South Korea · Drama · 2013
That Winter, the Wind Blows
Binge Brief
- 16 episodes on SBS, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:00, 13 February to 3 April 2013; episodes 1 and 2 aired back to back on the first night
- Nielsen Korea nationwide average 13.9%, highest 15.8% for the final episode
- The drama was first meant for KBS, which traded the slot to SBS and aired IRIS 2 instead
- Zo In-sung needed 13 stitches after cutting his hand on a glass frame during a shoot in Icheon on 4 February 2013, and went back to finish the scene
- A 2013 survey by the research panel Tillion picked Soo and Young's cotton-candy kiss as the best single minute of any drama that year
Synopsis
Oh Soo (Zo In-sung) was abandoned as a child and never recovered from the death of his first love, Moon Hee-joo. He makes his living as a high-stakes poker player and does not much care what happens to him, until he owes more money than he can repay and his life becomes the collateral. His way out is a lie: he will present himself as the long-lost older brother of Oh Young (Song Hye-kyo), the legally blind heiress of PL Group, and stay close enough to her fortune to take it.
Young has lived alone since childhood, estranged from her mother and her real brother, with her secretary Wang Hye-ji (Bae Jong-ok) looking after her. Her fiance Lee Myung-ho suspects Soo from the start. Park Jin-sung (Kim Bum), Soo's best friend and right-hand man, and Moon Hee-sun (Jung Eun-ji), a young florist student, complete the four leads, and the gangster Jo Moo-chul (Kim Tae-woo), who has history with Soo, is never far away. Midway through, Young's brain tumour returns, and the con and the romance both come to depend on whether she will agree to a dangerous operation.
The story comes from the 2002 Japanese drama Ai Nante Irane Yo, Natsu, which had already been adapted in Korea as the 2006 film Love Me Not. Writer Noh Hee-kyung and director Kim Kyu-tae, who had made Worlds Within with Song Hye-kyo in 2008, reworked it into 16 episodes for SBS. It aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 13 February to 3 April 2013, opening with two episodes on the first night. Nielsen Korea's nationwide rating climbed from 11.3% to 15.8% for the finale, with an average of 13.9%.
Zo In-sung had not done a television series in eight years, and this was his first work after his military discharge. It earned Kim Kyu-tae the Baeksang Arts Award for television direction, and Song Hye-kyo the Grand Prize at the 2013 APAN Star Awards.
Why it still gets watched
Beyond its Korean awards, the series won the Silver Award for Best Foreign TV Series at the 19th Shanghai Television Festival in 2013, and it had already been pre-sold across most of Asia before that ceremony. ABS-CBN began airing it in the Philippines on 8 July 2013, and the drama is still carried by Netflix and Rakuten Viki more than a decade after its original SBS run.
One review scored the series 8 out of 10 and recommended it for the performances and the music, while calling the finale a letdown.
That Winter, the Wind Blows cast
Best scenes
Spoilers aheadThe moments people come back for, and where to find them. Episode numbers and outcomes are named, so come back to this one after watching if you would rather not know.
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The cotton candy kiss Episode 4
Soo and Young share a piece of cotton candy with their faces inches apart; the production team called it the highlight of the episode and the moment the two admit their chemistry to themselves.
Filming locations
- Jade Garden arboretum, Gangwon Province: Oh Young's mansion. Full House Take 2 and Love Rain were also shot there.
- Hantaek Botanical Garden, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province: Young's flower garden.
- De Chocolate Coffee, Nonhyeon-dong and Cheongdam-dong branches, Gangnam, Seoul: the coffee shop scenes.
- Yongpyong Ski Resort, Daegwallyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province: a location shoot that the magazine High Cut followed for three days for its March 2013 cover story.
- Icheon, Gyeonggi Province: where Zo In-sung was hurt filming the scene in which Soo punches a wall.
Visual design and costumes
Kim Kyu-tae shot much of the drama in extreme close-up, to catch the smallest movement in the actors' faces and eyes. Cinematographer and visual director Kim Cheon-seok said this set the series apart from Korean dramas of the time, which leaned on medium and bust shots. The crew used ALEXA Plus high-definition cameras, and lighting director Park Hwan worked with about twice the usual amount of lighting equipment.
