The Heirs (2013)

Now, this is weird. I totally expected to hate it... but I did not.

I stayed away from this drama for a long while because of some very bad reviews.
Now that I watched it, it taught me the lesson to not judge a book by its cover...
(and it might have helped that my expectations were not too high)

OF COURSE - this drama is not innovative nor deep nor the king of dramalang.
But seriously - who reads the plot-description and expects it to be? Haven't you
watched at least some of the bazillion cliché romance dramas before?
If you have, then you should know what comes your way.

Agreed, this drama delivers a good roundabout rich douchebag falls in
love with the poor heroine and it does not leave out the bitch, the rowdy guy, the
awful rich family and lots of bullying (and probably some more clichés... was there
the piggyback-ride? I'm not sure).
Hey, but it was totally fine, because when you dive into this, you should be looking
for stuff like that, too.
The acting was fine - I am not a fan of the female lead, but oh well. Her behaviour, too,
was unnerving sometimes, they wrote her character as someone intelligent and decent
but her reactions tended to be flat in many ways. This was the only major "letdown".

If you like the cliché romance stuff with no specific innovations and don't expect much more
than enjoyable entertainment, then this is totally fine.

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Entertaining story. Recycled themes. Subpar romantic pairing.



If you want to watch a show with a satisfying lead couple, The Heirs will probably leave you disappointed. Yet despite that major flaw, The Heirs was an entertaining watch.



Sure there were cliched elements. Poor girl, rich guy. Spoiled rich brats bullying inferior classmates. Wicked and outrageous parents. But really isn't that to be expected with a lot of romantic dramas?However, there were also some very interesting and compelling story arcs as well. A live in mistress. Rival siblings with opposite takes on business, pleasing their father, and the emphasis they place on love. The relationship between Eun Sang's mother, a mute housemaid, and Tan's mother, a live in mistress, is also a joy to watch. The growth of Choi Young Do is compelling to follow as well.



The biggest annoyance in The Heirs is the behavior of Eun Sang. Crying and pouting constantly it was shocking every time she even so much as cracked a smile. Tan repeatedly goes out of his way to win her affection, yet she rarely reciprocates. The questions many viewers will be asking is: Why does either Tan or Young Do actually like Eun Sang??



Lee Min Ho and Kim Woo Bin really carried the show. Kim Sung Ryung and Kim Mi Kyung were also exceptional in their roles. As for Park Shin Hye, whether it was the writing or her acting, her part kept The Heirs from being anything more than simply "good."

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Well fans including myself. Who doesn't like eye candies? This was my first kdrama but I did not write a review until years later when I have submerged myself in the world of kdrama n experience what truly is a great drama.

Of course, this drama is super overrated. Hey, u can't blame anyone. They're celebs. We r fans. That means we are willing to watch them cuz they shine extremely brightly somehow in the midst of darkness. What have I done? I'm not watching this for a good story, it's jst a starter. It's jst a pretty cover of kdramas. It's best for newbies like I use to be. It will introduce everyone to all the popular n pretty faces of Korean dramas.
Tbh, I watch this cuz of the eye candies. They were all good looking. Big names of Korea. Everyone was popular actors, singers, models!! Who cares about the story. It's gonna be cliche anyways n we all know it. But we still choose to watch it cuz it's beautiful.

Starting a drama in america's wonderful dreamland of LA Hollywood. Heck yea so smart!! Dream catchers that captured our minds n hearts into a dreamworld of eye candies. We are all dreaming in this midsummer.

Of course it was a waste giving all these talented actors a dumb script to follow. They could do way better cuz they are capable of way more. The music was the best part of this drama they were so calming for a hot summer. It makes u feel n dream n wish. Like finding serendipity n LOVe is the moment LOL!!

I recommend this to everyone actually. This shows what a bad story is. This shows what eye candies are. I highly recommend this to beginners of kdrama world. I got my mom to watch kdramas by getting her to watch this drama. She enjoyed it cuz of the eye candy n of course ost!!
No one will hate on sexy hot guys n girls. No one will hate on fantastic soothing music. No one truly cares about a perfect story wo any plot holes cuz nothing is perfect. We all love cliche stuff that is why they are cliche.

If anyone wants to start kdramas or persuade others to join this world of kdrama, HEIRS is the opportunity!!

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I have never hated a k-drama more in my life

I hate this show so much I can't even explain it in words without getting riled up. Everything about this show pissed me off. The only like-able characters in this show were the female leads mute mother and her childhood friend (and even he pissed me off sometimes), everyone else could have literally died and i wouldn't even give half a damn. The female lead had the flimsiest backbone i've ever seen and both of the male leads needed to be punched in the face several times. The music was okay. The only reason the acting got as high of a rating as it did is because the actors in this show sure do know how to act insufferable.

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Spoiler-free, just pure appreciation for the drama!!

I'm quite new in MDL but has watched The Heirs about 4 times now probably and since a lot aren't satisfied I decided to give an honest review from someone who genuinely likes this drama. This is gonna be long!!

