The Promise (2016 TV series)
The Promise (Korean: 천상의 약속; RR: Cheonsang-ui Yaksok; lit. Heaven's Promise) is a 2016 South Korean television series starring Lee Yoo-ri (in a twin role),[1] Seo Jun-young, Park Ha-na and Song Jong-ho. It airs on KBS2 on Mondays to Fridays at 19:50, for 102 episodes with the first episode airing on February 1, 2016.[1]
| The Promise | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Hangul | 천상의 약속 |
| Revised Romanization | Cheonsangeui Yaksok |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ch'ŏnsangŭi Yaksok |
| Literally | Heaven's Promise |
| Genre | Melodrama |
| Created by | KBS Drama Production (KBS 드라마 제작국) |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Jeon Woo-sung |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language(s) | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 102 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Lee Hyang-bong |
| Running time | 35 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Neo Entertainment |
| Distributor | Korean Broadcasting System |
| Release | |
| Original network | KBS2 |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Dolby Digital |
| Original release | February 1 – June 24, 2016 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Plot
Lee Na-yeon is made an orphan when chaebol heiress Park Yu-gyeong causes the death of her mother, Lee Yun-ae, in a traffic accident. Yu-nae and Yu-gyeong had been rivals in love for the same man, Jang Gyeong-wan, with Yu-gyeong ensnaring him into marriage by claiming the child she is carrying is his. Jang attempts to make amends for abandoning his college sweetheart by trying to give the orphaned Na-yeon a home, much to the anger of Yu-gyeong and the jealousy of his daughter Se-jin. When Na-yeon discovers evidence that her mother's death may be more than an accident, she forgoes the chance of a life of wealth and privilege for an orphanage.
Taken in by the widow of the man who ran down her mother, Na-yeon grows up alongside Tae-jun, an impoverished but driven and academically brilliant young man, who became the love of her life. Devoting herself to Tae-jun's success, Na-yeon gives up her own tuition money and works multiple jobs, so that he can go to a good university. Wishing to prove himself to those who had earlier discarded him, Tae-jun joins Park Yu-geong's father's company, Baekdo Construction. Winning plaudits at Baekdo, Jang offers to have Baekdo pay for Tae-jun to study for an MBA in the United States and a fast track into an upper management position at Baekdo on the condition that he looks after Se-jin while abroad. Having promised to marry Na-yeon upon graduation, Tae-jun seeks and receives Na-yeon's blessing to leave her for five years. Wanting only for his success, Na-yeon insists that he should go while concealing the fact that she is pregnant with his child.
History repeats itself when Tae-jun forsakes Na-yeon for Se-jin. Tae-jun and Se-jin shared a mutual childhood crush for each other and in the five years away together in the United States, have become lovers. Heartbroken, Na-yeon disappears from the scene.
However, Se-jin's plans to take over Baekdo, with Tae-jun's help, are derailed when her uncle, Park Hwi-gyeong, returns home with a new bride(this is not true they are not married they were set up as a blind date he meets her in Korea he doesn’t return with her as a new bride), Baek Do-hee, a woman with the face of the departed Lee Na-yeon.
After being taken by Tae-jun's mother and brought to Se-jin's house, Se-byul falls victim to an accident that leaves her unconscious and she's placed in the ICU. Meanwhile, Na-yeon goes missing. Tae-jun's mother tricked Na-yeon into showing up at a mental hospital where she is trapped by the staff. She managed to escape from their grasp, but was later run down by a car, with Yu-gyeong screaming in the background, trying to get her to stop.
When Na-yeon finally comes to, Yu-gyeong realizes that Na-yeon is experiencing amnesia. She tricks Na-yeon into thinking that she is one of her mom's friends. She keeps Na-yeon in the hospital, hoping to keep her out of the way and have her start a new life. Later on, Tae-jun's mother spills the secret to Tae-jun and Se-jin eventually finds out. Neither of them tells Na-yeon's family, for their own selfish reasons.
Meanwhile, Do-hee meets with Na-yeon's adopted sister, who was shocked at the resemblance. Do-hee remains suspicious, especially after she finds the baby clothes that her mother had hidden. Do-hee went as far as to test her DNA with Na-yeon's after sneaking into her house to find samples of her hair.
Later on, Do-hee locates the mental hospital that Na-yeon is held at and tells her the entire truth. Do-hee switches clothes with Na-yeon to let her sneak out of the hospital, but a mentally ill patient next door starts a fire just after Na-yeon manages to leave the hospital. Na-yeon rushes back to her twin sister, only to find her unconscious. Na-yeon, dressed in Do-hee's clothes, soon becomes unconscious as well.
