Heaven & Earth (TV series)

Heaven & Earth[1] (Korean하늘만큼 땅만큼; RRHaneul Mankeum Ddang Mankeum; lit. Like Land and Sky) is a 2007 South Korean television series starring Park Hae-jin, Han Hyo-joo,[2] Lee Joo-hyun, Kang Jung-hwa, and Hong Soo-ah. It aired on KBS1 from January 15 to August 31, 2007 on Mondays to Fridays at 20:25 for 165 episodes.

Heaven & Earth
Promotional poster
Also known asAs Much as Heaven and Earth
By Land and Sky
High as the Sky, Wide as the Earth
GenreRomance, Drama, Family
Written byChoi Hyun-kyung
Directed byMoon Bo-hyun
StarringPark Hae-jin
Han Hyo-joo
Kang Jung-hwa
Lee Joo-hyun
Hong Soo-ah
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes165
Production
ProducerGo Young-tak
Production locationKorea
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkKBS1
ReleaseJanuary 15 (2007-01-15) –
August 31, 2007 (2007-08-31)

The daily drama was a hit, maintaining an average viewership rating of 30% throughout its nine-month run. Its peak viewership rating of 36.1% (on episode 164) made it the third highest-rated Korean drama of 2007.[3]

Plot

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Jung Mu-young (Park Hae-jin) was left by his birth mother under the care of Kim Tae-shik (Jung Han-yong) and his wife Park Myung-ja (Jung Ae-ri) when he was very young. His mother promises to come for him later, but she never does. The Kim family raise Mu-young like he is their own son, but never change his family name because they think his birth mother might come later to pick him up. Despite the lack of money, Myung-ja manages to keep the family together; moreover, she never once treats Mu-young any differently than her biological son. Still, having a different family name from his older brother Kim Sang-hyun (Lee Joo-hyun) makes him run away from home several times. Mu-young is outwardly rebellious, unforgiving, and in constant conflict with his family. He keeps an emotional distance from them, for fear of getting hurt one day. At school he meets the cheerful and kindhearted Seok Ji-soo (Han Hyo-joo), who not only values her family greatly, but also goes out of her way to help others. Thinking too highly of Ji-Soo and too lowly of himself, and aware of the possible negative reaction her family might have toward his confession to her, he tries to keep a distance between himself and Ji-Soo.

As a grown up, Ji-soo begins working for Myung-ja's stepsister, Park Myung-joo (Yoon Hae-young), and learns that she and her single father, Seok Jong-hoon (Hong Yo-seob), are in love. She fully supports her father's newfound romance. She is also seeing a rich family's son who wants to propose to her.

Heaven & Earth tackles the issues the modern family faces, such as the difficulties faced by stepparents and stepchildren; conflicts between biological and adoptive parents; the aftermath of a remarriage; and the high divorce rate among the younger generation, and resulting involuntary childcare from their grandparents.

Cast

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Main cast

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Supporting cast

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Kim family
Seok family
  • Hong Yo-seob as Seok Jong-hoon, Ji-soo's father
  • Seo Jae-kyung as Seok Ji-woong, Ji-soo's older brother
  • Kang Rae-yeon as Se Mi-ae, Ji-woong's wife
Yoon family
  • Jung Dong-hwan as Yoon Jae-doo, Eun-joo and Eun-ha's father
  • Kim Ja-ok as Ahn Hye-kyung, Eun-joo and Eun-ha's mother
Extended cast

Awards

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2007 KBS Drama Awards[4]
  • Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama: Park Hae-jin
  • Popularity Award: Han Hyo-joo
  • Best Couple Award: Park Hae-jin and Han Hyo-joo

References

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  1. ^ 하늘만큼 땅만큼 – Heaven&Earth (EP01) #001. YouTube (in Korean). KBS Drama. Retrieved June 19, 2018.[dead YouTube link]
  2. ^ "I want to try out for more extreme roles". The Dong-a Ilbo. 5 April 2007. Archived from the original on 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  3. ^ "Popularity rating of dramas in 2007, from top 5 to bottom 5". Hancinema. 7 January 2008. Archived from the original on 2013-11-22. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  4. ^ "2007 Year-end Korean drama awards round-up". Hancinema. 7 January 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-01-16. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
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