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Looking back on 'The Heirs': Teen series spawns popular K-drama stars

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Jaehwa Bernardo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Lee Min-ho and Park Shin-hye in a scene from the popular K-drama " The="" Screenshot="" from="" video="" on="" SBS="" YouTube="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/entertainment/12/07/the-heirs-07122023.jpg"/><figcaption>Lee Min-ho and Park Shin-hye in a scene from the popular K-drama &#x27;The Heirs.&#x27;<em> Screenshot from video on SBS Drama&#x27;s YouTube channel</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>In 2013, South Korean broadcaster SBS premiered &quot;The Heirs,&quot; which remains a well-loved show among K-drama fans even after many years since its release.</p><p>Penned by star screenwriter Kim Eun-sook, &quot;The Heirs&quot; — which aired in the Philippines via ABS-CBN — follows the romance between Kim Tan (played by Lee Min-ho), the heir to a Korean conglomerate, and Cha Eun-sang, a girl who takes on part-time jobs to support herself and her mother. Their story is mostly set in a prestigious high school for the wealthy, where Eun-sang manages to get a scholarship.</p><p>&quot;The Heirs&quot; has all the elements of a classic K-drama: the love story of a well-off and poor character, and storylines relating to family and friendship. But another reason behind the show&#x27;s enduring appeal is its stellar cast, with most of the supporting actors going on to becoming popular stars in Korea&#x27;s entertainment industry today.</p><p>Below, we catch up on the stars of &quot;The Heirs&quot; and their recent projects.</p><h3>Lee Min-ho</h3><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Lee Min-ho. Photo: @actorleeminho/Instagram" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/entertainment/12/07/lee-min-ho-07122023.jpg"/><figcaption>Lee Min-ho. <em>Photo: @actorleeminho/Instagram</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Lee was already a popular actor before starring in &quot;The Heirs,&quot; having appeared in hit dramas like &quot;Boys Over Flowers&quot; and &quot;City Hunter.&quot; In the teen series, he plays Kim Tan, the son of a conglomerate president to his mistress.</p><p>At a press conference in Manila last October, Lee — whose other notable shows are &quot;The Legend of the Blue Sea&quot; and &quot;The King: Eternal Monarch&quot; — said his upcoming projects include the second season of &quot;Pachinko&quot; and another drama.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/10/16/23/what-lee-min-ho-missed-about-the-philippines">What Lee Min-ho missed about the Philippines</a></li></ul><h3>Park Shin-hye</h3><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Park Shin-hye. Photo: @ssinz7/Instagram" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/entertainment/12/07/park-shin-hye-07122023.jpg"/><figcaption>Park Shin-hye. <em>Photo: @ssinz7/Instagram</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Prior to &quot;The Heirs,&quot; Park played lead roles in dramas such as &quot;You&#x27;re Beautiful&quot; and &quot;Heartstrings.&quot; But it was her &quot;The Heirs&quot; character Cha Eun-sang that catapulted her to further popularity, earning for her the Most Popular Actress Award at the prestigious 2014 Baeksang Arts Award.</p><p>Park&#x27;s recent works include the zombie horror film &quot;#Alive,&quot; Netflix&#x27;s psychological thriller flick &quot;The Call,&quot; and drama &quot;Sisyphus: The Myth.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/05/31/22/its-a-boy-for-new-parents-park-shin-hye-choi-tae-joon">It&#x27;s a boy for new parents Park Shin-hye, Choi Tae-joon</a></li></ul><p>According to reports, Park is also set to star in a medical drama alongside Park Hyung-sik, which marks their reunion project since &quot;The Heirs.&quot;</p><h3>Kim Woo-bin</h3><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Kim Woo-bin. Photo: @____kimwoobin/Instagram" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/entertainment/12/07/kim-woo-bin-07122023.jpg"/><figcaption>Kim Woo-bin. <em>Photo: @____kimwoobin/Instagram</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>In &quot;The Heirs,&quot; model-turned-actor Kim plays Choi Young-do, Kim Tan&#x27;s former best friend who becomes his rival for Cha Eun-sang.</p><p>In 2017, Kim took a hiatus after he was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer. He eventually returned in 2022 through the sci-fi action film &quot;Alienoid&quot; and drama &quot;Our Blues.&quot; In 2023, he starred in the Netflix series &quot;Black Knight.&quot;</p><h3>Kim Ji-won</h3><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Kim Ji-won. Photo: @geewonii/Instagram" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/entertainment/12/07/kim-ji-won-07122023.jpg"/><figcaption>Kim Ji-won.<em> Photo: @geewonii/Instagram</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Following her portrayal of Kim Tan&#x27;s snobbish fiancée in &quot;The Heirs,&quot; Kim landed the lead role in &quot;Descendants of the Sun,&quot; the success of which propelled the actress to widespread popularity. Her other notable dramas include &quot;Fight for My Way&quot; and &quot;My Liberation Notes.