Korea Explained: Learn All About Chaebol Culture In Korea Using The K-Drama "Reborn Rich" As A Case Study

JTBC

Many fans have been talking about the K-Drama "Reborn Rich", which saw massive success in terms of viewership ratings and buzz among the K-Drama community. The series highlighted the lives of chaebols in South Korea and the contribution that they have made to the Korean economy over the years.

"Reborn Rich" is a fantasy drama in which a man (Yoon HyunWoo) is betrayed and killed by the chaebol family he has served for over ten years. He miraculously gets a second chance at life when he returns in the body of the youngest son of the chaebol family (Jin DoJun) and uses the opportunity to enact his revenge. The drama stars Song JoongKi, Shin HyunBeen, Lee SungMin, Park JiHyun, Jo HanCheol, and more.

The K-Drama is based on a web novel called "The Youngest Son Of A Conglomerate" (direct translation - ์žฌ๋ฒŒ์ง‘ ๋ง‰๋‚ด์•„๋“ค in Korean) written by SonGyeong. You can read the web novel in Korean here.

The author of the novel has actually stated that they wrote the novel by taking inspiration from the true stories of real-life chaebols in South Korea. If you analyze some of the story motifs against the histories of the biggest corporate groups in Korea, you might notice some similarities. The novel is still a mix of fiction, however.

Some fans expressed shock at some of the events and plots that took place in the drama, wondering if they were really reflecting the truth about chaebol culture in South Korea. So, today, we'll use "Reborn Rich" as a case study to take a deeper look at the world of wealthy conglomerates in the country.

Note: This article uses examples of chaebol culture

All Access includes Original Articles, News, Games, Voting, Charts and more

GET ACCESS