This review may contain spoilers
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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The best adult, mature, business drama I've sen in a while!
This year K-dramas surprise me, not many in real but Tomorrow ( hope there will be a 2 season), Business Proposal and now this one: Reborn Rich.Reborn Rich until now (episode 9) never made me do forward! The story line is surprising well written, the dialogues are fantastic so good that you want to see what happen next to the ML but also to all of the other characters.
And acting, acting is simple extraordinary if we talk about the Do Jun actors. Even the kid is something!
If you are looking for a well written drama with a theme of revenge and business this is the one!
I'm sure that I will love it until the end and I'm gonna miss this drama when it reach the final
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reborn rich rocks - Don't be put off by the comments
Story - I loved it. The nods to history were amazing and really told us about South Korea at pivotal times in their history. I'd suggest people watch it for this alone. It also highlights how power and money play such an important part in designing fate.
The ending seemed to split the audience but I loved it. It reconciled the stories in a way I hadn't anticipated. So my advise would be not to be put off by the comments you read on here or elsewhere. This story delivered
Acting - this was so good by the supporting cast that I found myself unable to watch some of the scenes. Special mention to the Grandma
The only thing I didn't love was the romance as it felt unnecessary at times but eventually makes sense. Rewatch and OST are low as I don't remember much music and it's hard to rewatch thrillers / dramas like this.
I would highly recommend this as the perfect binge watch. Lucky you not needing to go through weeks of suspense
Enjoy
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This review may contain spoilers
After building up the drama about DoJun for 15 episodes and suddenly killing him off towards the end was a bit lousy writing. All this time I was expecting to finally see Dojun buy Soonyang and sit on the throne that he has been fighting for his whole life. Suddenly shifting the plot towards Hyun Woo for one last episode when the entire audience was invested in the story about DoJun was pointless to me. But as Hyun Woo mentioned towards the end the story wasn't about possession or time traveling rather it was about his repentance towards DoJun and himself. So I guess this whole time the plot was from Hyun Woo's perspective, which kind of makes me not dislike the entire drama just for one episode which didn't go as I expected. I mean we all kind of knew DoJun was dead but we still kinda hoped for some sort of miracle lol. Overall, I think it was a great watch, the twists after twists and all the mind games played by the protagonist, and not to forget the outstanding acting and the beautiful relationship between the grandfather and his grandson, so damn wholesome! If I would ever give this drama a rewatch it would only be because of the grandfather and grandson duo. In the end, it wasn't about revenge but rather justice for DoJun and his loved ones. Everyone in Jin's family kind of got the taste of their own medicine which was very satisfactory to watch. But what was the need for identical characters and how come nobody ever noticed how similar they both looked? :/ Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Ending left a lot to be desired, but I think I understood the point
Overall, this was one of the best plotted kdramas I’ve watched in a long time. The ending was a tad frustrating, but ultimately, I think I understand what the reason behind it was.This story digs into generational wealth/poverty and tells the story of the South Korean economy from the 90s-the present. As an American, I learned a lot more about the stock market, South Korean conglomerates and how their legal system changed to accommodate them. On its face, not something I would’ve thought I’d be interested in, but the story weaves in the family plot is of the Jin family empire and it all makes for a really interesting drama. I found myself finishing it much faster than I thought I would.
The only weak parts of this drama (for me anyway) were the romance between DJ/HW and the prosecutor and some of the acting choices. I pitied the prosecutor because I just never thought DJ/HW really cared that much about her. She was constantly an afterthought and she thought about him all the time. To find out she waited so long after their failed romance dating no one and hoping he’d be into her again… that’s just sad. We don’t even really get to see her working cases that weren’t involved with him so it made it look like her life revolved around him.
I also was annoyed at how often someone would say something shock to DJ/HW and he wouldn’t react until they’d already left. They did that several times and the leaning in to whisper intimidation tactic was used a lot, too.
The strongest parts of this drama are the scenes with the family. Both DJ’s and HW’s. Watching HW's family struggle, especially what his father went through, was heartbreaking. DJ's relationship with the Miracle Investment team was great. DJ's constant fight with the Jin family was very interesting to watch. Of course, the most outstanding relationship was between DJ and his grandfather. I was surprised by how much this drama made me invested in that relationship.
The ending was not what I wanted. It did feel like a sudden turn to punish HW for things we didn't even know he'd done. I think the writers wanted to say that the solution to his death wasn't being reborn rich and paying it forward. Instead, he had to reconcile with his own actions and greed and take the Jin family down with the resources he had. In a world where rich people don't ever get the punishment they deserve, this ending falls a bit flat because obviously, the desired ending was DJ taking over and having the Jin family see the results of their own actions. Instead, we get a very quick ending that didn't feel nearly as satisfying.
