Stairway to Heaven - Episode 1

Stairway to Heaven starring Choi Ji Woo and Kwon Sang Woo

An epic romance and Kdrama classic, Stairway to Heaven achieved huge popularity both home and abroad. Famous ever since its broadcast in 2003, it helped define what the term "Kdrama" stands for today, from its stunning settings and cinematography to its nuanced, luminous acting. Melodrama queen Choi Ji Woo of Winter Sonata and Kwon Sang Woo of film smash hit My Tutor Friend, superstars of the older generation of Korean actors, paired together for this compelling romantic drama, while co-star Kim Tae Hee (Love Story in Harvard, Iris) also attained lasting popularity from Stairway to Heaven.

The relationship of childhood sweethearts Cha Song Joo (Kwon Sang-woo) and Hang Jung Suh (Choi Ji-woo) becomes complicated when Jung Suh's father remarries. Along with a new stepmother, Jung Suh also has a new introverted stepbrother, Han Tae Hwa (Shin Hyun Joon) and a scheming stepsister, Han Yuri (Kim Tae Hee). Gradually, Tae Hwa falls in love with kind-hearted Jung Suh and Yuri decides to pursue Song Joo. Nothing can shake the bond between Jung Suh and Song Joo, however, not even Song Joo's departure to study abroad in America.

On the night of his return, however, Jung Suh is mysteriously hit by a car and believed dead. Having lost her memory in the crash, she is taken in by Tae Hwa, who relocates and gives her another name. Five years later, on the eve of his engagement to Yuri, Song Joo sees someone who looks exactly like his lost love Jung Suh...

Also known as Stairs to Heaven and Steps in Paradise.