Becoming_a_Billionaire
Becoming a Billionaire
South Korean TV series or program
Becoming a Billionaire (Korean: 부자의 탄생; Hanja: 富者의 誕生; RR: Bujaeui Tansaeng; lit. "Birth of the Rich") is a 2010 South Korean television series starring Ji Hyun-woo, Lee Bo-young, Lee Si-young and Namkoong Min.[1] It aired on KBS2 from March 1 to May 4, 2010, on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.
| Becoming a Billionaire | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Birth of the Rich Birth of a Rich Man |
| Genre | Comedy Romance |
| Written by | Choi Min-ki |
| Directed by | Lee Jin-seo |
| Starring | Ji Hyun-woo Lee Bo-young Lee Si-young Namkoong Min |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Lee Han-ho |
| Production locations | Seoul, South Korea |
| Running time | 60 minutes Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 (KST) |
| Production company | Da.da Creative Group |
| Original release | |
| Network | KBS2 |
| Release | March 1 (2010-03-01) – May 4, 2010 (2010-05-04) |
Choi Seok-bong believes he is the son of a billionaire, from a one-night stand with his mother. While working as a bellboy at a luxury hotel, Seok-bong practices the qualities he thinks a billionaire's heir would have; all these efforts are for the day he meets his birth father. But one day, Seok-bong is diagnosed with breast cancer, which only has a 50 percent survival rate. Seok-bong doesn't have enough money for treatments, and finds it absolutely ridiculous that a billionaire's heir would die because he has no money. Finding his biological father may be Seok-bong's only hope. So he turns for help to Lee Shin-mi, the heiress of Ohsung Group and a notorious penny-pincher.[2][3]
Main characters
- Ji Hyun-woo as Choi Seok-bong
- Park Gun-woo as teenage Choi Seok-bong
- A bell boy at Ohsung Hotel in first few episodes.
- Lee Bo-young as Lee Shin-mi
- Kim So-hyun as young Lee Shin-mi
- The heiress of Ohsung Group, and a strict and frugal person. Ohsung Hotel director in first few episodes.
- Namkoong Min as Chu Woon-seok
- An ambitious man whose goal is to revive his father's company, Frontier Group and is interested in Shin-mi. But coming to the end of the drama, he silently declared his love for Tae-hee when she visited him in prison.
- Lee Si-young as Bu Tae-hee
- A spoiled heiress of Buho Group and is interested in Woon-seok. / Bu Tae-hee's mother (ep. 11, cameo)
Supporting characters
- The CEO's
- Yoon Joo-sang as Lee Jung-hyun
- CEO of Ohsung Group, father of Shin-mi
- Kim Eung-soo as Bu Gwi-ho
- CEO of Buho Group, father of Tae-hee
- Park Young-ji as Chu Young-dal
- CEO of Frontier Group, father of Woon-seok
- Extended cast
- Shin Da-eun as Han So-jung
- Shin-mi's secretary
- Kim Dong-gyun as Mr. Yoo
- Employee of Ohsung, working as spy for Woon-seok
- Jung Joo-eun as Yoon Mal-ja
- Tae-hee's secretary
- Kim Ki-bang as Park Kang-woo
- Seok-bong's best friend
- Park Min-ji as Park Kang-sook
- Kang-woo's sister
- Ok Ji-young as Bang Soo-jin
- Weekly magazine reporter
- Sung Ji-ru as Woo Byung-doo
- A homeless wanderer with an interest in molybdenum, Seok-bong's irksome acquaintance, uninvited roommate, and later, business partner
- Jang Yoo-joon as Woo Bung-eo
- Byung-doo's son who is musically talented
- Kim Mi-kyung as Kang-woo's mother
- Jung Han-yong as Kang-woo's father
- Min Wook as Ha Joon-tae
- Son Ho-young as young adult Ha Joon-tae
- The ailing owner of the licence to the mining rights of a molybdenum mine
- Park Chul-min as Kim Dal-soo
- Hotel captain at Ohsung Hotel, later Lee Jung-hyun's butler
- Cameos
- Son Ho-young as Seok-bong's father
- Lee Won-jong as Seok-bong's middle school math teacher
- Choi Song-hyun as Seok-bong's mother when she met Ha Joon-tae
- Jang Tae-sung as Ohsung Hotel bellman
- Lee Han-wi as Teriah Park
| Episode # | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNmS Ratings[4] | AGB Nielsen[5] | ||||
| Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area | Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area | ||
| 1 | 1 March 2010 | 12.1% | 11.9% | 12.2% | 12.8% |
| 2 | 2 March 2010 | 11.8% | 11.6% | 11.6% | 12.3% |
| 3 | 8 March 2010 | 11.4% | 11.0% | 12.2% | 11.1% |
| 4 | 9 March 2010 | 13.1% | 12.8% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 5 | 15 March 2010 | 16.2% | 16.1% | 15.0% | 14.5% |
| 6 | 16 March 2010 | 17.7% | 18.0% | 17.0% | 17.9% |
| 7 | 22 March 2010 | 15.5% | 15.7% | 14.9% | 15.5% |
| 8 | 23 March 2010 | 15.2% | 14.9% | 15.7% | 16.2% |
| 9 | 29 March 2010 | 15.6% | 15.2% | 15.6% | 16.6% |
| 10 | 30 March 2010 | 16.0% | 16.2% | 15.9% | 16.8% |
| 11 | 5 April 2010 | 16.2% | 15.8% | 15.1% | 15.1% |
| 12 | 6 April 2010 | 17.7% | 17.8% | 16.2% | 16.6% |
| 13 | 12 April 2010 | 16.5% | 16.2% | 13.5% | 13.3% |
| 14 | 13 April 2010 | 16.7% | 16.9% | 14.4% | 14.5% |
| 15 | 19 April 2010 | 16.6% | 16.6% | 14.8% | 15.1% |
| 16 | 20 April 2010 | 14.9% | 14.6% | 14.2% | 14.2% |
| 17 | 26 April 2010 | 14.2% | 14.0% | 14.3% | 14.0% |
| 18 | 27 April 2010 | 13.1% | 13.0% | 13.0% | 12.7% |
| 19 | 3 May 2010 | 14.2% | 14.3% | 13.3% | 13.0% |
| 20 | 4 May 2010 | 16.6% | 17.0% | 15.5% | 15.3% |
| Average | 15.1% | 15.0% | 14.3% | 14.5% | |
Its Japanese broadcasting rights were sold to NHK (along with another KBS drama The Great Merchant) for US$3 million.[6] It also aired on Fuji TV as part of the network's "Hallyu Alpha Summer Festival," and on cable channel KNTV beginning July 2, 2014.[7]
It aired on Thailand on Workpoint TV from March 10, 2014, to April 4, 2014.[8]
- Oh, Jean (1 March 2010). "Post-Olympian line-up ushers in spring". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
- Wee, Geun-woo (24 February 2010). "PREVIEW: KBS TV series The Birth of the Rich". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
- Yoon, Hee-seong (5 March 2010). "REVIEW: KBS TV series The Birth of the Rich". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
- "TNMS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNMS Ratings (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2013-11-28. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
- "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2013-12-26. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
- Cho, Bum-ja (14 April 2010). "Dramas Merchant, Rich sold to Japan for USD 3 mln". 10Asia. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
- "Programme Detail" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. (in Japanese) kntv.co.jp
- "เรื่องย่อ Becoming a Billionaire". luvasianseries (in Thai). 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
- Official website (in Korean)
- Becoming a Billionaire on KBS World
- Becoming a Billionaire at HanCinema