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Dreaming of a Freaking Fairy Tale: Episodes 5-6

This week is all about kisses — which usually signal the end of a fairy tale, but only get things started in this story. As our chaebol hero concocts a plan to turn his new hire into a real-life Cinderella, insecurity brews, male leads face off, and miscommunication abounds. But true feelings can’t stay concealed forever — at least not when you toss in a kidnapping to force them into the open.

 
EPISODES 5-6

Last week we concluded with Dan-ah slapping Cha-min across the face. He’d just come to Jae-rim’s rescue and helped her from the floor — and his fiancée was not happy about it. This week we see Dan-ah storm out, while Cha-min wraps Jae-rim in his blazer, takes her hand, and walks her out of the party. In his office, he asks why didn’t she stand up for herself, since he knows she’s fierce. She tells him she’s just an employee and that he should be more worried about Dan-ah.

Cha-min says Dan-ah is just a business partner and, right now, he’s worried about her. Then he gets up the courage to say she looks good in her outfit before walking out the door. And just so we know he means it about Dan-ah, he tracks her down and tells her that if she doesn’t want to see him looking out for Jae-rim, she probably shouldn’t stop by the club anymore. Because he’s going to keep doing it.

Afterward, Cha-min and Do-hong face off in the bathroom, where Do-hong acts disdainful that Cha-min stood up for his staff. He also adds, “Men like us should never date a woman like her.” But before we can get too huffy about his classist comment, we learn that Do-hong has a somewhat Great Gatsby-esque backstory. He’s a self-made man who was once on the other side of the class equation, and is trying very hard to fit in with the rich people around him.

Meanwhile, Jae-rim goes back to the soiree and apologizes to the guest who spilled a drink on her dress and knocked her on the floor. She’s met with insults and told to stay away from Do-hong. She walks away questioning her deservingness and thinking that her life will never change, and she’s holding back tears when Cha-min sees her. He wants to know what happened — he’s not paying her to hold back her anger. He’s ready to go tell off the guest, but Jae-rim stops him, feeling like the universe is just stomping her back into her rightful place in the social order. Maybe she’s dreaming too big.

At that, Cha-min decides he’ll help her change her life. He steps toward her and says, “If you want it, close your eyes.” (Wow, way to put the sensual in consensual.) She responds, “Do whatever you want” and places her arms over his shoulders. And so, with everyone in the VIP social club watching, he kisses her. (And omg, they can tell us it’s his first time, but nobody kisses like that on the first try.) It goes on and on, with both of them looking like they’re having a fantastic time.

So, here’s the plan. He kissed her in front of a crowd to turn her into a hot topic. Now that everyone has seen the CEO has a big ol’ crush on her, she’ll be garnering all kinds of love interests. Hearing this, Jae-rim acts haughty and blows him off as she scuttles toward a taxi. But once she’s in the backseat, she can’t contain her excitement. The problem is that her squees are for him, not for his plan to set her up with someone else. And then the insecurity kicks in: why did he kiss her if he doesn’t like her?

And since we already know our hero has been bitten by the insecurity monster, their interactions are nothing but bravado and half-truths from here on out. At work the next day, they can’t meet each other’s eyes and she admits she’s a little embarrassed. He plays cool and says it didn’t affect him and it shouldn’t affect her either. That changes her tune and she puts up a shield, acting like it meant nothing, while she’s actually swimming in uncertainty.

The humor comes from both of these self-doubting people feeling the same way, as each imagines that it’s one-sided. Cha-min envisions himself in a tux, ready for the altar, while a sassy Jae-rim tells him not to get clingy just because they kissed once. And Jae-rim believes Cha-min’s BS that the kiss didn’t matter to him. (Ugh, dating is so tough.)

When Do-hong comes back to the club and invites Jae-rim over to his studio, Cha-min assumes his plan worked. He’s increasingly flustered that he’s setting up the girl of his dreams with another man, but that doesn’t stop him from going forward with it and buying Jae-rim a bunch of new duds for her date. Of course, taking it this far has Jae-rim convinced that he’s not interested in her at all, and when she tries to kiss him again to test her hypothesis, he fails by backing away.

