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East of Eden (South Korean TV series)

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East of Eden
Promotional poster for East of Eden
Genre
Written by
  • Na Yeon-sook
  • Lee Hong-ku
Directed by
  • Kim Jin-man
  • Choi Byeong-kil
Starring
Music byKim Soo-han
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes56
Production
Executive producerSo Won-young
Producers
  • Kim Kwang-soo
  • Kim Kwang-il
  • Kim Ki-bum
Production locations
  • South Korea
  • Hong Kong
  • Macau
  • Philippines
Cinematography
  • Ha Jae-young
  • Jung Seung-woo
EditorBae Hee-kyung
Production companies
Budget₩25 billion
Original release
NetworkMBC TV
ReleaseAugust 25, 2008 (2008-08-25) –
March 10, 2009 (2009-03-10)
Korean name
Hangul
에덴의 동쪽
Hanja
에덴의
Revised RomanizationEden-ui Dong-jjok
McCune–ReischauerEten-ŭi Tong-tchok

East of Eden (Korean에덴의 동쪽; RREden-ui Dong-jjok) is a 2008 South Korean television series, starring Song Seung-heon,[1] Yeon Jung-hoon, Lee Da-hae, Han Ji-hye,[2] Park Hae-jin and Lee Yeon-hee. It was produced by Chorokbaem Media as a 47th Anniversary Special Project Drama for MBC, on which it aired from August 25, 2008, to March 10, 2009, on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 56 episodes. The ₩25 billion drama tells the story of the brothers Dong-chul (Song) and Dong-wook (Yeon). Their fates diverge after the murder of their coal miner father, with one joining the mob and the other becoming a successful lawyer.[3][4][5]

Plot

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A period epic that spans the years 1960 to 2000s, East of Eden tells a saga of the bitter rivalry between two men who are eternally bound by fate. Historic events are referenced, such as the rapid industrialization of the 1970s and 1980s, Taebaek coal miners' strikes and student-led democracy movements.

Shin Tae-hwan (Jo Min-ki) is the managing director of a coal mine in Taebaek. The true embodiment of ruthless ambition, he strives to inherit the coal mining company Taesung Group. In the process, he kills Lee Ki-chul (Lee Jong-won), a miner crusading for workers' rights who has been blocking his path to success. He also seduces Yoo Mi-ae (Shin Eun-jung), a nurse at Taebaek Hospital, only to coldly brush her away after he is tired of her.

At the same moment that Yang Chun-hee (Lee Mi-sook), wife of the deceased Ki-chul, is giving birth to a son at Taebaek Hospital, Shin Tae-hwan's wife also gives birth to a baby boy. Filled with rage at Shin Tae-hwan's betrayal, the nurse Mi-ae comes up with a scheme to fulfill her own revenge. She switches the two babies. By doing so, she viciously transforms the fates of not just two lives, but those around them.

Years later, Chun-hee's sons Lee Dong-chul (Song Seung-heon) and Lee Dong-wook (Yeon Jung-hoon) have taken different paths in life. To alleviate their poverty, Dong-chul becomes a gangster, while the younger Dong-wook dreams of becoming a prosecutor to avenge his family by using the law against Shin Tae-hwan. Two women enter Dong-chul's life: the smart and sensible Min Hye-rin (Lee Da-hae), and Gook Young-ran (Lee Yeon-hee), the willful daughter of his gang boss (Yoo Dong-geun). Meanwhile, Shin Myung-hoon (Park Hae-jin), who's been molded in his father Tae-hwan's spiteful, selfish image, sets his eye on Kim Ji-hyun (Han Ji-hye), Dong-wook's sweetheart.

Although Dong-chul is on the other side of the law, he remains protective of Dong-wook, but a revelation shakes him to his core: that his nemesis Shin Myung-hoon is actually his biological brother while the beloved brother that had been beside him all these years is actually the biological son of his enemy.

