Reborn Rich (2022)

Solid Show!

Just finished Reborn Rich on Viki.

Excellent show.

A chaebol-rivalry melodrama with slight elements of fantasy and romance. Without question, this show conveys the ruthlessness and ugliness of greed. The show has a consistently raw and serious tone throughout save the early episodes where the protagonist goes back in time and we see some epochal moments of world history that many of us who lived through those times in the 90's and 00's would remember (first generation K-pop group Seo Taiji & The Boys; Titanic). That's as light-hearted as it gets in this show. Most of the likable characters have almost no screen time in this show so you spend most of it with very unlikable characters, but the actors playing them are all excellent.

The most fascinating aspect of the show is the almost mentor/protege relationship between the characters played by Song Joong-Ki and Lee Sung-Min. Not sure I would call Song Joong-Ki's character likable, but you understand where he's coming from as he's getting revenge. Lee Sung-Min's character is a horrible person, but Lee's performance is so fascinating and 3-dimensional, you can't stop watching it. He chews up every scene he's in.

As far as the romance between Song Joong-Ki and Shin Hyun-Bin's characters, not sure if it was because the script didn't have enough scenes or they just didn't have chemistry, but I didn't buy into their romance at all. It felt more like a friendship to me than a romance. Both of their performances were strong.

Many were unhappy with the ending, but I found it to be very satisfying, albeit anticlimactic. If you K-Drama fans like a "happy ending", I think you'll be satisfied.

Highly recommended!

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A bittersweet yet perfect ending for a perfect drama

I understand the initial frustration with Reborn Rich’s ending, trust me, I avoided watching the final episode for days because I caught spoilers of what had happened, but now that I finally saw it, I am a crying mess and for good reason.

Yes, it’s quite unsettling and as I said frustrating to witness Do Joon’s entire effort for 15 episodes and 17 years go down the drain, but this is precisely why this entire thing happened. This is why Hyunwoo reborn as him. He participated in Dojoon’s death and chose to stay silent for success, for a chance to be someone. And after being betrayed, he got to be reborn as the person who was betrayed first AND HE HELPED cover his murder. Like he said, this was repentance. It’s brilliant. I can’t even wrap my head around it. It’s bittersweet, yes, but it’s BRILLIANT.

I will mourn Jin Dojoon, to be honest. He’s one of my favorite fictional characters I’ve watched in a drama and the injustice of what happened to him is what makes me cry now. But we can’t forget Dojoon and Hyunwoo are the same person. So, now, in this life, after getting his and Dojoon’s revenge and getting all of the Jin family to step down from Soonyang, Hyunwoo/Dojoon gets to live his life and be someone for his own merit without hiding behind an owner and his mistakes.

Again, I understand the frustration but if you just stop to think about it, it’s actually really brilliant.

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Neither the privilege and luxury of being rich nor the self made thrill

Reborn rich is one of the best webtoon I've ever read. Even after casting Actor like SJ the screenwriting or the execution of the story was really bad.
Actually I watched the drama first and then I read the webtoon. The webtoon is really good if they could adapt well it could have been one of the best drama . Seriously the rating goes higher cause of production, ost , SJ and budget. Either way this not spectacular to get 8.5 rating, 7.5 is enough.......
1) making HW and JDJ look alike, it makes no sense why would they look alike and nobody noticed that.
2) Relationship between grandpa and Dojun . The drama made grandpa a angry+ greedy old man. while in webtoon he is Dojun's mentor , scheming and lovable +villainous.....who will grab every opportunity. He loved Dojun and supported Miracle investments to become top unlike the drama where he felt threat over Dojun .
In webtoon he loved Dojun from starting,before he revealed his talent. In drama grandpa wanted his dim wit eldest grandson to become heir of SY while in webtoon he wanted Dojun to become his heir ....he even helped him to stay in sheep's clothing in front of his uncle and aunties.
3) the business talk in drama is too messy to understand. I remember I skipped cause of boredom while in webtoon it is thrill and real fun .
4) romance is not present in both drama and webtoon but still FL character is better in webtoon. In webtoon the FL is from a influential judges family and one of the candidate his grandpa chooses as Dojun's partner.
5) the ending is the worst. Yeah I get the point people might say this is cliche, some thrill out of the plot . I would have understood if Dojun was a born heir of chaebol family lived happily without working and suddenly get back in his body like common Isekai truck Kun but
**The story is totally about Dojun making his own company, own investments and right before success his fruits of hard labour devoured by the villains who used him in his first life**
Does it make sense ???
Imagine a person worked hard and right before success he get back where he was . What's the meaning of the drama then ??
Who do you think of survival is best ?
1) a person headshot and was thrown into ocean or
2) a person for into a car accident?
If course he got some knowledge but would knowledge is enough for someone who worked his butt of to build a company??
Aish , I don't recommend this drama, ..............