At Do-hong’s studio, he cooks her a meal and they chat about art. He knows her (other) dream is to draw and asks her to do the storyboards for his new script. He’s trying to put the moves on, but when he leans in to kiss her, she remembers Cha-min’s kiss and isn’t interested in Do-hong.

She’s saved from having to outright reject him, though, due to a really incomprehensible conversation with his brother, where she learns that Do-hong first made his fortune by writing a BL novel. Do-hong admits his shameful past, letting Jae-rim know their backgrounds are similar, but also pleading with her not to reveal his secret to anyone at the club. “They normally don’t accept people like us into their circle.”

And back at the club, Dan-ah tries to get under Jae-rim’s skin by telling her that she and Cha-min cooked up this plan together to get Jae-rim a husband — and that’s the only reason Cha-min kissed her that night. To regain some power, Jae-rim says she doesn’t feel bad about it because “he’s a good kisser.” (Knew it.)

But when she’s alone, Jae-rim is pissed thinking about how Cha-min is toying with her. When she confronts him, he retorts that he only wanted to help, and he wasn’t looking down on her. But she’s offended and tells him to stay out of her personal business from now on. This of course leads to our heroine getting kidnapped by some goons in Dan-ah’s family and Cha-min trying not to get involved.

Yeah, if you just did a double take, me too. But essentially, Dan-ah has a serious temper and all she does is go home and complain about Jae-rim seducing Cha-min. It’s so obstructive, that these thugs that hang out at Dan-ah’s house can’t take it anymore and want to make Jae-rim stop, so that Dan-ah will shut up.

They toss Jae-rim into a van and tie her up in a desolate factory, but when they leave the room for a minute, she’s able to make a call to a friend. It just so happens that the friend has gone looking for her at work because she didn’t show up for their meeting. And so, Cha-min is right there with the friend — trying to respect Jae-rim’s wishes and stay out of her business — when the phone rings. But when he hears she’s kidnapped, he snaps into action.

At the factory, Cha-min busts through the door and uses his hapkido training to take down the bad guys. Then he rushes over to the tied-up Jae-rim and hugs her. He gushes that he was worried about her. And the look on her face says that she got the grand gesture she needed to know his true feelings.

This show just lifts my spirits no matter how meh I feel before I start watching. The leads are so great together. They’re from different worlds but they mesh so well. I love it when characters meld long before they hit the romance and there’s just no question how great it’ll be when they finally get together. And for me, the male lead just gets better and better. This week we learned that his mom was a Cinderella story too — and she divorced his dad and left him devastated. So, of course the poor abandoned kid is reluctant to get attached to Jae-rim.

On the other side, Do-hong is not a real contender. I’m not sure what his true intentions are but something about him gives me the creepy vibes. Even though I like that the drama is giving him some complexity, I really thought he’d be eighty-sixed after his stunt last week. (Or, maybe I was just hoping?)

Admittedly, these episodes had some oddities with the kidnapping and Do-hong’s weird backstory about writing a book. The show is over the top, so strange things shouldn’t seem out of place, but these two events lacked the usual humor that makes it not only bearable but truly entertaining. Still, it didn’t detract from me craving more episodes. If this was a single-drop drama, I would have already binged the heck out of it.

 
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1. "If you want it, close your eyes." 😳

Omona, I almost fell off my bed when she said it. LOL I didn't see it coming at all. But it was such a cool scene. 😎 I love her boldness.
But like the narrator said, it was a waste they didn't kiss again (I LOVE the narrator, btw).

Oh, and let's not forget about the "it doesn't have protein value" 😂😂😂

I can't with these two.

2. "He's a good kisser." 😯😶

Beanies, I was clapping during that scene. I didn't care it was like 3AM. I love watching our badass Cinderella in action. She's no one's "toy."

I thought the SFL was going to be fun and harmless, but I guess not. That's too bad.
But at least her uncles are funny.

I can't believe they were thinking of going full Sung Dong Il on her. That razor gave me Reply flashbacks. LMAO I liked her scenes with them.

3. SML... Am I the only one that thought he was weird and that made his reveal feel weird?

And putting himself in the same category as her didn't work for me. He made a ton of money writing light novels, and now he's doing wtv he wants. On the other hand, she has debt, a very inestable job, and a pregnant mom in a house were she's sharing a room with her sister.

