High Kick Through the Roof () was a popular South Korean situation comedy revolving around the life of the Lee family.
Cast Soon-jae's House Lee Soon-jae (, Lee Soon-jae) President of the self-named food company Lee Soon-jae F&B (Food & Beverage) and family patriarch (grandfather of Hae-ri and Jun-hyeok) in the drama. His distinguishing characteristic is his explosive farting. His first wife, Hyun-kyung's own mother, died several years ago from shock after misunderstanding his relationship with a secretary. Soon-jae's romantic pursuit of Kim Ja-ok causes conflict with his family, both due to his wife's death and Soon-Jae's own inconsiderate and rash behavior with regards to his girlfriend. He is largely contemptuous of his son-in-law Bo-Seok, whom he sees as an incompetent buffoon. He is also unreasonably jealous of Ja-ok's boarder Julien, seeing Julien as a romantic rival. He and Ja-ok get engaged and marry later in the series.
Lee Hyun-kyung (, Oh Hyun-kyung) A former taekwondo champion, Hyun-kyung is a strong-willed woman who firmly runs her household. She enrolled in Teacher's college and learned Taekwondo as her specialty. When she attended university, she met Bo-Seok and married him. A PE teacher at her son's high school, she and the vice principal (Ja-ok) often have personality conflicts. She rarely takes issues personally and is a disciplinarian both at home and at work. Although thrifty, she is generous to people when the situation merits. Towards the end of the series, she becomes pregnant.
Jeong Bo-seok (, Jeong Bo-seok) Hyun-kyung's husband and the bumbling Vice President of Lee Soon-jae F&B (Food & Beverage). Before He graduated university, he specialised in Baseball. He is often ignored and disregarded in household matters because of his low IQ and lack of common sense. However, he is also his daughter's favourite relative, and is a man of good intentions. Unfortunately, his lack of intelligence earns him no respect within the family, particularly his father-in-law and wife. He is often a scapegoat of his father-in-law's mistakes but is also the cause of many of the company's problems. Middle-aged Japanese women find him irresistible (thus the nickname Bo-sama), and non-household members often find him initially charming. He is also good at foot volleyball; at an inter-business championship, he led his team to victory.
Lee Ji-hoon (, Choi Daniel) Hyun-kyung's brother who also lives with her family. He is perceived as cold-hearted but he is just too preoccupied with work matters to pay close attention to those around him. He is actually a warm, lovely, and funny man with a big heart. A graduate of Seoul National University's Medical School, he is a third-year surgical resident at Chorok Hospital. He is intellectually gifted and has many achievements, but does not boast or brag about them. Although he lives with his family, he is largely indifferent to household matters as his work keeps him away. He is the first in his family to reach out to Se-kyung and Shin-ae. Through a variety of comic circumstances, he also falls in love with Jun-hyeok's tutor, Hwang Jung-eum. They begin dating but due to Hwang Jung-eum's financial difficulty, she forces Ji-hoon to break up with her. At last, Ji-hoon realizes that Se-kyung likes him, but he can't reciprocate his feelings due to still loving Jung-eum and intends to get back with her. In the last episode, it was hinted that, when he was driving Se-kyung to the airport for her flight to Tahiti, he faced a tragic car accident due to heavy rain.
Jeong Jun-Hyuk (, Yoon Shi-yoon) The tough, semi-rebellious teenage son of Lee Hyun-kyung and Jeong Bo-seok, and Hae-ri's older brother. He is lax in his studies, but is sharp and a good judge of character. He is initially very rude to his new tutor, Jeong-eum, but later comes to accept her because of her sincerity and begins to like her. Upon realizing Se-kyung's charms and beauty, he develops an intense crush on his noona (term for an older female), willing to do anything for her, such as doing housework and taking her & Shin-ae on playdates. Like his uncle, he has a soft heart and is caring for others, especially the Shin sisters. Jung-eum mistakenly thinks he loves her until she sees a picture of Se-kyung in his notebook. He's known for fighting in school and is best friends with Kang Sae-ho. He is jealous of Se-kyung's attraction toward his uncle and continually tries to impress her. He succeeds in making her to like him but loses to his uncle in winning her heart.
Jeong Hae-ri (, Jin Ji-hee) Daughter of Lee Hyun-kyung and Jeong Bo-seok, and Jun-hyeok's younger sister. Hae-ri is a spoiled, rotten and selfish elementary school girl. She is initially abusive towards Shin-ae, but later grows quite attached to her, but would never verbally admit it. She has a voracious love of kalbi (a short rib dish), which often causes her constipation. She is rude to those she dislikes. As such, her trademark phrase is "bbangkkuttongkku" (), which approximately translates to "farty butthole"; she also speaks to elders in banmal (casual speech). Like her father, she is not academically gifted and shows little ambition to do anything other than inherit her grandfather's riches and live in wealth her entire life. It was revealed that in the future, she will be married to Se-ho. Shin Soo-yeon as young Jeong Hae-ri Park Shin-hye as adult Jeong Hae-ri
Se Kyeong's House Jung Seok-yeong as Shin Dal-hoSe-kyung and Shin-ae's father. Although he lives with his daughters in what Se-kyung accurately describes as Stone-age farming conditions in the mountains, he is quickly found by debt-sharks after being photographed on a blog and essentially drops from the story after his daughters arrive in Seoul. Shin Se-kyung (, Shin Se-kyung) : The series centres around Se-kyung and Shin-ae's involvement with the Lee family. Se-kyung is Shin-ae's highly reserved older sister and finds work as the Lee household's live-in housekeeper after a mad escapade involving her father's debt to some loan sharks. She is diligent and frugal, but also initially lacks aspirations. She is clearly more intelligent than her position allows for and longs to go to school as her peers do. Other characters come to admire her, particularly Jun-hyeok and Julien. She is unaware of most of her virtues (including beauty) and approaches the modernity of Seoul with wide-eyed bewilderment and willingness to try new things. She knows Jun-hyeok's love for her before he reveals it. She does like Jun-hyeok, but she really loves Ji-hoon. Julien also had a crush on her from the beginning, which is revealed later in the series. She eventually quits her job to immigrate to Tahiti with her family, but it was hinted in the last episode that she faced a tragic death along with Ji-hoon who was driving her to Seoul - Incheon International Airport in a car accident as their car slipped due to heavy rainfall. Shin Shin-ae (, Seo Shin-ae) : Se-kyung's younger sister. Her bright-eyed enthusiasm earns her top grades at her school, despite her having been living in the backwoods of Taebaek for several years. She has boundless energy and has a close knit, loving relationship with her older sister. She has a charming personality and cuteness that wins over almost everyone she meets, with the notable exception of Hye-ri.
