In a particularly emotional confrontation, an angry Eun Sang condemns her sister’s lies. Eun Suk is struggling, financially and otherwise. and actually sees her sister Eun Suk, she finds that everything her sister told her about her shining life in L.A. She dreams of having a better life in the U.S. serves as a means of escapism from the bleak realities of her life back home.
#Lee min ho the heirs series
This moment demonstrates what I love so much about “The Heirs:” It’s a K-drama series that explores themes of class, but also this poignant idea of the American Dream and how sometimes it’s only an illusion.įor Eun Sang, L.A. A tearful Eun Sang expresses her hope that she’ll become successful in the U.S. Tan’s waiting for the moment he can return home to South Korea, where his heart is.įor Eun Sang, the idea of going to L.A. Tan has been exiled from South Korea and lives in L.A, as his older brother is afraid Tan will threaten him for a position in the family company. She doesn’t tell her mother that she dreams of staying in L.A. Eun Sang decides she will personally take the money to Eun Suk. After Eun Suk left, Eun Sang took on the burden of supporting her family. That requires providing some context.Įun Sang is a financially struggling high school student who is told by her mother that her sister Eun Suk is getting married in the United States and needs money. While I could go on and on purely about the romantic aspect of it (and am always glad to do so), I want to talk about the narrative significance of L.A. Eun Sang and Tan first meet in L.A., and in the minimal time that Eun Sang and Tan spend together in the city, it serves as their emotional point of connection.
Only episodes one to four are actually set in L.A., but the city is the catalyst for the drama.
The differences between them grow more evident as Eun Sang wrestles with the disapproval of Tan’s parents, as well as a competing love interest. He’s wealthy she juggles multiple part-time jobs to support her struggling mother. When both of them return to South Korea, however, Eun Sang begins attending the same elite school as Tan. There’s your ordinary Everygirl, Cha Eun Sang (Park Shin-hye), who wealthy conglomerate heir Kim Tan (Lee Min-ho) falls for during an accidental meeting in Los Angeles.
On the surface, “The Heirs” is similar to any teenage love story. It’s my absolute favorite K-drama series and I will forever fight (figuratively, not physically) anyone who claims it doesn’t have a deeper meaning. I don’t quite remember how many times I’ve watched the 2013 K-drama series “The Heirs,” but I think I’m more invested in the characters than in myself. “The Heirs” foregrounds Los Angeles as the birthplace of Eun Sang and Tan’s love story and erases the idyllic image that shrouds the city.