On what it takes to be a chaebol’s wife (a totally useless essay that sheds light on the reality of candy characters)
K-dramalands are rife with chaebols (well, lesser now in recent years) and their romance. Their choice of partner is usually less fortunate than them in terms of monetary possession, leading to rag-to-rich Cinderella stories. But dramas involving chaebols that I enjoy usually do not focus on this aspect (as Cinderella is my least favourite childhood fairytale) but instead on how the women affect and shape their life, changing them for the better.
Perhaps my first chaebol k-drama is All About Eve, a romance between an heir of a broadcasting station and a newscaster. Sun-mi is kind, cute, and well-liked by the public. Most importantly, she makes him happy. However, will she survive the vulture world of her partner’s life? Will the darkness of his world erode her goodness? How much will he be able to shield her? Fortunately, Sun-mi may be kind but not naive. When it comes to push and shove, she knows how to stand up for herself. Also, she has the biggest supporter by her side. My verdict: she’ll be fine.
Next, High Society. The social difference between Chang-soo and Ji-yi is obscenely huge. However, her optimistic and realistic view of life, sunny disposition, and humour make me root for her happy ending with him. Like she said, they may break up tomorrow but she wants to be with him today.
A Piece of Your Mind: Is Ha-won a chaebol? Arguable, but for the sake of including my favourite drama in this essay I am going to assume he is one. If Seo-woo ends up marrying him, without a doubt she will, I can’t help thinking that she may need to fill the shoes of Melinda Gates and Priscilla Chan, and that is such a huge role to take on. I wish Seo-woo can forever tinker in her recording studio, enjoying the quiet moments of life. I’d like to think that since Ha-won has an aversion to putting himself in the public’s eye, there will be less pressure on Seo-woo to assume a philanthropic role.
Celebrity: My favourite part of this addictive series is the romance and the way Kang Min-hyuk utters the cheesiest line as if he is talking about food. A-ri may have fallen out of the 1% society but she retains the grace and confidence of those who belong in that stratum. Suffice it to say, I can see her standing by his side (and firing a few of his staff), playing her role to perfection, and shutting down any criticism of her flaws and shortcomings.
See You in My 19th Life: Oh, the stratospherical height these two possess. Without a doubt, they make a beautiful power couple. With the intelligence, competency, and decisiveness of these two, the future of MI Group is promising. I wish for Ji-eum to remain at MI Mobity, climbing up the ladder as an engineer and leading the subsidiary in the future. Seo-ha can handle the rest, I suppose, with plenty of help from others, which is the most important task of an enterprise, to recruit and retain talents.
King the Land: I can’t imagine a people pleaser like Sa-rang can handle the vitriol of chaebolland.
Cheese in the Trap: Kim Go-eun’s portrayal of Hong Seol is charming and endearing but her skittish demeanour makes it painful for me to watch her in public settings. Meanwhile, Oh Yeon-seo’s Hong Seol possesses the grace and poise that is sorely needed in a public persona.
I am a sucker for chaebol nonsense. I’ll never tire out at all. And I like to see how the non-chaebol addition surfs the waters of the chaebol world.
Your future thoughts on SYIM19L is spot on correct.
We have had so many female candies and there are only a few male candies if they even exist at all like Angels Last Mission : Love. I’d like to see dramas centered around this though.
Aww, I’m so glad you agree with my vision of the main leads in SYIM19L. The drama ending is logically a big giant nonsense but the couple works for me. And sometimes that’s all that matters. I didn’t watch Angel’s Last Mission but Song Joong-ki in Nice Guy makes a convincing male candy.
What does it take to become a chaebol’s husband?
Or how to do that storyline horribly bad:
In Agency, Kang Han Na is a cheabol, and a ceo, and Han Joon Woo is her assistant. She falls for him, pressures him to date her, he keeps rejecting her and saying nobody will look at them dating favorably. She only answers don’t worry about it. We witness firsthand how her family and higher-up employees attack and bully him only at the first whiff of a rumor of them dating. Then… they just start dating and we don’t see any aftermath. While the whole time Joon Woo was completely starstruck with Lee Bo Young’s character. It would have been the perfect ending for them not even to date but just start to get closer. Oh well… they really blew this.
I’ve often thought about this topic. I realise that being a chaebol’s wife is also work. The introvert in me would never want to interact with so many people and keep track of so many political machinations
1% of Anything the remake: i never understood the conflict when he wanted to marry her, it was something along the lines of he’ll be Very Busy All the Time, was she willing to put up with it?
Errr dude, have you ever heard of work-life balance?? And what’s the point of all that money if you don’t enjoy it..
skirt
July 28, 2023 at 1:55 AM
On what it takes to be a chaebol’s wife (a totally useless essay that sheds light on the reality of candy characters)
K-dramalands are rife with chaebols (well, lesser now in recent years) and their romance. Their choice of partner is usually less fortunate than them in terms of monetary possession, leading to rag-to-rich Cinderella stories. But dramas involving chaebols that I enjoy usually do not focus on this aspect (as Cinderella is my least favourite childhood fairytale) but instead on how the women affect and shape their life, changing them for the better.
