Giant (TV series)

Giant
Promotional poster
Hangul	자이언트
RR	Jaieonteu
MR	Chaiŏnt'ŭ
Genre	Period drama
Written by	Jang Young-chul Jung Kyung-soon
Directed by	Yoo In-shik Lee Chang-min
Starring	Lee Beom-soo Park Jin-hee Joo Sang-wook Hwang Jung-eum Park Sang-min Jeong Bo-seok Lee Moon-sik
Music by	Kim Joon-seok Jeong Se-rin
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	60
Production
Executive producer	Oh Se-jang
Producers	Lee Myung-woo Kim Kwang-soo Jang Gil-young
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Production company	JS Pictures
Budget	₩10 billion[1]
Original release
Network	SBS TV
Release	May 10 (2010-05-10) – December 7, 2010 (2010-12-07)

Giant (Korean: 자이언트) is a 2010 South Korean television series starring Lee Beom-soo, Park Jin-hee, Joo Sang-wook, Hwang Jung-eum, Park Sang-min, and Jeong Bo-seok. It aired on SBS from May 10 to December 7, 2010, every Monday and Tuesday at 21:55 (KST) for 60 episodes. Giant is a sprawling period drama about three siblings' quest for revenge during the economic boom of 1970-80s Korea. Tragically separated during childhood, the three reunite as adults and set out to avenge their parents' deaths, their fates playing out against a larger tide of power, money, politics, and the growth of a city.^[2][3][4][5]

The plot revolves around the lives of the three Lee children: Kang-mo (Lee Beom-soo), Sung-mo (Park Sang-min), and Mi-joo (Hwang Jung-eum). One day, Kang-mo overheard that a group of dock workers wanted to entitle his father to rob the gold bars he transports. Kang-mo reported this to his father, Lee and his father reported to Jo Pil-yeon (Jeong Bo-seok), a KCIA official. However, Pil-yeon conspired with Hwang Tae-seob Lee Deok-hwa), Lee's best friend to rob the gold truck and killed Lee, which Tae-seob reluctantly agreed since he needed the money for his construction project. During the robbery, Tae-seob unable to bring himself to kill his best friend and told him to run with his family to Seoul but Pil-yeon killed Lee and Sung-Mo witnessed his father demise. To tie off loose end, Pil-yeon and his men decided to murder Sung-mo's entire family, forcing the family to be on the run. The mother of the siblings revealed that before their father died, he had bought a property in Seoul for them to stay. Sung-mo is separated during their escape to Seoul after he distracted Pil-yeon man in a train. He is then winded up in a US military base and becomes the choir boy. During a stay at the inn their mother dies in an heating accident. Kang-mo and Mi-joo was separated when they are in Seoul. Eventually, Kang-mo is forced to work as a shoeshine boy to make end meet and encountered Tae-seob by chance.

Kang-mo helps Hwang Tae-seob avoid bankruptcy by advocating the use of a different landfill material, which is coal ash. Out of gratitude, he is later adopted by Tae-seob. Meanwhile, Sung-mo made plan to earn Jo Pil-yeon's trust by spying on the US military development plan so Pil-yeon can make a huge fortune in real estate in the future so Sung-mo could destroy him in the future. Decade later. Kang-mo works as assistant to Tae-seob and Sung-mo becomes the right-hand man for Pil-yeon while Mi-joo becomes a caretaker for the wife of Chairman Hong, one of the prominent building contractors in Seoul. During a bidding of an important construction contract for a subway, Sung-mo sabotaged the bidding process, causing Chairman Hong to reveal a black book contains illegal funds of major building contractors and high-ranking officials. Pil-yeon and Tae-seob send Sung-mo and Kang-mo to retrieve the black book respectively, culminating of Sung-mo nearly kills his own brother without knowing it. Hong gives the black book to Mi-joo, which leads to Mi-joo and Kang-mo reunites after decades of separation. Sung-mo secretly helps Hong for his own plan of revenge causes him to finally reunite with his siblings to which he apologizes to them for failing to protect them. Sung-mo reveals the heart-breaking truth to Kang-mo that Tae-seob was responsible for their father's death. At the same time, Tae-seob's son accidentally kills Hong to retrieve the black book and frames Kang-mo for its. Kang-mo surrenders himself to the police while planning his revenge against Tae-seob. Tae-seob agrees to help Kang-mo for taking the blame for his son by giving the land in Gangnam to him. In prison, Kang-mo rises up to become the prison boss. After being released, Kang-mo establishes the Han River Construction company to compete with Manbo Corporation which Pil-yeon and Tae-seob control.

