Phoenix 2020

Phoenix 2020 (Korean: 불새 2020; RR: Bulsae 2020) is a South Korean television romantic drama series directed by Lee Hyun-jik starring Hong Soo-ah,^[2] Lee Jae-woo, Seo Ha-jun and Park Young-rin. The series is a reboot of the 2004 MBC series^[a][3] of the same name and includes 120 episodes.^[4] The story follows a rich woman and a poor man who marry, get divorced, and meet again after their fortunes have reversed.^[5][6] It premiered on SBS TV on October 26, 2020, and aired on weekdays at 8:35 a.m. KST until April 9, 2021.

Phoenix 2020
Promotional poster
Also known as	Firebird
Hangul	불새 2020
Lit.	Firebird 2020
RR	Bulsae 2020
MR	Pulsae 2020
Genre	Melodrama Romance
Created by	Choi Young-hoon Studio S (SBS)
Written by	Lee Yoo-jin
Directed by	Lee Hyun-jik
Starring	Hong Soo-ah Lee Jae-woo Seo Ha-jun Park Young-rin
Composer	Choi Cheul-ho
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	120
Production
Executive producer	Park Young-soo
Producers	Ahn Je-hyun Shin Sang-yoon
Running time	35 minutes
Production companies	Studio S (SBS) Samhwa Networks
Budget	₩5.2 billion[1]
Original release
Network	SBS TV
Release	October 26, 2020 (2020-10-26) – April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
Related
Phoenix (2004)

Synopsis

Wealthy chaebol, Lee Ji-eun (Hong Soo-ah) falls in love with the poor Jang Sae-hoon and marries against their families' wishes. Ji-eun was engaged to Sae-hoon's family friend, Seo Jeong-in (Seo Ha-jun), but he was in a committed relationship with another woman. The couple was expecting a child despite the lack of approval from Jeong-in's father. Ji-eun and Sae-hoon eventually divorce, and Jeong-in later dies. After ten years, Ji-eun and Sae-hoon meet again but with swapped lifestyles. Once affluent, Ji-eun lost her fortune while Sae-hoon became a rich entrepreneur. Their changes in wealth allow them to view the world differently and understand each other leading to their reunification.

However, they both have other love interests. Ji-eun meets Seo Jeong-min (Seo Ha-jun), heir to the Seorin Group and Jeong-in's twin brother, and they start going out while Sae-hoon is dating his girlfriend, Mi-ran. At the same time, Jeong-min's ambitious stepmother, Choi Myung-hwa, wants to hang on to Seorin Group at all costs. She is Mi-ran's mother but living under an assumed name and has not seen Mi-ran in years. Jeong-min dislikes Myung-hwa, and Seo Moon-soo (chairman of Seorin Group, Jeong-min's father, and Myung-hwa's husband) plans to remove her.

The show ends with a series of legal cases against Seorin Group, ironically brought to court by Jeong-min himself after he tires of his father's controlling tendencies. Seo Moon-soo is angry at his only living son after Jeong-in's death. In the legal chaos, Moon-soo jettisons Myung-hwa but she kills him and stays with her daughter. Ji-eun and Jeong-min break up, and Ji-eun and Sae-hoon start to work together again.

Cast

Main

• Hong Soo-ah as Lee Ji-eun, a chaebol, who ten years later, became a helper^[7]
• Lee Jae-woo as Jang Sae-hoon aka William Jang^[8]
• Seo Ha-joon as Seo Jeong-min^[9]
• Park Young-rin as Miranda^[10][11]

Supporting

• Yang Hye-jin as Cho Hyun-sook
• Kim Seung-hyun as Cho Hyun-min Lee Ji-eun's maternal uncle
• Lee Chung-mi as Ji-eun's younger sister
• Jeong Seo-ha as Lee Young-eun, Lee Ji-eun's sister
• Ok Ji-young as Nam Bok-ja, Lee Ji-eun's best friend

Jang Se-hun's family and people around him

• Shin Seong-gyun as Jang Ji-wook, Jang Se-hoon's father
• Kim Ho-chang as Kim Ho-jin, Jang Se-hun's best friend

Seo Jeong-min's family and people around him

• Kim Jong-seok as Seo Moon-soo
• Seo Ha-joon as Seo Jeong-in
• Hyuna Sung as Choi Myung-hwa /Baek Soon Su
• Yang Hong-seok as Shin A-jun
• Lee Chung-mi as Seo Eun Ju, secretary to Seo Jeong-min
• Jin Miryung as Seo Hee Su^[12]
• Park Gi-pyo as Danny (Seo Hee Su's son)

Others

• Oh Cho-hee as Hannah Na-kyung
• Kim Byung-chun as Park Kwang-cheol
• Kang Sung-jin as Lecturer

