Brilliant Legacy (), also known as Shining Inheritance, is a 2009 South Korean television series starring Han Hyo-joo, Lee Seung-gi, Moon Chae-won, and Bae Soo-bin. It aired on SBS in 28 episodes from April 25 to July 26, 2009 on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:45.
It was among the top-rated Korean dramas of the year; it maintained its number one spot in the viewership ratings chart for 20 consecutive weeks and reached a peak rating of 47.1% for its last episode. The series is commonly known as the star-making vehicle of popular Hallyu stars Han Hyo-joo and Lee Seung-gi, and is credited with launching their careers into the household names they are today.
Synopsis Go Eun-sung (Han Hyo-joo) was studying overseas in New York and returned to Korea for a vacation and to take her autistic brother, Eun-woo (Yeon Joon-seok), to the United States to study music. Sunwoo Hwan (Lee Seung-gi), who was also studying in New York, was ordered to return to Korea by his grandmother, Jang Sook-ja (Ban Hyo-jung), to learn how to manage her food company. Eun-sung and Hwan, who were on the same flight back home, accidentally had their bags exchanged, which led to several misunderstandings between the two.
Go Pyung-joong (Jeon In-taek), Eun-sung's father, was struggling to save his company from going bankrupt. One day, his wallet and valuables were stolen by a thief who subsequently died in a gas explosion accident. Upon finding Pyung-joong's belongings on the thief, the police mistakenly identified the thief as him and a death certificate for Pyung-joong was promptly issued. He decided to lie low and not tell his family that he was alive so that his family could claim his life insurance money and use it to clear the debts. However, his second wife, Baek Sung-hee (Kim Mi-sook), kicked her stepchildren, Eun-sung and Eun-woo, out of the house after collecting the insurance money and moved into a new home with her daughter, Yoo Seung-mi (Moon Chae-won). Seung-mi was also Hwan's longtime best friend, hoping to be something more.
Eun-sung asked for help from several of her friends, including Hyung-jin, who avoided her because she was no longer rich. She managed to find a job at a nightclub with the help of her friend, Hye-ri. At the nightclub, Eun-sung met Hyung-jin's upperclassman, Park Joon-se (Bae Soo-bin), who was shocked to see her working there. She also met Hwan, who caused her to lose contact with Eun-woo. Realizing that Eun-woo was missing, Eun-sung was devastated and tried searching for her brother but to no avail. With the help of Hye-ri and Joon-se, Eun-sung rented a small room and started a small dumpling stall while continuing her search for Eun-woo.
Meanwhile, Sook-ja became deeply disappointed in her grandson as Hwan had no direction in life and did not know how to cherish her company and employees. While pondering over what to do about her grandson, Sook-ja visited a neighborhood that she used to live in when she was poor and encountered Eun-sung, who was selling dumplings. Sook-ja had an accident and received help from Eun-sung. Seeing that Eun-sung had tried her best to take care of her even when she could not afford her own daily expenses, Sook-ja was touched by Eun-sung's compassion. She brought Eun-sung home, then announced to her family that Eun-sung was going to live with them and that she was going to appoint Eun-sung as the heir of her food company, if she could raise the profits of the sinking second branch by 20%.
Cast Main cast
Han Hyo-joo as Go Eun-sung Lee Seung-gi as Sunwoo Hwan
Go family Jeon In-taek as Go Pyung-joong (father) Kim Mi-sook as Baek Sung-hee (stepmother) Moon Chae-won as Yoo Seung-mi (stepsister) Yeon Joon-seok as Go Eun-woo (younger brother)
Sunwoo family Ban Hyo-jung as Jang Sook-ja (grandmother) Yu Ji-in as Oh Young-ran (mother) Han Ye-won as Sunwoo Jung (younger sister) Lee Seung-hyung as Pyo Sung-chul
Park family Bae Soo-bin as Park Joon-se Choi Jung-woo as Park Tae-soo (father)
Extended cast Min Young-won as Lee Hye-ri (Eun-sung's friend) Jung Suk-won as Jin Young-seok (Hwan's friend) Son Yeo-eun as Jung In-young (Eun-sung and Seung-mi's friend) Kim Jae-seung as Lee Hyung-jin (Joon-se's junior colleague) Baek Seung-hyeon as Lee Joon-young / Manager Lee (store manager) Park Sang-hyun as Han Soo-jae (store worker) Kim Sung-oh as Seon Woo Hwan's friend (Ep.7)
Original soundtrack Only You () – Kang Ha-ni (Opening Title) The Person Living in My Heart () – Isu Crazy in Love () – Ji-sun Love is Punishment () – K.Will Spring Rain – Ji-hye Dear Sister () Catch Hwan () Are We Family? () Funny Life The Road Leading to You () Smile Working Last Lie () Bickering () Memories of Separation () Spring Rain (Guitar Ver.) Destiny, the Second Story (운명, 그 두번째 이야기)
Ratings In this table, represent the lowest ratings and represent the highest ratings.
