''Did We Really Love?'' () is a South Korean drama series broadcast by MBC in 1999. Starring

Bae Yong-joon Bae Yong-joon (; born August 29, 1972) is a South Korean businessman and former actor. He has starred in numerous television dramas, including, notably, ''Winter Sonata'' (2002), which became a major part of the Korean Wave. Bae retired from a ...

, the series portrays the struggles between love, happiness, and the pursuit of material success.

Plot

Jae-ho and his sister Jae-young were abandoned by their mother to escape poverty. Because of this, Jae-ho doesn't understand what love is. And so, he has a dream of becoming rich, thinking that there is no such thing as love, only money. He works hard his whole life while supporting himself and his sister through college. He works at a seafood wholesale market selling crabs to vendors. He lives with his aunt who has taken him and his sister in after their mother abandoned them. With his big dreams and ambitions, he pretends to be rich while in school, in order to gain the attention of Hyun-soo, who is from a very rich family. Thus, he tries to get her to like him so he can marry into her family and become rich. But during this process, he falls in love with his Psychology teacher, Shin-young. He battles with his feelings and his ambitions, and ultimately picks love over money. Even though they go through hardships, he realizes that he can't survive without both, and so he gives up on Shin-young for money and wishes her happiness. He only does this because everything seems to go wrong while he is with Shin-young. He loses his job, all his money, and his aunt's house gets seized. He thinks that if he has money, none of this would have ever happened. Through all the stress, he finds out that he has

brain cancer A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cance ...

and expresses his desire to die.

Cast

as Kang Jae-ho *

Kim Hye-soo Kim Hye-soo (; born September 5, 1970) is a South Korean actress. Kim was one of the most popular teen stars in the 1980s and 1990s. She is known for her headstrong independence and regularly playing strong-willed, sophisticated women. Kim began ...

as Lee Shin-young *

Yoon Son-ha Yoon Son-ha (; born November 17, 1975, Jeonju, South Korea) is a South Korean actress, singer and television personality (''gaijin tarento''). She is signed onto Sony Music Japan's SME Records division. Since making her debut in the Munhwa Broa ...

as Cho Hyun-soo *

Lee Jae-ryong Lee Jae-ryong (born September 24, 1964) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for starring in Korean drama, television series, notably the merchant-centered costume drama, period epic ''Sangdo, Merchants of Joseon, Sangdo'' (2001), the medic ...

as Song Kil-jin *

Kim Young-ae Kim Young-ae (; 21 April 1951 – 9 April 2017) was a South Korean actress. Career Kim Young-ae began her acting career when she joined MBC's 3rd Open Recruitment in 1971. She made her acting debut in the TV police procedural ''Chief Inspe ...

as Jung Jin-sook (Jae-ho's aunt) *

Joo Hyun Joo Hyun (; born Joo Il-choon, ; March 1, 1943) is a South Korean actor, known for A Family (2004), Ballerina (2023) and Running Man (2013). Biography Joo graduated from Konkuk University in Seoul, where he majored in political science ...

as Lee Byung-kuk (Shin-young's father) *

Youn Yuh-jung Youn Yuh-jung (, ; born June 19, 1947) is a South Korean actress, whose career in film and television spans over five decades. Her accolades include an Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, British Academy Film Award, and Independent Spir ...

as Choi Hae-ja (Shin-young's mother) * Park Sang-min as Park Suk-koo (Jae-ho's best friend) *

Lee Na-young Lee Na-young (; born February 22, 1979) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in television series such as '' Ruler of Your Own World'' (2002), ''Ireland'' (2004) and '' Romance Is a Bonus Book'' (2019), as well as t ...

as Kang Jae-young (Jae-ho's younger sister) **

Lee Se-young Lee Se-young (; born December 20, 1992) is a South Korean actress. She debuted as a child actress in 1997 and was best known for her roles in '' Dae Jang Geum'' (2003), '' When I Turned Nine'' (2004), ''Lovely Rivals'' (2004), and ''The Wonder ...

as young Jae-young *Kim Young-mi as Ko Mi-sun (Jae-young's neighbor) *

Na Moon-hee Na Moon-hee (; Na Kyung-ja, ; November 30, 1941) is a South Korean actress. Since 1960, Na has had a prolific acting career in television and film spanning more than five decades. She established a classic Korean mother persona with her TV dram ...

as Shin Shin-ja (Mi-sun's mother) *

Lee Kye-in Lee Kye-in (born May 16, 1952) is a South Korean actor. Among his notable television series are ''Chief Inspector'' (1972-1989), ''Country Diaries'' (1980-2002), '' Emperor Wang Gun'' (2000-2002), and ''Jumong Dongmyeong of Goguryeo (), pe ...

as Seo Dal-kwon (Jin-sook's neighbor) *

Yang Hee-kyung Yang Hee-kyung (; born December 3, 1954) is a South Korean actress. Filmography Television series Film Theater Discography Awards and nominations References External links * * * 1954 births Living people 20th-century Sout ...

as Jung In-sook (Dal-kwon's wife/Hee-jin's stepmother) *Kim Ga-yeon as Kyoung-hee (waitress in Jin-sook's bar) *Yoon Yong-hyun as Min-chul (Jae-ho's college friend) *

Kim Hae-sook Kim Hae-sook (; born December 30, 1955) is a South Korean actress. Career In 1974, she made her acting debut in MBC's ''Chief Inspector''. Over the past decade, she has won over 10 awards and appeared in over 30 films. Kim Hae-sook has publis ...

as Jae-ho's mother *Kim Hye-ri as Jung Yong (Kil-jin's friend/Jae-ho's doctor) *Shim Yang-hong as Hyun-soo's father *

Song Il-kook Song Il-kook (; born 1 October 1971) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his role in the 2006 hit drama series ''Jumong'' as the titular character. Early life and education Song is the grandson of politician Kim Du-han, great grandson ...

References

External links

''Did We Really Love?'' official MBC website
* * at KoreanWiz {{Noh Hee-kyung 1999 South Korean television series debuts 1999 South Korean television series endings MBC TV television dramas Korean-language television shows 1990s South Korean television series South Korean romance television series South Korean melodrama television series Television shows written by Noh Hee-kyung