''Dream High'' () is a 2011

South Korean television series Korean dramas (; RR: ''Han-guk deurama''), more popularly known as K-dramas, are television series in the Korean language, made in South Korea. They are popular worldwide, especially in Asia, partially due to the spread of Korean popular cultu ...

starring

Bae Suzy Bae Su-ji (; born October 10, 1994), better known as Bae Suzy, is a South Korean singer, actress and model. She was a member of the girl group Miss A under JYP Entertainment. She made her debut as an actress with television series ''Dream High ...

, Kim Soo-hyun, Ok Taec-yeon,

Hahm Eun-jung Hahm Eun-jung (born December 12, 1988), known professionally as Eunjung and also Elsie, is a South Korean singer and actress. In 1995, she won ''Little Miss Korea'' competition at the age of seven and debuted as a child actress in the same year ...

Jang Wooyoung Jang Woo-young (Hangul: 장우영; Hanja: 張祐榮; born on April 30, 1989), better known mononymously as Wooyoung, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer and actor. In 2008, he debuted as a member of 2PM, a boy band currently managed by ...

and Lee Ji-eun. 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 January 3 to February 28, 2011, every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 ( KST). The drama was popular among teenagers, and brought in average viewership ratings of 15.7% during its two-month run. A special episode, where the cast of the show performed the ''Dream High Special Concert'' on a stage near

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, was aired on March 1, 2011, the day after the series ended. Its sequel ''

Dream High 2 ''Dream High 2'' () is a 2012 South Korean television series starring Kang So-ra, Jay B, Jeong Jin-woon, Park Ji-yeon, Hyolyn, and Park Seo-joon. It aired on KBS2 from January 30 to March 20, 2012, on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 ( KST). Like it ...

'' aired a year later with a different cast.

Synopsis

Six students at Kirin High School share dreams of becoming K-pop idols, among others. During their school years, they learn how to develop their singing, songwriting and dancing skills while undergoing personal growth. They also start to develop feelings for one another. Each of them has their own strengths and weaknesses, but they strive to debut with the support and guidance of one another.

Cast

Main

as Go Hye-mi ** Lee Joo-yeon as young Go Hye-mi (Ep. 2 & 5) :She originally wanted to become an opera singer but is forced to take up mainstream pop to pay off her father's debt to a gangster. * Kim Soo-hyun as Song Sam-dong :A country bumpkin who is a music prodigy with a rare disease. He develops a one-sided crush on Hye-mi. * Ok Taec-yeon as Jin-guk / Hyun Shi-hyuk **

Kang Yi-seok Kang Yi-seok (born November 11, 1998) is a South Korean actor. Kang began his career as a child actor, and has starred in television series such as ''Mr. Goodbye'' (2006), ''First Wives' Club'' (2007), '' Five Fingers'' (2012) and ''Ugly Alert'' ...

as young Jin-guk (Ep. 2, 5 & 10) :An aspiring dancer who plans on making his entertainment debut due to the contentious relationship with his father, the mayor, who hasn't acknowledged him as his son. Hye-mi's Love Interest. *

as Yoon Baek-hee :Formerly best friends with Hye-mi, the two become bitter enemies when Hye-mi betrays Baek-hee during an audition. *

as Jason :An American-born dancer who plans on making his entertainment debut in Korea. * Lee Ji-eun (IU) as Kim Pil-sook :She was discouraged from pursuing music because she was shy and overweight. She also has the gift of perfect pitch.

Supporting

* Ahn Gil-kang as Ma Doo-shik * Ahn Sun-young as Kang Oh-sun (Oh-hyuk's older sister) * Ahn Seo-hyun as Go Hye-sung (Hye-mi's younger sister) **

Park Eun-bin Park Eun-bin (, born September 4, 1992) is a South Korean actress. A former child actress, she is known for her lead roles in the television series ''Hello, My Twenties!'' (2016–2017), ''Hot Stove League'' (2019–2020), ''Do You Like Brahms? ...

as 16-year-old Hye-sung (Ep. 16) * Lee Hye-sook as Song Nam-boon (Sam-dong's mother) * Choi Il-hwa as Hyun Moo-jin (Jin-guk's father) * Park Hyuk-kwon as Go Byung-jik (Hye-mi's father) * Jang Hee-soo as Kang Hee-seon (Baek-hee's mother) * Park Hwi-soon as Jin-gook's roommate (Ep. 1–2, 5)