Date Episode Nationwide Seoul April 25, 2009 1 (5th) (5th) April 26, 2009 2 19.6% (4th) 19.4% (4th) May 2, 2009 3 17.9% (2nd) 18.8% (2nd) May 3, 2009 4 23.2% (1st) 23.9% (1st) May 9, 2009 5 22.8% (1st) 23.8% (1st) May 10, 2009 6 26.9% (1st) 27.6% (1st) May 16, 2009 7 25.1% (1st) 25.4% (1st) May 17, 2009 8 28.1% (1st) 29.1% (1st) May 23, 2009 9 27.2% (1st) 27.8% (1st) May 24, 2009 10 28.8% (1st) 30.2% (1st) May 30, 2009 11 27.2% (1st) 28.4% (1st) May 31, 2009 12 32.0% (1st) 34.2% (1st) June 6, 2009 13 30.0% (1st) 30.8% (1st) June 7, 2009 14 32.4% (1st) 33.5% (1st) June 13, 2009 15 30.6% (1st) 31.5% (1st) June 14, 2009 16 33.4% (1st) 33.9% (1st) June 20, 2009 17 32.8% (1st) 33.5% (1st) June 21, 2009 18 34.6% (1st) 34.6% (1st) June 27, 2009 19 33.3% (1st) 33.8% (1st) June 28, 2009 20 38.4% (1st) 38.8% (1st) July 4, 2009 21 35.7% (1st) 35.6% (1st) July 5, 2009 22 39.0% (1st) 38.5% (1st) July 11, 2009 23 37.2% (1st) 37.2% (1st) July 12, 2009 24 41.3% (1st) 41.2% (1st) July 18, 2009 25 39.3% (1st) 39.0% (1st) July 19, 2009 26 42.2% (1st) 42.8% (1st) July 25, 2009 27 40.5% (1st) 39.9% (1st) July 26, 2009 28 (1st) (1st) Average Source: TNS Media Korea
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Recipient Result2009 3rd Mnet 20's Choice Awards"이승기, 'Mnet 20's 초이스' 핫드라마스타 男부문 수상". Yahoo! Korea (in Korean). 28 August 2009. Hot Male Drama Star Lee Seung-gi Hot Female Drama Star Han Hyo-joo Top Excellence Award, Actress Kim Mi-sook Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Planning Drama Lee Seung-gi Bae Soo-bin Excellence Award, Actress in a Special Planning Drama Kim Mi-sook Han Hyo-joo Best Supporting Actor in a Special Planning Drama Lee Seung-hyung Best Supporting Actress in a Special Planning Drama Yu Ji-in Top 10 Stars Han Hyo-joo Lee Seung-gi Bae Soo-bin Best Couple Lee Seung-gi and Han Hyo-joo Achievement Award Ban Hyo-jung 2010 Best Drama Brilliant Legacy Best Actress (TV) Han Hyo-joo Best New Director (TV) Jin Hyuk Best New Actor (TV) Lee Seung-gi Best Screenplay (TV) So Hyun-kyung Most Popular Actor (TV) Lee Seung-gi Best Serial Drama Brilliant Legacy Outstanding Korean Actress Han Hyo-joo Most Popular Actor Lee Seung-gi 2011 Platinum Remi Award Brilliant Legacy Foreign TV Series Special Award Brilliant Legacy
Adaptation A Chinese remake called My Splendid Life (我的灿烂人生 Wo De Can Lan Ren Sheng) aired in 2011, on Dragon TV. A Turkish remake titled Don't Let Go of My Hand (Elimi Bırakma) aired in 2018, on TRT 1. A Philippine adaptation titled Shining Inheritance has premiere in 2024, on GMA Network.
References
External links
Brilliant Legacy at the Korea Tourism Organization