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Confusion of the highest order.

Come on the drama has politics, business, and friendly comedy overall the story is good. but the story has some confusing parts. In the first episode after the protagonist got shot, he woke up 40 years earlier as the grandson of soonyang's founder. so you would think it is a reincarnation story with time travel. but in the last episode, they make it seem as if the lead was shown the past of jin do jun to the protagonist while he was unconscious because he got shot in the first episode. but the problem is Jin Do Jun was aware of his past as the protagonist, also he was aware of the future events that were about to unfold in the world. most of his business strategies were successful because he knew the future. so it is not a memory, right? also the character looks alike yet none of his family members seems to care or even notice this particular detail. overall the business strategy and the twist are all good but I still don't understand what this story is actually about is it a reincarnation and time travel-based story or was it just a past event shown to another person in his dream? I guess this mystery will remain unsolved.

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Wow... easily the best Korean drama I have watched to-date in a modern setting.

I have always a bias towards a period drama - falling for their beautiful costumes and ancient architecture. So when I started on this drama, I was kind of sceptical and it was more of a time filler while I waited for other period dramas with excellent rating to be release online. But wow.... I was carried away. It is intense, with all the elements which made it exciting and interesting.

As instructed by the third generation Vice-Chairman, Yoon Hyun Woo retrieved a slush funds kept overseas by the Jin family who controlled the Soonyang conglomerate. He was killed while on his way back. He woke up back in time in the body of the youngest of the founder's grandchildren, Jin Do Jun. He was able to capitalise on the memories of his previous life to become exceedingly rich investing and divesting at the right moment and won the attention of his grandfather who had been very cold toward his father, mother and their children as he disapproved of his father's marriage.

What I liked about this drama?

1. The story was very interesting - a mix of family rivalry, commercial competition, corporate takeover, collusion of money and politics, romance and rejection - all worked in for the perfect effect. And an excellent lesson in the post-World War history and economic development of Korea.

2. The cast was fantastic. Some of them acted multiple personalities in the drama. The lead actor, Song Joong Ki, of course did very well, first as the subservient Yoon Hyun Woo and then as the daring Jin Do Jun, which brought the story alive. The second lead, Lee Sung Min acting the grandfather was absolutely outstanding. He first acted the charismatic, domineering, ruthless business leader, then the feeble pitiful confused old man very convincingly. The support actress Kim Shin Rok was excellent too - acting the overbearing Jin daughter then a drunkard when she lost all her money.

3. It was very dramatic and there were hardly any dull moment and it was jammed packed with happenings. There was perhaps an episode when things seemed to get a bit dull as we witnessed Jin Do Jun succeeding in investing and divesting as he ride through the economic boom and bust - with more of the same happening. But that was quickly turned around and the pace of the drama resumed.

4. The ending was brilliant. I was wondering how the writer was going to deal with two of the same persons living in the same era and it was very nicely handled. There was the sadness of someone killed and someone living again. It was also brilliant how a revenge turned into a case of justice.

5. The music was very mysterious and dramatic to match the development of the drama.

What I did not like about the drama? Cannot recall any - definitely going to watch it a second time and come back to fill in, if any.

