Resurrection (South Korean TV series)

Resurrection
Promotional poster
Also known asRebirth
Revenge
Life Again
GenreMelodrama
Romance
Thriller
Written byKim Ji-woo
Directed byPark Chan-hong
Jeon Chang-geun
StarringUhm Tae-woong
Han Ji-min
Music byJi Pyung-kwon
Opening theme"Innocent" by Kim Tae-hoon
ComposerJi Pyung-kwon
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes24
Production
ProducerHong Seong-deok
Production locationKorea
CinematographyByun Choon-ho
EditorKim Young-joo
Running time70 minutes
Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:50 (KST)
Original release
NetworkKorean Broadcasting System
Release1 June (2005-06-01) –
18 August 2005 (2005-08-18)

Resurrection (Korean: 부활; RR: Bu-hwal; also known as Rebirth and Revenge) is a 2005 South Korean television series starring Uhm Tae-woong, Han Ji-min, So Yi-hyun, Go Joo-won, Kang Shin-il, Kim Kap-soo, Kim Kyu-chul, Gi Ju-bong, and Lee Jung-gil. The series is about a man who pretends to be his identical twin brother in order to unearth the conspiracy surrounding his father's death and wreak revenge on his murderers.[1][2] It aired on KBS2 from June 1 to August 18, 2005, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:50 for 24 episodes.

The series is the first installment of the revenge trilogy by director Park Chan-hong and writer Kim Ji-woo, followed by The Devil in 2007 and Don't Look Back: The Legend of Orpheus in 2013.[3]

Plot

After a horrific car crash kills his father, young Ha-eun is taken in by a family of strangers and raised to be a caring, happy young man (Uhm Tae-woong). He becomes a police officer and begins to look into the death of his father, only to discover some horrifying truths about not only the accident, but also his own identity. Ha-eun discovers that his name is really Yoo Kang-hyuk and that he has a twin brother called Shin-hyuk (also played by Uhm), who is now VP of a large company. When a cruel twist of fate gives Ha-eun the opportunity to assume his brother's identity, he sees this as his chance to discover the truth about his tragic past and avenge the wrongs done to him and his family.[4]

Cast

Reception

In the same timeslot as hit series My Lovely Sam Soon, ratings suffered as a result, going down as much as 7% compared to Sam-soon's high 40s. But broadcaster KBS received numerous requests from viewers to re-run the show during weekends, so they could watch both dramas; the re-runs recorded encouraging numbers.[7] And after Sam-soon finished airing, ratings for Resurrection shot up to 20%, reaching a peak of 22.9% on the drama's finale, with the number of messages posted by viewers on its bulletin board surpassing one million.[8] Called a "mania drama" (Korean slang for cult hit - TV series with a tremendous following online, that somehow end up struggling in the ratings), Resurrection gained praise for its tight plotting, complex characterization, and a career-making, emotionally intense performance from Uhm Tae-woong.[9][10]

Ratings

Date Episode Nationwide Seoul
2005-06-01 1 10.9% (16th) 11.0% (15th)
2005-06-02 2 9.6% (17th) 9.7% (16th)
2005-06-08 3 7.8% 8.5%
2005-06-09 4 6.9% 9.4%
2005-06-15 5 8.6% 9.2% (19th)
2005-06-16 6 9.6% (20th) 9.6%
2005-06-22 7 8.4% 9.0% (20th)
2005-06-23 8 9.1% (18th) 9.3% (17th)
2005-06-29 9 8.4% 10.3%
2005-06-30 10 9.5% (20th) 9.7% (20th)
2005-07-06 11 9.3% (19th) 9.2%
2005-07-07 12 9.7% (19th) 9.2% (20th)
2005-07-13 13 9.6% 9.3% (18th)
2005-07-14 14 9.9% (20th) 10.1% (17th)
2005-07-20 15 9.1% (18th) 8.7%
2005-07-21 16 8.0% 8.7%
2005-07-27 17 16.0% (8th) 15.3% (8th)
2005-07-28 18 15.9% (9th) 14.8% (10th)
2005-08-03 19 16.1% (7th) 15.5% (7th)
2005-08-04 20 15.9% (9th) 14.3% (10th)
2005-08-10 21 15.9% (8th) 15.9% (9th)
2005-08-11 22 16.3% (9th) 16.1% (10th)
2005-08-17 23 20.2% (5th) 19.8% (5th)
2005-08-18 24 22.9% (4th) 23.3% (3rd)
Average 11.9% 11.9%

