Korean Drama 2002 “ Glass Slippers “ (유리구두)

Yoon-hee and her elder sister Tae-hee were born into a one-parent family; their mother having died giving birth to Yoon-hee. Their devoted father vowed not to marry again and struggled to raise them but was killed in a car accident while already suffering from leukemia. The girls were left to fend for themselves but a series of events caused by gangsters separated the sisters for fifteen years. Yoon-hee grew up as Sun-woo and was abused by the Lee family (Seung-hee especially), who had been forced to adopt her because she was knocked down by their truck. Meanwhile, Tae-hee spent fifteen years with her grandfather and became a successful entrepreneur. Another male character, Chul-woong, frequently stood up for Sun-woo, and once ransacked the Lee household when Sun-woo was being abused. Seung-hee later pretended to be Yoon-hee when a letter from Tae-hee enquiring after her sister arrived. At this point, Sun-woo took refuge at Chul-woong’s house. Internal strife develops when a man called Jae-hyuk decides to take revenge on the sister’s grandfather, who had indirectly caused his grandfather’s death as a child. Shortly before the sisters are reunited, their grandfather is killed in a car accident. Chul-woong is then stabbed to death by gangsters after a reunion with Yoon-hee, who is herself kidnapped by gangsters on their wedding day. At the beginning of the drama, both sisters harbor feelings for Jae-hyuk, while he and Chul-woong both have desires on Yoon-hee, even though Jae-hyuk is engaged to Tae-hee. Seung-hee meanwhile, is keen on Chul-woong, which makes her jealous of Yoon-hee. She becomes even more jealous and spiteful when she realizes that Yoon-hee is the sister Tae-hee was looking for as she grew up in what she believed was a poor household. In the end, Yoon-hee agrees to marry Chul-woong before realizing how great his affection was for her in sacrificing his life to protect her.