So first off, the story. I do agree that a lot of cliches are packed in here but the presentation was good IMO. This was aired in 2013 when themes like these are the trend, so there's that. I gave it a 9.5 because if you put critical thinking aside and watch it as it is, you might absorb the life lessons they want to convey better. The story is the main reason I find myself coming back, quite ironic since apparently a lot of people here don't like it TT. The drama tackles about serious societal issues ie family problems, bullying, social classes/norms, mental health issues (which is quite brave since this was 2013 and it's 2021 now, I think mental health issues are still not taken seriously in SK)...all wrapped up in colorful candy wrappers presented as your typical teenage romance drama. There are some inconsistencies and loose ends but they're not too bothersome for me. Some actions of characters might be unreasonable and overly dramatic too, ie Eun Sang, but for me, as they're playing 18 year olds...it's quite realistic. A lot of our actions as teens are often brushed off by adults as a "phase" simply because they can't and won't understand. The Heirs honestly helped me a lot with my own perception of the world when I was in my teens so that's probably why this drama left a mark in my heart. (I still cry about Kim Tan and Kim Won's arc, also Kim Tan and Young Do's, and Hyo Shin.)

Second, the cast. Admit or not, this type of role is Lee Min Ho's forte. Most of them are quite obviously past 18 but weirdly enough, I like it that way. They have experience in acting (probably not much for some) and that's why most characters affect me especially Kim Tan, Young Do, Rachel and Hyo Shin. I think Young Do's character wouldn't be much appreciated if it weren't for Woo Bin's superb acting. Of course, the actors who portrayed their parents and bro did amazing! As for the leads' chemistry, it's not as profound to me but it's there.

Third, the OST. I guess because I'm familiar with Kpop, some grammatically incorrect English phrases being thrown about in Korean songs don't throw me off anymore. I'm just here to appreciate the vocals, and they delivered! I especially love Lee Hong Ki's "I'm Saying", his vocals are insane!

Lastly, its rewatch value for me is obviously 10/10!! The issues are ever timely, I just have to set myself in the mood to watch 18 year-olds' romance played by actors in their early to mid-twenties lol. I recently watched this again with my 62 year-old aunt who watched this for the first time, and my heart warmed everytime she said "That's true, it happens..." or "It's funny but it's actually sad when you think about it..." so it didn't surprise me when she also said "Let's watch this again, ok?"

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Easily forgettable, watchable only for the cast with a plot that doesn’t deliver.

The moment I knew the story will go downhill? The first scenes set in America. Honestly, I couldn’t see what the point of them was! Every time I saw Tan interact with Americans, I cringed and wanted to stop watching. I couldn’t wait for Tan to move back because because they were super exaggerated and so cringey.

Basically it’s a high school drama focused on rich kids, whose only aim in life is to form connections and brag about how rich they are and eventually take over after their parents. And of course, no chaebol drama can exist without a poor girl to rescue. Heirs has every trope associated with rich guy/poor girl drama. With this, you’ve to deal with angsty romance of two teenagers who have to fight against the world (basically Tan’s rich family) to get their love approved. There is no plot, everything that happens is too ridiculous to be taken seriously. Albeit, the last episodes do have some content but nothing so good that it can redeem the show. This show highlights bullying and the constant references to their past were somewhat hilarious. How bad were they at 15 that their behaviour when they are 18 is them being milder version of their past???

And majority of the romantic scenes were not romantic at all. It was Kim Tan imposing on Cha Eun Sang until she says yes. It was frustrating to hear “Love is the moment” (I ended up hating this song) play every time he forced her into reciprocating his feelings without really receiving her consent in any form.

Anyway, the saving grace of this drama was Kim Woo Bin as Choi Yeong Do. Yes, we love a bad boy who’s a softie underneath and Woo Bin takes it up the notch. Not because he learns how to and gets better, but because even when he’s being a little shit and knows he’s being one, he still owns it and does it. It’s almost like a child seeking for attention, trying to see how others around him will react. Despite the multiple layers in his character and the amazing acting by KWB, his character does a lot of problematic things which are beyond borderline assault. With Eun Sung, it’s passed off as cute romantic interest in the girl. And yet I found his behaviour with CES, as the story progressed, to be more respectful that Tan’s.

There were few other characters I loved watching: Lee Bo Na (Krystal) — her character grew on me. From jealous girlfriend to being actually warm hearted and sweet underneath who stands up for her friends was a pleasant surprise.

Jo Myung-Soo (Park Hyung Sik) was another character who I wished had more screen time. He seemed to be one of the few people who was not problematic.

Lee Hyo-Shin (Kang Ha Neul) — a character who showed stress from expectations of ones parents, struggling to achieve his own dreams.

The relationship between CES and KT’s mothers was actually fun to watch and wholesome at various points.

I feel like so much of the drama and unnecessary situations could have been avoided had the characters sought therapy. Moral: guys, if you are rich enough like the people in this drama, you can afford therapy to fix your issues.