Themes and messages
The planning notes describe both leads as covered in scars. He carries childhood abandonment and a first love that ended cruelly; she carries her parents' divorce, the loss of her mother and brother, and a blindness that keeps her from imagining a bright life. For him life is only survival, and for her it is loneliness. The notes say the story turns warm anyway, because both keep finding hope in life and in other people without meaning to, and they set that against a world where love has become a joke.
Interesting facts
- Song Hye-kyo acted to a voice. Because Young cannot see, Song said she could not make eye contact with Zo In-sung and had to rely on his voice, only seeing how their scenes worked when she watched the monitor afterwards.
- The make-up question. Asked why a blind woman would wear heels and eyeliner, Song said she had visited facilities for blind people and was told that they, too, wear make-up and bright clothes.
- Jung Eun-ji's second series. The Apink singer was cast last among the four leads, in her second drama after Reply 1997.
- Kim Bum knew the team. He had worked with Noh Hee-kyung and Kim Kyu-tae on Padam Padam in 2011.
- The press conference with all four leads was held on 31 January 2013, two weeks before the premiere.
Remakes and other versions
The story first aired in Japan as the 2002 TBS series Ai Nante Irane Yo, Natsu (Forget Love), a ten-episode original screenplay by Yukari Tatsui. South Korea had adapted the same material once before this series, as the 2006 film Love Me Not, directed by Lee Cheol-ha and starring Kim Joo-hyuk, Moon Geun-young, Do Ji-won and Jin Goo.
Episodes
| Ep | Title | Air date | Status | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A letter from her long-lost brother Oh Soo reaches Oh Young, the blind heiress of PL Group, and she goes out to find him in spite of her blindness. | 2013-02-13 | Aired | 11.3% |
| 2 | Mistaken for Young's brother, Soo sets up a long con to win her trust and, in the end, her money. | 2013-02-13 | Aired | 12.8% |
| 3 | Young's fiance Lee Myung-ho does not believe Soo and orders a DNA test to prove he is an impostor. | 2013-02-14 | Aired | 12.4% |
| 4 | Soo helps Young step back into the outside world and face the people she has been avoiding. | 2013-02-20 | Aired | 13.4% |
| 5 | A trip to the sea ends early when Soo realises he has forgotten the anniversary of Moon Hee-joo's death. | 2013-02-21 | Aired | 14.1% |
| 6 | Soo admits to himself what he feels for Young just as she moves closer to marrying Myung-ho. | 2013-02-27 | Aired | 13.0% |
| 7 | Secretary Wang Hye-ji and Soo each set out to find what the other really wants from Young. | 2013-02-28 | Aired | 13.9% |
| 8 | Young asks Soo to take her to PL Group's anniversary party, and Jin So-ra's return makes the night harder. | 2013-03-06 | Aired | 13.3% |
| 9 | After a painful episode of her illness, Young grows more suspicious of who Soo is and why he came. | 2013-03-07 | Aired | 14.4% |
| 10 | Young's brain tumour has returned, and she refuses surgery however hard Soo and Secretary Wang push. | 2013-03-13 | Aired | 14.2% |
| 11 | Jo Moo-chul finally gives in to Soo's pleading and asks his sister, the country's leading neurosurgeon, to see Young. | 2013-03-14 | Aired | 14.9% |
| 12 | Soo persuades Young to accept a high-risk operation and weighs telling her the truth. | 2013-03-20 | Aired | 13.3% |
| 13 | Young learns the truth about Soo, and considers going along with his lie anyway. | 2013-03-21 | Aired | 15.3% |
| 14 | Soo spends a last day with Young. | 2013-03-27 | Aired | 14.7% |
| 15 | With the surgery date close, Young starts shutting people out of her life. | 2013-03-28 | Aired | 15.1% |
| 16 | Young promises to see Soo again after her operation, which takes place while he plays a decisive game against Boss Kim. | 2013-04-03 | Aired | 15.8% |
Soundtrack
| Track | Artist |
|---|---|
| Gray Paper (먹지), Part 1 | Yesung, released 13 February 2013 |
| Winter Love (겨울사랑), Part 2 | The One, released 20 February 2013 |
| Snow Flower (눈꽃), Part 3 | Gummy, released 27 February 2013 |
| Tears Fallin', Part 4 | Kim Bo-a of SPICA, released March 2013 |