Production

On June 30, 2020, SBS announced their remake of the 2004 drama Phoenix with the original writer, Lee Yoo-jin. The remake ran for 120 episodes, a much longer run compared to the original's 26 episodes. Lee Yoo-jin commented on the story, "It seems to be a different story from the original. The setting of reunion between Lee Ji-eun and Jang Se-hoon is changed, but the reunion and love journey of the two are different from the original. After reuniting the once-loved man and woman, the process of recovering and understanding the wounds that have been inflicted on each other has been depicted, rather than the ending of achieving love again."^[13] The filming started in the second half of 2020^[14] and a production presentation was held on October 20, 2020.^[15]

Release

The television series first aired on October 26, 2020, on SBS TV and aired on weekday mornings until April 9, 2021.

Original soundtrack

Phoenix
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	4 November 2020
Genre	Soundtrack
Language	Korean English
Label	Warner Music

Part 1

Released on November 4, 2020 (2020-11-04)^[16]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Call your name" (박지용)	Yang Gyeong-seok, Park Ji-yong (Honey), Wooside	Yang Kyung-seok	Park Ji-yong (Honeyji)	3:41
2.	"Call your name (Inst.)"		Yang Kyung-seok		3:41
Total length:					7:22

Part 2

Released on November 12, 2020 (2020-11-12)^[17]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Will we be able to meet again" (기현 (Kihyun))	ALMOND	필승불패	Kihyun	4:00
2.	"Will we be able to meet again (Inst.)"		필승불패		4:00
Total length:					8:00

Part 3

Released on January 5, 2021 (2021-01-05)^[18]

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Sight"	Jeok Woo	3:22
2.	"Gaze (Inst.)"		3:22
Total length:			6:44

Part 4

Released on January 11, 2021 (2021-01-11)^[19]

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Beautiful days...and us"	DooBoo, Jincheol (Round About)	3:39
2.	"Beautiful days...and us (Inst.)"		3:39
Total length:			7:18

Part 5

Released on January 19, 2021 (2021-01-19)^[20]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Love is leaving like this"	Victory and Defeat, ALMOND	Victory and Defeat	Kim Minwool	3:17
2.	"Love is leaving like this (Inst.)"		Victory and Defeat		3:17
Total length:					6:34

Part 6

Released on January 25, 2021 (2021-01-25)^[21]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Artist	Length
1.	"This mind wanders aimlessly"	Victory invincible, Almond	Gabin Han	3:47
2.	"This mind wanders aimlessly (Inst.)"			3:47
Total length:				7:34

Part 7

Released on February 1, 2021 (2021-02-01)^[22]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"A stuffy heart"	Victory and Defeat , ALMOND	Victory and Defeat, 1L2L	Lydia	3:27
2.	"A stuffy heart (Inst.)"		Victory and Defeat, 1L2L		3:27
Total length:					6:54

Part 8

Released on February 8, 2021 (2021-02-08)^[23]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Hold my hand"	Victorious and unsuccessful , ALMOND	Victorious and unsuccessful, LACONIC	Moon Songhee	3:25
2.	"Hold my hand (Inst.)"		Victorious and unsuccessful, LACONIC		3:25
Total length:					6:50

Part 9

Released on February 15, 2021 (2021-02-15)^[24]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"You can't draw"	Haeun	Haeun, Park Jungjun	Damu	3:16
2.	"You can't draw (Inst.)"		Haeun, Park Jungjun		3:16
Total length:					6:32

Part 10

Released on February 22, 2021 (2021-02-22)^[25]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"The Day We Loved Each Other"	Victory and Undefeated, Jamie, ALMOND	Undefeated, Jamie	12DAL	4:39
2.	"The Day We Loved Each Other" (Inst.)		Undefeated, Jamie		4:39
Total length:					9:18

Part 11

Released on March 1, 2021 (2021-03-01)^[26]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Destiny"	Oh Heung-seon, Lee Yong-gyu, Shin Seong-jin	Oh Heung-seon, Lee Yong-gyu, Shin Seong-jin	Soo-ah, Park Jung-min	5:02
2.	"Destiny" (Inst.)		Oh Heung-seon, Lee Yong-gyu, Shin Seong-jin		5:02
Total length:					10:04

Part 12

Released on March 8, 2021 (2021-03-08)^[27]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Your memories, our memories"	Victory invincible, Yuk sang-hui, Almond	Victory invincible, Yuk sang-hui, Almond	Morning Coffee	3:34
2.	"Your memories, our memories" (Inst.)		Victory invincible, Yuk sang-hui, Almond		3:34
Total length:					7:08