Both Na-yeon and Do-hee's families rush to the emergency room, however, because of the clothes swap, Na-yeon is identified as Do-hee, and the now deceased Do-hee is identified as Na-yeon. From there, Na-yeon takes the place of Do-hee and starts her revenge.
Moving forward, Na-yeon's revenge progresses as she takes Yu-gyeong's family one-by-one when she moves into the house of her now husband Hwi-gyeong. From there, Hwi-gyeong's mother Young-suk has Dementia. Because of Young-suk's condition, she mentions Yun-ae many times to Yu-gyeong that made her so angry. Se-jin, on the other hand, hears Young-suk and her mother's argument that her father is not her real biological father.
Na-yeon discovered something that will change her life forever. Park Yu-gyeong's husband, Gyeong-wan is her real biological father to Yun-ae. Yu-gyeong stole her dad from Yun-ae while she was pregnant with Na-yeon. Young-suk knew about this and told Yun-ae, which later resulted in Yun-ae's death.
Cast
Main cast
- Lee Yoo-ri as Lee Na-yeon / Baek Do-hee (dual role) (32 years old)
- Park Seo-yeon as young Lee Na-yeon / Baek Do-hee (12 years old)
- Seo Jun-young as Kang Tae-joon (32 years old)
- Choi Min-young as young Kang Tae-joon (12 years old)
- Song Jong-ho as Park Hwi-kyung (35 years old)
- Jang Do-yoon as young Park Hwi-kyung (15 years old)
- Park Ha-na as Jang Se-jin (32 years old)
- Gong Yeon-sung as young Jang Se-jin (12 years old)
Supporting cast
- Lee Na-yeon's family
- Yoon Bok-in as Yang Mal-sook
- Jo Hye-sun as Lee Eun-bong
- Kim Esther as young Lee Eun-bong
- Han Ga-rim as Lee Geum-bong
- Kim Min-kyul as young Lee Geum-bong
- Im Hyun-sung as Lee Joong-dae
- Jang Se-jin's family
- Lee Jong-won as Jang Kyung-wan
- Kim Hye-ri as Park Yoo-kyung
- Kim Do-yeon as Yoon Young-sook
- Yoon Joo-sang as Park Man-jae
- Kang Tae-joon's family
- Oh Young-shil as Oh Man-jung
- Song Young-kyu as Heo Poong-dal
- Kang Bong-sung as Heo Se-kwang
- Baek Do-hee's family
- Kim Bo-mi as Ahn Sung-joo
- Park Chan-hwan as Baek Dong-jin
Others
- Kim Bo-min as Lee Sae-byul
- Yoon Byung-hee as Team leader Bae
- Lee Seol-goo as Park Joon-ik
- Hong Seung-bum as Park Hee-suk
Guest appearances
- Lee Yeon-soo as Lee Yoon-ae
- Yoon Da-hoon as Lee Ki-man
Ratings
- The blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings
- NR denotes that the drama did not rank in the top 20 daily programs on that date
| Episode # | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNmS Ratings[2] | Nielsen Korea[3] | ||||
| Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area | Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area | ||
| 1 | 2016/02/01 | 17.6% | 15.2% | 15.7% | 15.6% |
| 2 | 2016/02/02 | 18.2% | 16.3% | 15.6% | 14.8% |
| 3 | 2016/02/03 | 16.4% | 13.3% | 12.8% | |
| 4 | 2016/02/04 | 17.5% | 14.1% | 15.0% | 14.9% |
| 5 | 2016/02/05 | 16.6% | 14.5% | 14.8% | 14.7% |
| 6 | 2016/02/08 | 10.6% | 10.4% | 8.2% | 8.4% |