Further thoughts about the drama: The grandfather Jin Yang Cheol's insistence on primogeniture, the passing of inheritance to the eldest offspring definitely triggered the intense rivalry in the family. Parents have to be careful not to invoke feeling of jealousy among their children. If grandfather Jin had treated his children more fairly and encouraged a feeling of win-win and interdependence, there won't be such intense rivalry to the detriment of the family. Perhaps it was his sense of indebtedness to his eldest son who went to prison to save the business and his bringing up the eldest grandson which nurtured the closeness, that brought about this.

Thumbs up all round for this drama.

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The series had so much potential yet had to fight through not to drop it

The things I enjoyed:
- The bond between Do-un and His Grandfather was so sweet and heartwarming.
- Some of the plots were so unexpected and I liked how those made the story evolve and sometimes how Do-jun put his aunt and uncle in their shoes.
- The lineup of the cast duh
- The Squad Miracle Investment top tier I love how they got each other's back and when they come up with plans.

The things I didn't enjoy that much:
- The Pacing; The first few episodes had a fast pacing and then the pacing got so slow.
- The Storyline; It's not that I hate It completely but the storyline was quite dry. Like from ep 9-15 It's like the same betrayals happened but in a different department and in the end, it was all a plan of Do-jun. Not that I got a problem but It got to a point where I just got bored. The rest of the storyline is not that bad. Not satisfied with the end at all, I got very confused when Do-jun died and then we're suddenly back to the present. Still mad at the author for not making Do-jun and Min-young a thing, like common he was going to propose. The ending was just not satisfying, it had me confused, mad and a little bit disappointed.
- Characters; Everyone in the Jin Family pissed me off. they had like no type of development and they just stayed the same dum relatives who always got deceived by Do-jun and betray each other. Like bring in some spice, nobody developed anything everyone was an MVP.

Overall:
I don't only wanna hate on the series and say it's horrible, just saying it wasn't my cup of tea and the things mentioned might not appeal to your experience. The series It actually good, the storyline is neutral and the characters are also. In my opinion, the series wasn't that special it was neutral, nothing to spectacular sum the storyline accurately the ending just dropped me without that I would've given the series 7 and up.

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An Underwhelming Ending

The ending of this otherwise excellent drama was not worth the paper it's written on. All I can take away from the ending is Sung Joon screaming his head off...lol. Production ruined it by giving an alternative ending that, like cinderella's gleaming coach, turned to a pumpkin at the stroke of a writer's pen. It's Do Joon's revenge from the grave but poorly done.

This drama deserved a dramatic, unforgettable, ginormous ending. Open ending for this drama is a cop out and a very lazy way of telling the audience that the drama needs to end so the writer and production threw ideas on the wall to see what would stick. Boo!!!!!!! If it's the best production can do, they should have just followed the ending in the original story in the manwha.

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Amazing drama with stellar performance let down by ending

Story: Story of a guy who works for a company is betrayed by his employer who then wakes up in the body of the youngest grandson of that's company's founder. There he starts his plan of revenge which is to take control of that company.

Acting: LSM: What an amazing actor is he. He was so perfect for the chairman's role, every scenes of his was a standout. He played a tough, distrust, cunning and a vulnerable guy so well.
SJK: Loved his acting so much, I think he definitely went beyond his peak acting for this. Such a good actor that he has good chemistry with a newbie actor(Tiffany).
SHB: Honestly I didn't enjoyed her acting at all, she was good for some time but most of her acting felt plain. I think the role was not suitable for her.
Other actors: All the other actors did an amazing acting, they were so good in displaying every emotion they were being told to show. Their cunning smile, villianious laugh, desperate cry, distraught everything they showed were perfect and on point.