Cast

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Main characters

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Supporting characters

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  • Dennis Oh as Mike Packard (Young-ran's fiancé)
  • Lee Jong-won as Lee Ki-chul (Dong-chul and Dong-wook's father)
  • Jeon Mi-seon as Jung-ja (Ki-soon's mother)
  • Park Hyun-sook as Yang Ok-hee (Chun-hee's sister)
  • Jeon So-min as Lee Ki-soon
  • Kim Sung-kyum as resident Oh
  • Na Hyeon-hui as Oh Yoon-hee
  • Lee Won-jae as Kyung-tae
  • Shim Hye-jin as Young-ran's mother
  • Yoon Dong-hwan as lawyer Kim Tae-seon
  • Jung Hye-young as Janice / Jae-hee
  • Shin Eun-jung as Yoo Mi-ae / Rebecca
  • Hwang Jung-eum as Kim So-jung
  • Kang Eun-tak as Han Soo-jae
  • Jeon Sung-hwan as stationmaster Kim Gab-soo (Ji-hyun's grandfather)
  • Lee Seok-joon as Father Han
  • Kim Hyung-min as Wang-geon
  • Go Yoon-hoo as Dok-sa
  • Park Chan-hwan as Uncle Chang
  • Kim Hak-chul as Kang Gi-man
  • Park Geun-hyung as President Min (Hye-rin's father)
  • Jung Young-sook as Bae Hwa-mi (Mr. Min's wife)
  • Jung So-young as Min Hye-ryung (Hye-rin's sister)
  • Park Sung-woong as Baek Sung-hyun
  • Lee Sol-gu as Choi Hak-sung
  • Jung Yoon-seok as Yo-seob

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Recipient Result
2008 Netizen Popularity Award Kim Bum Won
21st Grimae Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) Ha Jae-young, Jung Seung-woo
(cinematographers)
Won
Best Production Director Kim Jin-man Won
Grand Prize (Daesang)[8] Song Seung-heon Won
Top Excellence Award, Actor Song Seung-heon Nominated
Top Excellence Award, Actress Lee Mi-sook Won
Excellence Award, Actor Jo Min-ki Won
Excellence Award, Actress Han Ji-hye Won
Lee Da-hae Nominated
Golden Acting Award, Actor in a Serial Drama Park Geun-hyung Won
Golden Acting Award, Supporting Actress Shin Eun-jung Won
Golden Acting Award, Veteran Actor Yoo Dong-geun Won
PD Award Yeon Jung-hoon Won
Best New Actor Park Hae-jin Won
Best New Actress Lee Yeon-hee Won
Best Child Actor/Actress Park Gun-tae Won
Shin Dong-woo Won
Nam Ji-hyun Won
Writer of the Year Na Yeon-sook Won
Viewer's Favorite Drama of the Year East of Eden Nominated
Popularity Award, Actor Song Seung-heon Won
Popularity Award, Actress Lee Yeon-hee Won
Best Couple Award Song Seung-heon and Lee Yeon-hee Won
2009 Best Actor (TV) Song Seung-heon Nominated
Best Actress (TV) Han Ji-hye Nominated
Best New Actor (TV) Kim Bum Nominated
Best New Actress (TV) Lee Yeon-hee Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "No Longer Just a Pretty Face: Song Seung-hun". The Chosun Ilbo. September 5, 2008. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  2. ^ Ki, Sun-min (November 26, 2008). "Actress Han Ji-hye feels destined for Eden". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ "A delightful banquet among the stars begins soon in East of Eden!". MBC Global Media. August 12, 2008. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  4. ^ Han, Sang-hee (August 19, 2008). "TV Dramas Gear Up for Post-Olympics Race". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  5. ^ Deutsch, Brian (September 11, 2008). "Drama Sets in Suncheon: Journey to Past". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  6. ^ Her last appearance was in episode 40, but last credit at episode 41.
  7. ^ Chung, Ah-young (November 2, 2008). "Actor Kim Wins Top Prize at Korea Drama Festival Awards". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  8. ^ "MBC Should Be Ashamed of Farcical Awards". The Chosun Ilbo. January 2, 2009. Archived from the original on August 11, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
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