| And One (그리고 하나), Part 5 | Taeyeon, released 13 March 2013 |
Awards
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 49th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Director (Television) | Kim Kyu-tae | Won |
| 2013 | 49th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actress (Television) | Song Hye-kyo | Nominated |
| 2013 | 19th Shanghai Television Festival | Silver Award, Best Foreign TV Series | That Winter, the Wind Blows | Won |
| 2013 | 8th Seoul International Drama Awards | Outstanding Korean Drama | That Winter, the Wind Blows | Nominated |
| 2013 | 6th Korea Drama Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang) | Song Hye-kyo | Nominated |
| 2013 | 6th Korea Drama Awards | Best Writer | Noh Hee-kyung | Nominated |
| 2013 | 6th Korea Drama Awards | Best Production Director | Kim Kyu-tae | Nominated |
| 2013 | 2nd APAN Star Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang) | Song Hye-kyo | Won |
| 2013 | 2nd APAN Star Awards | Best Performance | Jung Eun-ji | Won |
| 2013 | 2nd APAN Star Awards | Best OST | The One, Winter Love | Won |
| 2013 | 15th Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best OST | The One, Winter Love | Nominated |
| 2013 | SBS Drama Awards | SBS Special Award | Zo In-sung | Won |
| 2013 | SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Song Hye-kyo | Won |
| 2013 | SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Zo In-sung | Nominated |
| 2013 | SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Kim Bum | Nominated |
| 2013 | SBS Drama Awards | New Star Award | Jung Eun-ji | Won |
| 2013 | SBS Drama Awards | Top 10 Stars | Zo In-sung | Won |
| 2013 | SBS Drama Awards | Top 10 Stars | Song Hye-kyo | Won |
| 2013 | SBS Drama Awards | Best Couple Award | Zo In-sung and Song Hye-kyo | Nominated |
| 2014 | 23rd Seoul Music Awards | Best OST | The One, Winter Love | Won |
Frequently asked questions
How many episodes does That Winter, the Wind Blows have?
Sixteen, of about 64 minutes each. SBS aired them on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 13 February to 3 April 2013, and showed episodes 1 and 2 back to back on the opening night.
Is Oh Young really blind in That Winter, the Wind Blows?
Yes. Young is legally blind, and Soo's whole con depends on her not being able to see him. Separately, a brain tumour she has had before returns in episode 10.
Who is in the cast of That Winter, the Wind Blows?
Song Hye-kyo plays the heiress Oh Young and Zo In-sung (also credited as Jo In-sung) plays the gambler Oh Soo. Kim Bum (Park Jin-sung) and Jung Eun-ji (Moon Hee-sun) are the other two leads. Bae Jong-ok, Kim Tae-woo, Seo Hyo-rim, Kim Kyu-chul and Kim Young-hoon lead the supporting cast.
Where can I watch That Winter, the Wind Blows?
On 23 September 2026 it was on Netflix in the United States (subscription) and on Rakuten Viki, where it can be watched free with ads.
Is That Winter, the Wind Blows a remake?
Yes. It is based on the Japanese drama Ai Nante Irane Yo, Natsu, which TBS aired in 2002. The same story had already been made into the Korean film Love Me Not in 2006.
Is there a That Winter, the Wind Blows season 2?
No. The drama was written as a single 16-episode series and no sequel has been made or announced.
Who sings the That Winter, the Wind Blows OST?
Five singles came out while it aired: Yesung's Gray Paper, The One's Winter Love, Gummy's Snow Flower, Tears Fallin' by Kim Bo-a of SPICA, and Taeyeon's And One. Winter Love played over the opening of every episode and won Best OST at the 2013 APAN Star Awards and the 2014 Seoul Music Awards. A full soundtrack album followed on 16 May 2013.
Does That Winter, the Wind Blows have a happy or sad ending?
It is a happy ending told at a distance. Jin-sung stabs Soo, the story jumps forward about a year, and only then does it show him alive, serving tea at a cafe near Young after her eyes have healed enough for the two of them to reunite. To have the ending explained plainly: the reunion is shot with a soft, dreamlike filter, which is why some viewers read it as imagined rather than literal, but the drama resolves the couple's story together.
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