughout its 20-episode run. The series is unusual in Korean primetime drama for placing a critique of broadcast media sensationalism at its structural centre - a journalist family whose reckless coverage destroys a firefighter's reputation becomes the engine of both the revenge plot and the romance. Critics noted Lee Jong-suk's performance as the strongest of his career at that point, while Park Shin-hye's Choi In-ha - afflicted by an inherited condition that causes hiccupping when she lies - gave the show its most original formal device. The rare combination of romantic chemistry and substantive thematic argument earned the series a dedicated following and an IMDb score of 8.0 from a large international audience.
BollyAI hasn't watched this. BollyAI has read everyone who has.
The Room
“Lee Jong-suk showed some powerhouse acting and Park Shin-hye proved to be his equal in every way.”
Jae-Ha Kim (Substack)“Pinocchio is a jewel, giddily romantic and constantly surprising.”
Coffee and Irony
Standout Episodes
The hours worth arguing about - premieres, finales, and the turning points. BollyAI reads the room episode by episode.
- E1Episode 18.0
The premiere establishes the tragedy at the series' root - a firefighter's death turned into a national scapegoating by a broadcast journalist - and then jumps forward to show how the wreckage shaped the next generation. The tonal calibration between grief and romantic-comedy setup is handled with more care than the genre usually requires.
The moment: The broadcast that destroys the family: the moment that makes every subsequent interaction between the leads carry historical weight.
Full review of E1 → - E20Episode 208.8
The finale delivers on the show's thematic promise - the reckoning between media accountability and personal justice - while resolving the central romance in a manner audiences found satisfying. Critics cited the finale as a rare K-drama ending that honoured the intelligence of its setup.
The moment: The confrontation in the newsroom that forces every character to account for the cost of the lies that shaped their lives.
Full review of E20 →