Becoming a Billionaire

Becoming a Billionaire
Also known asBirth of the Rich
Birth of a Rich Man
GenreComedy
Romance
Written byChoi Min-ki
Directed byLee Jin-seo
StarringJi Hyun-woo
Lee Bo-young
Lee Si-young
Namkoong Min
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes20
Production
ProducerLee Han-ho
Production locationsSeoul, South Korea
Running time60 minutes
Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 (KST)
Production companyDa.da Creative Group
Original release
NetworkKBS2
ReleaseMarch 1 (2010-03-01) –
May 4, 2010 (2010-05-04)

Becoming a Billionaire (Korean: 부자의 탄생; Hanja: 富者의 誕生; 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 that had 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 to Lee Shin-mi, the heiress of Ohsung Group and a notorious penny-pincher, for help.[2][3]

Cast

Main characters

A bell boy at Ohsung Hotel in the first few episodes.
The heiress of Ohsung Group, and a strict and frugal person. Ohsung Hotel director in the first few episodes.
An ambitious man whose goal is to revive his father's company, Frontier Group, and who is interested in Shin-mi. Near the end of the drama, he silently declares his love for Tae-hee when she visits him in prison.
A spoiled heiress of Buho Group who is interested in Woon-seok. / Bu Tae-hee's mother (ep. 11, cameo)

Supporting characters

The CEO's
CEO of Ohsung Group, father of Shin-mi
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-mi's secretary
  • Kim Dong-gyun as Mr. Yoo
Employee of Ohsung who works as a spy for Woon-seok.
  • Jung Joo-eun as Yoon Mal-ja
Tae-hee's secretary
Seok-bong's best friend
Kang-woo's sister
  • Ok Ji-young as Bang Soo-jin
Weekly magazine reporter
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.
The ailing owner of the license to the mining rights of a molybdenum mine.
Hotel captain at Ohsung Hotel, and later Lee Jung-hyun's butler
Cameos

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 in Thailand on Workpoint TV from March 10, 2014, to April 4, 2014.[8]

References

  1. ^ Oh, Jean (March 1, 2010). "Post-Olympian line-up ushers in spring". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 2015-06-13. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  2. ^ Wee, Geun-woo (February 24, 2010). "PREVIEW: KBS TV series The Birth of the Rich". Asiae. Archived from the original on 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  3. ^ Yoon, Hee-seong (5 March 2010). "REVIEW: KBS TV series The Birth of the Rich". Asiae. Archived from the original on 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ Cho, Bum-ja (14 April 2010). "Dramas Merchant, Rich sold to Japan for USD 3 mln". Asiae. Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  7. ^ "Programme Detail" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. (in Japanese) kntv.co.jp
  8. ^ "เรื่องย่อ Becoming a Billionaire". luvasianseries (in Thai). 2014-03-17. Archived from the original on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2017-02-11.