Winter Sonata

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Winter Sonata

Promotional poster

Also known as Winter Love Story

Winter Love Song

Winter Ballad

Endless Love: Winter Sonata

Genre Romance

Melodrama

Written by Kim Eun-hee

Yoon Eun-kyung

Oh Soo-yeon

Directed by Yoon Seok-ho

Starring Bae Yong-joon

Choi Ji-woo

Opening theme From the Beginning Until Now by Ryu[1]

Ending theme From the Beginning Until Now by Ryu[1]

Country of origin South Korea

Original language(s) Korean

No. of episodes 20

Production

Executive producer(s) Kim Jong-sik

Kim Hee-yeol

Producer(s) Lee Hyung-min

Production location(s) Seoul, Namiseom

Camera setup Multi-camera

Running time 60 minutes

Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 (KST)

Production company(s) Pan Entertainment

Release

Original network KBS2

 Picture format SDTV (480i 4:3)

PAL (576i 4:3)

DVB-T (UHF)

Audio format Dolby Digital 5.1

Datasat Digital 5.1

Sony Digital 5.1

Original release January 14 –

March 19, 2002

Chronology

Related shows Autumn in My Heart

Summer Scent

Spring Waltz

External links

Website

Winter Sonata

Hangul 겨울연가

Hanja 겨울戀歌

Revised Romanization Gyeoul yeonga

McCune–Reischauer Kyŏul yŏn'ga

Winter Sonata (Korean: 겨울연가; RR: Gyeoul Yeonga; also known as Winter Love Story, Winter
Love Song or Winter Ballad) is a South Korean television drama series that aired on KBS2 in 2002.
Starring Bae Yong-joon and Choi Ji-woo, it is the second part of the season-themed Endless Love
series directed by Yoon Seok-ho. Filming primarily took place on the resort island
of Namiseom and Seoul.
 The series is widely considered to be the Korean drama that launched the Korean Wave throughout
Asia and worldwide.[2] It has also been adapted into an anime series and a stage musical.

Contents

 1Synopsis
 2Cast
 3Reception
 4Ratings
 5Soundtrack
 6International broadcast
 7Anime
o 7.1Voice cast
 7.1.1Korean version
 7.1.2Japanese version
o 7.2Episode list
o 7.3Soundtrack
 7.3.1Version 1
 7.3.2Version 2
o 7.4Documentary cast (episode 26)
 8Musical theatre
o 8.1Cast
 8.1.12006
 8.1.22011
o 8.2Soundtrack
 8.2.12006
 9Manga
 10Video games
 11In popular culture
 12References
 13External links

Synopsis[edit]
The story begins when Joon-sang, the son of an eminent musician, moves to Chuncheon, a rural
city in South Korea. As an extraordinarily talented student, Joon-sang is welcomed by his fellow
students as well as his teachers, but remains a quiet, introverted teenager. As a result of the belief
that his biological father is dead, and serious disagreements with his mother, Joon-sang believes
that no one truly loves him.
On his way to school one day, Joon-sang's classmate Yoo-jin, while sitting next to him on the bus,
falls asleep on his shoulder. Joon-sang soon falls in love with Yoo-jin, who opens her innocent heart
to him. Their love, however, is cut short after Joon-sang is badly injured in a car accident and, due to
brain damage, suffers from amnesia, unable to remember anything prior to his accident.
Joon-sang's mother, yearning for Joon-sang's love and respect, has Joon-sang brainwashed by a
psychologist, so that Joon-sang will not remember his painful childhood as an illegitimate child. As a
result, Joon-sang's memories prior to the accident are erased. Joon-sang's mother decides to move
to the United States with Joon-sang, where he can start a new life under the identity of Lee Min-
hyung. His friends and teachers are told that Joon-sang is dead.
Ten years later, Min-hyung is an award-winning architect in the United States. He does not
remember anything about his life in Korea. He is completely different, now an open-minded person
who cares about other people. He returns to Korea and Yoo-jin sees him on the street, prompting
her to put off her engagement to her childhood friend Sang-hyuk. Little does she know that Min-
hyung is dating her friend and past rival Chae-rin. The story's plot thickens when Yoo-jin's interior
design firm is awarded a project by Min-hyung's architectural firm, and has to work with Min-hyung.
Yoo-jin sometimes wonders if he is her supposedly dead first love Joon-sang.

Cast[edit]
 Bae Yong-joon as Kang Joon-sang / Lee Min-hyung
 Choi Ji-woo as Jeong Yoo-jin
 Park Yong-ha as Kim Sang-hyuk
 Park Sol-mi as Oh Chae-rin
 Lee Hye-eun as Kong Jin-sook
 Ryu Seung-soo as Kwon Yong-gook
 Kwon Hae-hyo as Kim seonbae
 Song Ok-sook as Kang Mi-hee, Joon-sang's mother
 Jung Dong-hwan as Kim Jin-woo, Sang-hyuk's father
 Kim Hae-sook as Lee Yeong-hee, Yoo-jin's mother
 Ha Ji-hye as Jeong Hee-jin, Yoo-jin's younger sister
 Jung Won-joong as Park Jong-ho, "Gargamel"
 Jang Hang-sun as Supervisor Min
 Lee Hyo-chun as Park Ji-young, Sang-hyuk's mother
 Park Hyun-sook as Lee Jeong-ah, Yoo-jin's colleague at Polaris
 Son Jong-bum as Yoo-jin's colleague at Polaris
 Yoo Yul as Radio broadcaster
 Maeng Ho-rim as Dr. Ahn
 Ha Jae-young as Jeong Hyeon-soo, Yoo-jin's father

Reception[edit]

Winter Sonata park at Namiseom

Winter Sonata is credited with causing the second wave of the Korean Wave and extending it to
Japan and the Philippines.[3] It improved the image of South Korea among the Japanese and set
fashion trends throughout East Asia.[3] The series was a commercial success; 330,000 DVDs and
1,200,000 copies of Winter Sonata novelizations were sold.[2] The series yielded more than US$27
billionwhen taking into account the profit it contributed to tourism.[3] The number of visitors to the
island of Namiseom (where the series was shot) grew from 250,000 to over 650,000 after the series
was aired.[4] A statue of the main characters can also be found on the island at the spot where they
first kissed.[4][5]
The series shot actor Bae Yong-joon into stardom in Asia, and he became especially popular among
middle-aged Japanese women.[2]When he first visited Japan in 2004, more than 3,000 women
guarded by 350 policemen gathered at the airport to welcome him.[2]Junichiro Koizumi, the Japanese
prime minister at the time, was quoted saying that Bae was more popular in Japan than himself.[2]
The series was also aired in the Philippines in 2003 via GMA Network's primetime block under the
title Endless Love II: Winter Sonataand one of the highest rated shows at that time. As a result, it
also brought the Korean Wave to the Philippines. Just like in Japan, Bae Yong-joon became popular
among middle-aged women.
The series was a success in Asia and the Americas as well.[6]