He's not even gay himself, so he still has his rights. Then, the whole point is that he's scared girls will make fun of him? I don't get it. He is ashamed of being so poor "he had to write a BL story." But it seems like the real focus was in being a BL writer, not being poor so why was he so intense in that bathroom scene with uri umbrella boy? Why does he care about the "delicate ecosystem" between rich and poor? And why should I care about him?

I liked what the FL said to him, but the entire situation felt super random and it didn't go with his previous behavior, imo.

No offense, but get a restriction order against your hyung, and move on, bro.

4. I want more scenes with the sisters and mom!!!

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I watched it on a site with terrible subs that seemingly were translated by a bot as the pronouns were wrong, the grammar and syntax often didn’t make sense and it was just generally bonkers. So I just put my learners’ Korean to work and understood what I could but still had fun watching the eps.

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This funny-tale is amazing even if one is only able to get a gist of it. 😊

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I hope you can find a better site. :(

The show is way funnier if you really listen to it, tho. Because of the subs paraphrasing.

PS. I would say the one that starts with "my" and ends with ".ac" isn't that bad.

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😅👌 Seconded.

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Any suggestions for a decent site? Even I missed all these fun lines due to bad translations.

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I only know that one.🥺 It's the one Minnie mentioned below. It ends in .ac

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Emma, have you tried My. Asian. tv? The subs are pretty good, better than D+ at least.

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thank you. I was wondering where to find it!

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@dancingemma

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Well done! I bet that still felt satisfying to mentally translate the bad subs into something meaningful :)

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The 2ML is the most useless ever. I like the actor much better as part of the Thirsty Deer gang company.

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Agreed. Way better as a thirsty deer.

Saying our Cinderella isn't on his level and then trying to "win" her because he saw our Poporo kissing her? Heol.

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Low blow. Also shoo-ing her off because he's *embarrassed* which she is totally non-judgmental and supportive - not cool, man.

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* which while

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I like him better as the lawyer/assistant of our Thirsty Deer leader any day.

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His writing is not anything to write home about, yet, but he's a good sidekick sunbae to uri Sweet Voice.

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🤦‍♀️ * his writing acting

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I don't even know why we needed him. These two jump on each other's tails quite nicely. I am also disappointed at the fiancee. She looks like she walked over from her Doctor Slump character in fancy pants.

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Even if he sewed a button, how is his writing BL and making a "fortune" out of it relevant to the story. I would rather the FL's voice artist friend "make a fortune".

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That's the same guy?? I didn't even realize XD but yes, I like him as a thirsty deer too.

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He seems so different and gives a different vibe. I had to go on mdl to confirm that it was him and not a similarly good looking actor. 🤣

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Thank you for the fairytale recap. 🧚‍♀️ 🫰

I really like the voice-overs. The commentary is a rare mix of indulgence and snark.

It is interesting that both Jae-rim and Do-hong have aspirations to be a Cinderella. Hmm, I like this equal opportunity show. 😜

The OTP kiss was also equal opportunity. 😂 I loved how our Prince Cha-min is already fantasizing about walking down the aisle. Jae-rim blowing off Dan-ah by telling her how much she enjoyed the kiss and that Cha-min was a good kisser was applause worthy.

However, sketchy Jae-rim's kidnapping was, the Bixby woes were real, as was Cha-min's heartfelt hug on seeing her. I love the umbrella which is actually a swashbuckling sword.

💯 Cha-min is steadily climbing the popularity charts in my heart. Er, Ryu Sun-Jae who!?

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Er, Ryu Sun-Jae who!?

🤣🤣 That fickle fickle kdrama lover heart!

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😂😂

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🤣🤣🤣 Amnesia till BWS' *new* show.

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😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

One impulse buy after another.....😂😂😂😂😂

I really really like this guy though. He is quite swashbuckling even while being the pansy adorable wuss ❤️

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Jun is not an impulse buy at all! If you think he's a wuss you haven't seen anything yet. Both @midnight and I have had nightmares courtsey his evil turn in other works.