Part 13

Released on March 15, 2021 (2021-03-15)^[28]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Until today"	Victorious and unsuccessful, Yoo-Kyung- hee, Almond	Victorious and un-defeated, Yoo-Suk-hee, 1L2L	Na-eun Seol	3:32
2.	"Until today" (Inst.)		Victorious and un-defeated, Yoo-Suk-hee, 1L2L		3:32
Total length:					7:04

Part 14

Released on March 22, 2021 (2021-03-22)^[29]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Every day I Love You"	Victory and Undefeated, Yoo, Yuk, and Almond	Un-defeated	CherryBerry	3:22
2.	"Every day I Love You" (Inst.)				3:22
Total length:					6:44

Part 15

Released on March 29, 2021 (2021-03-29)^[30]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"I Still Remember" (feat. Eun Chae)	Victory and Undefeated, Yoo, Yuk, and Almond	Un-defeated	Espresso	3:04
2.	"I Still Remember" (Inst.)				3:04
Total length:					6:08

Part 16

Released on April 5, 2021 (2021-04-05)^[31]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Every Moment Is Happy"	Victory and Undefeated, Yoo Yuk-hee, Min-hyuk Jung	Victory and Defeat	Jung Min-hyuk, Nakyung	3:23
2.	"Every Moment Is Happy" (Inst.)		Victory and Defeat		3:23
Total length:					6:46

Viewership

Episodes		Episode number
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
	Ep.01-20	N/A	N/A	N/A	748	N/A	N/A	N/A	700	727	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	760	N/A	N/A	681	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Ep.21-40	837	811	777	819	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	836	N/A	N/A	N/A	897	895	840	N/A	N/A	N/A	900	N/A
	Ep.41-60	N/A	N/A	N/A	795	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	913	N/A	N/A	N/A	833	897	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	883	N/A
	Ep.61-80	N/A	943	871	912	881	N/A	N/A	N/A	1021	887	N/A	N/A	849	876	795	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Ep.81-100	N/A	N/A	N/A	845	827	N/A	N/A	N/A	806	N/A	N/A	N/A	758	901	800	N/A	N/A	788	816	N/A
	Ep.101-120	N/A	N/A	718	799	883	N/A	N/A	710	814	811	N/A	869	814	864	942	884	752	767	792	853

Phoenix : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by °Nielsen Korea.^[32]

