Top 5 Chaebol Romances

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.

5: The Heirs

‘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.

4: Master’s Sun

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. 

3: Kill Me, Heal Me

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.

What are your favourite Chaebol Romances?

Top 5 2015 Dramas

Top 5 

2015 Dramas

Nothing in 2016 striking your fancy? Or do you just want to catch up on some of the better K-Dramas of last year that you might have missed? 2015 offered a lot of variety in Dramaland from romance to psychopaths to action heroes. While 2015 was a year that offered a lot of wonderful dramas, here’s my (personal) pick of the best 5 dramas that 2015 had to offer.

5: Splash Splash Love

For a little drama it sure made a big splash (heh heh). It was an enjoyable little mix of accurate history and present day. It had all the beauty of a historical drama with all the cute of a modern rom-com. Kim Seul Gi and Yoon Doo Joon had incredible chemistry that made the romance absolutely addictive. This tiny drama showed that you don’t need a star-studded cast or an overly intricate plot in order to create a beautiful, enjoyable show.

4: Kill Me, Heal Me

As one of the dramas that got a lot of hype in 2015, it was guaranteed to pull a large audience regardless of it’s quality. Thankfully, ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’ had a great cast and an interesting plot to back up all the hype. Ji Sung is the star of the show with all his many, many personalities keeping the entertainment high. Hwang Jung Eum is a sweet heroine for Ji Sung to romance, and the mysterious plot gives substance to the Multiple Personality aspect of the drama.

3: Reply 1988

Fans of the ‘Reply’ franchise were glad to see that much of the heart and soul of the series made a comeback in ’88 drama after ’94 focused a tad too heavily on the ‘who’s the husband’ mystery. The story is so simple, yet so addictive as our characters navigate the confusing thing that is life. Family is given a much bigger focus and allows us to glimpse every possible aspect of these characters' lives. For the first time it wasn’t just the kids who were given beautiful storylines, but their parents as well. It made for a huge cast of heart-warming, impossibly endearing characters that you didn’t want to part from come finale time.

2: Healer

A bit of action in a rom-com never hurt anyone, and a bit of romance in an action isn’t so bad either. ‘Healer’ was the heart-racing, mysterious action drama of the year, with Ji Chang Wook delivering an incredible performance as the titular hero. The plot was engaging from start to finish (which can’t be said for every K-Drama), and the characters were an interesting bunch to watch. Villains weren’t pure evil and heroes weren’t pure good in this engaging drama that was so much more than black and white.

1: I Remember You

While being horrifically underrated (I myself only watched it after I discovered the gem that is Park Bo Gum), ‘I Remember You’ stands out in my memory as one of 2015’s most engaging dramas. The plot was new and interesting, taking an unusual look at the inside workings of a psychopath while still managing to include a nice dose of mystery. Seo In Guk and Park Bo Gum both deliver absolutely incredible performances and bring their acting to a whole new level. There is romance, but it takes a distinct backseat to the heart-wrenching, exhilarating main story of a family torn apart by one underlying question- are monsters born or created?

What were your favourites of 2015?

Kill Me, Heal Me

Kill Me, Heal Me

9/10

Kill Me, Heal Me

Genre:                                   Episodes: 20                                   Year: 2015

Romance

Comedy

Mystery

Synopsis:

Cha Do Hyun is a third-generation chaebol, son of the deceased eldest son and his mistress. After a traumatic incident in his childhood, Do Hyun’s mental state is fractured into several pieces as a defence mechanism, and each of these pieces takes on its own distinct personality- otherwise known as multiple personality disorder. Do Hyun’s most violent personality, Shin Se Gi, takes interest in a particular woman, Oh Ri Jin, who happens to be a psychiatrist. Do Hyun hires Ri Jin as his private doctor, so that she can control his many personalities while he works to inherit his family’s company.

Cast:

Ji Sung (Cha Do Hyun/Personalities)

Hwang Jung Eum (Oh Ri Jin)

Park Seo Joon (Oh Ri On)

Kim Young Ae (Se Tae Im)

Kim Yoo Ri (Han Chae Yeon)

Oh Min Seok (Cha Ki Joon)

Shim Hye Jin (Shin Hwa Ran)

General Thoughts:

Oh, the feelings. I love this drama. Let’s be honest, it’s worth watching for Ji Sung’s stellar performance alone, but the plot is absolutely brilliant. There are so many parts of me that want to do comparisons with ‘Hyde, Jekyll, Me’, but I will restrain myself.

How I felt when this drama ended

The cast was brilliant, no faults there- congratulations everyone on a spectacular performance. The script was brilliant, the music was brilliant, it was all brilliant. The slow unveiling of the past connections between our two main leads was both heartbreaking and heart-warming at the same time. It was devastating to watch the brutal effects of these traumatic events start to both break and develop our characters. The drama wasn’t afraid to go into the darker aspects of its plot at all, but still managed to maintain its humour, which saved it from becoming horrendously depressing- a fine line to walk, but executed well. Both our main leads were acted excellently, and had continual development throughout the whole drama.

