Stairway to Heaven

Han Jung-suh (Choi Ji-woo) and her best friend, Cha Song-joo (Kwon Sang-woo) are childhood friends and have a special bond that blossoms into love. They both share the pain of losing a loved one: Song-joo's father died in a traffic accident and Jung-suh's mother dies of cancer. Jung-suh's father marries an actress and brings her real daughter, Han Yoori, and her son, Han Tae-hwa. Yoori is jealous of Jung-Suh and would make her look terrible in front of her mother who begins to turn on Jung-suh. When Jung-suh's father left for work, her stepmother assaulted Jung-Suh. She thwarted Jung-suh's attempts to study abroad with Song Joo, who then left to America to study abroad alone. Her stepmother plotted for Yoori, to win the affections of Song Joo. All the while, Jung-suh tried to be nice to her step brother, Tae-Hwa, who mistook this friendship for affection and falls in love with her.

Three years later, Song-joo comes back from America and Jung-suh rushes to greet him. A jealous Yoori (Kim Tae-hee) tries to stop them from reuniting. As they race to the airport, Yoori intentionally runs her over with her car. Jung-suh is taken to the hospital where a group of people had just died in fire. Yoori swaps Jung-suh's ID with one of the people to fake her death. She took the real Jung-suh to her biological father's home. Tae-Hwa, still in love with Jung-suh, finds out what Yoori had done, but saw the accident as a chance to run away with Jung-suh. Jung-suh loses her memory, and Tae-Hwa moves them away and changes their names.

Five years later, Yoori is soon to be engaged to Song Joo. Song Joo decides that he needs to let go of Jung-suh. He goes to the carousel they used to ride as children and whispers a wish to see Jung-suh just once more. He looks up and sees her on the carousel. Jung-suh, now named Kim Ji-soo works at a small clothing shop while living with Tae-Hwa, now named Chun-soo. Song Joo rushes to Ji-soo and tells her that she is Jung-suh, but she doesn't believe him. Song Joo is determined to make her remember her past and through a series of events, he and Jung-suh become close.

One day, Jung-suh regains her memory when Yoori nearly hits her with her car again. She rushes to tell Song Joo. She forgives Tae-Hwa as she knew he did it out of love. Jung-suh and Song Joo are happy together, until she discovers she has eye cancer. She asks Tae-Hwa to take her away from Song Joo, since she can't bear to see him in pain. Gradually, Jung-suh's vision deteriorates into blindness. Tae-Hwa tells Song Joo and his family the truth. Yoori is arrested and her mother becomes crazy, going to a mental hospital.

Song Joo marries Jung-suh, who is now blind, with the blessing of his and her parents. Jung-suh tells Tae-Hwa that her one wish is to see Song Joo's face one last time. Both Song Joo and Tae-Hwa ask a doctor to let them give Jung-suh one of their corneas, but the doctor tells them that they can't take corneas from live donors. Tae-Hwa wants to grant her wish at all costs and commits suicide in order to donate his cornea to her. He creates a car accident to cause his death. After his death, Jung-suh had the operation and is able to see again. However, Song Joo finds out about Tae-Hwa's death and later on tells Jung-suh. The doctor stated that the tumor has spread to her brain and she has no chance of living. Jung-suh realizing this forgives Tae-Miri (her evil stepmother) and Yoori because of Tae-Hwa. Both Yoori and Tae-Miri feel remorse and apolegetic for Jung-suh. Jung-suh dies a few days later from the same uncurable illness as her mother, at the seaside near her childhood house, in the arms of Song-Joo. The ending scene reverts back to the beginning scene where Song-Joo plays his piano by the ocean of the memorable beach house. He says something like, "that person (himself) might have loved that girl (Jung-suh) more, but i still love her."

This drama is so different than any that are out there. All the actors did A list acting. The antagonist male is likable because you feel bad for him and he redeems himself in the end. The antagonist female and her mother were so wretched that I seriously wanted to stab them in every episode. I hate how the dad is so clueless. The ending isnt favorable so if you like happy endings then dont watch this cause you will be depressed for days after finishing. The music is repitative to a degree and you will get it in your head for days. Even with all the obstacles and tears I do not regret watching it and recommend it for people who just need a break from life and an emotional release.

I've read reviews on various drama blogs about just how awful this drama is but was convinced I had to see for myself. Boy did those reviewers really know what they were talking about! This is one stairway I shouldn't have even attempted to climb but as always my morbid curiosity got the better of me.