Perhaps my first chaebol k-drama is All About Eve, a romance between an heir of a broadcasting station and a newscaster. Sun-mi is kind, cute, and well-liked by the public. Most importantly, she makes him happy. However, will she survive the vulture world of her partner’s life? Will the darkness of his world erode her goodness? How much will he be able to shield her? Fortunately, Sun-mi may be kind but not naive. When it comes to push and shove, she knows how to stand up for herself. Also, she has the biggest supporter by her side. My verdict: she’ll be fine.
Next, High Society. The social difference between Chang-soo and Ji-yi is obscenely huge. However, her optimistic and realistic view of life, sunny disposition, and humour make me root for her happy ending with him. Like she said, they may break up tomorrow but she wants to be with him today.
A Piece of Your Mind: Is Ha-won a chaebol? Arguable, but for the sake of including my favourite drama in this essay I am going to assume he is one. If Seo-woo ends up marrying him, without a doubt she will, I can’t help thinking that she may need to fill the shoes of Melinda Gates and Priscilla Chan, and that is such a huge role to take on. I wish Seo-woo can forever tinker in her recording studio, enjoying the quiet moments of life. I’d like to think that since Ha-won has an aversion to putting himself in the public’s eye, there will be less pressure on Seo-woo to assume a philanthropic role.
Celebrity: My favourite part of this addictive series is the romance and the way Kang Min-hyuk utters the cheesiest line as if he is talking about food. A-ri may have fallen out of the 1% society but she retains the grace and confidence of those who belong in that stratum. Suffice it to say, I can see her standing by his side (and firing a few of his staff), playing her role to perfection, and shutting down any criticism of her flaws and shortcomings.
See You in My 19th Life: Oh, the stratospherical height these two possess. Without a doubt, they make a beautiful power couple. With the intelligence, competency, and decisiveness of these two, the future of MI Group is promising. I wish for Ji-eum to remain at MI Mobity, climbing up the ladder as an engineer and leading the subsidiary in the future. Seo-ha can handle the rest, I suppose, with plenty of help from others, which is the most important task of an enterprise, to recruit and retain talents.
King the Land: I can’t imagine a people pleaser like Sa-rang can handle the vitriol of chaebolland.
Cheese in the Trap: Kim Go-eun’s portrayal of Hong Seol is charming and endearing but her skittish demeanour makes it painful for me to watch her in public settings. Meanwhile, Oh Yeon-seo’s Hong Seol possesses the grace and poise that is sorely needed in a public persona.
jerrykuvira
July 28, 2023 at 3:06 AM
I am a sucker for chaebol nonsense. I’ll never tire out at all. And I like to see how the non-chaebol addition surfs the waters of the chaebol world.
Your future thoughts on SYIM19L is spot on correct.
We have had so many female candies and there are only a few male candies if they even exist at all like Angels Last Mission : Love. I’d like to see dramas centered around this though.
skirt
July 28, 2023 at 8:35 AM
Aww, I’m so glad you agree with my vision of the main leads in SYIM19L. The drama ending is logically a big giant nonsense but the couple works for me. And sometimes that’s all that matters. I didn’t watch Angel’s Last Mission but Song Joong-ki in Nice Guy makes a convincing male candy.
Midnight
July 28, 2023 at 3:41 AM
What does it take to become a chaebol’s husband?
Or how to do that storyline horribly bad:
In Agency, Kang Han Na is a cheabol, and a ceo, and Han Joon Woo is her assistant. She falls for him, pressures him to date her, he keeps rejecting her and saying nobody will look at them dating favorably. She only answers don’t worry about it. We witness firsthand how her family and higher-up employees attack and bully him only at the first whiff of a rumor of them dating. Then… they just start dating and we don’t see any aftermath. While the whole time Joon Woo was completely starstruck with Lee Bo Young’s character. It would have been the perfect ending for them not even to date but just start to get closer. Oh well… they really blew this.
indyfan
July 28, 2023 at 4:23 AM
Your essay made me think of this article:
What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim: Would Kim MiSo and Lee YoungJoon still be together today?
https://www.vogue.in/culture-and-living/content/whats-wrong-with-secretary-kim-kim-miso-lee-youngjoon-relationship-love-korean-dramas
They were rather hopeful for this HEA.
Mani-chan
July 28, 2023 at 6:23 AM
I’ve often thought about this topic. I realise that being a chaebol’s wife is also work. The introvert in me would never want to interact with so many people and keep track of so many political machinations
skirt
July 28, 2023 at 6:59 AM
Me too. So many events to attend and parties to host. It sounds so draining.
parkchuna ❤️🍉
July 28, 2023 at 6:41 AM
1% of Anything the remake: i never understood the conflict when he wanted to marry her, it was something along the lines of he’ll be Very Busy All the Time, was she willing to put up with it?
Errr dude, have you ever heard of work-life balance?? And what’s the point of all that money if you don’t enjoy it..
Midnight
July 28, 2023 at 10:56 AM
Also, does that mean a rich guy is busier than a poor guy having to work 2, sometimes 3 jobs? No.
parkchuna ❤️🍉
July 28, 2023 at 10:32 PM
Right. Rich people shud be busy enjoying their money 🤣