Teachers in Kirin High School

Um Ki-joon Um Ki-joon (born March 23, 1976) is a South Korean actor. Career Um Ki-joon made his acting debut in 1995 in the stage play ''Richard III'', though he later became best known as a musical theatre actor, starring in ''Singin' in the Rain'', ''The ...

as Kang Oh-hyuk *

Lee Yoon-ji Lee Yoon-ji (born March 15, 1984) is a South Korean actress. After making her acting debut in the sitcom '' Nonstop 4'', Lee has starred in the television series '' Pure 19'' (2004), ''Princess Hours'' (2006), ''Dream High'' (2011), ''The King 2 ...

as Shi Kyung-jin * Park Jin-young as Yang Jin-man * Lee Byung-joon as Principal Shi Bum-soo * Lee Yoon-mi as Maeng Seung-hee * Baek Won-kil as Gong Min-chul *

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'' which became a major part of the Korean Wave. Bae retired from acting af ...

as President Jung Ha-myung (Ep. 1–4) * Joo Young-hoon as the composing teacher (Ep. 11)

Students in Kirin High School

* Jeon Ah-min as Jo In-sung (Jin-gook's friend) * Joo as Jung Ah-jung * Han Ji-hoo as Park Do-joon *

Yoon Young-ah Yoon Young-ah (; born March 15, 1987) is a South Korean actress. Yoon began her career as a child actress, notably in the children's fantasy show ''Magic Kid Masuri'' (2002). She began using the stage name Han Ye-in in 2007 when she transitioned ...

as Lee Ri-ah * Park Jin-sang as Jun Tae-san *

Han Bo-reum Han Bo-reum (born ''Kim Bo-reum''; February 12, 1987) is a South Korean actress and model.
https://www.wo ...

as Ha So-hyun * Bae Noo-ri as Han So-ri (Ep. 6, 9, 12–13)

Special appearances

* Sumi Jo as herself (Ep. 1) * Kim Hyun-joong as himself (Ep. 1) *

Song Hae Song Bok-hee (; 27 April 1927 – 8 June 2022), also known professionally as Song Hae (), was a South Korean television music show host and singer. He had been the host of the longest running music show '' National Singing Contest'' from 1988 ...

as variety show host (Ep. 2, 3) *

Jay B Lim Jae-beom (Hangul: 임재범; born January 6, 1994), better known as Jay B (Hangul: 제이비; stylized in all caps), and formerly JB, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and actor. Lim is the leader of South Korean boy band group Got7, a ...

as Jason's back up dancer (Ep. 3) * Young K as Jason's back up dancer (Ep. 3) *

Shownu Son Hyun-woo (, born June 18, 1992), better known by his stage name Shownu, is a South Korean singer and dancer. He is the leader of the South Korean boy group Monsta X, which debuted under Starship Entertainment, through Mnet's survival show ' ...

as Jason's back up dancer (Ep. 3) * Nichkhun as Lee Ri-ah's CF partner (Ep. 8) * Koo Jun-yup as himself (Ep. 9, 10) * Hwang Chan-sung as Oh-sun's imaginary boyfriend (Ep. 12) * Leeteuk as himself (Ep. 13) *

Eunhyuk Lee Hyuk-jae (born April 4, 1986), better known by his stage name Eunhyuk, is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer and television host. He is a member of the South Korean boy group Super Junior and its subgroups Super Junior-T and S ...

as himself (Ep. 13) * miss A as flash mob dancers (Ep. 16) * 2AM as flash mob dancers (Ep. 16) * Dal Shabet as Baek-hee's students (Ep. 16)

Production

In January 2009, media outlets reported that

, hallyu actor and chairman of KeyEast, would co-produce a television drama with Park Jin-young's entertainment company JYP. A television drama production company, Holym, was established as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

between KeyEast and JYP Entertainment. In April 2010, CJ Media signed a MoU with Holym becoming the part of production team. Bae being the

creative producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

of the drama, he provided overall concept, goals and ideas while Park

composed Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

the music and

choreographed Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

the dance for the series. The

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

was written by

Park Hye-ryun Park Hye-ryun (Korean: 박혜련) is a South Korean screenwriter. She is known for her writing of the popular Korean television dramas ''Dream High'' (2011), ''I Can Hear Your Voice'' (2013), ''Pinocchio'' (2014-2015), '' While You Were Sleeping ...

and the series was directed by Lee Eung-bok.

was also part of the cast for four episodes making his first small screen appearance in three years. While Park Jin-young marked his acting debut with the series. Ok Taec-yeon and

from

2PM 2PM (; romanized; ''Tupiem'') is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of six members: Jun. K (formerly known as Junsu), Nichkhun, Taecyeon, Wooyoung, Junho and Chansung. Originally a seven-piece group, fo ...

from Miss A,

from T-ara, singer IU and Kim Soo-hyun were selected for the main cast. Kim was the only non- idol among the cast, but he had studied music and dance at JYP Entertainment for 3 months in order to portray his role.