Characters: JDJ/HW: He is smart and cunning as he knows the future but also knows what to do with that information, he is good at manipulation and would take a bait if it means it would destroy his enemy. His relationship with grandfather goes from him not getting acknowledge as a part of family by the grand father to him being his favourite grandson whom he can relate to most.
JYC: Founder and head of the family who loves his company and goes on saying that his company is his favourite child. Always being assertive and doesn't back down from his problem. Even without the future knowledge he is a very tough and unpredictable person.
JSJ: Eldest grandson who always put up a fake mask of smile, righteous and cool guy infront of other but he would do anything to make the company his.
HM: Wife of JSJ who is loyal to her husband only if he can secure the chairman position for him and would pass down to their so. She is extremely cunning and well connected who has given a good competition to DJ.
LPO: The grandmother who everyone thinks is a nice person is actually a women who would go to extreme length to make sure her real son/grandson succeed the company.
JHY: Only daughter of the chairman.Not so smart and gets greedy easily to the point that she ignores that she is harming herself.
JYK: Eldest son of the chairman who is a pushover and always desperate to show his father that he is a capable person.
JDK: Middle son and only among the three siblings who has some knowledge of business though he gets tricked. He is also desperate to get acknowledgement from his father as he thinks he is more deserving than his older brother.
CCJ: From prosecutor who was under the shadow of his wife(JHY) and her family to a law minister. He is not capable of making his own decisions, he does what has been told by whoever that will benefit him.
OSY: An investor and a loyal partner and a friend.
SMY: She is prosecutor who gets in relationship with JDJ and is also one who goes against his rich family. She doesn't gives up and is smart to know what actually is happening.

Likes: There are so many things to like, some are listed below:
• Amazing acting by the cast especially LSM and SJK
• The grand father-grand son duo was so amazing to watch.
• "Good guys" didn't always win, they faced some loss too which only made the story more interesting.
• How JDJ manipulative his whole family and plays them against eachother.
• Even though it was for one episode the child actor playing JDJ did an amazing job.
• Antagonists are cunning but also show some stupidity in the moment of heat.
• JDJ's relationship with his mother, father and brother is very wholesome, they are the few of the good guys by his side. A supporting and caring mother, a father who is willing to become a bad guy to help his son and a funny brother who is the heart of their small family.
• How the bad guys are taken down in every couple of episodes is very satisfying to watch.
• Music and OST is so beautiful, energetic and thrilling too
There are other things too that I have not mentioned.

Dislikes:•The ending episode, if felt a totally different episode from rest of others which is written by someone else.
• Ending doesn't make that much of a sense, is very unsatisfying and maked the episodes 2 to 15 unnecessary.
• FL and the actor: The character is very under utilised even for a one character centric drama. Also the acting felt off and not that good compared to other actors.
• Romance: As the FL and ML had little screentime together their romance felt off or maybe unnecessary.
• Role of the granddaughter is very minimal, as she is actually a smart person she could have been a good match against or even in favour of JDJ.

Overall: It's an amazing drama with high class acting and good twists and turns in the story which keeps the viewer engaged but the ending and the whole last episode could be huge let down.

Ratings: As a critic: 9(10-1 because of last episode).
As a casual viewer: 10.

PS: PJH and JHY(actor playing granddaughter) look really beautiful and hot and they are really talented too. Hope to see them in a first lead role.

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Definitely entertaining, but keep the magnifying glass outside

First off, Lee Sung Min gives a heck of a performance and a lasting impression as Jin Yang Cheol CEO. Song Joong Ki is as suave as ever. There are some good dynamics and relationships that can make you curious, happy, angry and so on. Chaebol makjang that kdramas excel at, with fast-paced business empire knots and tactics. Be prepared to plunge halfway into the world of stock exchange. If you're looking to just get some entertainment, this can definitely do the job and then some.

But if you put it under a magnifying glass, you might find some holes and ditches leaving you disappointed. So don't come to this, if you're looking for a super clever story that has the i's dotted and the t's crossed all wrapped in a pretty bow. This only has the bow.

There is some romance but nothing that'll make the butterflies jump out of the screen. There is some pain and trauma but it didn't leave me bawling. So these are not things you should expect to find here.