There’s no reason for me to suggest watching this show in 2021 unless you want to watch it for cast. (But their characters will leave you in a state of frustration!) If not for your love for the cast, you can totally skip it. Not worth 20+ hours of your time.

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Cha Eun Sang is the poor daughter of a mute housemaid. One day, her sister writes from the US that she is getting married. Eun Sang takes the chance and goes there to bring her the money for her wedding. But when she meets her, the older sister takes the money and runs off, leaving back a crying Eun Sang without money and place to stay. That's when she meets Kim Tan, a rich heir, who studies in the US. Somehow he ends up falling in love with her and decides to go back to Korea, to stay with his family and maybe find her. Lucky is on his side, as her mother is actually the maid of his house and they moved in to them, because they have money problems. But a love story between the rich and the poor is never so easy, as there are many people interfering with their personal lifes...

The thing I first thought of when I read about the story was Boys Before Flowers. It basically is a similar story. But I won't judge it for that, since that would have been good. Instead, Eun Sang is a rather weak character, crying all the time and the bully is not the main guy but the second male lead. In general, this is a very basic rich-poor-lovestory. The family make problems, there are many business-related problems, lots of crying and breaking up because of love and so on. I was hoping for more, since this was written by Kim Eun Suk, who also made Secret Garden and A Gentleman's Dignity. But this time, the story is clearly made for a younger audience. Not only because it's a high-school drama, but also because the story just isn't as deep as her other works. But still, I didn't dislike the drama for that. My problem is different.

At some point, I ended up loving almost all the characters, except for Eun Sang. I asked Kim Tan over and over why he would still like her, after she did the same thing again and again and didn't even show her feelings properly. It was really hard to see her cry because of the same thing, over and over. I got annoyed by her behavior and wished that they had taken a strong character like the female lead in Boys Before Flowers was.

Well, but aside from that it had many good points and made me laugh. There were two or three episodes around episode 15 that dragged a bit, but I still enjoyed them, because of the great cast.

Maybe it is not a full 4* drama, because Eun Sang isn't all that great, but for the sake of the others I can rate it like that without feeling bad. If you want a basic romance story set in high-school, you will like this!

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I really wanted to like this because of Lee Minho, I enjoyed boys over flowers and was expecting something similar in terms of entertainment from this drama but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

I'll list the few things that were good:

- I liked some characters: Young Do, Lee Bo na, the two mothers and sometimes Rachel;

- The bromance between Kim Tan and Young Do;

- The relationship between the two mothers.

And that's about it.

Now I'll list the things I disliked which were too many.

- Really plain and cliché main leads and boring romance. They had minimal chemistry, especially in the earlier episodes. Most of their scenes had an awkward aura around it and their romantic interactions looked sorta forced. The fl had more chemistry with the second lead and the ml had better chemistry with some of the other side characters than the fl;

- The fl is the most monotonous main character I've ever seen in a drama so far, she never stood for herself ever the whole drama, all she did was shed tears. I don't know what went wrong, if it was because of the script or the actress, because I've seen another drama of hers and she was sorta boring there as well (no offense);

- The ml is extremely possessive and controlling towards the fl and some scenes were uncomfortable;

- The plot was too uneventful which made the pace really slow;

- There were too many characters, making it confusing to keep up with the plot if you aren't paying close attention;

- I actually felt sorry for Rachel, because even though it was a fake engagement, she had feelings for Kim Tan and he could have, at the very least, treated her better and not humiliated her at any opportunity because of Eun Sang (before they had broken the engagement);

- The actors were all way older than their characters and some scenes made me cringe because of that;

- The ml's outfit choices after he came back from America we're terrible.

And the list could go on but that's all I can remember now.

What I take from this drama is no matter how romantic they portrayed it, I don't ever want to be stalked, obsessed over, be the target of possessive and control freak behaviour, by any man and be a submissive woman who can't stand for myself.

This may sound harsh but I think this was one of worst dramas I've ever watched if not the worst. The ending was not impactful. Eun Sang's situation never changed, Kim Tan and Young Do didn't become friends again, the brother didn't have a happy ending with the person he loved, and we were just expected to forgive the father because of his illness in the end.

I don't recommend this at all if your looking for a quality drama but you could watch it just to laugh at how messy it is, especially if your watching on Viki with the comments on.

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Amazing characters to fall in love with

Watching this drama was so a delightful, Park Shin-hye and Lee Minho are tremendous actors and the chemistry they had was just so perfect. Yes, I agree it was a little cliché but I think that was what I really needed to watch at this moment (cliché doesn't necessarily mean bad). I fell in love with Lee Minho again, Krystal and Minhyuk's couple too and even Woo Bin somehow managed to win my heart at the end. I really felt every scene, the acting was amazing and the love moments were just precious, the conection between the parents, the couples, the friends, were so well made, the jokes also were funny, Lee Minho and Park Shin-hye were just SO cute together, and all this really made me enjoy this drama a lot. 10/10 for me.

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