Shining Inheritance

Everyone knows Boys Over Flowers. But it's surprising how little international fans know about Shining Inheritance, which came out in the same year and pulled in staggering ratings. It was a mega-hit taht was extended by eight episodes and shot the leading actors and actresses to stardom.

I wonder if I'll be able to describe the plot without confusing anyone? Here goes. Go Eun-sung is a girl from a fairly-wealthy family. She has just returned from studying abroad. Her Father is struggling to keep his business afloat, and after he is mistakenly pronounced dead he sees it as an opportunity to provide for his family using his life insurance. Sadly, he doesn't realise that his wife, and Eun-sung's step-mother, is the world's biggest gold digger who takes the money for herself and her daughter, leaving Eun-sung and her autistic younger brother Eun-woo to fend for themselves. Eun-woo soon disappears. This is where I should mention Sun-woo Hwan, who returned to Korea on the same plane as Eun-sung and accidentally took her bag. He's an all-around bastard, and his selfish games not only prevented Eun-sung from identifying the body presumed to be her Father's, but also resulted in Eun-woo's disappearance. It's safe to say she can't stand him. When his grandmother is involved in an accident which results in temporary amnesia, Eun-sung looks after her. Little does she know that this woman is Jang Sook-ja, owner of a restaurant chain, who is now convinced that Eun-sung deserves to become her company's heir far more than her money-dependant grandson. You can imagine, Hwan isn't going to let his happen.

This kind of drama is called a 'makjang', which means it's very outlandish and unrealistic... but incredibly addictive. When I watched this for the first time, I didn't really begin to like it until ten episodes in, but I stuck by for that long because I was quickly invested. The drama set up so many questions from the beginning, that I continued watching just to see what kind of answers I would get. When and how will Eun-sung find out the truth about her father? Will she ever find Eun-woo? Can Hwan ever redeem himself? Which of Seung-mi's faces is her real one? What will happen to the inheritance? I ploughed through all twenty-eight episodes in the space of a few days because I was so desperate for the answers. When I started to love Hwan and the kind of person he was becoming, that made things all the better.
  Speaking of Hwan, he was my introduction to Lee Seung-gi as an actor, and although now I've watched almost everything he's done, Hwan is still what's left with me. He was an arrogant prince who thought he was entitled to the moon and stars, but the team behind Shining Inheritamce did a fantastic job at slowly exposing how tender hearted he really was, and using that to turn him into a good person. I was impressed with, and now completely adore, Lee Seung-gi. He later proved with The King 2 Hearts and My Girlfriend is a Gumiho that playing unbelievable bastards is definitely where his talent lies, but his characters have yet to feel like they're molding into one. I was less impressed with Eun-sung, her character was sweet but predictable and lacked that depth that Hwan had. I'd say Han Hyo-joo's fantastic chemistry with Lee Seung-gi made up for the originality her character was lacking.
  This show hit every sweet point whilst exploring family and humility, but I was a little dissapointed with the love square, simply because I though it could have been utilised a little better. It was kept at a very basic level, like the team wanted to tick a box for including the complicated relationship trope, but couldn't commit to it.
  I mentioned Seung-mi briefly - Eun-sung's stepsister who obsessively loves Hwan - and I thought her story had so much potential. With her character being constantly tugged back and forth between her love for her Mother, her love for Hwan, and the love she had for Eun-sung that she wouldn't admit, there was rook there for some great character growth but ultimately she fell flat. Well done to Moon Chae-won though, for making such a one-dimensional girl seem like someone I could sympathise with.
  I love what this drama says about family, and how family means people you can't give up on. The way Eun-sung can't give up on finding Eun-woo, and the way Jang Sook-ja can't give up on her grandchildren even though they take her for granted. Watching Sun-woo Hwan and Sun-woo Jung turn from monsters into real people was the best thing about Shining Inheritance, in my opinion. It was fun to watch Hwan, especially, find that sometimes he had to abandon his pride and face people on the same ground. However bizarre the show is, there are real lessons to be learnt under the surface. Greed of any kind will not be rewarded, and only those who work hard and strive to protect the people they love are worthy of happiness and riches.