The Heirs

This Korean Drama came out in late 2013 and consists of 20 episodes. It stars a fantastic cast which includes: Park Shin Hye, Lee Min Ho, Kim Woo Bin and several others who did an amazing job.

Cha Eun-sang is a poor high school girl who lives with her mute mother, they both work very hard just to get by. Cha Eun-sangs sister has gone to America and Cha Eun-sang follows her only to catch her in several lies that hurts her very much and she is left alone in a foreign land. After she gets into some trouble Kim Tan a boy around the same age helps her out and they get to know each other over a few days. He lives in the lap of luxury and just plays around not taking things seriously. Very quickly he begins to fall for Eun-sang but has to say goodbye as her best friend comes to save her and help her get back to Korea. They figure there is no way they will ever see each other again and their days together were simply a dream.

Back in Korea Eun-sangs mother has moved in to be a live-in maid for her employers, the Jeguk company’s head. Eun-sang has to live there as well and help out while also holding 2 jobs and study for school. The Father of the family is ill and lives with his 1st son who is the standing CEO of the company, and his Mistress who is basically trapped in this large house. The 2nd son returns from over seas from his enforced banishment to be back home with his family. Of course it is Kim Tan who is the illegitimate child of the Jeguk group but is registered as the child of the legal wife. His brother Won fears that he will try to take the company from him and is very bitter and hateful towards Tan even though Tan loves him above everyone else. Won moves out angry that Tan has gone against his wishes and returned home.

Tan quickly finds out that he is living with Eun-sang and sees his chance. Eun-sang gets put in the Jeguk’s group private school and thrown into a world of privileged, spoiled, bratty teenagers. She becomes the point of affection for not only Tan but his rival and former best friend Choi Young-do. Young-do is the Heir to a large Hotel and is very cruel and rough most likely because of his bitterness towards his horrible abusive father and that his mother ran away years before. He resents Tan thinking it’s his fault for missing his last chance to see his mother and so takes it upon himself to constantly harass Eun-sang. It is quickly seen that he does have real feelings for Eun-sang but doesn’t really know how to show them and so he acts out and does bad things just to get her attention.

Eun-sang has to deal with the hierarchy of the school and because of Tan has to lie about her place in the ranks so she wont be picked on. She has to deal with Rachel, Tan’s fiancé who is a big b**ch. Everyone is all tied together in this small world of Heirs. There are arranged marriages, company marriages, love triangles, affairs, relationships, servitude and several other connections. It’s a hard world to be thrown into when you are from a serving background and have to work every minute of everyday to live. Eun-sang has a rollercoaster time and drama is around every corner.

There is so much that happens in this series I couldn’t get enough of it and consumed it in just a few days. I loved the characters and the acting was great. This series defiantly has made it on the top 5 K-dramas list for me. My favorite character was Choi Young-do and I wanted him to catch a break sometime. He was a horrible person in the start but really evens out and is kind and helpful though still an ass much of the time. There were several background characters, all with stories and ties and I think it was very well written.

What did you think of this series? Who was your favorite character? Let me know in the comments!