&quot;</p><p>Kim is set to star in a drama with Kim Soo-hyun, titled &quot;Queen of Tears,&quot; scheduled to premiere in the first half of 2024, according to Korean entertainment news portal Soompi.</p><h3>Kang Min-hyuk</h3><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Kang Min-hyuk. Photo: @mr_kanggun/Instagram" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/entertainment/12/07/kang-min-hyuk-07122023.jpg"/><figcaption>Kang Min-hyuk. <em>Photo: @mr_kanggun/Instagram</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>In &quot;The Heirs,&quot; Kang — who debuted as the drummer of rock band CNBLUE — took on the role of Yoon Chan-young, Eun-sang&#x27;s long-time best friend.</p><p>This year was a busy one for Kang, who starred in the crime thriller film &quot;Havana&quot; and web series &quot;Celebrity.&quot; He also joined CNBLUE for its Japanese album &quot;Pleasures,&quot; which dropped in October.</p><h3>Jung Soo-jung (Krystal)</h3><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Krystal. Photo: @vousmevoyez/Instagram" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/entertainment/12/07/krystal-07122023.jpg"/><figcaption>Krystal.<em> Photo: @vousmevoyez/Instagram</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Debuting as a member of the K-pop girl group f(x), Jung Soo-jung or Krystal appeared in &quot;The Heirs&quot; as Lee Bo-na, Chan-young&#x27;s vain but kind-hearted girlfriend who previously dated Kim Tan.</p><p>Krystal&#x27;s recent dramas include &quot;Police University&quot; and &quot;Crazy Love.&quot; In 2023, she appeared in the dark comedy film &quot;Cobweb.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/10/08/23/movie-review-dark-comedy-cobweb-is-entertaining-to-watch">Movie review: Dark comedy &#x27;Cobweb&#x27; is entertaining to watch</a></li></ul><h3> Park Hyung-sik</h3><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt=" Park Hyung-sik. Photo: @phs1116/Instagram" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/entertainment/12/07/park-hyung-sik-07122023.jpg"/><figcaption>Park Hyung-sik. <em>Photo: @phs1116/Instagram</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Before establishing himself as a well-loved K-drama heartthrob, Park appeared in &quot;The Heirs&quot; as Jo Myung-soo, the playful friend of Young-do and Bo-na who often takes photos of his friends.</p><p>In 2023, Park starred in the period romance &quot;Our Blooming Youth&quot; and made a cameo appearance in &quot;Strong Girl Nam-soon.&quot; Next year, he is reuniting with &quot;The Heirs&quot; co-star Park Shin-hye for a medical drama.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/10/16/23/park-bo-young-park-hyung-sik-reunite-in-strong-girl-nam-soon">Park Bo-young, Park Hyung-sik reunite for &#x27;Strong Girl Nam-soon&#x27; cameo</a></li></ul><h3>Kang Ha-neul</h3><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Kang Ha-neul. Photo: @kanghaneul_official/Instagram" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/entertainment/12/07/kang-ha-neul-07122023.jpg"/><figcaption>Kang Ha-neul.<em> Photo: @kanghaneul_official/Instagram</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>In &quot;The Heirs,&quot; Kang played Lee Hyo-shin, who is part of the school&#x27;s broadcasting club with Eun-sang and Bo-na.</p><p>This year, Kang — known for starring in &quot;When the Camellia Blooms&quot; — starred in the romance film &quot;Love Reset&quot; with Jung So-min. He was also casted for the second season of Netflix&#x27;s hit survival series &quot;Squid Game.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/06/18/23/yim-si-wan-kang-ha-neul-to-join-squid-game-season-2">WATCH: Returning, new cast members of &#x27;Squid Game&#x27; Season 2 unveiled</a></li></ul><h3>Choi Jin-hyuk</h3><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Choi Jin-hyuk. @real_jinhyuk/Instagram" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/entertainment/12/07/choi-jin-hyuk-07122023.jpg"/><figcaption>Choi Jin-hyuk. <em>@real_jinhyuk/Instagram</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>After playing Kim Tan&#x27;s brother in &quot;The Heirs,&quot; Choi went on to star in lead roles in several dramas, most notably in the Jang Na-ra-led &quot;The Last Empress.&quot; This year, he starred in the action series &quot;Numbers&quot; with Kim Myung-soo.</p><div><em>For more news and features on K-pop, K-drama, and K-stars, visit the <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/kcontents">Hallyu Corner </a>microsite. </em></div>

One reason behind the enduring appeal of K-drama 'The Heirs' is its stellar cast.

Looking back on 'The Heirs': Teen series spawns popular K-drama stars

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Looking back on 'The Heirs': Teen series spawns popular K-drama stars

Jaehwa Bernardo,

ABS-CBN News

Published December 07, 2023 06:39 AM PHT

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Updated December 07, 2023 10:07 AM PHT

Read More:

K-drama

K-content

The Heirs

Lee Min-ho

Park Shin-hye

Kim Woo-bin

Kim Ji-won

Kang Min-hyuk

Krystal Jung

Park Hyung-sik

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