Top 5
Chaebol Romances
There are many scenarios that make common appearances in K-Dramaland, perhaps none more so than the Cinderella set-up. While many genres come in and out of style, it’s pretty guaranteed that there will be at least one or two Chaebol Romances each year. There’s so many, you’d almost believe that every second man in Korea was a third-generation chaebol. K-Drama writers seem to love the idea of a young, rich man with everything to lose falling for a young, poor girl with nothing to her name. There have been some beautifully memorable Chaebol dramas and some real shockers, but here’s my pick of the best 5 Chaebol Romance K-Dramas I’ve seen so far.
‘Heirs’ was one of the most hyped dramas of its year, mainly due to its star-studded cast. Lee Min Ho plays the role of the rich boy with Park Shin Hye the penniless subject of his advances. There’s even Kim Woo Bin as Lee Min Ho’s rich rival. The story takes place mostly in a high school catered for young chaebols, with Park Shin Hye’s character somehow finding herself in possession of a scholarship- but there’s still plenty of company plot-line and family drama despite Lee Min Ho’s lack of greed for power. While the plot was interesting enough, it’s definitely the stars’ big names that are the drama’s biggest assets.
While the main focus of the drama is our heroine’s ability to see the dead, we still get a great Chaebol Romance, as the only way she stops seeing ghosts is to touch…you guessed it- a young, handsome, rich dude. The drama is packed with laughs and reasons for skinship. While the company story plays in the background to the ghost plots, it’s still constantly present. So Ji Sub plays the young owner of a department store, haunted by his past, and Gong Hyo Jin plays the poor heroine haunted by actual ghosts.
The son of a wealthy family develops Dissociative Identity Disorder and has many split personalities. If his company’s shareholders found out about his condition he would be forced out of power. And so enters our heroine as his personal psychiatrist. Ji Sung is our chaebol and Hwang Jung Eum is our psychiatrist. The many personality comedy-fest is definitely what takes centre stage, but company dealings weave in and out of the plot, and are also the driving force behind our couple’s connection.
2: My Name is Kim Sam Soon
Not only is it a Chaebol romance, but it’s also a Noona Romance- two birds, one drama. Our titular heroine Sam Soon, played by Kim Sun Ah, has a poor educational background, but due to her talent is hired by a large hotel restaurant as its pastry chef. The young air to the hotel chain, played by Hyun Bin, offers Sam Soon money in order to pretend to be his girlfriend so he can stop being sent on blind dates. Of course they fall for each other for real and the process is sweet and fun, with Chaebol Mum throwing in a bunch of conflict. A fair amount of the drama revolves around Hyun Bin’s character being the inheritor of the hotel chain, and as Sam Soon is an employee, much of the drama takes place in the hotel- where Hyun Bin has all the power despite being younger.
1: Secret Garden
When you think Chaebol Romance, you think ‘Secret Garden’. While it has so many Chaebol cliches, they’re spun together in fresh, funny ways- often taking a direction you don’t expect. There’s something endearing about a heroine who accepts money from Chaebol Mum but continues to see her Chaebol son anyway. Hyun Bin is our rich hero once more (he’s very good at playing Chaebol heroes) and Ha Ji Won is the poor girl he falls for. The main focus is the difficulties of the Chaebol romance and how the two lovers come from completely different worlds, resulting in problems with understanding and communication- and of course the disapproving mother who will do anything to free her son from an ‘unworthy’ woman. There’s even some body swapping to really keep the laughs flowing and give the romance a kick-start.
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| What are your favourite Chaebol Romances? |
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