A tale of mystery, money, and family
There’s a reason why JTBC’s corporate drama series “Reborn Rich” broke past the 20 percent mark and achieved the highest viewership ratings this year. The drama, starring actor Song Joong-ki, is the story of a loyal worker Yoon Hyun-woo being murdered and reincarnated as Jin Do-Joon, the youngest grandchild in a top conglomerate family.
Nielsen Ratings Korea reported that the ratings surpassed the previous record set by the global hit series “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.”
Based on the webnovel by San Kyung and the webtoon of the same, the Korean title translated as “The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family.” The series is reminiscent of the past as the story revolves around South Korea’s family-run conglomerates, chaebol, with the fictional series including real political and economic events such as the 1996-98 Asian financial crisis.
Sunyang Group and its complex shareholding structure may remind you of Samsung. Samsung founder Lee Byung Chull broke the traditional Confucian rule, as Jin Yang-Cheol broke the right of primogeniture. In 1987, the Samsung founder handed his company to his fourth son, who later transformed Samsung into a global leader in high-tech products, dominating the domestic scene.
Many drama critics praise Reborn Rich, as although it is a fantasy series, it became a period drama featuring well-known events from modern Korean history. Sungkyunkwan University Sociology professor Koo Jeong-woo said, “A sense of relative deprivation is widespread in Korean society due to the widening social inequality. People seem to feel vicarious satisfaction with a story in which a fictional character easily soars up the social hierarchy and wins victory after victory.”
Reborn Rich is available on Netflix, Disney+, Rakuten Viki, and Viu and has topped TV charts in several Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippines, last week.
Source: Yonhap News
