| King of Baking, Kim Takgu, The Baker King | |
|---|---|
Title card for Bread, Love and Dreams. |
|
| Also known as | Bread, Love and Dreams |
| Format | Romance, Slice of life story, Melodrama |
| Created by | Korean Broadcasting System |
| Written by | Kang Eun Kyung |
| Directed by | Lee Jung Sub |
| Starring | Yoon Si Yoon Eugene Joo Won Lee Young Ah |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| No. of episodes | 30 |
| Production | |
| Running time | Wednesday & Thursday nights at 9:55 pm (Korea time) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | KBS2 |
| Original run | June 9, 2010 – September 16, 2010 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Cinderella's Sister |
| Followed by | Fugitive |
King of Baking, Kim Takgu (Hangul: 제빵왕 김탁구 Jeppangwang Kim Takgu), also spelled Takgoo, is a South Korean drama TV series broadcast on Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) that aired after Happiness in the Wind from June 9, 2010 to September 16, 2010 . The show stars Yoon Si Yoon (윤시윤) as Kim Takgu, Joo Won (주원) as Gu Majun, Lee Young Ah (이영아) as Yang Misun and singer Eugene (유진) as Shin Yukyeong. It tells the story of how a determined young baker over comes many trials towards his goal of becoming the best baker in Korea. This story takes place in the 1970s to 1990s, starting after his conception and finishing when he reaches his mid-20s.
The English version was renamed Bread, Love and Dreams and was broadcast on KBS World. It contains subtitles, rather than being dubbed. The show was broadcast in South Korea on KBS2 and internationally on KBS World. The series became one of the most watched show in South Korean history, with its final episode receiving a 50.8% viewership rating (the record still belongs to the drama First Love but considering that it was broadcast at a time where there much less TV channels in Korea, Kim Takgu could be considered the most watched Korean TV series ever). The show's storyline stretches the entire season which was broadcast on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Despite its popularity, like most of KBS' dramas it only lasted one season. One of the shows main songs, "Hope Is a Dream That Never Sleeps" was sung by Super Junior's Kyuhyun.
Contents |
Kim Takgu is the eldest son of Gu Il Jong, the chairman of Geosung Foods Enterprise, and Kim Misun, his mistress. The Chairman’s wife, Insok, is furious with her husband and shuns Takgu. When his mother is kidnapped, Takgu runs away from home and spends the next 14 years looking for her. Through his journey he enters a baking school owned by Pal Bong, a legend in the baking industry who coincidentally is also the same teacher who taught his father. There he finds Jo Jingu, the man who kidnapped his mother, but he tells Takgu that she accidentally fell of a cliff. Takgu decides to stay at the bakery and learn the art of making bread, like his father did before him. Majun, Takgu’s half-brother is also at the school, hoping to learn about baking in order to win his father’s approval and take over the family business. He is living under an assumed name and never reveals his true identity, still having a hatred for Takgu from their childhood.
It is later revealed that Takgu’s mom is not dead and that she is looking for him. The Chairman, who also spent the past 14 years looking for Takgu, eventually finds out he is at the bakery and is furious at Majun for not telling him. The Chairman wants Takgu, his oldest son, to take over the family business instead of Majun. Majun plots to steal Takgu’s childhood friend Shin Yukyeong and embarrass his family in the process as revenge. Takgu eventually finds his mother, but Insok and her lover (and the Chairman’s assistant) Han plot to rob Takgu of his inheritance so that Majun will take the Chairman’s position. When the Chairman finds out about this, Han goes so far as to attempt to murder Takgu, but he is saved by Jo Jingu. Majun’s plan to embarrass his family works, but it doesn’t give him the satisfaction he expects. He reaches a truce with Takgu and the two agree to let their older sister Gu Jakyung run the company. The show ends with Takgu continuing to work at the bakery with his girlfriend Yang Misun while Majun decides to travel around the world with his new bride Shin Yukyeong. While Manger Han is in prison, the Chairman is happy that his loved ones have found happiness.
Main Characters
Gu family
Other characters
The show was extremely popular in South Korea, receiving a record viewer rating of 50.8%.[1] Audiences were attached to the show because of its underdog vs. society theme.[2] Naver listed it as the most searched for item in South Korea of 2010.[3] It was the 7th most popular searched item on Yahoo! Korea.[1]
On December 20, 2010, the series received presidential honors in a ceremony that thanked cultural content producers for their achievements.[4] In its 2010 Republic of Korea Content Award ceremony, the state-run Korea Creative Content Agency named the year’s winner as a part of a ceremony which is given to those who contribute to the overseas boom of Korean pop culture.
| Episode | Air date | TNmS ratings[5] | AGB ratings[6] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National rating | Seoul Metropolitan Area | National rating | Seoul Metropolitan Area | ||
| 1 | June 9 | 15.7% | 16.3% | 14.2% | 13.8% |
| 2 | June 10 | 16.9% | 18.4% | 14.4% | 14.5% |
| 3 | June 16 | 28.5% | 29.1% | 26.4% | 28.3% |
| 4 | June 17 | 25.3% | 26.4% | 24.2% | 26.3% |
| 5 | June 23 | 28.5% | 28.6% | 27.1% | 28.4% |
| 6 | June 24 | 32.2% | 32.5% | 31.1% | 31.8% |
| 7 | June 30 | 33.4% | 33.6% | 31.0% | 32.2% |
| 8 | July 1 | 35.8% | 35.9% | 31.6% | 30.8% |
| 9 | July 7 | 38.1% | 38.6% | 33.4% | 34.7% |
| 10 | July 8 | 34.5% | 34.9% | 33.0% | 33.8% |
| 11 | July 14 | 35.9% | 35.2% | 34.1% | 34.0% |
| 12 | July 15 | 36.9% | 36.1% | 35.3% | 35.2% |
| 13 | July 21 | 38.5% | 37.7% | 37.3% | 37.0% |
| 14 | July 22 | 38.4% | 36.5% | 37.9% | 38.2% |
| 15 | July 28 | 39.7% | 39.2% | 36.6% | 35.7% |
| 16 | July 29 | 39.9% | 38.6% | 37.9% | 38.1% |
| 17 | August 4 | 42.5% | 42.3% | 39.5% | 39.8% |
| 18 | August 5 | 44.4% | 44.0% | 40.5% | 40.2% |
| 19 | August 11 | 44.9% | 44.0% | 42.3% | 42.4% |
| 20 | August 12 | 44.6% | 43.8% | 42.6% | 43.9% |
| 21 | August 18 | 44.0% | 42.6% | 41.9% | 42.4% |
| 22 | August 19 | 43.7% | 42.9% | 42.3% | 41.9% |
| 23 | August 25 | 44.1% | 44.1% | 43.6% | 44.6% |
| 24 | August 26 | 44.7% | 44.2% | 41.9% | 41.9% |
| 25 | September 1 | 45.8% | 44.9% | 44.0% | 44.4% |
| 26 | September 2 | 48.4% | 47.2% | 45.0% | 46.1% |
| 27 | September 8 | 47.5% | 47.0% | 43.3% | 43.2% |
| 28 | September 9 | 48.2% | 46.4% | 44.7% | 44.5% |
| 29 | September 15 | 46.5% | 45.5% | 45.3% | 44.2% |
| 30 | September 16 | 50.8% | 49.7% | 49.3% | 48.3% |
The show aired in the Philippines on GMA Network from January 3 to April 29, 2011 with the title The Baker King and it was dubbed into the Filipino language.