''Brilliant Legacy'' (), also known as ''Shining Inheritance'', is a 2009 South Korean television series starring

Han Hyo-joo Han Hyo-joo (; born Han Ji-yeong, February 22, 1987) is a South Korean actress. She gained wide recognition with the back-to-back successes of '' Brilliant Legacy'' (2009) and ''Dong Yi'' (2010), both of which were massive hits with high viewe ...

Lee Seung-gi Lee Seung-gi (; born January 13, 1987) is a South Korean singer, actor, host, lyricist and entertainer. As one of the highest paid celebrities of South Korea and recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including a Golden Disc Awards, Golde ...

Moon Chae-won Moon Chae-won (; born November 13, 1986) is a South Korean actress. Moon first attracted attention in her supporting role as a gisaeng in ''Painter of the Wind'' (2008). She then starred in ''Brilliant Legacy'' (2009), one of the top-rated Korean ...

, and

Bae Soo-bin Bae Soo-bin (; born Yoon Tae-wook on December 9, 1976), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television dramas ''Brilliant Legacy'', ''Temptation of an Angel ''Temptation of an Angel'' () (also known as Angel's Temp ...

. It aired on SBS from April 25 to July 26, 2009 on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:45 for 28 episodes. It was among the top-rated

Korean drama Korean drama (), also known as K-drama or Koreanovela, refers to Korean language, Korean-language television shows made in South Korea. These shows began to be produced around the early 1960s, but were mostly consumed domestically until the rise ...

s of the year; it maintained its number one spot in the viewership ratings chart for 20 consecutive weeks and reached a peak rating of 47.1% for its last episode. The series is commonly known as the star-making vehicle of popular

Hallyu The Korean Wave, or ''hallyu'' (; ), is a cultural phenomenon in which the global popularity of South Korean popular culture has dramatically risen since the 1990s. Worldwide interest in Korean culture has been led primarily by the spread of K- ...

stars

and

, and is credited with launching their careers into the household names they are today.

Synopsis

Go Eun-sung (

) was studying overseas in New York and returned to Korea during her vacation to bring her

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

brother, Eun-woo (

Yeon Joon-seok Yeon Joon-seok (born December 15, 1995) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Theater Awards and nominations References External links * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yeon, Joon-seok 1995 births IHQ (comp ...

), to the United States to study music. Sunwoo Hwan (

), who was also studying in New York, was ordered to return to Korea by his grandmother, Jang Sook-ja (

Ban Hyo-jung Ban Hyo-jung (; born November 27, 1942), birth name Ban Man-hee (), is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 1964 with a bit part in Shin Sang-ok's film ''Rice'', and went on to a prolific career in television drama In fil ...

), to learn how to manage her food company. Eun-sung and Hwan, who were on the same flight back home, accidentally had their luggage bags exchanged, which led to several misunderstandings between the two. Go Pyung-joong (Jeon In-taek), Eun-sung's father, was struggling to save his company from going bankrupt. One day, his wallet and valuables were stolen by a thief who subsequently died in a gas explosion accident. The police, upon finding Pyung-joong's belongings on the thief, mistakenly identified the thief as him and a death certificate for Pyung-joong was promptly issued. He decided to lie low and not tell his family that he was alive so that his family could claim his life insurance money and use it to clear the debts. However his second wife, Baek Sung-hee (

Kim Mi-sook Kim Mi-sook (, born March 26, 1959) is a South Korean actress. Career Kim Mi-sook made her acting debut in 1979 and has since had a prolific career on television. Her notable roles in the 2000s include a divorcee making a new start in morning ...

), kicked her stepchildren, Eun-sung and Eun-woo, out of the house after collecting the insurance money and moved into a new home with her daughter, Yoo Seung-mi (

). Seung-mi was also Hwan's longtime best friend, hoping to be something more. Eun-sung asked for help from several of her friends, including Hyung-jin, who avoided her because she was no longer rich. She managed to find a job at a nightclub with the help of her friend, Hye-ri. At the nightclub, Eun-sung met Hyung-jin's upperclassman, Park Joon-se (

), who was shocked to see her working there. She also met Hwan, who caused her to lose contact with Eun-woo. Realizing that Eun-woo was missing, Eun-sung was devastated and tried searching for her brother but to no avail. With the help of Hye-ri and Joon-se, Eun-sung rented a small room and started a small dumplings stall while continuing her search for Eun-woo. Meanwhile, Sook-ja became deeply disappointed in her grandson as Hwan had no direction in life and did not know how to cherish her company and employees. While pondering over what to do about her grandson, Sook-ja visited a neighborhood that she used to live in when she was poor and encountered Eun-sung, who was selling dumplings. Sook-ja encountered an accident and received help from Eun-sung. Seeing that Eun-sung tried her best to take care of her even when she could not afford her own daily expenses, Sook-ja was touched by Eun-sung's compassion. She brought Eun-sung home, then announced to her family that Eun-sung was going to live with them and that she was going to appoint Eun-sung as the heir of her food company, if she could raise the profits of the sinking second branch by 20%.