I was not looking for these thankfully, so I was quite entertained.

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Excellent, atypical revenge thriller

Song Joong-ki tends to choose his projects wisely, and Reborn Rich is no exception. The series was adapted from the webnovel Chaebol's Youngest Son and is a revenge thriller. What makes it unique is the time loops that involve the main character, which serves for dynamic storytelling.

The first episode begins with a loyal employee, Hyeon Woo, who was recently promoted to a Senior Finance Manager in his firm, Soonyang. Later on, however, on his way back from withdrawing the slush fund of Soonyang, he gets betrayed and is shot in the head.

He ends up living the life of a young Jin Do-jun, who is the youngest grandson of the Soonyang conglomerate, and with his historical knowledge eventually gains enough money for himself to compete with his grandfather.

Before I continue further, the hallmark of this series is the adversarial and complicated relationship between Do-jun and Chairman Jin Yang Cheol (excellently portrayed by Lee Sung-min). Do-jun starts off trying to one-up his grandfather in acquiring Soonyang shares, but eventually their relationship evolves into a begrudging respect, and ultimately, a filial love.
Chairman Jin is a complicated man who loves his business above all, which leads to his children competing to be the next chairperson of Soonyang. Despite many traps and obstacles, the viewer sees Do-jun slowly ascend through Soonyang ranks while also putting the other cutthroats in their place.

Part of what makes the series interesting is the excellent portrayal of an INTJ hero by Song Joong-ki. Armed with a knowledge of history, he uses events and trends to earn even more money so that he could stand to fight for Soonyang's succession. His ability to look into potentialities and transform them into entelechies is a joy to watch. To see Lee Sung-min and Song Joong-ki devour scenes is also a wonderful treat for K-drama viewers.

Executing a series which is a closed time loop is difficult. Many media often resolve this by a restart, which means that a day is experienced over and over again until something is unlocked. Reborn Rich provides a different alternative resolution, which is also quite satisfying.

Without going into spoilers, the writing of the series is tight. It flows like one long movie, because Do-jun has to deal with problems that come up every time he becomes successful. Despite the internecine bloodbath, however, the viewer can't help but root for Do-jun as he tries to right the sinking ship of Soonyang.

Until the ending, it is impressive how the series addressed the closed time loop. Not only is the complex dynamic between Jin Yang Cheol and Do-jun a treat, the friendship between Oh Se-hyun and Do-jun is also enjoyable. If there's a weakness in the series, it has to be the romance between Min-yeong and Do-jun, as that was often shafted to the side. However, the denouement made it so, with good reason. The series comes full circle, and the series ending is, while a bit underwhelming, quite satisfying.

This is definitely one of the best, if not the best series of 2022.

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LSM(grandpa) & SJK carry the whole show, FL's character is a joke, rushed ending.

A time-travel plot can be confusing and tends to have many loopholes. This drama just had too many of them which is disappointing. The story starts off with Yoon Hyun Woo, a loyal servant to the Soonyang Family, gets betrayed by them and "killed". His soul (?) ends up in the body of Jin Yang Cheol's grandson Jin Do Joon. He has knowledge of the future & this family and wants to get revenge on the Soonyang Family with it.

What I liked:
- The Grandpa and Jin Do Joon characters. How they were able to make you watch this drama if you had no clue about business, stocks/investment.
LSM nailed it with the acting for the grandpa. JYC is such a complex character. I always wondered why JYC's children turned that way when in the first episode he was mentioned in a good way. When he scolded Seong Joon on his 60th birthday party, he told him about how the employee's livelihood depended on them. I took that as the Grandpa being a good person. But later, through Do Joon we find out he is the typical conglomerate's chairman who thinks of his employees as dogs and disregard the lives of poor people. Then we are introduced to his past as a delivery man and understand how hard he worked to become the rich man he is. We also see the tough love he has for his children & grandchildren. Grandpas character was so well done that I couldn't fully hate him. At some times, I pitied his character. I could see why Do Joon's character was also stuck in between. He wanted to destroy Soonyang which is his Grandfather's everything but he also cared for the Grandfather too. The scene where he protects the Grandfather from the oil crisis and covers up the Grandfather when he peed in the elevator. That scene was touching (the expressions were on point!) Then Grandpa's video after death was also very touching.
I liked Do Joon's journey as well. He has motive for revenge, but he hasn't lost all his emotions. He cared for the Grandfather and his family (the way he got revenge on his aunt first because she humiliated his mother). Although he did some things that ruined the lives of poor people because of his revenge, he wasn't completely corrupt.