| 7 | 2016/02/09 | 13.1% | 11.8% | 11.5% | 10.8% |
| 8 | 2016/02/10 | 13.6% | 11.9% | 12.2% | 11.8% |
| 9 | 2016/02/11 | 17.6% | 15.5% | 14.0% | 13.6% |
| 10 | 2016/02/12 | 16.3% | 14.6% | 14.5% | 14.4% |
| 11 | 2016/02/15 | 16.7% | 14.3% | 15.4% | 15.3% |
| 12 | 2016/02/16 | 17.6% | 14.0% | 15.7% | 16.4% |
| 13 | 2016/02/17 | 18.3% | 15.6% | 14.8% | 15.1% |
| 14 | 2016/02/18 | 18.4% | 15.7% | 15.8% | 16.4% |
| 15 | 2016/02/19 | 18.8% | 16.0% | 15.6% | 14.8% |
| 16 | 2016/02/22 | 17.6% | 15.3% | 15.8% | 16.7% |
| 17 | 2016/02/23 | 17.8% | 16.2% | 15.6% | |
| 18 | 2016/02/24 | 18.2% | 15.4% | 15.8% | 15.7% |
| 19 | 2016/02/25 | 18.8% | 16.1% | 15.5% | 16.1% |
| 20 | 2016/02/26 | 19.2% | 17.6% | 16.6% | 17.0% |
| 21 | 2016/02/29 | 18.1% | 15.8% | 16.8% | 17.7% |
| 22 | 2016/03/01 | 20.5% | 17.9% | 18.0% | 18.5% |
| 23 | 2016/03/02 | 20.6% | 16.6% | 17.9% | 18.6% |
| 24 | 2016/03/03 | 18.6% | 16.5% | 16.8% | |
| 25 | 2016/03/07 | 20.2% | 18.1% | 17.1% | 17.4% |
| 26 | 2016/03/08 | 20.8% | 18.5% | 17.8% | 17.0% |
| 27 | 2016/03/09 | 19.5% | 16.7% | 15.8% | 15.4% |
| 28 | 2016/03/10 | 18.9% | 16.0% | 15.9% | |
| 29 | 2016/03/11 | 19.4% | 16.1% | 16.9% | |
| 30 | 2016/03/14 | 19.7% | 17.7% | 18.4% | |
| 31 | 2016/03/15 | 20.2% | 17.4% | 19.0% | 19.4% |
| 32 | 2016/03/16 | 19.4% | 16.3% | 17.7% | 17.5% |
| 33 | 2016/03/17 | 19.0% | 15.8% | 16.3% | 16.0% |
| 34 | 2016/03/18 | 15.6% | 17.6% | 17.1% | |
| 35 | 2016/03/21 | 20.0% | 17.1% | 18.5% | 19.2% |
| 36 | 2016/03/22 | 21.5% | 18.6% | 18.5% | 18.4% |
| 37 | 2016/03/23 | 19.6% | 16.7% | 17.8% | 17.4% |
| 38 | 2016/03/24 | 18.1% | 15.5% | 17.0% | 16.9% |
| 39 | 2016/03/25 | 18.7% | 17.2% | 16.9% | 15.9% |
| 40 | 2016/03/28 | 20.1% | 18.0% | 17.0% | 17.3% |
| 41 | 2016/03/29 | 20.8% | 19.8% | 19.0% | |
| 42 | 2016/03/30 | 21.3% | 18.8% | 19.1% | 18.9% |
| 43 | 2016/03/31 | 20.8% | 17.7% | 17.8% | 18.1% |
| 44 | 2016/04/04 | 21.1% | 18.8% | 19.6% | 18.9% |
| 45 | 2016/04/05 | 20.1% | 17.5% | 18.9% | 17.9% |
| 46 | 2016/04/06 | 18.0% | 18.2% | 17.8% | |
| 47 | 2016/04/07 | 20.0% | 17.2% | 18.8% | 19.2% |
| 48 | 2016/04/08 | 19.7% | 18.7% | 18.8% | |
| 49 | 2016/04/11 | 21.0% | 19.5% | 17.6% | 17.0% |
| 50 | 2016/04/12 | 20.5% | 18.7% | 19.6% | 18.8% |
| 51 | 2016/04/13 | 16.3% | 15.9% | 16.4% | 17.1% |
| 52 | 2016/04/14 | 20.1% | 17.6% | 19.8% | 19.5% |
| 53 | 2016/04/15 | 18.5% | 17.0% | 18.1% | |
| 54 | 2016/04/18 | 20.5% | 19.2% | 19.0% | 19.4% |
| 55 | 2016/04/19 | 19.5% | 16.9% | 20.0% | 20.6% |
| 56 | 2016/04/20 | 21.7% | 18.9% | 19.8% | 19.9% |
| 57 | 2016/04/21 | 19.2% | 16.9% | 17.9% | 17.4% |
| 58 | 2016/04/22 | 20.0% | 17.3% | 18.9% | 18.4% |
| 59 | 2016/04/25 | 20.7% | 19.0% | 19.0% | 18.7% |
| 60 | 2016/04/26 | 19.7% | 16.9% | 19.5% | 19.2% |
| 61 | 2016/04/27 | 20.4% | 18.5% | 18.1% | |
| 62 | 2016/04/28 | 20.3% | 18.2% | 19.1% | 19.3% |
| 63 | 2016/04/29 | 21.0% | 19.3% | 17.9% | 17.7% |
| 64 | 2016/05/02 | 20.9% | 20.4% | 19.0% | 19.1% |