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share
		Nielsen Korea[33][34]		TNmS[35]
		°Nationwide	°°Seoul	Nationwide
1	October 26, 2020	5.4%	—	5.2%
2	October 27, 2020	4.6%		5.4%
3	October 28, 2020	4.7%		7.0%
4	October 29, 2020	4.8%	4.6%	5.4%
5	October 30, 2020	3.4%	—	—
6	November 2, 2020	5.0%		5.1%
7	November 3, 2020	5.2%		5.2%
8	November 4, 2020	4.7%		5.2%
9	November 5, 2020	5.2%	5.0%	4.9%
10	November 6, 2020	4.3%	—	—
11	November 9, 2020	5.1%		5.0%
12	November 10, 2020	4.5%		4.7%
13	November 11, 2020	4.7%		5.2%
14	November 12, 2020	5.1%	4.6%	5.4%
15	November 13, 2020	5.2%	—	—
16	November 16, 2020	4.8%		5.2%
17	November 17, 2020	4.5%		5.0%
18	November 18, 2020	4.1%		5.0%
19	November 19, 2020	4.6%		—
20	November 20, 2020	5.0%
21	November 23, 2020	5.5%	5.1%	5.5%
22	November 24, 2020	5.4%	5.1%	5.3%
23	November 25, 2020	4.9%	—	5.6%
24	November 26, 2020	5.3%	5.2%	5.7%
25	November 27, 2020	5.5%	—	5.6%
26	November 30, 2020	5.0%		6.0%
27	December 1, 2020	5.3%		5.6%
28	December 2, 2020	5.1%		5.4%
29	December 3, 2020	5.7%	5.3%	6.2%
30	December 4, 2020	5.1%	—	5.6%
31	December 7, 2020	5.4%		5.2%
32	December 8, 2020	5.1%		5.7%
33	December 9, 2020	5.8%	5.5%	5.1%
34	December 10, 2020	5.9%	5.6%	5.3%
35	December 11, 2020	5.3%	4.9%	5.9%
36	December 14, 2020	5.4%	—	5.8%
37	December 15, 2020	5.9%		5.4%
38	December 16, 2020	5.5%		5.4%
39	December 17, 2020	5.8%	5.4%	5.6%
40	December 18, 2020	5.8%	5.8%	5.4%
41	December 21, 2020	5.9%	5.9%	5.5%
42	December 22, 2020	5.7%	—	5.6%
43	December 23, 2020	5.0%		5.2%
44	December 24, 2020	5.5%	5.0%	5.8%
45	December 25, 2020	5.0%	4.8%	5.6%
46	December 28, 2020	5.7%	—	5.4%
47	December 29, 2020	5.6%		5.6%
48	December 30, 2020	5.5%		5.7%
49	December 31, 2020	6.4%	6.3%	6.3%
50	January 1, 2021	4.2%	—	—
51	January 4, 2021	5.8%		6.9%
52	January 5, 2021	5.8%		6.1%
53	January 6, 2021	5.4%		5.9%
54	January 7, 2021	6.1%		6.0%
55	January 8, 2021	6.2%		6.3%
56	January 11, 2021	5.7%		6.6%
57	January 12, 2021	5.9%		6.0%
58	January 13, 2021	5.3%		5.7%
59	January 14, 2021	6.2%	6.2%	5.5%
60	January 15, 2021	5.3%	—	6.1%
61	January 18, 2021	5.4%		6.2%
62	January 19, 2021	6.5%	6.3%	6.2%
63	January 20, 2021	6.0%	5.8%	5.4%
64	January 21, 2021	5.5%	5.1%	6.0%
65	January 22, 2021	5.7%	—	5.5%
66	January 25, 2021	5.7%	5.2%	5.8%
67	January 26, 2021	6.1%	—	6.3%
68	January 27, 2021	5.1%		5.9%
69	January 28, 2021	6.5%	6.3%	6.0%
70	January 29, 2021	5.7%	5.5%	5.8%
71	February 1, 2021	5.4%	—	5.8%
72	February 2, 2021	5.6%		5.9%
73	February 3, 2021	5.5%	5.2%	5.7%
74	February 4, 2021	5.7%	5.1%	5.9%
75	February 5, 2021	5.0%	—	5.8%
76	February 8, 2021	5.1%		6.0%
77	February 9, 2021	5.3%		5.5%
78	February 10, 2021	4.9%		4.8%
79	February 11, 2021	4.7%		—
80	February 12, 2021	2.8%		—
81	February 15, 2021	5.8%		5.6%
82	February 16, 2021	5.3%		5.4%
83	February 17, 2021	5.2%	4.8%	4.9%
84	February 18, 2021	5.7%	5.6%	5.8%
85	February 19, 2021	5.4%	5.3%	5.5%
86	February 22, 2021	5.1%	—	—
87	February 23, 2021	5.1%		5.1%
88	February 24, 2021	4.8%		4.6%
89	February 25, 2021	5.5%	5.4%	4.8%
90	February 26, 2021	3.7%	—	—
91	March 1, 2021	5.0%
92	March 2, 2021	5.5%		5.4%
93	March 3, 2021	5.2%		5.3%
94	March 4, 2021	5.9%	5.3%	5.9%
95	March 5, 2021	5.3%	—	5.4%
96	March 8, 2021	5.1%		4.7%
97	March 9, 2021	5.9%	5.4%	5.2%
98	March 10, 2021	5.3%	5.3%	5.2%
99	March 11, 2021	5.4%	5.1%	5.1%
100	March 12, 2021	5.2%	—	5.7%
101	March 15, 2021	4.6%		—
102	March 16, 2021	5.5%	5.5%	5.7%
103	March 17, 2021	4.8%	—	5.2%
104	March 18, 2021	5.4%	5.1%	5.5%
105	March 19, 2021	5.8%	5.6%	6.4%
106	March 22, 2021	5.2%	—	6.2%
107	March 23, 2021	5.4%	5.5%	5.7%
108	March 24, 2021	5.0%	4.9%	5.7%
109	March 25, 2021	5.4%	5.6%	5.5%
110	March 26, 2021	5.2%	4.9%	6.1%
111	March 29, 2021	5.8%	—	6.3%
112	March 30, 2021	5.9%	5.6%	6.4%
113	March 31, 2021	5.8%	5.5%	6.3%
114	April 1, 2021	5.7%	5.4%	6.3%
115	April 2, 2021	6.3%	5.9%	6.9%
116	April 5, 2021	5.9%	5.8%	6.2%
117	April 6, 2021	5.3%		5.9%
118	April 7, 2021	5.4%	5.2%	4.8%
119	April 8, 2021	5.5%	5.4%	5.9%
120	April 9, 2021	5.7%	5.7%	5.5%
Average		5.33%	—[b]	—[b]
In this table, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. N/A denotes that the rating is not known.
°(Analysis criteria: 13 regions nationwide, households, unit:%) °°(Analysis criteria: metropolitan area, household, unit:%)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref.
2020	SBS Drama Awards	Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid/Long-length Drama	Lee Jae-woo	Nominated	[36]
		Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid/Long-length Drama	Hong Soo-ah	Nominated
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid/Long-length Drama	Seo Ha-joon	Nominated

Notes

1. Produced by Chorokbaem Media and Diamond Ogilvy Group
2. Due to some ratings not recorded, the exact average rating is unknown.