Empire of Gold () is a 2013 South Korean television series starring Go Soo, Lee Yo-won, and Son Hyun-joo. It aired on SBS TV from July 1 to September 17, 2013 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 24 episodes.

Plot The series is a multi-generational saga that covers a twenty-year span from 1990 to 2010, and follows one chaebol family as it arises out of the ruins of the 1990s IMF financial crisis that wreaked havoc on the South Korean economy, becoming one of the top conglomerates in the nation. Three people become locked in a power struggle for control of this chaebol empire.

Cast Go Soo as Jang Tae-joo Jang Tae-joo comes from nothing, and his ambition is fuelled after witnessing the misfortunes of his poor hardworking father. After their father dies, Tae-joo, along with his mother, raises his little sister Hee-joo on his own, and fights tooth and nail to rise to the top relying on his cunning wits. Smart, passionate, and driven, he endures contempt and humiliation as he works relentlessly towards his dreams of success and wealth. But betrayal and exploitation gradually turn him into a cold-hearted, ruthless mogule. He marries Seo-yoon, although he loves Seol-hee.

Lee Yo-won as Choi Seo-yoon The reserved, aloof and second youngest daughter of the chaebol founder and heiress to the business empire, she and Tae-joo get married, although they both don't love each other.

Son Hyun-joo as Choi Min-jae Seo-yoon's cousin and Tae-joo's biggest rival for Sungjin Group's top seat. Choi Min-jae is as ruthless, cunning, and unscrupulous as Tae-joo, lobbying, bribing and arranging backdoor deals with the political elite.

Jang Shin-young as Yoon Seol-hee A woman who uses her looks to garner insider information, sets up a real estate consulting firm to sell what she knows. Even though it's a dangerous job, she teams up with Tae-joo to take down the Choi family and their business empire. She falls in love with Tae-joo.

Ryu Seung-soo as Jo Pil-doo A mob boss who is the antagonist to Jang Tae-joo's start-up business, and becomes a friend of Tae-joo later.

Park Geun-hyung as Choi Dong-seongGo Soo and Park Geun-hyung reunited with each other after they worked in another SBS TV series Marrying A Millionaire where Park played father of Go Soo's character, Lee Yo-won reunited with Park for the 3rd time in this series after they worked first in another SBS TV series Surgeon Bong Dal-hee and second in KBS series Cruel Love. The patriarch and CEO of giant conglomerate Sungjin Group.

Yoon Seung-ah as Jang Hee-joo Tae-joo's younger sister.

Lee Hyun-jin as Choi Seong-jae The youngest son of Sungjin Group, whose dream is to become an economist. His family runs the Sungjin Economic Research Institute, where he works.

Sunwoo Eun-sook as Yoo Soon-okGo Soo and Sunwoo Eunsook reunited with each other 1 decade after they worked in another SBS TV series My Fair Lady where Sunwoo portrayed as the mother of Go Soo's character also. Tae-joo's mother who took care of her children after her husband died.

Nam Il-woo as Jang Bong-ho Tae-joo's father who died in an antiquated building blast without achieving financial blessing.

Kim Mi-sook as Han Jeong-hee Jung Han-yong as Choi Dong-jin Um Hyo-sup as Choi Won-jae Ko Eun-mi as Park Eun-jung Shin Dong-mi as Choi Jeong-yoon Jeong Wook as Sohn Dong-hwi Kim Jeong-hak as Shin Jong-ho Kim Kang-hyeon as Na Chun-ho Lee Won-jae as Kim Kwang-se Choi Yong-min as Park Jin-tae Park Ji-il as Kang Ho-yeon Jin Seo-yeon as Jeong Yu-jin Kwon Tae-won as Jeong Byeong-guk Dong Ha as Choi Yong-jae

Ratings Episode #Original broadcast date Average audience shareTNmS RatingsAGB NielsenNationwideSeoul National Capital AreaNationwideSeoul National Capital Area 1 1 July 20138.0%9.7%8.5%9.2% 2 2 July 20138.2%9.7%9.0%9.9% 3 8 July 20137.5%8.2%9.3%10.0% 4 9 July 20138.1%9.2%9.2%10.2% 5 15 July 20138.2%10.3%9.5%11.4% 6 16 July 20138.7%10.2%9.7%11.5% 7 22 July 20139.7%11.8%10.1%10.8% 8 23 July 20139.4%11.5%10.7%11.9% 9 29 July 20139.5%10.0%10.4%11.4% 10 30 July 201310.1%11.2%10.2%12.0% 11 5 August 201310.3%12.4%9.8%10.9% 12 6 August 201310.5%13.6%11.0%12.3% 13 12 August 20138.8%10.3%10.0%11.9% 14 13 August 201310.8%13.6%11.2%13.2% 15 19 August 20138.8%11.3%10.7%12.5% 16 20 August 201310.3%12.9%11.7%13.8% 17 26 August 20138.5%11.0%11.2%12.9% 18 27 August 20138.5%11.0%11.4%13.3% 19 2 September 20137.8%9.8%11.4%13.7% 20 3 September 20136.8%8.2%10.6%13.1% 21 9 September 20137.4%7.9%10.8%12.3% 22 10 September 20137.4%8.4%11.2%13.0% 23 16 September 20137.7%9.6%10.3%12.6% 24 17 September 20138.1%9.7%9.7%11.2% Average 8.7% 10.5% 10.3% 11.9%

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Recipient Result 2013 Korea Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actress Lee Yo-won Top Excellence Award, Actor Go Soo Acting Award, Actress Jang Shin-young Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama Special Go Soo Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Drama Special Lee Yo-won Special Award, Actor in a Drama Special Park Geun-hyung Jung Han-yong Special Award, Actress in a Drama Special Kim Mi-sook Jang Shin-young Top 10 Stars Lee Yo-won 2014 Most Popular Actor (TV) Go Soo Son Hyun-joo

International broadcast It began airing in Thailand on digital television MONO29 on May 11, 2015.

It began airing in Vietnam on Let's Viet (VTC9) on September 1, 2014.

References

External links Empire of Gold official SBS website