Becoming a Billionaire
| 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(s) | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Lee Han-ho |
| Location(s) | Seoul, Korea |
| Running time |
60 minutes Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 (KST) |
| Production company(s) | Da.da Creative Group |
| Release | |
| Original network | Korean Broadcasting System (South Korea) |
| Picture format |
480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | March 1 – May 4, 2010 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Master of Study |
| Followed by | Secret Agent Miss Oh |
| External links | |
| Website |
www |
| Production website |
www |
Becoming a Billionaire (Hangul: 부자의 탄생; 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.
Plot
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]
Cast
Main characters
- Ji Hyun-woo as Choi Seok-bong, bell boy at Ohsung Hotel in first few episodes.
- Lee Bo-young as 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, 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, 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, young adult Ha Joon-tae
- 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
- Park Gun-tae as teenage Choi Seok-bong
- Jang Tae-sung as Ohsung Hotel bellman
- Lee Han-wi as Teriah Park
- Kim So-hyun as young Lee Shin-mi
Ratings
| 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% | |
International broadcast
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]
References
- ↑ 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". (in Japanese) kntv.co.jp
- ↑ "เรื่องย่อ Becoming a Billionaire". luvasianseries (in Thai). 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
