Learn From Success Stories in Kdramas

by joonie , May 31, 2021

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Hey Guys! Hope everyone is having a great day!!

Lately, I was just sitting in my corner and thinking about my future: what kind of job I want to do, what I am good at (literally I'm bad at everything ^^)... random things like that. Why could I not be like Yoon Se Ri, a famous businesswoman? Or a journalist like Chae Yeong Shin? Or a detective like Gong Sun Ji?

And then an idea came to my mind; what if I wrote an article about successful people in Kdramas that can be a source of inspiration for everyone?

Note: In this article, I will talk about 3 characters from dramas that I have watched. The article therefore contains major spoilers for Start-Up, Itaewon Class, and Eulachacha Waikiki.

Seo Dal Mi from Start-Up

Seo Dal Mi is an ambitious girl who wants to become a Korean Steve Jobs. She was born to a humble family and does not own much. However, she's also an adventurer who has a grand plan for herself. Her drive also came from being abandoned by her mother and sister at a young age. She has experience in a wide range of part-time jobs and is a person of great vitality. Her grandmother is everything in her life since she lived with her all her life. Now let's go back to her career.
	Since her parents divorced, Seo Dal Mi decided to live with her father instead of going to the US with her mother, sister, and her rich stepfather. Seo Dal Mi was really impressed by her father who quit his hellish work to start his own business. He also applied in SandBox to launch his project. Sadly, her father passed away before the official launching of his project.

Sama-sama Menginspirasi, 10 Adu Pesona Ahn Jeong Ha Vs Seo Dal Mi

After she graduated from high school, Dal Mi didn't go to college because she couldn't afford it. Instead, Dal Mi worked in a coffee shop where she was well paid and even got prizes from the company.

But the reality was that Dal Mi wasn't happy with that job because she did not think this job was suitable for her. That was not who she was.

That's why she decided to quit her job, despite her Boss begging her to stay, even suggesting a promotion but she refused. Seo Dal Mi decided to apply at SandBox and passed the CEO test, she chose to take Nam Do San's hand and become the CEO of his own Start-Up, "Sam San Tech".

	Being a CEO of *Sam San Tech* wasn't that easy for Seo Dal Mi. In this position, she had to make hard decisions, she had to choose between love, friendship, and success. In the beginning, *Kim Yong San* and *Lee Cheol San* (Software engineer in *Sam San Tech) did not agree that Dal Mi* will be the CEO of their Start-Up especially when they knew that she didn't go to college.
	Nor did she have any skills or experience in this domain, but Nam Do San had total confidence in Seo Dal Mi and gave her the responsibility of leading *Sam San Tech*. Together, they were the perfect example of Team Work, despite going through some misunderstandings, fights, breakup, and anger but they worked together till the end and made their dreams come true!!

	*Seo Dal Mi, that little girl who didn't wear expensive clothes and covered the holes in her shoes with a black pen, proved to her sister that living a luxurious life and working in her stepfather's agency was nothing to brag about, and she proved to the world that she was capable of handling the responsibilities of being a CEO without a college degree or a fancy background. The key to becoming successful and achieving your goals is hard work. Seo Dal Mi* proved herself as a perfect example of a self-made woman!
	The lesson that we can learn from Seo Dal Mi's story is that even without a degree from college, without a high-level study, you can make your dream true. You should have a general culture. The important thing is not how much you paid for college, but what matters are the capabilities and talents that you possess and you learned during your path to success. No one is perfect, we can all make mistakes, we can all fail and we shouldn't be ashamed. The real failure is giving up after only one attempt.

Park Sae Ro Yi from Itaewon Class

Park Sae Ro Yi is the son of Park Sung Yeol, former employee of the Jangga Group. He taught Sae Ro Yi to stick to his beliefs and fight for what is right. When Sae Ro Yi moved to his new school, he was in the same class with the son of the CEO of Jangga, Jang Geun Won.

Geun Won was bullying his classmates, he did whatever he wanted without being punished by the teachers. One day, Sae Ro Yi punched Geun Won in exasperation because he was beating a classmate to the ground and spilling milk on him. Due to this accident, Sae Ro Yi's father resigned from Jangga in defense of Sae Ro Yi's deed of stopping Geun Won's bullying.

Then Park Sae Ro Yi was expelled from the high school. After he quit his job, Sung Yeol decided to start his own business. He was really happy with the idea of having his own restaurant. Sae Ro Yi helped his dad set up his new restaurant space. Sung Yeol explained that he had a dream of opening his own restaurant. As they set up their new space, Sae Ro Yi narrates, “My expulsion and Dad’s resignation was no big deal. Life went on, as I experienced different emotions.”

On his way home, Geun Won's car hits Park Sung Yeol from behind, and he rolls down the side of the road. Sadly, Sae Ro Yi's father was dead when rescuers found him. Obviously, Jangga's CEO won't let his only child go to jail, he covered it by accusing an innocent man. When Sae Ro Yi learned the truth behind the death of his dad, he couldn't control himself and uncontrollably caught Geun Won and hit him till he was unconscious. Sae Ro Yi was going to kill him, but fortunately, the police arrived in time to stop him and he was arrested. During his trial, the judge sentenced him to three years in prison.

After serving his sentence, Park Sae Ro Yi was 21 years old. He was full of energy to make his father's dream come true: opening his own restaurant. He obviously needed money, that's why he went deep-sea-fishing for seven years to work hard and make money for his project.

Seven years later, Park Sae Ro Yi opened his own bar-restaurant, DanBam, with only two staff members: Ma Hyun Yi, the chef, and Choi Seung Kwon, an employee. In the first days after the opening, the business wasn't good, no one ordered from DanBam and that was such a deception for the staff members.

