The Great Merchant

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TV Show: The Great Merchant (English title) / Wealthy Merchant Kim Man Deok (literal title)
Revised romanization: Geosang Kim Man Deok
Hangul: 거상 김만덕
Director: Byeong-taek Kang
Writer: Jin-suk Kim
Network: KBS
Episodes: 30
Release Date: March 6 - June 13, 2010
Runtime: Sat, Sun 21:40
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

Plot

Man Deok-Kim (Lee Mi-Yeon) was born into the noble class, but became an orphan at the age of 12. She was than adopted by a prostitute on Jeju Island and worked as a prostitute. At the age of 22, Deok-Kim appealed to government authorities and freed herself from prostitution and also reclaimed her noble status. Deok-Kim would then go on to become a wealthy merchant by importing & exporting goods between Jeju Island and the Korean mainland. By the age of 50, Deok-Kim would become one of the richest persons living on Jeju Island. A severe famine would then strike the island taking the lives of one-third of the population. This famine would move Deok-Kim so much that she would sell her entire assets to help feed the starving people of her island.

Notes

"The Great Merchant" is based on the life of Kim Man Deok (1739-1812) - a wealthy merchant who sold her entire assets after a severe famine on Jeju Islands and donated 90% of the proceeds to help the starving people of Jeju Island. A memorial was created for Kim Man Deok on Jeju Island in 1978 and Jeju Island also presents a yearly Man-deok Award to two outstanding ladies that those those in need.
"Wealthy Merchant Kim Man Deok" will take over the time slot previously occupied by the KBS drama "The Reputable Family" (Myeong-ga).

Cast



Lee Mi-Yeon	Park Sol-Mi	Han Jae-Suk	Ha Seok-Jin	Ko Du-Shim
Kim Man-Deuk	Oh Moon-Sun	Jeong Hong-Su	Gang Yu-Ji	Granny



Kim Cheol-Ki	Lee Mi-Ji	Lee Byung-Wook	Kim Kap-Su	Kim Myeong-Kuk
Dong-A	Duk-Pal's mother	Kim Pan-Sool	Gang Gae-Man	Choi Nam-Gu



Kim Kyu-Cheol	Lee Dal-Hyeong	Kim Sun-Kyung	Shim Eun-Jin	Jo Yang-Ja
Oh Jip-Sa	Kim Dong-Joo	Myohyang	Yo Hwa	Chok-Sae's mother



Park Sun-Cheon	Choi Jae-Sung	Kim Byeong-Ki	Chu So-Young	Lee Deok-Hee
Young Cheon-Daek	Kim Eung-Ryeol	Jung Do-Woong	Eun-Hong	Hong-Soo's mother

Additional Cast Members:

Shim Eun-Kyung - Hong (young Kim Mandeuk)
Ju Da-Yeong - Moonsun (young)
Song Yong-Tae - Ko Suk-Joo
Jun Ye-Seo - Baek Jo-Rye
Jo Jae-Wan - Duk-Pal
Oh Yeon-Seo - Lee-Eun
Jung Soo-Young - Kim Seo-Joo
Jo Byung-Gi - Lee-Bang
Jeong Jong-Jun
Jeong Ju-Hee
Kim Sung-Hoon
Maeng Ho-Rim - Chae Je-Gong
Do Ji-Han - Jeong Hong-Su (young)

Trailer

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Comments

Comment #4
dolly Says:
Jun 08 2011 2:49 pm

This drama is interesting. I like the plot. I just hope to I could watch all episodes with english sub because tudou isn't working in my place all the time.
Comment #3
cerah Says:
Mar 20 2011 5:54 am

I love merchant kim man deok, film seri trbaik yg ak tonton, mngharukannn hiks hiks tp kenapa Jeong Hongsu dbuat mati hiks hiks
Comment #2
c. toyoshima Says:
Oct 15 2010 9:47 pm

This TV drama is so beautifuly made and happens to be one of my favorite Korean TV drama series that I cherish. Why has it not received much of the Korean media attention? I am certain that this drama series will do well if shown in Japan and elsewhere.
Comment #1
Helen Says:
Apr 02 2010 1:54 am

There is so much of arguements and even anger, at viikii.net, amongst the audience over this drama, that korean gisaeng is not a prostitute. Yet all write ups say it just so. Which is right.