Piano | |
---|---|
Genre | Romance Melodrama |
Written by | Kim Kyu-wan Lee Young-chul |
Directed by | Oh Jong-rok |
Starring | Cho Jae-hyun Go Soo Kim Ha-neul Zo In-sung |
Country of origin | South Korea |
Original language | Korean |
No. of episodes | 16 |
Production | |
Production location | Korea |
Running time | Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 (KST) |
Production company | JS Pictures |
Original release | |
Network | Seoul Broadcasting System |
Release | 21 November 2001 10 January 2002 | –
Piano (Korean: 피아노) is a 2001 South Korean television series starring Cho Jae-hyun, Go Soo, Kim Ha-neul and Zo In-sung. It aired on SBS from November 21, 2001 to January 10, 2002 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 16 episodes.[1]
A melodrama about a father's love for his children and a forbidden romance between stepsiblings, Piano received high ratings during its airing, as well as acting recognition at the year-end network awards ceremony.[2]
Han Eok-kwan (Cho Jae-hyun) is a ruthless, foul-mouthed small-time gangster in Busan. When fellow gangster Dok-sa (Lee Jae-yong) betrays their boss Byun Hak-soo (Im Dong-jin) to take his place as the new boss, Eok-kwan is exiled from the gang. Then a former lover contacts him to meet her in Seoul, but once he gets there, all he finds is a 10-year-old boy named Jae-soo, who claims to be his son. At first he plans to abandon the boy, but unable to do it, ends up raising him.
Shin Hye-rim (Jo Min-su) is a widow with two children, 12-year-old daughter Soo-ah and 10-year-old son Kyung-ho. After her husband, a district attorney, dies, she leaves Seoul with her children and moves to Busan, where she opens a piano school. Eok-kwan falls head over heels in love with the piano teacher, and they later marry.
Shortly after, Hye-rim dies in a boating accident. Soo-ah and Kyung-ho, who've always resented their new stepfather, blame him for her death and try to leave the family home, but Eok-kwan begs them to stay. Transformed into a loving and hardworking father, he raises the three children to the best of his abilities.
A few years pass, and all three children, and their sister Joo-hee (played by Kim Hee-jung first, then by Jung Da-hye), are now young adults. Unbeknownst to Eok-kwan, his biological son Jae-soo (Go Soo) and stepdaughter Soo-ah (Kim Ha-neul) are deeply in love with each other. Though not related by blood, they know that a romantic relationship between them would be taboo, so they suppress their feelings. After Kyung-ho kills a man attempting to rape Soo-ah, Jae-soo takes the rap and goes to prison in his place, with his spotless record ensuring a short sentence. Kyung-ho escapes to Seoul.
When Jae-soo is released from prison after several years, he studies to become a doctor. Soo-ah meanwhile works at a record shop. Kyung-ho, still a rebellious and angry young man, returns to Busan and becomes involved in the city's criminal underworld.
Piano was the second most successful drama of 2001, only being surpassed by Ladies of the Palace. The highest rating that the show reached was 40.2%.