Ja-ok's House
Kim Ja-ok (, Kim Ja-ok) Soon-jae's girlfriend and Deputy head teacher of Hyun-kyung's high school. She resides at Traditional Korean House in Bukchon Hanok Village, Samcheong-dong, Jongno District and let some rooms for tenants. She sees herself as a highly delicate and stereotypically feminine young lady, despite her advanced years. Although her relationship with Lee Soon-jae reflects this aspect of her personality, Ja-ok is also revealed as a firm landlady and an overbearing individual in her relationship with Hyun-kyung, who is the P.E. teacher at her school. Ms. Ja-ok is the Deputy head teacher of the high school (also attended by Jun-hyeok), and is known as the "Pervert Deputy head teacher" because she twists male students' nipples as a form of corporal punishment. Her personal preferences and behaviours are that of a little girl; she sleeps with a teddy bear and decorates her room as such. She later marries Soon-jae and becomes Hyun-kyung's stepmother.
Hwang Jung-eum (, Hwang Jung-eum) Jun-hyuk's English tutor and boarder of Kim Ja-ok. Jung-eum is a below-average university student attending the fictitious Seowoon University, a low-level university outside of Seoul. However, due to an error, Hyun-kyung mistakenly recognises her as a Seoul National University student and hires her as Jun-hyeok's tutor. She takes the job out of desperation and conceals her true university enrolment as a secret for most of the series. She is fiscally irresponsible because of her obsession with being fashionable, feminine, and cute. Despite her cutesy mannerisms, Jung-eum has a strong personality that drives her to do impossible things. She falls in love with Ji-hoon through a series of incidents but initially disdains his cold and (to her) arrogant personality while also rejecting Sae-ho's teenage crush on her. She later develops a serious relationship and dates with Ji-hoon. But then she forces him to break up with her due to her financial difficulties. She eventually secures stable employment which she would perform well enough to be promoted to management 3 years later.
Julien (, Julien Kang) An American expatriate who lives at Kim Ja-ok's traditional Korean house. He is an English teacher at Poongpa High School where Ja-Ok is the Deputy Head Teacher. He is fluent in Korean, American French and American English because of his French American roots. He bonds with the Shin sisters when he takes them in and helps them to find work in Seoul, and continues his friendship with the sisters after they begin living in the Lee household. He is highly attractive because of his height, model-like looks, and toned physique, and is seen constantly working out.
Yoo In-na (, Yoo In-na) A carefree friend and co-boarder with Jung-eum and Julien. In-na is in a long-term relationship with Kwang-soo, and hopes to become a famous singing group with him. Although Jung-eum's friend, In-na is highly aware of her tendency to not repay loans and mooching off others. She eventually succeeds in becoming an idol.
Lee Kwang-soo (, Lee Kwang-soo) In-na's boyfriend and Kim Ja-ok's least favourite boarder because of her prejudice against his ungainly appearance. He is kind and very supportive of his girlfriend, even though she finds success and fame without him.
Other characters
Kang Se-ho (, Lee Gi-kwang) : Jun-hyeok's best friend and high school buddy. Academically gifted and physically fit, he quickly develops a tremendous crush on Hwang Jung-eum and becomes her merely annoying "stalker," often shutting himself in Jun-hyeok's closet during tutoring sessions to just to watch her. He is Jun-hyeok's confidant and encourages him to confess his love for Se-kyung. It was revealed that in the future, he will be married to Hae-ri. Lee Bong-won as Mr BongDirector of Lee Soon-jae F&B. Mainly manages the day-to-day operations. He is also fluent in Japanese, so he usually interpret between Korean and Japanese Song Ju-yeon as Song Ju-yeonHae-ri and Shin-ae's elementary school teacher. Hong Sun-chang as Hong Sun-changThe Principal of Jun-hyeok's high school, and a rival for Ja-ok's attentions. Im Chae-hong as Im Chae-hongLee Soon-jae F&B's official chauffeur. Lee Seo-hyun as Yoon Seo-hyunA contract P.E. instructor. Baek Seung-hee as Baek Seung-heeSecretary to Lee Soon-jae, and thus subject to Soon-jae's explosive and smelly gas attacks.