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I know it's weird that I keep saying that I love him then talk about devil and nightmares! So I'm now adding another one. He has eyes (and jaw) of steel. An intense determination that sends shivers down my spine whether he is bending down to kiss his costar or to punch them. And he is not even 30 yet! I feel lightheaded just thinking about his acting after 10-15 more years of experience!

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Okay that was a scary comment but so so apt. *shudder*

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I still love him so so much!! shiver!

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@midnight 🫰

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I am not surprised. He has everything that screams *great actor*. From what I have seen, he is miles ahead of anyone else that I have seen this side of 30. I am so thoroughly enjoying him.

I won't go looking now because I am loving his petulant turn in this show, but I would love to follow this guy. Too bad this show is so undersold everywhere. It could have given LR a run for its money and BSW some serious competition.

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@minniegupta1 This is a g-r-e-a-t show to get to know Jun.

We fans were more eager to see Cha-min than Sun-Jae but to his credit Woo-seok really acted his socks off and we all had a *lovely* party. 😂👌

The beauty of Jun is that he's so natural, he lives his characters. Btw he too is an idol. And if you see his "real" smile you're sure to get butterflies in your tummy. 🦋 🙃

He has 6 dramas releasing this year and Cinderella is just the second. So you have quite a few treats ahead this year. Especially Melo Movie which stars (better to sit down before you read further) Choi Woo Shik, Park Bo-young, Lee Jun-young, Jeon So-nee and Kim Jae-wook. 😊❤

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The beauty of Jun is that he's so natural, he lives his characters.

@seeker EXACTLY! So so true! Amazingly natural in every character.

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@midnight *high five* 🖐

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He is the one I didn't recognize in Melo movie line up!!

That's the only show I am waiting with my tongue hanging out this year, and to know this guy is in it just toppled my expectation cart with its weight....wow! Thanks Cera.

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@minniegupta1 In case you're interested in Jun's upcoming dramas, here's a handy list. 🫰

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It's funny, the first thing I ever saw Lee Jun Young in was Love & Leashes so that's kinda what I've always fall back to whenever he plays darker roles haha

Like I've seen him in Brave Citizen and then I think of his sobbing drunk crying & huge golden retriever smile from L&L and I can't have nightmares over *that* guy haha

Though apparently Mask Girl would be tempting fate haha. I'm not sure what he does in that role (and I don't need to know) but it got him recognized as a bad guy to the point he didn't want to do anymore villain roles
(Yet he's in Weak Hero Class 2 so I'm not sure how firm he is on that haha)

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That is a cool trick @Britney. Next time when I find it difficult to shake off his villain persona I will try to remember Prince Cha-min. 😂❤😊👍

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This is so aptly put- how is he managing to be both swashbuckling and pansy?! Absolute swoons.

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Your display name is cool. May I request you to please share the story behind it. ❤😊

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Thanks @seeker! <3 :) No grand story behind it actually. The hallyuwave in general and kdramas in particular have left me spellbound really. So I thought that "hallyucinations" captured that feeling of being transported to some dreamland aptly.

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Good choice and beautifully expressed. 🥰 👏

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Cha Min and Jae Rim are electric together! I like seeing their push and pull. I sure hope they get past their insecurities soon and just go for it!

I can't get over Cha Min's pettiness in calling Do Hong as Baek Ddong. 🤣 Uri petty prince is jealous and can't admit it.

Dan Ah and Do Hong are doing what second FL and ML are known to do but I am not upset with it. I know that Cha Min and Jae Rim has their issues but they still are the right fit for each other.

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Although I'm not fond of potty humor, Cha-min had me actually laugh out loud at his antics. Even making Jae-rim repeat after him.

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The episodes for this drama are far far too short. The ABSOLUTE excitement I feel every time Friday comes around. I just love all the bits of our OTP. The kiss indeed went on and on and I LOVED it. I am so sad there are only 4 episodes left.

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I would love, love, LOVE it if the umbrella simply never got explained in those four final, too-short hours...

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I hope there will be more Taxi Driver cameos. Laughed out loud with the de luxe taxi clip.

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I watched the first episode and the humor didn't resonate with me. But, I see it has maintained a high rating. For people who are still watching, is this a bad fit for me or should i give it a shot?

