The Heirs is a 2013 Korean drama about the heir to a conglomerate business, who falls in love with the daughter of his housekeeper.
Synopsis[]
The world at your feet and the weight of the world on your shoulders.
Children of the super-elite class bear the burden of success as they are being groomed as heirs to their family business empires despite only being in high school. Kim Tan (Lee Min Ho) is the heir to the Empire Group, a family conglomerate business. But he lives under the constant shadow of his older half-brother, Kim Won (Choi Jin Hyuk), who is already an accomplished young executive in the family business. Despite being betrothed to the wealthy and haughty Rachel Yoo (Kim Ji Won), a hotel heiress, Tan falls in love with Cha Eun Sang (Park Shin Hye), the daughter of his family's housekeeper. Eun Sang and her best friend, Yoon Chan Young (Kang Min Hyuk), the son of Empire Group's secretary, did not grow up like their families' employer did, but they get embroiled in their lives nonetheless. Eun Sang gets caught in a love triangle with Tan and Choi Young Do (Kim Woo Bin), the condescending heir to a luxury resort conglomerate while Chan Young falls in love with Tan's ex-girlfriend, Lee Bo Na (Krystal Jung), the socialite daughter of a major entertainment executive. Can a romance survive between the haves and the have-nots?[1]
Cast[]
- Lee Min Ho as Kim Tan
- Jung Chan Woo as Young Kim Tan
- Jeon Jin Seo as Child Kim Tan
- Park Shin Hye as Cha Eun Sang
- Kim Woo Bin as Choi Yeong Do
- Yang Hyun Mo as Young Choi Yeong Do
Soundtrack[]
Episodes[]
| Episode | Aired | |
|---|---|---|
| Episode 01 | October 9, 2013 | |
| Cha Eun Sang is a 17-year-old daughter of a mute housemaid of a wealthy family whose 17-year-old son, Kim Tan, she meets while looking for her ne'er-do-well sister in the United States. | ||
| Episode 02 | October 10, 2013 | |
| After being left stranded by her sister and having her passport taken away by the police, Cha Eun Sang accepts Kim Tan's offer of staying at his house. | ||
| Episode 03 | October 16, 2013 | |
| While trying to delay Eun Sang from returning to Korea, Tan takes her with him to meet his half-brother, Won, who has arrived in the U.S. on a business trip. Meanwhile, Eun Sang's mother, Hee Nam, accidentally overhears her employer's mistress, Ki Ae, talking about getting rid of his second wife | ||
| Episode 04 | October 17, 2013 | |
| Eun Sang and Ra Hael, Tan's fiancée who came to visit him in the U.S., return to Korea. Upon returning home, Eun Sang discovers that her mother has been evicted and has moved into her employer's home. Missing his family and Eun Sang, Tan returns to Korea, much to Won's dismay. | ||
| Episode 05 | October 23, 2013 | |
| To his shock, Tan discovers that Eun Sang and he are living under the same roof. He shadows her as she helps her mother with her household duties. Unbeknownst to him and his brother, their father is keeping taps on their respective relationships with Eun Sang and Hyun Joo, and in response, has offered Eun Sang a scholarship to Jeguk High School, a school for the elite and wealthy. | ||
| Episode 06 | October 24, 2013 | |
| Eun Sang and Tan begin their first day at Jeguk High School. While Eun Sang is introduced to the social class system of the school, Tan clashes with his former best friend, Young Do. Meanwhile, Tan and Won's relationship worsens as their father decides to introduce Tan to his company's board. | ||
| Episode 07 | October 30, 2013 | |
| Young Do becomes suspicious of Eun Sang's social status and her relationship with Tan as he bullies a boy of a lower social class, leading to a physical fight between him and Tan. He threatens to expose Tan's secret of being an illegitimate child if he doesn't transfer to another school. | ||
| Episode 08 | October 31, 2013 | |
| Tan confesses to Eun Sang that he likes her but she is reluctant to reciprocate because of their class differences. Eun Sang wants to reveal the truth about her poor background to the other students but is advised otherwise by her best friend, Chan Young. Meanwhile, Young Do disrupts his family's photo shoot by inviting one of the women his father is having a dalliance with. | ||