Original soundtrack

Chart performance

Plagiarism allegation

While "Someday" fared well commercially and reached number one on the

Gaon Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based o ...

, it was embroiled in controversy after the song's writer and composer, Park Jin-young, was accused of plagiarizing the song, "To My Man". Songwriter Kim Shin-il won his plagiarism lawsuit against Park Jin-young in 2013, however, an appeal to the Supreme Court of Korea led to an eventual High Court retrial in 2015.

Reception

On October 5, 2011, Japan's daily paper Sankei Sports reported that ''Dream High'' was handed the Grand Prize and Hallyu award at the SKY PerfecTV! awards which took place in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. On October 24, 2011, ''Dream High'' was given the Special Award for Foreign Drama at the 5th International Drama Festival held in

. On December 31, 2011, ''Dream High'' won the following at the KBS Drama Awards: Best Supporting Actress for

; Best New Actor and Popularity Award for Kim Soo-hyun; Best New Actress for

; and Best Couple Award for Kim Soo-hyun and Bae Suzy. On May 10, 2012, ''Dream High'' was honored at the Rose d'Or, the global entertainment television festival ceremony which took place at

Lucerne, Switzerland , neighboring_municipalities= Adligenswil, Ebikon, Emmen, Horw, Kriens, Malters, Meggen, Neuenkirch Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a ...

. It won the Golden Rose under the Youth category, the first ever Korean production to do so. In 2012, Philippines network ABS-CBN dubbed the show as "The most successful Korean series of 2011". ''Dream High'' is one of the most watched South Korean dramas on Chinese video streaming platform

Youku Youku Tudou Inc. (formerly Youku Inc.), doing business as Youku (), is a video hosting service based in Beijing, China. It operates as a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Limited. Youku has its headquarters in the Sinosteel Plaza in Haidian ...

with over 26,300,000 views and an average of 2,000,000 views per episode (As of July 2016).

Ratings

In the table below, the represent the lowest ratings and the represent the highest ratings.

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Listicles

Adaptations

* The drama was adapted into a Japanese stage musical, with Yuya Matsushita and

Bright Bright may refer to: Common meanings *Bright, an adjective meaning giving off or reflecting illumination; see Brightness *Bright, an adjective meaning someone with intelligence People * Bright (surname) * Bright (given name) *Bright, the stage na ...

's Nanaka playing the roles of Song Sam-dong and Go Hye-mi, respectively. It had runs at the New National Theatre Tokyo from July 3 to July 20, 2012 and was produced by the , composed of TBS, Avex Live Creative, Nelke Planning and

Lawson Lawson may refer to: Places Australia * Lawson, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Lawson, New South Wales, a town in the Blue Mountains Canada * Lawson, Saskatchewan * Lawson Island, Nunavut United States * Lawson, Arkansas ...

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

Entertainment. * After the publication of ''Dream High Special Making Book'' in February 2011 which contained behind-the-scene stories and photos as well as special interviews with the show's cast, a two-volume "image novel" was also released featuring still cuts from the drama. * In episode 17 of '' My Love from the Star'',

makes a special guest appearance as Go Hye-mi, the main protagonist (and the same character she plays in) of ''Dream High''. * On November 13, 2022, it was announced ''Dream High'' would be adapted into a Korean stage musical which will be opened in May 2023, the plot focusing on the lives of main characters 10 years after the series. On January 26, 2023, it was confirmed that ''Dream High'' will be adapted into a Korean stage musical. On February 10, it was confirmed that choreographers Choi Young-jun from 1Million and Kim Hyo-jin from Artone (also the producing house of the musical) will be participating as choreography directors on the choreograph-heavy stage work. On February 28, it was confirmed that

Eum Moon-suk Eum Moon-suk (; born 7 December, 1982), also known by stage name SIC, is a South Korean actor and singer. He is best known for his roles in the television series ''The Fiery Priest'' (2019), '' Backstreet Rookie'' (2020), and ''Hello, Me!'' (202 ...

