TV series
Lee Gyu Won is the daughter of one of the top three maestros of pansori and is also a gayageum protégé herself. Following her grandfather’s wishes for her to study the gayageum, she enrolls as a major of gugak, or traditional Korean music. Lee Shin is unfriendly, yet a clever student in the Applied Music Department who also is the famed vocalist and talented guitarist of the handsome band named The Stupid. With charming looks equal to those of a handsome character in a romance comic and a cold, taciturn personality, he thinks gugak is boring and belittles it. As the vocalist Lee Shin and Gayageum Protégé Lee Gyu Won passionately confront each other to champion their respective music, they soon fall in love.
Streaming, rental and purchase options
Checked Sep 1, 2026
Heartstrings is available to stream on OnDemandKorea and Rakuten Viki in United States. Use the direct links below to open the provider.
Lee Gyu Won is the daughter of one of the top three maestros of pansori and is also a gayageum protégé herself. Following her grandfather’s wishes for her to study the gayageum, she enrolls as a major of gugak, or traditional Korean music. Lee Shin is unfriendly, yet a clever student in the Applied Music Department who also is the famed vocalist and talented guitarist of the handsome band named The Stupid. With charming looks equal to those of a handsome character in a romance comic and a cold, taciturn personality, he thinks gugak is boring and belittles it. As the vocalist Lee Shin and Gayageum Protégé Lee Gyu Won passionately confront each other to champion their respective music, they soon fall in love.
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Episode 1
Serendipitously, the diverse lives of two Korean university music students converge, one a traditional gayageum player and the other the handsome but socially cold lead singer of a popular rock band called The Stupid.
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Episode 2
It's Wind Flowers versus The Stupid as Gyu-won and Shin make a bet over which has soul, traditional music or western music.
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Episode 3
As director of the 100th anniversary show, Suk-hyun disturbs the professors by changing laid plans in order to present what seems a very personal story.
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Episode 4
With acting rehearsals underway, several girls aim to put Gyu-won in her place, whereby Gyu-won decides to quit the show.
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Episode 5
A surprise kiss leaves Gyu-won, Suk-hyun and Yoon-soo stunned, and Shin ends Gyu-won's servitude.
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Episode 6
Still reeling from a broken heart, personal tragedy touches Shin's life as well.
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Episode 7
With the retrieval of Shin's discarded pendent, Gyu-won's slavery ends, but circumstances, once again, throw them together.
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Episode 8
Despite Gyu-won's superior audition, Hee-joo wins the coveted role of leading actress, but the hollowness of the victory creates bitter enemies.
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Episode 9
While Suk-hyun takes the kids on a team-building excursion, Tae-joon and his aids dig for dirt against him.
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Episode 10
When Shin and Gyu-won officially become a couple (holding hands in public), the campus erupts.
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Episode 11
Tae-joon spreads a baseless rumor about Suk-hyun before conspiring with Hee-joo's mother to set up Suk-hyun and Gyu-won for scandal.
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Episode 12
While the director's resignation forces students to reconsider the scandalous rumor, Joon-hee finds it increasingly difficult to live with his lie.
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Episode 13
With only one week to go, cancellation of the school's anniversary performance leaves everyone wondering what to do next.
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Episode 14
The school performance brings about a professional offer that puts Gyu-won in conflict with her grandfather.
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Episode 15
A withheld truth about the severity of an injury keeps Lee Shin and Lee Gye-won apart, even a year later.
Where to watch HeartstringsEpisode information updated Sep 17, 2026
Park Shin-hyeLee Gyu-won
Jung Yong-hwaLee Shin
Song Chang-euiKim Suk-hyun
So I-hyeonJung Yoon-soo
Kang Min-hyukYeo Joon-hee
Kim Yoon-hyeHan Hee-joo
Lee Hyun-jinHyun Ki-young
Im Se-miCha Bo-woon
MBCSouth Korea