| Episode 09 | November 6, 2013 | |
| Furious over Young Do's behavior towards Eun Sang, Tan initiates another physical fight with him. Eun Sang skips school the next day, upset over the trouble that Tan has got into because of her. Meanwhile, Ki Ae pretends to be Eun Sang's mother to attend a parent's meeting at the school, inadvertently helping to cement Eun Sang's lie about her family. | ||
| Episode 10 | November 7, 2013 | |
| Young Do meets Ki Ae, Tan's real mother, for the first time and is surprised to also see Eun Sang arriving at Tan's home after school. The midterm exam results are released as the students prepare for school camp. Ra Hael requests for an end to her engagement with Tan in front of their parents in retaliation against his relationship with Eun Sang. | ||
| Episode 11 | November 13, 2013 | |
| Despite his intention of not attending the school camp, Tan arrives to see Eun Sang, much to Young Do's annoyance. As the students return to school, the engagement between Ra Hael's mother and Young Do's father is announced. Meanwhile, Won is warned by his step-mother that Tan will become a majority shareholder on his coming birthday. Ki Ae discovers that Tan and Eun Sang are dating. | ||
| Episode 12 | November 14, 2013 | |
| Eun Sang leaves the Kims' residence as her mother prepares to resign. Young Do discovers Eun Sang's secret about her mother working as a maid for Tan's family. Tan reveals his own secret about being an illegitimate child to Ra Hael in front of their parents, effectively ending their engagement. Meanwhile, Won is warned by his father to not pursue a relationship with Hyun Joo. | ||
| Episode 13 | November 20, 2013 | |
| Tan leaves home after surprising his parents by revealing their family secret of his illegitimacy to Ra Hael and her mother. As the other students find out about Tan and Eun Sang dating, Tan decides to put a stop to the bullying ritual of the lower social class students. Young Do confesses to Eun Sang that he likes her and threatens to reveal Tan's secret to the entire school. | ||
| Episode 14 | November 21, 2013 | |
| Tan and Young Do are forced to confront their past as they are caught up in a fight yet again. While visiting Tan's mother to assure her that she doesn't want the engagement to be canceled, Ra Hael discovers Eun Sang's secret and plots to expose her in front of the other students during Chan Young and Bo Na's party. | ||
| Episode 15 | November 27, 2013 | |
| Eun Sang deals with the aftermath of telling the other students the truth about her poor family. Meanwhile, Ki Ae blackmails Ra Hael's mother to cancel their children's engagement, which results in Tan's father placing Tan under house arrest. Rumors of Tan's illegitimacy spreads at school as Tan's father offers Eun Sang two choices - leave now and she can go anywhere she wants or leave in two weeks and he will decide where she goes. | ||
| Episode 16 | November 28, 2013 | |
| To Tan's frustration, Eun Sang accepts the ultimatum set out by his father without a fight, while Young Do is upset by the other students' treatment of Eun Sang. Tan's father asserts control over his sons' lives by calling a stockholders vote to decide the fate of Won's position in the company. | ||
| Episode 17 | December 4, 2013 | |
| Everyone is surprised by Eun Sang's sudden disappearance except for Tan's father. Eun Sang and her mother settle down at Gangwon-do and start to build a new life. Using their own methods, Tan and Young Do track Eun Sang down. | ||
| Episode 18 | December 5, 2013 | |
| Young Do and Tan's family watch helplessly as Tan becomes despondent after deciding to give in to his father's wishes and let Eun Sang go. Ki Ae and Tan's father argue, resulting in Ki Ae's decision to separate. Moved by his brother's pain, Won helps Eun Sang to overcome her fear of returning to Seoul. | ||
| Episode 19 | December 11, 2013 | |