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a big mistake
when i watch a korean drama i fall in love with the story and the acting.reborn rich it a good drama with a big mistake .....
this korean drama give as the real story about korea or the reborn of korea.
when we talk about car in korea that remember me the birth of a greate car named Hyundai ......the evolution of korean music ...the revolution of movie ......this drama give as not only a story about rich
but give as the story of all korean .
now the big mistake in this show is the end .....i dont like it and i can't accepted .
from the beginning they show us a boy bicome the great leader of His grandfather's property and his wealth, estimated at millions.
at the end he is dead .
sorry but i dont anderstande this end ....
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One of a kind
I don't think I've watched a KDrama that's so heavily focused on economics, historical events and finance this good. There's never a boring moment throughout the drama. When it comes to succession dramas, often times, you'll see a lot of internal politics drama but this one is different. I'm not saying that there's no internal politics, but you get to see the thinking process behind business decisions and also good strategies. There are so many mentions of real historical events and how they have impacted businesses in Korea which is one of the highlights of the drama for me.I read an article somewhere comparing the plot of this drama with the Samsung's succession drama as well. Long story short, the founder of Samsung, similar to Jin Yang Cheol in the drama, planned to let his eldest son become the successor but the son wasn't really business savvy so he changed his mind and led to a series of events surrounding power fight within the family. I always have a soft spot for dramas which have elements inspired by true events because you can help but think "so it does happen in real life".
Parts I really love:
1. The whole part of how Jin Do Joon took advantage of his knowledge of events to make investment decisions.
2. Jin Do Joon's relationship with Oh Se Hyun. It's really funny how they became such trusty partners after a donut incident in the US.
3. All the details put into business and investment strategies. Is it because Do Joon could see the future? He could confidently make decisions and at the same time make logical sense out of them.
The one part of the drama which I really dislike is Seo Min Young. Sometimes, I feel like the writers wrote her in just to give the actress something to do.
My opinion on the ending:
I see a lot of comments complaining how "ridiculous" the ending is. If you guys have been watching the drama from episode 1, you should know that historical events cannot be changed. Remember when Do Joon tried to save Hyun Woo's mother? He did all sorts of things to avoid her death but she died anyway. In actual fact, Do Joon didn't get to survive the accident. Isn't already expected that at some point, Do Joon will die? Probably because we have been too attached with Do Joon throughout the drama, it is quite upsetting that they have killed off our main character.
There are parts that don't quite make sense to me though. I couldn't for the life of me, figure out the age thing. 20 years had passed since Do Joon died and Hyun Woo still looked the same? How old was he then, when he survived the gunshot? How did he survive the gunshot to the head in the first place?
All in all, I highly recommend this drama. The only reason why I rated this 8.5 is only because other than Jin Do Joon and Jin Yang Cheol, other characters seem to be a little lacking.
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14 Filler episodes
So basically episode 2 - 15 is filler.How did Do-Jun have knowledge of the future? Why didn't the future change? Why didn't he prepare for the death like he prepared for everything else? Why didn't Do-Jun help his poor family when he had enough money to do so? Surely after nearly dying with has Grand Father he would be smart enough to have better security. But also, how did Hyun-woo record the phone call in like 2005? Why didn't the manager just hang up the phone after talking to Hyun-woo?
Is it worth watching 15 good episodes just to be extremely disappointed and dissatisfied with a horrible ending? Maybe. But it will leave you questioning if it was worth it.
Many plot holes. Story should have gone the same way as the novel. It was still entertaining but it could have been A LOT better. Ending ruined it for me in my opinion.
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Gripping!!
Full of twists and turns....you think you've got the story figured out, you think it's predictable, then bam!....something unexpected changes with the storyline. This one kept me glued to the screen. Amazing writing, amazing cast, and well produced. You think you're watching a storyline about getting revenge, but it's so much deeper and more meaningful, only you won't realize it until you watch it to the very end. One of the best laid out and thought out plot lines I've seen in quite awhile. The kind of drama that has South Korean entertainment taking over the world. I highly recommend this series. Congrats to all the cast and crew on this one!!Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Some people don’t get time travel. Please let me break down this brilliant drama.
Here is my head talk and concluding comments from the excellent Korean drama YSOAG/Reborn Rich, as I watched the finale in Episode 16. Contains Spoilers.Quote: Revenge is for those with power, and not for those who have been wronged.
I had to rewind the first six minutes of episode 16 three times before I noticed the name of the guy on the passport was not Conglomerate grandson Jin Do Jun. Jin Do Jun had reverted back to the future/present to Yoon Hyun-woo. It happened so quickly that I was dazed and confused.
Yoon Hyun-woo went back in time to right two wrongful deaths, his and that of Jin Do Jun. He was not able to save one.
Yoon Hyun-woo used the secrets of History and Business of the future to get ahead in business in the past, when he was reborn rich. Then Yoon Hyun-woo/Jin Do Jun used the secrets of the past to right the wrongs in the future/present for the sins of the past.