Eventually, Kang-mo succeed in making Manbo Corporation to lose a major contract in land development in Gangnam and manages to isolate Tae-seob allies in the construction association. Tae-seob begs Kang-mo to go back to work for him and even promises to let him and Jung-yeon to be together as husband and wife but he angrily refuses and reveals that Tae-seob owes him his father's life, shocking him. Out of guilt, Tae-seob decides to atone for his crime and transfers half of Manbo Corporation assets to Kang-mo as a token of redemption.

Mi-joo and Jo Pil-yeon's son, Min-woo, fall in love but cannot be allowed to be together because their families are enemies. Mi-joo becomes pregnant and goes into hiding, while Min-woo desperately searches for her. After foiling Tae-seob's stepwife and stepson from taking over his asset, Tae-seob asks Kang-mo for forgiveness and he accepts it, which Tae-seob reveals the location of his father's grave. While Kang-mo forgives Tae-seob, Sang-mo is not convinced. Mi-joo eventually gives birth to a son and becomes a singer. Min-woo discovers that Kang-mo and Mi-joo are sibling and shocks what his father did to Mi-joo's father, causing him to help Kang-mo in secret so he can be with Mi-joo and his son. Although Pil-yeon hates the fact that his grandson comes from his enemy, he still wishes to groom him to be his successor, replacing Min-woo. Pil-yean fakes the paternity test to fool Min-woo that Mi-joo's son is not his to manipulate him for his own ends. Eventually, Sang-mo creates a plan to take down Pil-yeon once and for all and plans to retire to open an orchid farm after the vengeance is fullfilled.

Later, Sung-mo baits Pil-yeon to spill out all his misdeeds and secretly recording it before escaping but is shot in the head by an agent of Jo Pil-yeon, rendering him mentally invalid. He is then hidden by a close friend in the intelligence agency. In the next 5 years, Jo Pil-yeon campaigns to become Prime Minister and he forces Min-woo to embezzle the funds of Manbo Corporation to acquire necessary bribes. Kang-mo and Mi-joo manage to locate Sung-mo along with the black account book and expose Pil-yeon as he is elected as Prime Minister. With undeniable proofs, Pil-yeon is forced to resign and goes into hiding. Min-woo is arrested for embezzlement and Manbo Corporation is acquired by Han River Construction. Mi-joo reveals the truth about his son, causing Min-woo to have had enough with his father and rats him out to the police, resulting in Pil-yeaon's arrest and life imprisonment. Sung-mo undergoes surgery to have the bullet taken out of his head, but he tragically dies. He is buried alongside his father.

Many years later, Kang-mo has become South Korean most successful businessman and Mi-joo has become a famous singer. Min-woo is released from prison and attends her concert. Jo Pil-yeon breaks out of prison to try to murder Kang-mo, but he fails and commits suicide afterwards. The series ends with Kang-mo receiving word from his wife that his long-lost brother (a fourth sibling who was adopted by an American couple many years ago) has come to visit him.

• Lee Beom-soo as Lee Kang-mo, the middle brother in the family. He started out as a shoeshine boy but eventually becomes a real estate mogul as an adult.
  • Yeo Jin-goo as young Kang-mo^[6]
• Park Jin-hee as Hwang Jung-yeon^[7]
  • Nam Ji-hyun as young Jung-yeon
• Joo Sang-wook as Jo Min-woo
  • Noh Young-hak as young Min-woo
• Hwang Jung-eum as Lee Mi-joo^[8]
  • Park Ha-young as young Mi-joo
• Park Sang-min as Lee Sung-mo
  • Kim Soo-hyun as young Sung-mo
• Jeong Bo-seok as Jo Pil-yeon
• Lee Deok-hwa as Hwang Tae-seob
• Kim Seo-hyung as Yoo Kyung-ok
• Lee Moon-sik as Park So-tae
  • Seo Ji-won as young So-tae

• Official website (in Korean)
• Giant at HanCinema
• Giant at IMDb