East of Eden () is a 2008 South Korean television series, starring Song Seung-heon, Yeon Jung-hoon, Lee Da-hae, Han Ji-hye, 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 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.
Plot 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 their second 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
Main characters Song Seung-heon as Lee Dong-chul Shin Dong-woo as Dong-chul (5 years old) Kim Bum as Dong-chul (15 years old) Yeon Jung-hoon as Lee Dong-wook Park Gun-woo as Dong-wook (10 years old) Lee Da-hae as Min Hye-rinHer last appearance was in episode 40, but last credit at episode 41. Han Ji-hye as Kim Ji-hyun Nam Ji-hyun as Ji-hyun (10 years old) Park Hae-jin as Shin Myung-hoon Won Deok-hyun as Myung-hoon (10 years old) Lee Yeon-hee as Gook Young-ran / Grace Jo Min-ki as Shin Tae-hwan (Myung-hoon's father) Lee Mi-sook as Yang Chun-hee (Dong-chul and Dong-wook's mother) Yoo Dong-geun as Gook Dae-hwa (Young-ran's father)
Supporting characters 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 Jin Ji-hee as Ki-soon (9 years old) 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 Year Award Category Recipient Result 2008 Netizen Popularity Award Kim Bum 21st Grimae Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) Ha Jae-young, Jung Seung-woo (cinematographers) Best Production Director Kim Jin-man Grand Prize (Daesang) Song Seung-heon Top Excellence Award, Actor Song Seung-heon Top Excellence Award, Actress Lee Mi-sook Excellence Award, Actor Jo Min-ki Excellence Award, Actress Han Ji-hye Lee Da-hae Golden Acting Award, Actor in a Serial Drama Park Geun-hyung Golden Acting Award, Supporting Actress Shin Eun-jung Golden Acting Award, Veteran Actor Yoo Dong-geun PD Award Yeon Jung-hoon Best New Actor Park Hae-jin Best New Actress Lee Yeon-hee Best Child Actor/Actress Park Gun-tae Shin Dong-woo Nam Ji-hyun Writer of the Year Na Yeon-sook Viewer's Favorite Drama of the Year East of Eden Popularity Award, Actor Song Seung-heon Popularity Award, Actress Lee Yeon-hee Best Couple Award Song Seung-heon and Lee Yeon-hee 2009 Best Actor (TV) Song Seung-heon Best Actress (TV) Han Ji-hye Best New Actor (TV) Kim Bum Best New Actress (TV) Lee Yeon-hee
References
External links official MBC website at MBC Global Media