Sae Ro Yi and his friends were trying their best to promote the restaurant. They used a promotional chestnut mascot to pass out flyers. By accident, Sae Ro Yi met Jo Yi Seo, who he employed as the new manager of DanBam. Yi Seo succeeded in promoting the bar by posting ads online and on social media.

Danham's staff used the time to work on their brand and its quality, Yi Seo focused on the points that should be fixed: organizing the menu, making a signature dish, improving the decoration and lights, and making the customers more comfortable.

As the lights and decorations got their final touches, the staff members got ready for the opening.
Danbam’s first opening night was a huge success, largely thanks to Yi Seo’s social media and blog postings. The line went out the door, and the bar came alive with customers.

K-drama teams in 2020 that you wish you were part in - Ahgasewatchtv

Danbam continued to take hits, and the staff members continued to improve themselves as well to make the restaurant more recommended for the clients. The success of Danbam didn't please Chairman Jang and his son Geun Won as Sae Ro Yi would be their competitor. To destroy Sae Ro Yi's business, Chairman Jang decided to buy Danbam's location and raise the rent. When Park Sae Ro Yi learned about that, he went to discuss it with Chairman Jang, this one narrates "I will buy every building you try to set up business in."

The conversation between them didn't make Sae Ro Yi feel discouraged. But it made him feel more determined. Sae Ro Yi decided to buy a new building and set up his business there. However, the new location wasn't commercial and good to set business there, it was like a dead neighborhood. Although this didn't prevent Sae Ro Yi from dreaming large. He wanted to incorporate Danbam, he wanted to create a company named "IC" (abbreviation of Itaewon Class).

This dream took a lot of efforts and time to realize, and also Danbam should be more famous, that's why the Chef Ma Hyun Yi went to a cooking competition where she showed her talented skills in cooking. Meanwhile, Park Sae Ro Yi and Jo Yi Seo met up with investors and took a risk to grow their brand.

Obviously, this wasn't easy, the company IC faced many difficulties and plunged into an economic crisis due to scandals and the defamation of their brand quality caused by Chairman Jang and his son. Sae Ro Yi went through difficult times due to these accusations, but this pain only made him stronger. He convinced the investors to trust him again and he made the company larger. IC Company became the 2nd largest competitor to Jangga, which made Chairman Jang worry about his company. Due to the crimes that Geun Won had committed, Jangga was ruined. Chairman Jang tried to use all his influence to save his company but everyone severed ties. As a last-ditch effort, he went to see Sae Ro Yi and kneeled before him, pleading with him in tears to save his company. However, Sae Ro Yi intended a corporate takeover by absorbing Jangga into IC.

	*Park Sae Ro Yi,* after he was released from jail, once said to Soo Ah (his friend) "I will open my own bar-restaurant and become more famous than Jangga* and destroy them"* and he just made it through hard work and confidence. *Sae Ro Yi,* that young boy who was expelled from high school and did not even have a degree, did not only make his dream come true, but the dreams of all of his friends that supported him and trusted him from the beginning, too. *Sae Ro Yi's success comes from an important thing: TEAMWORK. Sae Ro Yi* considered *Danbam's staff members like his own famil. When Geun Soo* proposed to quit *Danbam* in order to convince his father (Chairman *Jang) to leave Park Sae Ro Yi* alone,
	*Sae Ro Yi* was really angry and refused the idea. He said that he won't drop his family for his own sake that's shameful for him. He even supported the chef, *Ma Hyun Yi,* who was transgender, and he was the first one to know about it. He gave also *Choi Seung Kwon,* who was a gangster, a second chance after he got out of jail to start over. *Tonie, the latest employee in Danbam,* was helped by *Sae Ro Yi* in searching for his father and defended him when he was exposed to racism. In conclusion, teamwork; confidence; patience; goal; and determination are important to achieve victory.

Lee Joon Ki from Eulachacha Waikiki (2018)

Despite his funny and lovely character that we all loved, Lee Joon Ki has a story to tell us about it.

Lee Joon Ki is an eccentric actor who performs to make a living. What people don't know is that Lee Joon Ki is the son of an A-List Actor in Korea, and Joon Ki wants to follow in the footsteps of his father and become popular like him. But film directors

K-Drama] Welcome to Waikiki / Eulachacha Waikiki (Saison 1) - mdramagirl

and producers would give him roles because he is the son of that actor, not because of his talents and skills. That's why Lee Joon Ki decided to hide that truth and never accept any of his father's favors in his career again. But he was stuck in minor roles, and that wasn't a problem for him cuz he was very determined to make it on his own and would go to great lengths to land better roles in the future.

In the beginning, Lee Joon Ki landed only minor roles like in kids programs, background actor... He really did them full of energy because what he was doing was something that he loved and admired.

Joon Ki's mind was only filled with acting, he was practicing day and night to improve his acting even with his friends. He didn't miss any casting call and did the impossible to take any minor role.

Lee Joon Ki was really happy when he was accepted into a role with a famous actor, that role was the beginning of his success.
He even had a fan for the first time, he was so happy that he invited her to spend a day together. But that fan wasn't like a usual fan, kinda like a stalker.

Day by day, Lee Joon Ki became more famous and also prepared press conferences. His story with acting was funny but at the same time meaningful and real.

In conclusion, what we can learn from Lee Joon Ki's story that you have a long way to pass before reaching the summit. You won't be popular overnight, it really will take time, and you should use that time to improve yourself and your skills.

Honestly, I think Lee Joon Ki's story is so real because all actors started doing minor roles and support roles like him, and after that, they became famous, and I really loved this realistic touch in his character. It may show us the hardships that actors go through!