Winner Winner(s) or The Winner(s) may refer to: * Champion, the victor in a game or contest *The successful social class in winner and loser culture Film * ''The Winner'' (1926 film), an American silent film starring Billy Sullivan * ''The Winner'' ...

's Lee Seung-hoon and

SF9 SF9 ( ko, 에스에프나인 ; shortened from Sensational Feeling 9) is a South Korean boy band formed by FNC Entertainment and the company's first dance boy group. Consisting of nine members, the group debuted on October 5, 2016 with the relea ...

's Yoo Tae-yang will be playing the male lead, adult Song Sam-dong. Most of the main characters from the original series are reprised as adulthood characters in the adaptation, however only childhood and adolescent casts have been revealed for Go Hye-mi, the female lead in the series.

Sequel

The sequel ''

'' aired a year later with a different cast, starring

Kang So-ra Kang So-ra (born February 18, 1990) is a South Korean actress. Career Kang made her acting debut in the 2009 thriller movie ''4th Period Mystery'', but rose to fame when she starred in the 2011 blockbuster '' Sunny'', a coming-of-age film abo ...

, GOT7's JB and Jinyoung, 2AM's

Jinwoon Jeong Jin-woon (Hangul: 정진운), most often credited as Jinwoon, is a South Korean singer and actor. Debuting as a member of the group 2AM in July 2008, he began his acting career in 2012 with the KBS series '' Dream High 2'', playing Ji ...

, T-ara's Jiyeon,

SISTAR Sistar (, often stylized as SISTAR) was a South Korean girl group formed in 2010 by Starship Entertainment. The group consisted of Hyolyn, Bora, Soyou and Dasom. They made their official debut with the song " Push Push" on 3 June 2010. Their ...

Hyolyn Kim Hyo-jung (; born December 11, 1990), better known by her stage name Hyolyn (효린), is a South Korean singer and songwriter, now under the management of her own self-started production company Bridʒ. She is a former member of the South Kor ...

Ailee Amy Lee (born May 30, 1989), known professionally as Ailee, is an American singer and songwriter based in South Korea. Amassing digital sales success in South Korea, she has released four studio albums, six extended plays, and twenty one singles, ...

, and Park Seo-joon.

Media release

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, the series received a 2-Box Set DVD release on September 28, 2011 by

Avex Japan is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

, which were only available for purchase in the country. Due to the show's popularity and the success of the previous releases, additional 2 box sets were released on August 3, 2012 under the same distributor. Another DVD box set featuring behind-the-scenes videos and interviews with the cast and staff was released on December 7 of the same year in Japan under

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affiliate ...

International broadcast

''Dream High'' is one of the best selling Korean dramas internationally, being licensed to over 35 channels in approximately 60 different countries. It received a worldwide broadcast on

KBS World KBS World is the Korean Broadcasting System's international broadcasting service. It consists of KBS World Radio, KBS World television channel and KBS Korea. History The foreign-language radio broadcast from KBS (before its restructure into a ...

on April 27, 2021. It was also aired on

MENA MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...

's largest network group MBC starting 25 August 2013 and received multiple re-runs since due to its popularity. In

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, it premiered in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

on September 2, 2013 on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and in 2017 on Lifetyle TV in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. The show was sold to various

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n countries including

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

(2012),

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

(2012),

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

(2012, 2013, 2017),

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

(2013),

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

(2013),

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

(2013),

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

(2013) and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

(2014). It premiered in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

on NET TV for the third time on January 17, 2022.

Streaming platform

''Dream High'' has been licensed to multiple local and international streaming platforms since its release. Foreign releases were on

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

platforms

DramaFever DramaFever was a video streaming website owned by Warner Bros. that offered on-demand streaming video of documentaries, movies, and TV shows with subtitles. DramaFever's content offering was both ad-supported for regular users and available in ...

and Viki Rakuten as well as Viu, available in selected regions. It was released on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on July 20, 2022.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control 2011 South Korean television series debuts 2011 South Korean television series endings South Korean musical television series South Korean romance television series South Korean teen dramas K-pop television series Korean Broadcasting System television dramas Korean-language television shows Television shows written by Park Hye-ryun Television series by CJ E&M Television series by JYP Entertainment Television series by KeyEast Dream High South Korean television series about teenagers South Korean high school television series