A story about Jung Suh (Choi Ji Woo) and her best friend Song Joo (Kwon Sang Woo). As childhood friends, Jung Suh and Song Joo held a special bond within their friendship that blossomed into love. They were always by each other's side even when Song Joo's father dies and when Jung Suh's mother dies. After a few months, Jung Suh's father meets an actress and, soon, falls in love with her. The two get married and Jung Suh is very happy that her father is finally smiling, stating to Song Joo that she hasn't seen her father smile like that since her mother was alive. After her stepmother moves in, she brings her daughter and son, but when Jung Suh's father leaves for work, her stepmother shows her true nature: a cruel woman. She thwarts Jung Suh's attempts to study abroad and so Song Joo leaves to America to study abroad, leaving a sad Jung Suh behind. Jung Suh is left alone to suffer in the silent cruelty of her step sister, Yoo-Ri, and new step mother. Jung Suh's cruel stepmother plots for her own daughter, Yoo-Ri, to win the affections of Song Joo (who comes from a rich family) and thwarts any attempts of Jung Suh's to be with Song Joo. All the while, Jung Suh tries to be nice to her new step brother, Tae Hwa, who in return mistakes this friendship for affection. Tae Hwa falls in love with young Jung Suh.

Song Joo is in America for three years. On the night of his return, an excited Jung Suh rushes to greet him. A jealous Yoo-Ri, consumed with rage, hits Jung Suh with her car. Tae Hwa, still in love with Jung Suh, finds out what Yoo-Ri has done but sees the accident as a chance to run away with Jung Suh, who would otherwise return to Song Joo. Yoo-Ri and Tae Hwa, along with their biological father, are the only ones who know what has happened, and Tae Hwa's father agrees to cover up for his daughter. Jung Suh loses her memory, and Tae Hwa moves them away and changes their names. Song-joo and Jung Suh's father believe her to be dead.

Five years after the accident, Song-joo recognized Jung Suh on the streets. Jung Suh, who is now Kim Ji-soo (after being renamed by Tae Hwa), does not believe him and thinks that she is actually Kim Ji-soo. She and Tae Hwa are engaged and have been working in the clothing industry. After many close encounters with Song Joo, including being hired by his company to design a new clothing line for a new mall, Jung Suh regains her memory. However, by this time, Song Joo was already in a relationship with Yoo-Ri (carefully crafted by the stepmother), and out of respect, the kind Jung Suh turned down Song Joo when he proposed to her instead of Yoo-Ri, though she still loves him. She also had feelings of guilt regarding Tae Hwa, who was heartbroken at both Jung Suh's returning feelings for Song Joo and his own perverse actions of hiding her from her family for three years.

Jung Suh soon suffered a relapse five years after the accident. She was diagnosed with eye cancer, which explained her deteriorating eyesight. Jung-suh suffered the same fate with her mother, who did not want to get eye surgery. Jung Suh goes blind, and decides that she no longer wants Song Joo to see her, for he would surely be pained at the thought of her suffering. Tae Hwa, an artist, helps Jung Suh by forging real paintings to raise money for her surgery. However, Song Joo soon finds out that Jung Suh is ill, and Tae-Hwa and Song Joo team up to help Jung Suh. Tae Hwa finally gives up Jung Suh to be with Song Joo, who calls off his engagement to Yoo-Ri and marries Jung Suh. At their wedding, Tae Hwa and Yoo-Ri's father, Bil-su, revealed that it was Yoo-Ri who had hit Jung Suh, and Yoo-Ri is arrested. Jung Suh's stepmother is later renounced by Jung Suh's father and loses her sanity. She is sent to a mental institution.

Jung-suh later went for platative radiotherapy to kill the cancer cells in her eyes. However, had the cancer spread, she would have faced certain death.

Over the next few weeks, Jung Suh and Song Joo spend time together as husband and wife; Song Joo and Tae-hwa even become good friends. Jung Suh tells Tae-Hwa that her one wish would be to see Song Joo's face again, one last time. Both Song Joo and Tae-Hwa (separately) ask a doctor to allow them to give Jung Suh one of their corneas, but the doctor informs them that they are not allowed to take corneas from live donors. Song Joo leaves the hospital disappointed, while Tae-hwa thinks pensively about Jung Suh's last wish. He decides that he wants to grant that wish at all costs and begins to set in motion his plan. He creates fake pictures of him and a girl in France, writes letters to be sent later, and tells his friends and family that he will be going to Paris, France for his art and is not sure when he will be returning. What everyone does not realize is that Tae-hwa has decided to commit suicide in order to donate his cornea to Jung-suh. He drives one night, covers his eyes, and accelerates. After his death, Jung-suh has the operation and is able to see again. However, Jung-suh later found out that the cancer was already metastasis when she vomited in a conference. Though Song Joo wants her to pursue all chemotherapy treatments to live, she decides that she would much rather spend time with him than "die in a hospital." She also finds out about Tae-hwa's sacrifice for her and Jung Suh and Song Joo both cry. Jung-suh went to visit Yoo-Ri and her step-mother in jail and hospital respectively, shortly before her death. Jung-suh died days later at the seaside near her childhood house in the arms of Song-joo.

Song-joo played a tune which he had played with Jung-suh during their childhood days. At length, he stood up, asking Jung-suh if she could hear him.

Popularity

Stairway to Heaven stirred up fever and spurred thousands of viewers to flock to chat rooms and discussion forums to share their views and comments on the drama. Directed by Lee Jang-soo, "Stairway to Heaven" boosts fame of the four lead characters swiftly and has won the hearts of thousands of Korean drama fans worldwide. In Korea, "Stairway to Heaven" was the 3rd popular drama in Korea in 2004 and one of the most popular Korean dramas in Asian countries. This drama also become quite popular in some Latin American countries.

On its first week of airing in the Philippines the show garnered a relatively low 20% viewership, largely due to another Korean soap, Lovers in Paris ending on GMA Network's rival station, ABS-CBN. However, a markable increase in viewership happened upon the conclusion of "Lovers in Paris" with levels peaking at the 40% level. It was replayed in 2006 in the morning time. It was replayed again in Q, the sister network of GMA Network in the evening time.

In Chile the soap opera was popular enough that fans requested it run a tenth time.

 Cast

Soundtrack

1. Chopin, Piano Concerto No. 1 Op.11 E Minor 2nd Mvt : Romanza
2. chun gook eh gi uk - Jang Jung Woo
3. lette - Kang Woo Jin
4. Ave Maria - Rebecca Luker
5. geu gut man eun - Jang Jung Woo
6. uhn je gga ji na
7. na man eh nuh - Kim Hyun Ah
8. Remember
9. seul peun sarang
10. ah reum da oon nuh eh ge - Moon Ji Hwan
11. nuh reul ji kil gge
12. bo go ship da (보고 싶다) - Kim Bum Soo
13. ggeut ee ah nim eul
14. chun gook eh gi uk - Park Mook Hwan
15. se sang ggeut eh suh it suh do
16. yak sok
17. geu gut man eun - Park Mook Hwan
18. Stairway To Heaven (taken from Led Zeppelin)

From:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairway_to_Heaven_(TV_series)

External links

• SBS Productions "Stairway to Heaven" story line
• Krystalheart Korean Drama “Stairway to Heaven”
• Stairway to Heaven Korean Drama Reviews
• http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=128&st=0&start=0