Manseh, @oppafangirl, for your virtuosity in tracking down the canonical DramaBeans ranks via the Wayback Machine! And thank you to @sicarius for documenting and reporting its existence. This is the first time I’ve seen the whole list. Yowza!

I transcribed the ranks from the 4 Internet Archive pages and set them in order from highest to lowest. This arrangement emulates the Joseon official hierarchy of 9 junior and senior ranks – but with nearly twice as many levels. LOL!

01. – senior 1st – Rebel who stole the people
02. – junior 1st – Good king
03. – senior 2nd – Tyrant king
04. – junior 2nd – Calculating minister of the right
05. – senior 3rd – Snivelly minister of the left
06. – junior 3rd – 우주대스타 Ujudaeseuta [star who is really famous]
07. – senior 4th – Chep
08. – junior 4th – Introverted Boss
09. – senior 5th – Flower scholar
10. – junior 5th – Daddy long legs
11. – senior 6th – Second fiddle with an inferiority complex
12. – junior 6th – Suspicious housekeeper
13. – senior 7th – Goblin’s manservant
14. – junior 7th – Lawyer who works at Subway
15. – senior 8th – Mystical brain fetus
16. – junior 8th – Italy-trained barista
17. – senior 9th – Top star’s underappreciated manager
18. – junior 9th – CEO’s overworked secretary
19. – senior 10th – Contract girlfriend
20. – junior 10th – Unemployed slacker in a sparkly track suit
21. – senior 11th – Fan club president
22. – junior 11th – Entertainer-in-training
23. – senior 12th – Loan shark with a heart of gold
24. – junior 12th – Rooftop room dweller
25. – senior 13th – Errand boy
26. – junior 13th – Wrongly accused fugitive
27. – senior 14th – The Goblin’s underpants
28. – junior 14th – Chaebol’s poor doppelganger
29. – senior 15th – Eunuch in drag
30. – junior 15th – Noble idiot
31. – senior 16th – Water maid
32. – junior 16th – Jang Geu-rae
33. – senior 17th – Candy
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
34. – junior 17th – ?
35. – senior 18th – ?
36. – junior 18th – ?

A Modest Proposal:

Subject to review and approval by uri beloved @javabeans and @girlfriday, a minor expansion of the ranks would ensure plenty of upward mobility as Beanie posting activity marches on. For aesthetic purposes, adding 3 more ranks would round out the levels to exactly double the official number used in Joseon. That would correct senior 17th rank Candy missing its companion junior 17th rank. Inserting all 3 proposed ranks above the highest currently-occupied level (senior 10th, Contract Girlfriend?) would avoid messing up the ranks already in use. Entry-level Candy would occupy the new junior 18th spot.

Suggestions for additional ranks:

1. – Hwang Jin-yi [famed gisaeng]
2. – Mad dog detective
3. – Exorcist priest
4. – 암행어사 Amhaeng-eosa [secret royal inspector]
5. – Hungry zombie
6. – Geoshigi

I suppose that each level would need its own emblem a la the embroidered squares on the front of court robes… 😉

Where there’s a will there’s a way hehehe. Beanies cannot be stopped 😉

Nice!