# Becoming a Billionaire

Becoming a Billionaire (Korean: 부자의 탄생; Hanja: 富者의 誕生; RR: Bujaeui Tansaeng; lit. "Birth of the Rich") is a 2010 South Korean television series starring Ji Hyun-woo, Lee Bo-young, Lee Si-young and Namkoong Min. It aired on KBS2 from March 1 to May 4, 2010, on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.

## Plot

Choi Seok-bong believes he is the son of a billionaire that had a one-night stand with his mother. While working as a bellboy at a luxury hotel, Seok-bong practices the qualities he thinks a billionaire's heir would have; all these efforts are for the day he meets his birth father. But one day, Seok-bong is diagnosed with breast cancer, which only has a 50 percent survival rate. Seok-bong doesn't have enough money for treatments, and finds it absolutely ridiculous that a billionaire's heir would die because he has no money. Finding his biological father may be Seok-bong's only hope, so he turns to Lee Shin-mi, the heiress of Ohsung Group and a notorious penny-pincher, for help.

## Cast
### Main characters

* Ji Hyun-woo as Choi Seok-bong
** Park Gun-woo as teenage Choi Seok-bong
    A bell boy at Ohsung Hotel in the first few episodes.
* Lee Bo-young as Lee Shin-mi
** Kim So-hyun as young Lee Shin-mi
    The heiress of Ohsung Group, and a strict and frugal person. Ohsung Hotel director in the first few episodes.
* Namkoong Min as Chu Woon-seok
    An ambitious man whose goal is to revive his father's company, Frontier Group, and who is interested in Shin-mi. Near the end of the drama, he silently declares his love for Tae-hee when she visits him in prison.
* Lee Si-young as Bu Tae-hee
    A spoiled heiress of Buho Group who is interested in Woon-seok. / Bu Tae-hee's mother (ep. 11, cameo)

### Supporting characters
#### The CEO's

* Yoon Joo-sang as Lee Jung-hyun
    CEO of Ohsung Group, father of Shin-mi
* Kim Eung-soo as Bu Gwi-ho
    CEO of Buho Group, father of Tae-hee
* Park Young-ji as Chu Young-dal
    CEO of Frontier Group, father of Woon-seok

#### Extended cast

* Shin Da-eun as Han So-jung
    Shin-mi's secretary
* Kim Dong-gyun as Mr. Yoo
    Employee of Ohsung who works as a spy for Woon-seok.
* Jung Joo-eun as Yoon Mal-ja
    Tae-hee's secretary
* Kim Ki-bang as Park Kang-woo
    Seok-bong's best friend
* Park Min-ji as Park Kang-sook
    Kang-woo's sister
* Ok Ji-young as Bang Soo-jin
    Weekly magazine reporter
* Sung Ji-ru as Woo Byung-doo
    A homeless wanderer with an interest in molybdenum, Seok-bong's irksome acquaintance, uninvited roommate, and later, business partner.
* Jang Yoo-joon as Woo Bung-eo
    Byung-doo's son who is musically talented.
* Kim Mi-kyung as Kang-woo's mother
* Jung Han-yong as Kang-woo's father
* Min Wook as Ha Joon-tae
** Son Ho-young as young adult Ha Joon-tae
    The ailing owner of the license to the mining rights of a molybdenum mine.
* Park Chul-min as Kim Dal-soo
    Hotel captain at Ohsung Hotel, and later Lee Jung-hyun's butler

#### Cameos

* Son Ho-young as Seok-bong's father
* Lee Won-jong as Seok-bong's middle school math teacher
* Choi Song-hyun as Seok-bong's mother when she met Ha Joon-tae
* Jang Tae-sung as Ohsung Hotel bellman
* Lee Han-wi as Teriah Park

## Ratings

| Episode # | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | Average audience share | Average audience share | Average audience share |
| Episode # | Original broadcast date | TNmS Ratings | TNmS Ratings | AGB Nielsen | AGB Nielsen |
| Episode # | Original broadcast date | Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area | Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area |
| 1 | 1 March 2010 | 12.1% | 11.9% | 12.2% | 12.8% |
| 2 | 2 March 2010 | 11.8% | 11.6% | 11.6% | 12.3% |
| 3 | 8 March 2010 | 11.4% | 11.0% | 12.2% | 11.1% |
| 4 | 9 March 2010 | 13.1% | 12.8% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 5 | 15 March 2010 | 16.2% | 16.1% | 15.0% | 14.5% |
| 6 | 16 March 2010 | 17.7% | 18.0% | 17.0% | 17.9% |
| 7 | 22 March 2010 | 15.5% | 15.7% | 14.9% | 15.5% |
| 8 | 23 March 2010 | 15.2% | 14.9% | 15.7% | 16.2% |
| 9 | 29 March 2010 | 15.6% | 15.2% | 15.6% | 16.6% |
| 10 | 30 March 2010 | 16.0% | 16.2% | 15.9% | 16.8% |
| 11 | 5 April 2010 | 16.2% | 15.8% | 15.1% | 15.1% |
| 12 | 6 April 2010 | 17.7% | 17.8% | 16.2% | 16.6% |
| 13 | 12 April 2010 | 16.5% | 16.2% | 13.5% | 13.3% |
| 14 | 13 April 2010 | 16.7% | 16.9% | 14.4% | 14.5% |
| 15 | 19 April 2010 | 16.6% | 16.6% | 14.8% | 15.1% |
| 16 | 20 April 2010 | 14.9% | 14.6% | 14.2% | 14.2% |
| 17 | 26 April 2010 | 14.2% | 14.0% | 14.3% | 14.0% |
| 18 | 27 April 2010 | 13.1% | 13.0% | 13.0% | 12.7% |
| 19 | 3 May 2010 | 14.2% | 14.3% | 13.3% | 13.0% |
| 20 | 4 May 2010 | 16.6% | 17.0% | 15.5% | 15.3% |
| Average | Average | 15.1% | 15.0% | 14.3% | 14.5% |

## International broadcast

Its Japanese broadcasting rights were sold to NHK (along with another KBS drama The Great Merchant) for US$3 million. It also aired on Fuji TV as part of the network's "Hallyu Alpha Summer Festival," and on cable channel KNTV beginning July 2, 2014.
It aired in Thailand on Workpoint TV from March 10, 2014, to April 4, 2014.