Cast

Main cast

as Go Eun-sung *

as Sunwoo Hwan

Go family

* Jeon In-taek as Go Pyung-joong (father) *

as Baek Sung-hee (stepmother) *

as Yoo Seung-mi (stepsister) *

as Go Eun-woo (younger brother)

Sunwoo family

as Jang Sook-ja (grandmother) *

Yu Ji-in Yu Ji-in (; born January 27, 1956) is a South Korean actress active since 1974. She was born Lee Yun-hui in Seoul, South Korea in 1956 and received a bachelor's and master's degree in Theater and Film from Chung-Ang University. When she was a f ...

as Oh Young-ran (mother) * Han Ye-won as Sunwoo Jung (younger sister) *

Lee Seung-hyung Lee Seung-hyung is a South Korean actor. He is best known as a supporting actor in television dramas, notably in ''Brilliant Legacy ''Brilliant Legacy'' (), also known as ''Shining Inheritance'', is a 2009 South Korean television series star ...

as Pyo Sung-chul

Park family

as Park Joon-se *

Choi Jung-woo Choi Jung-woo (; February 17, 1957 – May 27, 2025) was a South Korean actor. He began his acting career in theater, then became active as a supporting actor in film and television, notably in the sitcom '' Standby'' and the procedural drama ...

as Park Tae-soo (father)

Extended cast

Min Young-won Min Young-won (; born January 5, 1984), birth name Jo Hyo-kyung, is a South Korean actress. She has mostly played supporting roles in television dramas such as ''Boys Over Flowers'' and ''Brilliant Legacy ''Brilliant Legacy'' (), also known ...

as Lee Hye-ri (Eun-sung's friend) *

Jung Suk-won Jung Suk-won (; born May 16, 1985) is a South Korean actor. He began his entertainment career as a stuntman with the Seoul Action School after being discharged from the Marines, then turned to modeling and acting, notably in the television seri ...

as Jin Young-seok (Hwan's friend) *

Son Yeo-eun Son Yeo-eun (; born August 4, 1983), birth name Byeon Na-yeon, is a South Korean actress. Son was nominated for Best New Actress for Television at the Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, ...

as Jung In-young (Eun-sung and Seung-mi's friend) * Kim Jae-seung as Lee Hyung-jin (Joon-se's junior colleague) * Baek Seung-hyeon as Lee Joon-young / Manager Lee (store manager) * Park Sang-hyun as Han Soo-jae (store worker) *

Kim Sung-oh Kim Sung-oh (; born September 15, 1978) is a South Korean actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium ...

as Seon Woo Hwan's friend (Ep.7)

Original soundtrack

# Only You (너 하나만) – Kang Ha-ni (Opening Title) # The Person Living in My Heart (내 가슴에 사는 사람) – Isu # Crazy in Love (사랑에 미쳐서) – Ji-sun # Love is Punishment (사랑은 벌이다) –

K.Will Kim Hyung-soo (; born December 30, 1981), better known by his stage name K.Will (), is a South Korean singer. The name is a combination of the first letter 'K' of his last name 'Kim' and the English word 'Will'. He debuted in 2007 and has since ...

# Spring Rain – Ji-hye # Dear Sister (그리운 누나) # Catch Hwan (환이를 잡아라) # Are We Family? (우리가 가족이니?) # Funny Life # The Road Leading to You (너에게 가는 길) # Smile Working # Last Lie (마지막 거짓말) # Bickering (티격태격) # Memories of Separation (이별의 기억) # Spring Rain (Guitar Ver.) # Destiny, the Second Story (운명, 그 두번째 이야기)

Ratings

In this table, represent the lowest ratings and represent the highest ratings. Source
TNS Media Korea

Awards and nominations

Adaptation

A Chinese remake called ''My Splendid Life'' (我的灿烂人生 ''Wo De Can Lan Ren Sheng'') aired in 2011, on

Dragon TV Shanghai Dragon Television or Dragon TV (), commonly nicknamed the Tomato Channel () based on its logo, is a provincial satellite TV station. It launched in October 1998 as " Shanghai Television" but changed its name to Dragon Television on Octob ...

. A Turkish remake titled ''Don't Let Go of My Hand'' ('' Elimi Bırakma'') aired in 2018, on

TRT 1 TRT 1 (''TRT One'') is the first Turkish national television channel, owned by state broadcaster TRT. It was officially launched on 31 January 1968 as a test broadcast, becoming regular by the early 1970s. It was the only channel Turkey until 15 ...

. A Philippine adaptation titled '' Shining Inheritance'' has premiere in 2024, on

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

References

External links

* * *
''Brilliant Legacy''
at the

Korea Tourism Organization The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO; ) is an organization of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It is commissioned to promote the country's tourism industry. The KTO was established in 1962 ...

{{Works by Pan Entertainment Seoul Broadcasting System television dramas 2009 South Korean television series debuts 2009 South Korean television series endings Korean-language television shows South Korean romance television series Television series by Pan Entertainment