Source: TNS Media Korea

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2005 KBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor Uhm Tae-woong Won [11]
Best Supporting Actor Kim Kyu-chul Nominated [12]
Kang Shin-il Nominated [12]
Best New Actress Han Ji-min Won [11]
Best Writer Kim Ji-woo Won [11]
Best Couple Award Uhm Tae-woong and Han Ji-min Won [11]
2006
42nd Baeksang Arts Awards
 Best Actor (TV) Uhm Tae-woong Nominated [13]

International broadcast

Resurrection first aired in Japan on cable channel So-net beginning April 5, 2006, which was lead actor Uhm Tae-woong's birthday.[14] Its popularity led to reruns on multiple channels, including Tokyo MX, FBC Fukuoka TV and TV Hokkaido.[15]

International remakes

In October 2015, Batman producer Michael Uslan acquired the rights to remake five KBS dramas in the United States, including Resurrection. Though the series was unsuccessful in the ratings during its run, KBS Content Business Office manager Jung Ji-young explained that Uslan chose it for its strong and dramatic plot.[16]

In 2016, the series was adapted in Turkey under the title Kış Güneşi, which is also known under its English-translated title Winter Sun.[17]

References

  1. ^ "KOREAN TV DRAMA REVIEWS: 부활 (Rebirth - Director's Cut) PART 1". Twitch Film. 12 April 2006. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  2. ^ "KOREAN TV DRAMA REVIEWS: 부활 (Rebirth - Director's Cut) PART 2". Twitch Film. 12 April 2006. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  3. ^ Bae, Sun-young (May 23, 2013). "Kim Nam-gil and Son Ye-jin Returning with Hot Romance and Cold Revenge". TenAsia. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
  4. ^ "Revenge". KBS Global Marketing. Archived from the original on 2012-04-27. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  5. ^ "Um Tae-woong to Play Lead in KBS Miniseries Resurrection". KBS Global. March 23, 2005. Archived from the original on April 13, 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  6. ^ "Han Ji-min: I am a Happy Woman Addicted to Revenge". KBS Global. 7 July 2005. Archived from the original on 20 July 2013. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  7. ^ "Viewers Request Re-runs of Revenge". KBS Global. June 3, 2005. Archived from the original on 2022-07-19. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  8. ^ "Final episode of Revenge records series' highest viewer ratings". KBS Global. August 19, 2005. Archived from the original on 2022-07-19. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  9. ^ "KOREAN TV DRAMA REVIEWS: 부활 (Rebirth)". Twitch Film. November 4, 2005. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  10. ^ "Documentary for Hit Drama Revenge Being Produced in Japan". KBS Global. February 10, 2006. Archived from the original on April 13, 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  11. ^ a b c d "2005 KBS Drama Awards". Korean Broadcasting System (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  12. ^ a b "Nominations for KBS 연기대상 (KBS Drama Awards) Announced". Twitch Film. December 22, 2005. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  13. ^ "42nd Baeksang Awards Nominations + Winners". Twitch Film. April 14, 2006. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  14. ^ "Dramas Starring Uhm Tae-woong to Air in Japan". KBS Global. April 5, 2006. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  15. ^ "Japanese Fans Keen on Drama Mawang". KBS Global. April 13, 2007. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  16. ^ Kil, Sonia (October 19, 2015). "Batman Producer Michael Uslan to Remake Korean TV Drama Resurrection". Variety. Archived from the original on 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  17. ^ "K-Scripted Formats Forum: Spotlight on Turkey". daehandrama.com. June 11, 2016. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022.