Soda Pop

Li Ming Yu grows up in a poor rural village in Korea, living a quiet and disciplined life with her hardworking mother. Their small home and constant financial struggles teach Ming Yu the value of patience, humility, and perseverance. An unknown benefactor mysteriously pays for her university tuition, allowing her to attend college where she quickly earns a reputation as an exceptionally intelligent, reliable, and hardworking student. Ming Yu dreams only of graduating, finding stable employment, and providing a better life for her mother.

Her ordinary life changes dramatically during her third year at university when a black limousine arrives on campus searching for her. Two formally dressed men reveal that her estranged grandmother is dying and wishes to meet her. Shocked, Ming Yu learns that her father's wealthy family still exists despite her mother never speaking about them. She travels to Seoul and briefly meets her grandmother in the hospital. The meeting is quiet and emotionally distant, with few explanations before the elderly woman passes away the following day. Ming Yu leaves with more questions than answers.

At the funeral, Ming Yu witnesses a world completely unlike her own. Wealthy relatives and influential business figures gather in a lavish ceremony that reveals the enormous power of her father's family. Yet Ming Yu and her mother are treated like outsiders, receiving little warmth or explanation. Believing the experience is over, Ming Yu returns to university and resumes her normal life.

Months later, the limousine returns to her village home. Ming Yu and her mother are summoned to Seoul for the reading of her grandmother's will at the headquarters of Rising Sun Cosmetics, a major cosmetics corporation. Two other grandchildren inherit valuable estates and large sums of money, but Ming Yu receives something unimaginable: ownership of the entire company, along with apartments in Seoul and Incheon. Stunned, she insists there has been a mistake. Her mother finally reveals the truth about Ming Yu's father and the family conflicts that forced them to leave years earlier. Overnight, Ming Yu's simple life disappears beneath the weight of immense responsibility.

Later, another employee, Yoon Ara, explains that many perfectly good cosmetics are discarded simply because their pastel packaging was considered unfashionable. Ming Yu transforms the problem into an opportunity by launching a colorful new line called Soda Pop Cosmetics. The products are marketed with playful pastel themes using both professional models and ordinary employees. The campaign becomes an explosive success almost overnight. Unsold inventory disappears, new products are rushed into development, and customers across Korea embrace the affordable, vibrant cosmetics.

Under Ming Yu's leadership, Rising Sun Cosmetics experiences a complete rebirth. Profits surge, employee raises and bonuses restore morale, and departments begin working together creatively rather than competing internally. The company's revival eventually attracts worldwide attention, culminating in a prestigious cosmetics convention in Paris where Soda Pop wins Best Product of the Year. During her acceptance speech, Ming Yu humbly credits Eun-ha, Ara, and the company employees for the success instead of taking personal glory.

On the flight home to Seoul, Ming Yu reflects on the incredible journey from poor village student to internationally respected CEO. Remembering the struggles she shared with her mother and the grandmother she barely knew, she realizes that Soda Pop Cosmetics represents more than business success. It symbolizes resilience, creativity, and the courage to see value where others see failure. As the plane carries her home through the clouds, Ming Yu understands that both her own future and the future of Rising Sun Cosmetics are only beginning.