| To his father's disapproval, Tan invites Eun Sang as his date to his 18th birthday party. Ki Ae moves in with Eun Sang's mother who is coaxed into approving Tan dating her daughter. Young Do locates his mother as the authorities prepare to prosecute against his father for improper business practices. When Tan's father falls into a coma, his stepmother seizes the opportunity to take over the company. | ||
| Episode 20 | December 12, 2013 | |
| Tan and Won's stepmother gathers her allies to vote their father out of the company. To gain a vote for his father, Won chooses an arranged marriage with one of the major shareholders' daughter over Hyun Joo. Young Do reunites with his mother as his father is arrested. Tan's father wakes up from his coma as Tan and Eun Sang reflect on the past year and how far they've come together. | ||
Awards[]
- Daejeon Drama Festival 2014 - APAN: Actress for excellence miniseries (Park Shin Hye)
- APAN 2014 Star Awards: Excellence Award (Park Shin Hye)
- 50 Seoul International Awards 2014: Outstanding Korean Drama
- Paeksang Arts Awards 2014: Most Popular Actress (Park Shin Hye)
- Soompi 2014 Awards: Best OST Moment by Lee Chang-min
- 2013 Dramafever Awards (USA): Best Actress (Park Shin Hye)
- 2013 SBS Drama Awards: Best Actor Award from Korea (Lee Min Ho)
- 2013 SBS Drama Awards: Award for Best Actor in a special drama (Lee Min Ho)
- 2013 SBS Drama Awards: Excellence Award in a special drama (Park Shin Hye)
- 2013 SBS Drama Awards: Best Dressed Award (Lee Min Ho)
- 2013 SBS Drama Awards: Best Couple Award (Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye)
- 2013 SBS Drama Awards: Award for Top 10 Stars (Lee Min Ho, Park Shin Hye and Kim Woo-bin)
- 2013 SBS Drama Awards: New Star Award (Kang Min Hyuk, Choi Jin Hyuk and Kim Ji-won)
- 2013 SBS Drama Awards: Special Award for Actress in a drama (Kim Sung Ryung)
- Korean Updates 2013 Awards: Best Actor (Lee Min Ho)
- Korean Updates 2013 Awards: Best Actress (Park Shin Hye)
- Korean Updates 2013 Awards: Favorite Couple (Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye)
- Korean Updates 2013 Awards: Grand Awards-Daesang for Drama (Lee Min Ho)
- Korean Updates 2013 Awards: Drama of the Year
- Baidu Music Awards 2013: Best Actor in Asia (Lee Min Ho)
- 2013 Anhui TV Drama Awards: Most Popular Actress Award (Park Shin Hye)
- 2013 Anhui TV Drama Awards: Most Popular Actor Award (Kim Woo Bin)
- 2013 Anhui TV Drama Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Mini-Series) (Kim Mi Kyung) (for The Heirs, I Hear Your Voice, and Master's Sun)
Related Drama[]
- Korea: The Heirs Christmas Edition (compilation)
- China: Billion Dollar Heir (remake), Heirs From Another Star (remake)
Trivia[]
- This drama took over the timeslot previously occupied by "The Master's Sun" and was followed by "You Who Came from the Stars" on December 18, 2013.[3]
- Singer and actor Jung Yong-Hwa from Kpop group "CN BLUE" was originally cast as one of the main supporting characters but dropped out of the project. According to his management company FNC Entertainment, differences between the production company Hwa & Dam Pictures and FNC Entertainment over Jung Yong-Hwa's character could not be mutually satisfied.[3]
- First script reading took place August 5, 2013 at SBS Production Center in Ilsan, South Korea. The first script reading took more than 4 hours to complete.[3]
- Filming for "The Heirs" moved to the United States in September 2013 for a 3 week period. Actor Lee Min-Ho left for the United States on September 2 and Park Shin-Hye on September 6. Filming in the United States began on September 8, 2013. The first scene was filmed at an almond farm in California with Lee Min-Ho and Park Shin-Hye. Filming also took place around Los Angeles, California, including beaches in Malibu, as well as other locations.[3]
- Actor Lee Min-Ho sings a song for "The Heirs" OST. The title of the song is "Painful Love" ("Ahpeun Sarang"). The song describes Lee Min-Ho's character Kim Tan's emotions as he abandons everything for the women he loves. The song was released on December 4, 2013 through various Korean online music sites.[3]
Gallery[]
Official Poster
