First Love (1996 TV series)

First Love is a South Korean television series starring Lee Seung-yeon, Choi Soo-jong and Bae Yong-joon. It aired on KBS2 from September 7, 1996 to April 20, 1997 on Saturday and Sunday at 19:55 for 66 episodes.

It is currently the second highest-rated Korean drama of all time, based on single episode viewership ratings, reaching 65.8% on its final broadcast on April 20, 1997. Its average rating for its entire run was 52.6%. In 1997, the series aired on China Central Television to commercial success and is widely considered the beginning of the Korean Wave.

Plot
Brothers Sung Chan-woo and Sung Chan-hyuk and their sister Sung Chan-ok live in the poor countryside outside with their father Sung Duk-bae, trying to get by as a farming family.

The stern and hard-working Chan Woo and his older brother Chan Hyuk, an aspiring artist, are both in love with Hyo-kyung. She returns Chan-hyuk 's affection. After learning the two are dating, Chan-woo finds it hard to be around her, though she tries to continue to be friendly with him. Lee Jae-ha (Jo Kyung Hwan), Hyo Kyeong's gangster father, is against her dating a poor artist.

A mysterious accident leaves Chan-hyuk paralyzed. Chan-woo, now a law student, gives up his career and joins the underground world of the mafia to seek revenge on Hyo Kyung's family for his own family's suffering.

As the series progresses, Chan-woo is still in love with Hyo-kyung and is torn between his love, the loyalty to his brother and desire for revenge. As the paralyzed Chan-hyuk grows distant to Hyo-kyung, she became drawn to Chan-woo. There was also the childhood friend Kang Suk-hee with a crush on Chan-woo.

Cast

 * Choi Soo-jong as Sung Chan-hyuk
 * Lee Seung-yeon as Lee Hyo-kyung
 * Bae Yong-joon as Sung Chan-woo
 * Song Chae-hwan as Sung Chan-ok (Chan-hyuk and Chan-woo's sister)
 * Choi Ji-woo as Kang Suk-hee
 * Park Sang-won as Kang Suk-jin (Suk-hee's brother)
 * Lee Hye-young as Park Shin-ja
 * Son Hyun-joo as Ju Jung-nam (guitarist)
 * Bae Do-hwan as Oh Dong-pal
 * Jo Kyung-hwan as Lee Jae-ha (Hyo-kyung's father)
 * Yoon Mi-ra as Hyo-kyung's mother
 * Kim In-moon as Sung Duk-bae (Chan-woo's father)
 * Jeon Yang-ja as Chairman Jun (Suk-jin's mother)
 * Park Jung-soo as Shin-ja's mother
 * Kim Tae-woo as Park Hyung-ki (Chan-woo's classmate)
 * Song Hye-kyo as one of the students being tutored by Hyo-kyung
 * Cha Tae-hyun as Chan-woo's friend
 * Michael Bratvold as French exchange student

International broadcast
Due to Bae Yong-joon's popularity post-Winter Sonata, First Love was aired in Japan on NHK in 2005.