Actor Jo In Sung from the SBS drama "That Winter, The Wind Blows" and actor Kwon Sang Woo from the SBS drama "Yawang" are both living in lies in their roles. Why did they have to resort to that?
** Jo In Sung in "That Winter, The Wind Blows"
Oh Soo (Jo In Sung) steals the identity of a man with the same name who died from a car accident. As soon as he was born, his mother deserted him under a tree. Oh Soo grew up at an orphanage until he was adopted into Park Jin Sung's (Kim Beom) family. Oh Soo and Park Jin Sung are just as close as real blood-related brothers. Both Oh Soo and Park Jin Sung grow up without any special interest in improving their lifestyles in any type of way. Oh Soo eventually grow up into a gambler and a scam artist.
With his blessed appearance, Oh Soo goes through women as often as he eats throughout his life. He had been living without any passion or goals in life. That is, until he met Oh Young (Song Hye Kyo).
Oh Soo falls into a rut when his celebrity ex-girlfriend frames him for stealing $7.8 million from one of her sponsors. Oh Soo even serves time in prison for the crime despite of his innocence. The sponsor, Mr. Kim hires Jo Moo Chul (Kim Tae Woo) to keep an eye on Oh Soo after he is released from prison. Oh Soo is given 100 days to repay the money he "stole" or he is told that he will be killed.
At the time, Oh Soo had been living with Park Jin Sung and another man named Oh Soo. When the other Oh Soo dies one day, Oh Soo and Park Jin Sung find out that he is the only son of the owner of a major conglomerate company. They also learn that Oh Soo, who died, had a father who is also dead and all of his assets have been passed onto his daughter Oh Young. Hearing that Oh Young has not seen her brother for over 20 years, Oh Soo decides to impersonate her brother.
One day, Oh Soo shows up at Oh Young's house claiming to be her brother. The only reason behind this unbelievable act was to somehow steal $7.8 million from her.
Oh Soo was forced to carry on a life that has been tangled up in a web of lies because his life depends on getting that $7.8 million from Oh Young.
** Kwon Sang Woo in "Yawang"
Ha Ryoo (Kwon Sang Woo) meets Joo Da Hae (Soo Ae) 20 years after the last time they saw each other at an orphanage. When Joo Da Hae murders her stepfather who raped her, Ha Ryoo helps her hide his body in a mountain. Ha Ryoo and Joo Da Hae live as husband and wife without any legal paperwork and even give birth to a child named Ha Eun Byul.
The reason she decides to study abroad is to get close to Baek Do Hoon (Jung Yun Ho), the son of Baek Hak Group's CEO Baek Chang Hak (Lee Duk Hwa). Ha Ryoo uses all of the money in his possession to support her then uses all the money he earns to send her to study abroad.
While studying abroad, Joo Da Hae succeeds in seducing Baek Do Hoon and when they return, she gets hired into an impressive position at the Baek Hak Group. Meanwhile, Ha Ryoo is charged with the murder Joo Da Hae committed and goes into prison. Joo Da Hae promises him that she will take good care of their daughter Eun Byul.
However, while Joo Da Hae meets Baek Do Hoon, Eun Byul gets hit by a truck and dies. When Ha Ryoo finds out about everything while he is in prison, he begins to plan his revenge.
When Ha Ryoo gets out of prison, he is reunited with her twin brother Cha Jae Woong (Kwon Sang Woo) after being separated as children, by their father who could only take care of one child. However, Cha Jae Woong gets murdered by Joo Da Hae's brother Joo Yang Hun (Lee Jae Yoon).
Ha Ryoo's hatred for Joo Da Hae has grown into an insurmountable size after losing his daughter and his brother because of her. Ha Ryoo decides to take his brother's identity as a lawyer and continues to plan his revenge. Ha Ryoo becomes close to Baek Do Hoon's older sister, who is actually his biological mother, Baek Do Kyung (Kim Sung Ryung). Ha Ryoo eventually reveals everything about Joo Da Hae's past and drags her out of Baek Hak Group.
In the process however, Baek Do Hoon dies and Ha Ryoo's real identity is revealed.
Oh Soo also gets caught for his lies. Secretary Wang (Bae Jong Ok) and Lawyer Jang (Kim Kyu Cheol) find out about his real identity after a long process. Even though they don't reveal the truth to Oh Young, Jin So Ra tells her everything out of jealousy. Oh Young then asks Oh Soo to go on a trip to a vacation house together and reveals her knowledge of his identity.
Oh Soo lived in lies because his life depended on it while Ha Ryoo did so, in order to take revenge. Regardless of their reasons, neither were successful in achieving their goals or becoming happy.
What if Ha Ryoo didn't steal his brother's identity to take revenge on Joo Da Hae? How different would his life be?
Ha Ryoo is a high school graduate who does not have any special skills. He would have probably ended up working at a restaurant. His life changed completely when he made the decision to carry out his revenge. Ha Ryoo studied while he was in prison and even graduated from college. Then one morning, he was suddenly a successful lawyer working for the Baek Hak Group. Ha Ryoo's passion to take revenge led him to significantly rise up in terms of social status.
Regardless of the fate of Oh Soo and Ha Ryoo, the message underlying all of this drama seems to be clear in both "That Winter, The Wind Blows" and "Yawang": it is that love is necessary unconditionally. Love; it may be a cliché, but it is also a metaphor of life.
