Golden Rainbow ~ Orphans are Humans Too!

“Golden Rainbow” is a Korean drama series about orphans who become a family, released in 2013, with 41 episodes, and categorized as Family and Romance.

♦ A Bungled Kidnapping Separates a Child From Her Family

In “Golden Rainbow”, seven (7) orphans, not related by blood become a family. But before that happens, your heart starts breaking when you watch the very first scene of Episode 1. A woman who has lost her husband through a tragedy must suffer even more when her mother-in-law takes her child from her as well.

Yoon Young-Hye and Kim Han-Joo grew up in an orphanage together. Even though Young-Hye loved Han-Joo, she married for money; not for love. Because she was an orphan she was never accepted by her wealthy mother-in-law. When her husband died, the mother-in-law kicked her daughter-in-law into the streets and kept her granddaughter.

The family business was supposed to be left to her son but since he died, the mother-in-law intended for her granddaughter to inherit the wealth. That was the grandmother’s plan. As for Young-Hye she returned to Han-Joo, told him about her misfortune, and he gave her a place to stay.

Han-Joo tried to kidnap the baby girl, Ha Bin, and return her to her mother. For his well-meaning efforts, he went to prison, and the baby went back to the grandmother.

Seo Jin-Ki grew up in the same orphanage as Yoon Young-Hye and Kim Han-Joo. They all knew each other and thought they could trust each other. Seo Jin-Ki also married for money, and into the same family as Young-Hye. He managed to work his way up in the family business and he was also siphoning off money from the business.

Several years passed and Ha Bin was growing up healthy and happy, being raised by her grandmother. One day Jin-Ki’s mother-in-law saw a shortage of funds on the financial books and demanded that her son-in-law replace the money immediately. Jin-Ki is caught in his own greedy trap and to fix it, he decides to kidnap the granddaughter.

Ha Bin was with her grandmother at an amusement park. Jin-Ki had made arrangements for the child to be kidnapped, but the kidnapper bungled the effort. He locked the child up in an old shed, but Ha Bin managed to escape.

A young boy, Man-Won, found Ha Bin lying unconscious on the beach shore. He took her to his home and cared for her. When she woke up the little girl had no memory. She could not remember her name, nor could she talk. The young boy asked her if she would like to be his little sister. That was their beginning.

Kim Han-Joo was released from prison and went back to work with his old friend. He was a fisherman. His friend told him somebody was stealing the fish he caught and he needed to catch them red-handed. Man Won and Ha Bin were the ones caught stealing the fish because they were hungry. Rather than put them in an orphanage, Kim Han-Joo decided to take care of them.

• Ha Bin’s name was changed to Kim Baek-Won, and her brother became Kim Man Won.

Time passed and the children grew up quickly. For years, people believed that Ha Bin had died. Other children were also adopted by Kim Han-Joo. When their lifelines began crossing as adults, things got complicated.

Not to mention, even though Kim Han-Joo wanted to live the life of an honest, hard-working, and humble man, his so-called “friends” injected “unnecessary and excess drama” into his life.

Main Characters:

• Kim Han-Joo (played by Kim Sang-Joong, “Knight Flower”)
• Kim Baek-Won (played by Uee (Kim Yoo-Jin), “Ghost Doctor”))
• Kim Man-Won (played Lee Jae-Yoon)
• Kim Chun-Won (played by Cha Ye-Ryun)
• Seo Do-Young (played by Jung Il-Woo, “Highway Family”, “Bossam: Steal the Fate”, “Haechi”)
• Seo Jin-Ki (played by Jo Min-Gi)
• Yoon Young-Hye (played by Do Ji-Won)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.8 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 7.4 out of 10 stars
• Dramabeans: 5.3 out of 10 stars
• Amazon customers rated the series: 4.3 out of 5 stars
• Viki viewers rated this series 9.1 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is the same as the Viki viewers.

“Golden Rainbow” is old but gold. It’s a soap-opera-style K-drama loaded with complicated relationships and great background music to accent the tense and tender moments. This Korean drama is perfect for binge-watching on a rainy or snowy day.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

• The Arrival Of Uee And Jung Il Woo Helps Boost “Golden Rainbow” Ratings | KdramaStars
• Jung Il Woo Takes The Lead In “Golden Rainbow” | KpopStarz

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

dramalover. “Golden Rainbow MV I Searched for You.” YouTube Video. YouTube, April 4, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uit5RwFUXT4.‌