It's cute and funny and sad and my poor emotions

Oh Ri Jin has a sweet, mildly whacky, character, and is easily likeable without being too bland or unrealistic. Cha Do Hyun is also interesting and likeable enough- at first he does seem a tad boring and vague due to the eccentricities of his other personalities, but as the show goes on, his character develops nicely and he becomes more than just the ‘main personality struggling for control’. None of the other personalities were developed, but this itself was a brilliant move. The fact is, they aren’t separate characters- they are simply parts of Do Hyun’s mind. Their consistent quirky traits and obsessions made them interesting and enjoyable to watch, but prevented the personalities from having a real sense of ‘self’- because in reality they didn’t have one, they were just mirages that Do Hyun created out of simple memories and desires. It was a wise move to continually throw in similarities between Do Hyun and his other personalities to further emphasise this point.

How could you only choose one?

What Was Great:

Ji Sung:

Ten out of ten

So basically Ji Sung is the greatest thing ever. Oh my goodness, that man can act. It was phenomenal. He was 100% believable as all the different personalities- right down to the details. He was never ‘Do Hyun acting like Se Gi’, he simply became Se Gi. His voice, actions, and even tiny movements- the way he walked, the way he held his mouth, the way he turned his head- all were totally different with each personality. Plus he’s handsome. His crackling chemistry with the female lead was also a bonus. The kid actor who played young Cha Do Hyun was fantastic as well.

The Whole Point:

The story, the story, the story. You can have the greatest actors in the world, but without a solid plot you have nothing. Standing behind the radiating wonder that is Ji Sung, we have a thrilling, compelling story. We were always given just the right amount of information with each new episode. The plot was never easy to predict, and never had any lags.

Wasn't afraid to visit some darker scenes

We had an unfortunate episode or two towards the end where our main couple were separated even though they wanted to be together (typical bloody K-Drama), but apart from that the series managed to avoid any irritating or nonsensical plotlines. The issues involving the company were always present, but not in your face- quite often taking a welcome backseat to the much more interesting personality problems. The gradual reveal of the past kept the mystery going strong, while also developing our three main characters nicely. On that point, Oh Ri On was a fantastic character.

Yo Na + Ri On = hilarious

At first, I thought Park Seo Joon was doing a poor job acting the character out, as I kept thinking he was looking at Ri Jin like he was keen on her- not like a brother. And then it was like- OH! That’s the whole point! Good job Park Seo Joon, good job scriptwriters.

Towards the end of the drama when we had the farewells to all the different personalities- well, I won’t lie. It was cheesy. Superb, delicious cheese.

Ain't nothing wrong with a bit of cheese

The way they send off the personalities is predictable, but it’s the way we all wanted it to go. After all the struggle and hurt and suffering, it was nice to sit back and watch our main couple reap the rewards. It was also nice that the reasons why each personality was formed were explained. We were able to guess most of it anyway, but it was still enjoyable to have our different theories confirmed. The science wasn’t close to realistic- it’s not an accurate representation of DID, but who’s watching for the science? The writers kept the rules of personality switching, creation and disappearance consistant, so that’s all that really matters.

The Music:

I don’t know what it was exactly, but I loved the soundtrack. The main song was lovely and catchy, and never felt overused. Most of the music was gorgeous, and just lurked in the background, enhancing the drama and not begging for attention. Well, the main song- Auditory Hallucination grabbed a bit of attention, but it was fantastic so who cares. 

What Wasn’t:

Bad Boy:

Shin Se Gi is great. Characters like Se Gi are why women have relationship issues. Because as much as we wish they did, nice bad boys like Se Gi just don’t exist. I loved everything about Se Gi- his reason for creation, his role as the protector, his holding of the memories.

Exact depiction of why girls like bad boys (the secret is in the guyliner)

But I didn’t like the way Ri Jin interacted with him. Several times she herself admitted that Se Gi was the most hurt and damaged of all Do Hyun’s personalities, and that he needed the most love and comfort. Yet does she ever really love or comfort him? Not really. Most of her interactions with the beloved bad boy were just keeping him from wrecking Do Hyun’s reputation, or trying to call Do Hyun back out. It felt too much like the writers were far too worried about how to logically make Ri Jin fall for Do Hyun over Se Gi, that they just never let any real connection develop between them. Not once in this drama did I honestly believe that Ri Jin cared for Se Gi as a person, or a man.

But...but...how can you NOT love him?!

Re-watch?

Definitely. This is a drama that really pulls at your heartstrings. The fantastic plot paired with a fantastic cast make it in excellent watch. Even though there won’t be any mystery the second time around, it’s worth watching again just for Ji Sung’s incredible performance.

It's actually amazing