| 65 | 2016/05/03 | 20.8% | 19.4% | 20.1% | 19.6% |
| 66 | 2016/05/04 | 17.8% | 16.5% | 17.9% | 17.8% |
| 67 | 2016/05/05 | 17.9% | 17.1% | 16.7% | 16.0% |
| 68 | 2016/05/06 | 19.3% | 17.5% | 15.8% | |
| 69 | 2016/05/09 | 20.3% | 18.5% | 19.3% | 19.2% |
| 70 | 2016/05/10 | 21.6% | 19.1% | 20.1% | 18.9% |
| 71 | 2016/05/11 | 19.6% | 18.0% | 17.6% | 15.8% |
| 72 | 2016/05/12 | 20.7% | 18.3% | 19.8% | 19.0% |
| 73 | 2016/05/13 | 19.9% | 18.4% | 18.0% | |
| 74 | 2016/05/16 | 21.0% | 19.0% | 18.9% | 19.7% |
| 75 | 2016/05/17 | 9.3% | 8.7% | 10.4% | 10.6% |
| 76 | 2016/05/18 | 20.0% | 17.9% | 17.1% | 16.1% |
| 77 | 2016/05/19 | 18.4% | 16.4% | 17.1% | |
| 78 | 2016/05/20 | 19.7% | 18.7% | 16.7% | 16.3% |
| 79 | 2016/05/23 | 20.7% | 18.9% | 17.9% | 17.8% |
| 80 | 2015/05/24 | 20.8% | 18.7% | 19.0% | |
| 81 | 2016/05/25 | 19.7% | 18.5% | 17.7% | |
| 82 | 2016/05/26 | 20.9% | 18.7% | 20.4% | 20.0% |
| 83 | 2016/05/27 | 21.6% | 19.0% | 18.9% | 18.1% |
| 84 | 2016/05/30 | 19.5% | 18.2% | 19.3% | 18.3% |
| 85 | 2016/05/31 | 21.4% | 19.5% | 18.4% | |
| 86 | 2016/06/01 | 18.8% | 16.9% | 18.7% | |
| 87 | 2016/06/03 | 20.2% | 17.7% | 19.2% | 18.9% |
| 88 | 2016/06/06 | 9.8% | 10.0% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 89 | 2016/06/07 | 20.9% | 19.6% | 19.0% | 18.3% |
| 90 | 2016/06/08 | 18.7% | 16.6% | 17.1% | 16.1% |
| 91 | 2016/06/09 | 19.4% | 18.7% | 18.3% | 17.9% |
| 92 | 2016/06/10 | 20.4% | 19.7% | 19.2% | 18.7% |
| 93 | 2016/06/13 | 21.2% | 20.9% | 20.2% | 20.0% |
| 94 | 2016/06/14 | 19.6% | 19.4% | 19.1% | 19.2% |
| 95 | 2016/06/15 | 20.7% | 19.5% | 20.3% | 20.4% |
| 96 | 2016/06/16 | 20.2% | 19.2% | 20.1% | 19.7% |
| 97 | 2016/06/17 | 19.4% | 18.6% | 18.1% | 17.4% |
| 98 | 2016/06/20 | 22.3% | 22.0% | 21.3% | 20.7% |
| 99 | 2016/06/21 | 21.1% | 20.4% | 19.7% | |
| 100 | 2016/06/22 | 21.5% | 20.7% | 21.1% | 21.1% |
| 101 | 2016/06/23 | 21.4% | 20.4% | 20.5% | 19.8% |
| 102 | 2016/06/24 | 21.6% | 21.4% | 21.3% | 20.8% |
| Average | 19.25% | 17.28% | 17.57% | 17.35% | |
- Episodes 78 aired on May 20, 2016
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 30th KBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actress | Nominated | |
| Excellence Award, Actor in a Daily Drama | Nominated | |||
| Excellence Award, Actress in a Daily Drama | Won | |||
| Nominated | ||||
| Best Young Actor | Nominated | |||
| Best Young Actress | Nominated | |||
| Nominated | ||||
International broadcast
The series aired, one week after initial broadcast, on KBS World with subtitles.
It started airing in Singapore on Channel U. Starting Feb 8 2018.
References
- Min, Seonho (1 February 2016). "이유리, '천상의 약속' 1人2色 단독포스터 공개". Sports Today. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- "TNMS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNMS Ratings (in Korean). Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- "Nielsen Korea Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). Retrieved 7 July 2016.