Life is Beautiful (2001): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2001, Life is Beautiful is a drama and comedy series.

What it’s about. Chairman Yu is a tycoon who owns multiple hotel chains. He decides to hand his business down to his impulsive younger daughter, Hee-Jung, who studied hotel management in Switzerland. His older daughter, Su-Jung, is a concert pianist. Hee-Jung learns the business by starting at the bottom in the P.R. Department. She has a deep emotional scar from an incident where her first boyfriend was killed trying to save her life. To expand his business, Chairman Yu decides to build a resort town next to a casino in Sabuk, a deserted mine town in Kangwon Province. In the process, Chairman Yu's right-hand man is confronted by a local hoodlum (Jae-min) who wants to preserve his hometown the way it is. Jae-min's uncanny resemblance to Hee-Jung's dead boyfriend gets her involved in the business such that she has to go against her father in order to help Jae-min.

Who’s in it. Life is Beautiful stars Ha Ji-won as Jung Yu-hee, Kim Rae-won as Lee Jaemin and Jung Bo-seok as Oh Choon-ku.

How it landed. With an audience score of 10.0/10, Life is Beautiful sits among the best-reviewed titles in the catalogue.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Life is Beautiful page.

If you liked it. Fans of Life is Beautiful tend to enjoy Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Attack on Titan.