The Merchant: Gaekju 2015

The Merchant: Gaekju 2015
Promotional poster
Also known asThe God of Trade: Gaekju 2015, The God of Commerce: Gaekju 2015, Master of Trade: The Inn 2015
GenreHistorical
Based onGaekju
by Kim Joo-young
Written byJung Sung-hee
Lee Han-ho
Directed byKim Jong-sun
StarringJang Hyuk
Yu Oh-seong
Kim Min-jung
Han Chae-ah
Park Eun-hye
Lee Deok-hwa
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes41
Production
Production companyS.M. Culture & Contents
Original release
NetworkKorean Broadcasting System
ReleaseSeptember 23, 2015 (2015-09-23) –
February 18, 2016 (2016-02-18)

The Merchant: Gaekju 2015 (Korean: 장사의 신 – 객주 2015; RR: Jangsaui sin – Gaekju 2015; lit. "Master of Trade: The Innkeeper Merchant 2015")[1] is a South Korean television series based on Gaekju, Kim Joo-young's ten-volume novel which was serialized in daily newspaper Seoul Shinmun from June 1979 to February 1983.[2][3] It aired on KBS2 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 41 episodes beginning September 23, 2015.[4][5]

Plot

In late Joseon, a poor man named Chun Bong-sam inherits a decrepit inn and honestly works his way up to becoming a powerful merchant. As tradesmen clash against the bureaucratic powers that attempt to oppress them by rigging bad deals, Bong-sam never loses sight of his humble beginnings as a peddler even after achieving great success and eventually shapes the way that industry and business are done in his time.

Cast

Original soundtracks

Track listing
No.TitleArtistLength
1."그대만 살아서 (Only You)"Luna (f(x))4:50
2."단 한 사람 (Because of You)"Taeil (SM Rookies)3:48

Ratings

In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Episode # Original broadcast date Average audience share
TNmS Ratings[6] AGB Nielsen[7]
Nationwide Seoul National Capital Area Nationwide Seoul National Capital Area
1 September 23, 2015 5.2% (<6.7%) 6.9% 7.3%
2 September 24, 2015 4.5% (<7.2%) 5.9% 5.8%
3 September 30, 2015 4.1% 4.0% 6.0% 5.8%
4 October 1, 2015 4.3% (<7.8%) 6.7% 6.7%
5 October 7, 2015 6.9% 7.2% 7.8% 8.2%
6 October 8, 2015 7.4% 7.7% 9.5% 10.0%
7 October 14, 2015 8.7% 9.1% 11.1% 11.5%
8 October 15, 2015 8.4% 9.2% 10.0% 9.8%
9 October 21, 2015 8.1% 9.1% 9.9% 10.5%
10 October 22, 2015 8.0% 8.5% 10.9% 11.2%
11 October 28, 2015 8.2% 8.5% 10.1% 9.9%
12 November 4, 2015 7.7% 8.2% 11.1% 11.3%
13 November 5, 2015 7.8% 8.3% 10.2% 10.2%
14 November 11, 2015 7.9% 8.7% 11.3% 11.7%
15 November 12, 2015 9.5% 10.2% 12.1% 11.6%
16 November 18, 2015 8.4% — 12.0% 11.9%
17 November 19, 2015 8.0% 8.9% 11.7% 11.6%
18 November 25, 2015 8.6% 8.9% 12.2% 12.2%
19 November 26, 2015 9.2% 9.6% 13.0% 12.8%
20 December 2, 2015 8.1% 8.7% 12.4% 12.6%
21 December 3, 2015 9.7% 10.6% 12.2% 12.3%
22 December 9, 2015 8.4% 9.2% 11.6% 11.8%
23 December 10, 2015 8.5% 9.4% 11.4% 11.6%
24 December 16, 2015 8.4% 8.7% 10.6% 10.1%
25 December 17, 2015 7.4% 7.6% 11.6% 10.9%
26 December 23, 2015 7.7% 8.2% 11.7% 11.0%
27 December 24, 2015 7.6% 8.0% 11.0% 11.1%
2016
28 January 6, 2016 7.7% 8.5% 9.8% 9.7%
29 January 7, 2016 8.8% 9.6% 11.4% 11.6%
30 January 13, 2016 8.0% 8.5% 10.7% 10.4%
31 January 14, 2016 9.2% 9.5% 11.4% 11.5%
32 January 20, 2016 8.4% 8.1% 10.8% 10.2%
33 January 21, 2016 9.8% 9.3% 11.5% 11.0%
34 January 27, 2016 9.1% 9.1% 10.2% 9.9%
35 January 28, 2016 9.9% 9.6% 11.8% 11.0%
36 February 3, 2016 9.1% 9.0% 11.2% 11.1%
37 February 4, 2016 9.9% 10.1% 11.4% 10.6%
38 February 10, 2016 8.7% 8.9% 10.4% %
39 February 11, 2016 8.4% 8.5% 11.1% 10.4%
40 February 17, 2016 8.5% 8.5% 10.4% 9.7%
41 February 18, 2016 8.8% 9.4% 11.2% 10.9%

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2015 4th APAN Star Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama Jang Hyuk Nominated
Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama Kim Min-jung Won
Han Chae-ah Nominated
29th KBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length Drama Jang Hyuk Won
Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-length Drama Kim Min-jung Won
Han Chae-ah Nominated
Best Couple Award Jang Hyuk and Han Chae-ah Won

International broadcast

Country Network(s)/Station(s) Series premiere Title
 Thailand True4U June 6, 2016 พ่อค้าเร่แห่งโชซอน (Phor Kha Re Haeng Joseon; lit: "Vendor of Joseon"[8]) -  Indonesia RTV July 23, 2016 Kemenangan Cinta ("Wonder of Joseon")

References

  1. ^ The word gaekju literally translates to "innkeeper merchant," which refers to private or free traders who sold grain wholesale; gaekju is no longer used in present-day Korea but was commonly used in the Joseon era.
  2. ^ "Jang Hyuk stars in new drama Gaekju". The Korea Times. July 16, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  3. ^ Lee, Young-hee (October 3, 2013). 김주영 『객주』34년 만에 10권 완간...보부상 밑바닥 삶 오롯이 살려 뿌듯. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  4. ^ Lee, Hye-won (August 11, 2015). "Korea's hottest actors to appear in new dramas". K-pop Herald. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  5. ^ Lee, Hye-won (September 1, 2015). "K-drama roundup for September: SBS, KBS, MBC". K-pop Herald. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  6. ^ "TNmS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNmS Ratings (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 28, 2013.
  7. ^ "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 26, 2013.
  8. ^ #พากย์ไทย เริ่มฉายวันนี้ตอนแรกค่ะ. facebook (in Thai). June 6, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016.