East of Eden (TV series)

A period epic that spans the years 1960 to 2000s, East of Eden tells a saga of the bitter rivalry between two men who are eternally bound by fate. Historic events are referenced, such as the rapid industrialization of the 1970s and 1980s, Taebaek coal miners' strikes and student-led democracy movements.

Shin Tae-hwan (Jo Min-ki) is the managing director of a coal mine in Taebaek. The true embodiment of ruthless ambition, he strives to inherit the coal mining company Taesung Group. In the process, he kills Lee Ki-chul (Lee Jong-won), a miner crusading for worker's rights who has been blocking his path to success. He also seduces Yoo Mi-ae (Shin Eun-jung), a nurse at Taebaek Hospital, only to coldly brush her away after he's tired of her.

At the same moment that Yang Chun-hee (Lee Mi-sook), wife of the deceased Ki-chul, is giving birth to a son at Taebaek Hospital, Shin Tae-hwan's wife also gives birth to a baby boy. Filled with rage at Shin Tae-hwan's betrayal, the nurse Mi-ae comes up with a scheme to fulfill her own revenge. She switches the two babies. By doing so, she viciously transforms the fates of not just two lives, but those around them.

Years later, Chun-hee's sons Lee Dong-chul (Song Seung-heon) and Lee Dong-wook (Yeon Jung-hoon) have taken different paths in life. To alleviate their poverty, Dong-chul becomes a gangster, while the younger Dong-wook dreams of becoming a prosecutor to avenge his family by using the law against Shin Tae-hwan. Two women enter Dong-chul's life: the smart and sensible Min Hye-rin (Lee Da-hae), and Gook Young-ran (Lee Yeon-hee), the willful daughter of his gang boss (Yoo Dong-geun). Meanwhile, Shin Myung-hoon (Park Hae-jin), who's been molded in his father Tae-hwan's spiteful, selfish image, sets his eye on Kim Ji-hyun (Han Ji-hye), Dong-wook's sweetheart.

Although Dong-chul is on the other side of the law, he remains protective of Dong-wook, but a revelation shakes him to his core: that his nemesis Shin Myung-hoon is actually his biological brother while the beloved brother that had been beside him all these years is actually the biological son of his enemy.

• The series aired in Japan in 2009 on TBS and cable channel DATV.[9][10] Selected scenes were also screened in theaters, free of charge, in eight major Japanese cities including Osaka, Sapporo, Fukuoka and Hiroshima over 23 sessions in October 2008. These screenings were sponsored by Hanbang Cosmetics Company to mark lead actor Song Seung-heon's 32nd birthday; Song was the model of the company's ad campaign.[11]
• It aired in Vietnam on VTV3 from July 23, 2009, under the title Phía đông vườn địa đàng.
• It aired in the Philippines on GMA Network from August 16, 2010 until January 13, 2011.[12]
• It aired in Malaysia on TV2 in 2014.
• It aired in Thailand on True Asian Series starting May 29, 2009.[13]

• East of Eden official MBC website (in Korean)
• East of Eden at MBC Global Media
• East of Eden at HanCinema
• East of Eden at IMDb