I will admit I fast forwarded through many scenes just to keep myself from beating my head against the keyboard. It didn't help that I really didn't care for any of the characters except Tae Hwa (and even he was creepy).

By the way, what is with Kim Tae Hee's eyeballs? It looked like they were about to pop out of her head at any moment from all the glaring?!

To sum it up, this show was a huge test for my threshold of pain and I found I can pretty much tolerate ANYTHING when it comes to my kdrama addiction. That isn't necessarily a good thing though...

Watch it only if your curious to see just how crazy and over-the-top kdramas can be or if you are a total masochist!

THE emotional "trial-by-fire" drama of all time. Watching STH you find yourself being enchanted/heartbroken by the young Park Shin Hye and Baek Sung Hyun, you find yourself screaming and wanting to b*tch-slap Kim Tahee and the evil step-mom and you find your tears flowing at Kwon Sang Woo’s soul piercing, heart-shattering sobs. The result being your fully vested in this hauntingly unforgettable drama..

5 stars.....

P.S> If unable to watch here....pm me for a couple of different sites.

If you like bad ending dramas that make you cry, this one is for you.

THE GOOD:
- The storyline is decent and very moving. It will tug at your heart and make you cry and feel for the characters.
- The acting is very good. All characters were well-played, even the bad guys, effectively making the viewer hate them so much.
- Music fits the drama very well. It was also nice to hear some 80's and 90's music playing in this drama.

THE BAD:
- There were a lot of 'we can't be together' then 'we're together' to 'we can't be together' again moments that go over and over again, making this drama tiring to watch.
- This drama had lots of moments where the viewer would question "why doesn't he/she say/do this?" that would happen if it were real life.
- The main actress also pretty much cries almost every episode. It gets overrated.
- Way too stretched out storyline. This drama could have ended in 10-15 episodes, but they stretched it to 20, making this drama contain a lot of unnecessary scenes.

GOOD OR BAD ? (Depends on viewer)
- Bad ending. Personally, I was fine getting put through a lot of drama and tears for 18-19 episodes if only the last episode was a happy one.

OVERALL:
This drama certainly would touch your heart but if you are someone who hates sad endings, this drama isn't for you. The music, acting and characters are superb. Storyline is touching but stretched. Be sure to have a box of tissue next to you while watching this drama!

I don't know when I've cried so much watching a drama series, k-drama or not. The screen play is at times frustrating as the characters continue to just miss one another, and at times it's carried just a little too far for the sake of building suspense. Other than that, the acting is superb, cinematography stunning and the storyline is touching. Yes, get ready with your facial tissues because you'll be in for one long cry. I can't watch too many of these types of drama, but this one is worth the time and the extra box of facial tissues.

Stairway to Heaven was I think the best drama I've ever watched. There were some episodes when it made you want to skip the episode and make you feel anxious but I didn't skip any because it wouldn't make sense after. This drama made me cry nonstop, the waterworks kept coming. This drama is romantic, sad, and at some points happy. The characters were very well played. I love Kim Tae Hee but in this drama, she played it so well that it made me want to kill her and she did a good job of it. From the very first episode it made me want to watch even more because when they end it, they end at a very good part. When I want to stop watching the drama, I never could because it kept getting better and better. I even wonder at night before I go to sleep about what would happen next in the drama. She did so many stupid things and it made me mad but still it's a sad story. In the end, she still dies even though they sacrificed everything for her to stay alive. This drama kinda reminds me of Cinderella but even more cruel. This is really good and if anyone is looking for a good and romantic drama, I would recommend Stairway to Heaven!!!!! I LOVE THIS DRAMA >.<!!!!!

Stairway to Heaven

This drama was worth watching . When you first watch the first episode you kinda get connected to it a little bit so you watch more and more . I have to admit I regretted sometimes how I watched this movie since some of the episodes are completely useless but I don't regret a thing now that I finished it . It's a good movie . It's a K-Drama . If you don't like sad endings too bad because this movie is WORTH-WATCHING . It's sad, most of the episodes the water works come and go . This drama is sad, touching, romantic, happy(at times), and you have this inpatient feeling while watching this . The storyline was a bit "long / stretched but those fillers when she does this then that then does this again may put you to sleep, but do not skip any episodes no matter how boring it may get . You will never regret it .