Stairway to Heaven 천국의 계단 became the seventh drama I saw. Stairway to Heaven joins Winter Sonata, Full House and Lovers in Paris on the list of dramas that led the Hallyu Wave. Stairway to Heaven has even been aired in many countries around the world. When I found out Stairway to Heaven brought together Choi Ji Woo with Kim Tae Hee, I was absolutely ecstatic. I had watched Choi Ji Woo as the female lead in Winter Sonata, and Kim Tae Hee being the female lead in Love Story in Harvard and Gumiho. I loved both of their acting in those three dramas too. The male lead, Kwon Sang Woo, is also another big name actor and very popular among the female fans. Stairway to Heaven simply enhanced his image of being kind, handsome and charismatic.
Stairway to Heaven is a story about Han Jungsuh (Choi Ji Woo) and Cha Songjoo (Kwon Sang Woo) who have grown up together. They've supported one another when Songjoo's father passed away from a traffic accident and when Jungsuh's mother passed away from cancer. Jungsuh's father remarries an actress named Tae Mira, who has two children from a previous marriage. The girl, Han Yuri (Kim Tae Hee), is jealous of Jungsuh having everything she never had and is determined to take everything away from Jungsuh and leave her miserable. It gets more dramatic when Songjoo leaves Jungsuh to study in the U.S. Mira and Yuri combine as 'evil stepmother' and 'evil stepsister' and create hell for Jungsuh. Jungsuh's stepbrother, Taehwa, mistakes her kindess as love and does everything he could to support Jungsuh. Three years later, Songjoo returns to Korea and looks for Jungsuh. Yuri is determined to stop the meeting and ends up hitting Jungsuh with her car. Jungsuh loses her memories in the accident. Taehwa takes Jungsuh away to start a new life with new identities. Another five years later, Songjoo is about to be engaged to Yuri thanks to both of their mothers. However, Songjoo hasn't let go of his love for Jungsuh. His feelings are put to the test when he sees her riding on a carousel. Songjoo becomes determined to bring back Jungsuh's memories.
After a little research, it turns out that Kim Tae Hee filmed Stairway to Heaven, prior to her roles in the other two dramas. I concluded that she must of been an amazing actress. While watching Stairway to Heaven, I realized amazing doesn't even begin to describe her talent. Kim Tae Hee's role in Love Story in Harvard was as a nice, pretty girl with a bright personality. However in Stairway to Heaven, Kim Tae Hee portrays an evil, stepsister that is arguably borderline psychotic. The roles are both well played despite the enormous difference between her roles in each of the aforementioned dramas. I actually hated her character in Stairway to Heaven, which just proves her acting ability. Without question, Kim Tae Hee shot herself into A-list fame with her role in Stairway to Heaven. The girl who plays the younger version of Jungsuh is Park Shin Hye. At the time I watched Stairway to Heaven, Park Shin Hye was only 13. With Stairway to Heaven as her first acting role, Park Shin Hye continued to receive many offers for dramas. Admittedly, I didn't follow along with until 6 years later when she filmed "You're Beautiful" and then "You've Fallen For Me". Boy, did she get amazingly beautiful during that time. Watch for her acting in Stairway to Heaven. She didn't just win the 2003 SBS Drama Child Actress Award for nothing.
Stairway to Heaven's soundtrack is very good too. There are three good songs from this drama: "Chun Gook Eh Gi Uk 천국의 기억", "Geu Gut Man Eun 그것만은" and "Bo Go Ship Da 보고싶다". The first two songs are sung by Jang Jung Woo and the third is sung by Kim Bum Soo. Both artists are ballad singers with a lot of talent. All three songs are very popular among those who've seen Stairway to Heaven, particularly "Bo Go Ship Da". A Korean friend told me that a lot of Korean girls get their boyfriends to sing this song. Just a funny rumor I heard, but somehow understandable once you've seen the drama and heard the song yourself.
One of my favorite parts of this drama is from the first episode when Songjoo teaching Jungsuh to throw a boomerang. "True love will always come back like a boomerang, no matter how far it goes." It's such an inspiring saying. It's been five years since I've watched Stairway to Heaven, but I still remember that saying very clearly. As with any Choi Ji Woo drama, Stairway to Heaven is a sad drama from start to finish. The whole storyline is just one whole tragedy that makes me wonder if there were actually any happy moments. All the events that happens to both Jungsuh and Songjoo contrast the fact that both characters are kind people who did nothing wrong to deserve such misfortune. All viewers will sympathize with both of them from start to finish. The ending to Stairway to Heaven is amazingly beautiful and does it's job of tying all loose ends. Stairway to Heaven is a drama that absolutely should not be skipped.