Yoon Hyun-woo was still in love with the Prosecutor Seo Min-young when he changed out from Jin Do Jun to Yoon Hyun-woo. The Prosecutor Seo Min-young saved him from jail in the past and saved him from jail in the future/present.
Yoon Hyun-woo/Jin Do Jun still turned to “donut man” Oh Se-hyeon/Mason Oh for help and business wisdom in the future/present.
The timeline connection broke at the death of Jin Do Jun. Therefore, it threw out a “time correction”, as the history met up with the future/present.
Song Joong Ki gave a great performance. There was incredible acting by most all of the cast. Great acting ran deep.
Wow! Yoon Hyun-woo was an unintentional accomplice in the murder of the Conglomerate grandson Jin Do Jun. He was dispensable from the start, when it came to the Conglomerates. After the death of Jin Do Jun, Yoon Hyun-woo was offered a job at Soonyang, even though he was not qualified. He got a high position at Soonyang with just a High School degree. Payoff. It becomes significant then that Yoon Hyun-woo always was that smart. He did well in the University while he was in the past as Jin Do Jun. If Yoon Hyun-woo could have stayed at the University in the future/present, he might have been great on his own. He left the University and his studies to support his family.
The Prosecutor saved Yoon Hyun-woo from death in the present. That was not fully explained how.
Yoon Hyun-woo was endearing to and fond of his two mothers (birth mother and adopted mother in the past), as if there were two people inhabiting his body.
The old company Jin Do Jun founded, Miracle Investments, did not change out his desk for over 20 years after his death. That blue computer on his desk looked like an E One. It was still there.
Getting down to business. . . . I am sorry that this drama is over.
A mainstay feature of the “Korean discount” is avoiding inheritance tax, due to Conglomerate Succession .
In the present day, Donut Man Oh Se-hyeon/Mason Oh tries to beat the Conglomerate system, getting around the Conglomerate Succession position by consolidating minority shareholders into a voting block. These shareholders are the ones who do not vote, because they think that their small vote is meaningless. However, together they tried to form a voting block through the shareholder’s solidarity conference.
Conglomerate owner’s can save billions in inheritance tax [at 38- minute episode 16. See article below]. The hope of Donut Man was to strip management of their rights through the voting block. The little guy against the big guy. The block gave the minority shareholders power over the Conglomerate, because of the huge power of the solidarity voting block. Famous last words of the Conglomerate, “Ignore David. We are Goliath”. Round one went to Goliath. Management secretly paid off the minority shareholders, who were easily swayed by gifted money. In round two, Donut Man went after bigger fish. Round one flushed out the one who was the owner of the slush fund and who killed the YSOAG.
The Conglomerate Firstborn Son planted evidence at the scene of Jin Do Jun’s murder/accident to make it look like his own son killed Jin Do Jun. Was it the father, who then bargained away his jail time and placed it on his son?
By being forced to live in the body of the one he helped kill, Yoon Hyun-woo developed empathy and compassion for Conglomerate grandson Jin Do Jun.
YSOAC WAS FIXATED ON CHANGING THE RULE OF CONGLOMERATE SECESSION. They believed that this rule really hurt business in the long run.
Quote: When I first met Do Jun seven years ago, the young man who was still in his teens said he’d buy Soonyang. I should tell you why I risked my whole career to move to Korea based on that absurd statement. On the New York Stock Exchange, if companies are at similar levels and one is Korean, it goes for a lower price, because of the Korean Discount rule. Then you must also know the reason why there is a Korea Discount. It is because of the Conglomerate succession rule. Business is conducted like selecting a national team of athletes based solely on whether the parents of the candidates were medal winner. Regardless of how competitive the candidates are. Management ability isn’t something that is genetically passed down in the family. We at at Miracle Investments want to show this reasoning to the Korean Market. (They believed that it was hurting Korean business in general).
Repartee between donut man and the second son at time 27-30 minutes in episode 15. In a nutshell, this appears to me to be the basis of this drama. A commentary on Conglomerate Success and how it can be detrimental to business and society.
Quote: It was not about possession or Time Travel. It was about repentance.
In the end, Yoon Hyun-woo did not get the girl, but inherited Jin Do Jun’s business and the sense of business. The Universe was righted.
€€€
Following the death of Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho last week, the inheritance tax his bereaved family will have to pay is in the spotlight, with estimates suggesting as much as 200 billion won ($175 million).
According to analysts, the lofty taxes could shrink the owner family’s stake. However, they also note that it is unlikely, reminding that the high inheritance tax rate is actually what drives the obsessive culture of family-monopolized management among conglomerates here.
[News Analysis] High inheritance tax fuels chaebol monopoly
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Damn Love Song Joong Ki
it was a good drama quite thrilling , I loved the main lead and his story ,it was entertaining and fun to watch how he ploughed through his circumstances.............................................................................................................................,......................,......................................................................................................................................................................................................Was this review helpful to you?
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