''Becoming a Billionaire'' (; lit. "Birth of the Rich") is a 2010 South Korean television series starring

Ji Hyun-woo Ji Hyun-woo (born Joo Hyung-tae on 29 November 1984) is a South Korean actor and musician. He was formerly the lead guitarist for Korean indie rock band and is best known for his leading roles in the cable TV series '' Queen and I'' (2012) a ...

Lee Bo-young Lee Bo-young (; born January 12, 1979) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for starring in the television dramas '' My Daughter Seo-young'' (2012), ''I Can Hear Your Voice'' (2013), '' Whisper'' (2017), ''Mother'' (2018), '' When My Lo ...

Lee Si-young Lee Si-young (born Lee Eun-rae on April 17, 1982) is a South Korean actress and former amateur boxer. Early life Born Lee Eun-rae in Cheongwon County, North Chungcheong Province, her family moved to Seoul when she was 9 years old. Lee majore ...

and

Namkoong Min Namkoong Min (Hangul: 남궁민, born March 12, 1978) is a South Korean actor, director and screenwriter. He first gained recognition with neo-noir film ''A Dirty Carnival'' (2006), and has since received praise for his performances in '' Rememb ...

. It aired on

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

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 A bellhop (North America), or hotel porter (international), is a hotel employee who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform (see bell-boy hat), like certain other page boys or doormen. This o ...

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 Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

, 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.

Cast

Main characters

as Choi Seok-bong ** Park Gun-woo as teenage Choi Seok-bong : A bell boy at Ohsung Hotel in first few episodes. *

as Lee Shin-mi **

Kim So-hyun Kim So-hyun (; born June 4, 1999) is a South Korean actress who began her career as a child in 2006, initially gaining public attention for playing pivotal roles in ''Moon Embracing the Sun'' (2012) and '' Missing You'' (2013). She took on he ...

as young Lee Shin-mi : The heiress of Ohsung Group, and a strict and frugal person. Ohsung Hotel director in first few episodes. *

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. *

as Bu Tae-hee : A 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 Yoon Joo-sang (born June 25, 1949) is a South Korean actor. In 2009, he won the Best Supporting Actor award during the 2009 KBS Drama Awards for his role in '' Iris''.'' Filmography Film *''Cane (Hoichori)'' (2011) *'' Miss Gold Digger'' (2007) ...

as Lee Jung-hyun : CEO of Ohsung Group, father of Shin-mi *

Kim Eung-soo Kim Eung-soo (; born February 12, 1961) is a South Korean actor. Kim lived in Japan for seven years, where he studied filmmaking at the Japan Institute of the Moving Image The , formerly known as the Yokohama Broadcasting Technical School, is a ...

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 Kim Ki-bang (born May 31, 1981) is a South Korean actor. Since his acting debut in 2005, Kim has played supporting roles in television dramas such as '' Boys Over Flowers'' (2009), '' Golden Time'' (2012), '' Gu Family Book'' (2013), ''Medical ...

as Park Kang-woo : Seok-bong's best friend *

Park Min-ji Park Min-ji (born July 22, 1989) is a South Korean actress. Filmography Film Television series References External links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Min-ji 1989 births Living people South Korean child actresses 21st-century South Korean ...

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 Kim Mi-kyung (born October 14, 1963) is a South Korean actress. She is most active as a supporting actress A supporting actor is an actor who performs a role in a play or film below that of the leading actor(s), and above that of a bit part. ...

as Kang-woo's mother *

Jung Han-yong Jung Han-yong (정한용, born June 22, 1954) is a veteran South Korean actor. He has appeared in many television series, including 2009's ''Iris''. In 1983 he won the Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paek ...

as Kang-woo's father * Min Wook as Ha Joon-tae **

Son Ho-young Son Ho-young (; born March 26, 1980) is a Korean-American singer and musical actor based in South Korea. Best known as a member of g.o.d, he made his debut in the entertainment industry with the group in 1999 and pursued a solo career as a sing ...

as young adult Ha Joon-tae : The ailing owner of the licence to the

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

rights of a molybdenum mine *

Park Chul-min Park Chul-min (born January 18, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Career Park Chul-min began acting in his high school drama club at Chosun University High School, and though he majored in Business Administration at Chung-Ang University, he spen ...

as Kim Dal-soo : Hotel captain at Ohsung Hotel, later Lee Jung-hyun's butler ;Cameos *

as Seok-bong's father *

Lee Won-jong Lee Won-jong (born January 1, 1966) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Variety shows Theater *''Blind'' (2010) *''The Masked Hut Murder Case'' (2022) - Nobuhiko Awards *2002 SBS Drama Awards: Best Supporting Act ...

as Seok-bong's middle school math teacher *

Choi Song-hyun Choi Song-hyun (born April 11, 1982) is a South Korean actress. Choi began her television career as a KBS announcer in 2006, then she resigned from the network in 2008 to focus on acting. She has since starred in films and television dramas suc ...

as Seok-bong's mother when she met Ha Joon-tae *

Jang Tae-sung Jang Tae-sung (born September 27, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He has mostly played supporting role A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protago ...

as Ohsung Hotel bellman *

Lee Han-wi Lee Han-wi (born June 17, 1961) is a South Korean actor. Since his acting debut in 1983, Lee has become a prolific supporting actor A supporting actor is an actor who performs a role in a play or film below that of the leading actor(s), and ...

as Teriah Park

Ratings

International broadcast

Its Japanese broadcasting rights were sold to

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

(along with another KBS drama '' The Great Merchant'') for . It also aired on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...

as part of the network's " Hallyu Alpha Summer Festival," and on cable channel KNTV beginning July 2, 2014. It aired on Thailand on

Workpoint TV Workpoint TV is Thailand's television station, owned by Workpoint Entertainment, broadcasting on channel 23 of Thailand's digital television. History Workpoint Entertainment began to test their satellite TV broadcasting Channel for Workpoin ...

from March 10, 2014 to April 4, 2014.

References

External links

* * * {{hancinema film, Birth_of_a_Rich_Man Korean Broadcasting System television dramas Korean-language television shows 2010 South Korean television series endings 2010 South Korean television series debuts South Korean romantic comedy television series