I'm pretty new to Korean Dramas...I admit I only have seen less than 10 dramas all together...East of Eden is by far my favorite. I have gone thru the first 25 episodes already, and man oh man this series is EPIC!!!. The first 10 episodes or so is so sad and heart warming at the same time, I cry in nearly every episode. I really don't know the history of South Korea also from 1960s till the Seoul Olympics in 1988 but East of Eden got me interested in this turbulent time in their history. The writers really did their research and put real life past events into the backdrop of this drama. The story revolves around 2 families. One rich and powerful the other poor, but gaining power thru the strong mother and the bravery and smarts of her two sons. I don't want to give any spoilers out but I really like it. The only bad side is sometimes the Mother is too harsh on the Dong Chul, some times I'm like oh come on give it a rest already. And the Shin family is unbelievably cruel, but its just a story :)...
The subtitles on this drama is excellent as well. The subtitles make sense and are coherent. I will buy more MBC made dramas in future. Avoid the cheap ones on ebay...Go pick this up its a great addition to anyone's library! There is also a special disk with cast interviews and and the making of.