What I disliked:
- The slight romance forced on us & the FL's character. There was no chemistry at all. It's not convincing at all that they somehow fell in love with each other. They needed the relationship between Seo Min Young & Do Joon as the reason why she's called the Soonyang Grim Reaper. Her first investigation of Soonyang started because of Do Joon (when he was alive and wanted to use her). That was her character's entire purpose to exist. Her character was not developed at all.
- How some of the supporting characters felt the same as the FL's character. Why do they exist? What purpose do they serve?
Example: Ye Joon. She showed up in Episode 1 and then she wasn't seen till like the last 3 episodes? I was wondering the entire time where she was because she was a part of the Soonyang Family that Hyun Woo knew of. She does almost nothing but helps out her father a little and that's it.

What I neither liked/disliked & had mixed feelings:
- What was the point of revenge plot when it would become meaningless? Hyun Woo went to past and we were lead to believe it's for revenge. He was going to have his revenge since he had money and he wasn't poor. His goal to buy Soonyang was for revenge. In the end he died rich, and got his revenge when he was poor. So, his journey was to prove being rich won't solve your problems? If you're poor you can get revenge too?
- Disappearance of supporting characters. After grandma is found to be murderer, she has no role in the story. What happens after that we don't know. She gave up her shares & is a suspect for attempted murder and is never to be seen again. Her role was over & assume to have died of old age. Mr. Lee also disappears after stepping down as CEO & giving Do Joon his shares.



Where I was confused:
- I get some people survive bullets to the head, but fully functional and recover within a week? What part of his head was he shot in? The brain is so complicated each areas have different functions. Are we supposed to believe bullet just went through not damaging a single part of his brain and he is fully functional?
-The ending.
Hyun Woo said he didn't time travel or possess Do Joon. "My repentance for Do Joon." This is where the major hole in time travel is. Are we suppose to take what he said literally or not? In the previous episode he said,"the one who killed me was me." Here he says he basically accepts that he was that version of Do Joon.
In those 20 years, Hyun woo erased the incident about Do Joon's accident from his memories. When he went into Do Joon's body in the past he didn't remember a single thing about Do Joon and you wondered why. Later on, he remembers that Do Joon died. But it doesn't bother him when Do Joon dies or how he dies. He suddenly remembers how Do Joon dies on the day of the accident.
He cannot say he didn't time travel because he indeed changed the past from what he knew. His birth mom died from heart attack, but when he tried to save her and change the past, she died from suicide instead. The Do Joon of the past that was gifted in investing was Hyun Woo knowing the future and using that for his advantage. One day he remembered his past self almost falling asleep as a driver and went to the same spot. But he didn't see himself since it was another "time".
So why would you repent for yourself?
Also how the hell did Hyun Woo have a recording of that call when he was panicking? If Hyun woo kept the evidence of Do joon's accident with himself the entire time, how did he not REMEMBER that he were to die by his own hands.

Why did they use the same face for Hyun woo & Do joon. Initially, I thought perhaps face of Do Joon is different & we just see Hyun Woo's face cause he took over Do Joon's body. But in last episode, the alcoholic dementia guy Mr. Ha is only one who recognizes him & says he's Do Joon. Are we supposed to say,"it's a coincidence, he has delirium and thought it was him? "

Honorable mention:
- the truck of death.
It's funny how much it's used in kdramas that everytime I see a truck I always assume someone's gonna die. It's not even a surprise anymore.

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