Dear Heaven
| Dear Heaven | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Melodrama, Romance |
| Written by | Im Sung-han |
| Directed by | Lee Young-hee Shin Yoon-seob |
| Starring | Yoon Jung-hee Lee Tae-gon Cho Yeon-woo Lee Soo-kyung Wang Bit-na |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 85 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Yoon Young-muk |
| Producers | Jo Dong-suk Lee Hyun-suk |
| Production location | South Korea |
| Running time | 60 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays at 20:45 (KST) |
| Original release | |
| Network | Seoul Broadcasting System |
| Release | 10 September 2005 – 2 July 2006 |
Dear Heaven (Korean: 하늘이시여; RR: Haneuliseyeo; also known as Love in Heaven) is a South Korean television series starring Yoon Jung-hee, Lee Tae-gon,[1] Cho Yeon-woo, Lee Soo-kyung, and Wang Bit-na. It aired on SBS from September 10, 2005 to July 2, 2006 on Saturdays and Sundays at 20:45 for 85 episodes.
According to AGB Nielsen Media Research, it was the 5th highest rated TV program in Korea for the year 2006, with an average rating of 28.3%, and a peak rating of 44.5%.[2]
The popular soap opera invited both criticism and high ratings for its provocative plot. The story revolved around a middle-aged woman who introduces her handsome news anchor stepson to her abandoned daughter, who had led a miserable life because of a cruel stepmother. It triggered controversy when the woman was revealed as the girl's biological mother. Viewers were divided on whether it was "immoral" and "incestuous" or a fresh take on relationship dramas, but director Lee Young-hee insisted that the show's theme was "deep maternal love, with a mother reclaiming her own daughter as a daughter-in-law in order to atone for having abandoned her as a baby."[3]
Plot
When she was very young, Ji Young-sun (Han Hye-sook) gave away her baby Lee Ja-kyung after giving birth to her. She later remarries and creates a new family, but soon after, her husband dies, leaving her behind with her stepson Gu Wang-mo (Lee Tae-gon), and her daughter Gu Seul-ah (Lee Soo-kyung).
Now grown and a makeup artist, Lee Ja-kyung (Yoon Jung-hee) finds herself adrift with loneliness since her foster parents died when she was a child. She fell in love with her step-uncle but his family shuns her, dashing away any hopes of being with him. Deciding to focus on her career and find a new love, she meets Wang-mo, a TV news anchor.
Young-sun has been searching for the daughter whom she had abandoned in her youth. As if guided by the hand of fate, she discovers that Ja-kyung is already going out with Young-sun's own stepson, Wang-mo. In order to keep her secret daughter by her side, Young-sun does everything in her power to marry Ja-kyung to Wang-mo, and eventually succeeds. The two women form a curious double relationship, as at once mother/daughter and mother-in-law/daughter-in-law.
Cast
- Yoon Jung-hee as Lee Ja-kyung[4]
- Lee Tae-gon as Gu Wang-mo
- Gu family
- Han Hye-sook as Ji Young-sun
- Lee Soo-kyung as Gu Seul-ah
- Jung Hye-sun as Hwang Maria (paternal grandmother)
- Kang family
- Wang Bit-na as Kang Ye-ri (TV news anchor)
- Kang Ji-sub as Kang Yi-ri (brother)
- Hyun Suk as Kang Dong-choon (father)
- Lee Bo-hee as Kim Mi-hyang (mother)
- Park Hae-mi as Kim Bae-deuk (aunt, Mi-hyang's sister)[5]
- Lee family
- Im Chae-moo as Lee Hong-pa (Young-sun's first love)
- Ban Hyo-jung as Mo Ran-shil (Hong-pa's mother)
- Kim Young-ran as Bong Eun-ji (Hong-pa's wife)
- Extended cast
- Cho Yeon-woo as Kim Cheong-ha (movie star)
- Geum Dan-bi as Mun-ok (Ja-kyung's friend)
- Lee Sook as Bae-deuk's friend
- Lee Dae-ro as Bae-deuk's dancing partner
Awards
2005 SBS Drama Awards
- New Star Award: Cho Yeon-woo
- New Star Award: Lee Tae-gon
- New Star Award: Yoon Jung-hee
2006 SBS Drama Awards
- Grand Prize (Daesang): Han Hye-sook[6]
- Top 10 Stars: Han Hye-sook
References
- ^ "Lovebirds". The Dong-a Ilbo. 16 March 2006. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
- ^ "Dramas Sweep the Top 10 Ratings List". KBS Global. 5 February 2007. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
- ^ "New SBS Drama Sparks Morality Controversy Even Before Its First Episode Airs". The Dong-a Ilbo. 8 September 2005. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
- ^ "Yoon Jung-hee Overcame Her Fears on Way to Blissful". The Chosun Ilbo. 9 March 2007. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
- ^ Oh, Jean (2 October 2008). "Youthful drama targets weekend audience". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
- ^ Chung, Ah-young (1 January 2007). "Broadcasters Award Top-Rated Dramas". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Retrieved 2013-04-20.