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I think the light tone of this and My sweet mobster is very similar however they are covering very different themes. If you are ok with silly then watch them both for 4 episodes and then decide, personally I think My sweet mobster has more depth but I continue to watch both as I like light dramas.

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I don't specially found it good or funny but it's not completely bad neither. It's kinda harmless.

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This is an airhead show. It promised nothing and is delivering the dreamist, creamiest vanilla ice-cream cone complete with the disclaimer - no nutritional value.

I am squeezing and laughing to no end. I mean, they even included a kidnapping trope and turned it on its head.

I am wondering if the Umbrella will charge its own salary next time....

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squeeing.....not squeezing ...the show is putting all sorts of inappropriate thoughts words in my brain....😂

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Umbrellas are the latest accessory of choice of K-drama MLs. L in Dare To Love Me, Choi Jin-hyuk in Miss Night and Day are giving Jun quite a run for his money in the brolly stakes. Our MLs wield - not just hold like the rest of us - their umbrellas for all sorts of reasons, as weapons of defense (against rain falling on FLs) and offense (beating up the bad guys) with equal flair.

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Omg, so true, I mean it is clearly multipurpose. A weapon, protects against acid, a cane, and a security blanket/umbrella lol.

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Yikes. “Protects against acid”? Did I miss this horrific bit in any of the eps?

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That is Choi Jin-hyuk in his latest drama.

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🫰

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Mop wielding FLs are also pretty deadly - to chocolate voiced Sweeties and also stalkers. 😂

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Thank you Cera!

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Beware the mop, it can break ribs and knock you out, lol.

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If the umbrella isn't charging, it should. Lol. Also such a fantastic description of the show.

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Minnie, I have to agree and disagree. It is zany, airheaded and largely delightful for sure but it is also frequently subversive given how it is self-aware and mocking (of the many prevailing social and economic realities) . I just love the leads together and appreciate getting to frequently laugh at their interactions.

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💯💯💯

In the morning, I was thinking about why I love this so much whereas I just could not wrap my head around my dislike of King The Land and why its airheadedness bothered me so much while this one is delighting me to the zenith.
That's because KTL pretended to care about labour issues and then reduced it to poor plot points; Meanwhile Cinderella is a true satire on problems the young face. It's in your face, aware of itself and does not shy from making making fun of itself.

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For sure!

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In today's episode of overthinking the plot......
If he is an 8th generation chaebol, allowing for about 20 years/generation, that takes us back 160 years to 1860. That's still during the Joseon era, under Gojong, the last King of Korea.
If they kept their chaebol riches for all 8 generations, there either were Japanese collaborators in the family, or the family may have emigrated out of Korea for a few generations, and then emigrated back in with there riches after the war.

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OMG I LOVE this overthinking arch.

1860 is also quite closed as a society still, and the Americans haven't invaded them yet.

It's possible that they could have been a part of the righteous army while putting up a facade of collaboration. Afterall, families were known to fund the RA on the sly.

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generations are generally longer than 20 years- the usual given is that it varies from 20 to 30 years. So 25 years is the average, and our 8th generation Chaebol's family actually goes back to the early 1800s. This would have been around the time of the first Opium war, so I am positing that his ancestor actually was NOT from a noble Joseon family but a shopkeeper who wandered through China until he reached Hong Kong, just then being established a British Colony- set up shop and grew his business there, re-establishing connections back in Korea as that became possible in the later part of the 1800s and essentially the family then moved back as a whole after the second world war (although there are no doubt some elements still in Hong Kong).

Some element of collaboration with the Japanese would have been needed but not anything unacceptable.

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Yes, I decided on using the low number (20) because having 8 generations at a longer year count made it Even More unrealistic :). Also because for much of that time, marriage expectations and life expectancy made teenage babies a lot more likely.
You could probably count the British/Danish royal family- and some of the nobility- as eighth generation chaebols, but I'm not sure there will be many others in the world. ( A few in Japan and India, maybe some in Africa if you accept that chaebol is relative income to everyone else in their society, not necessarily compared to the west) (How far back does the Thai royal family go? That might be another set)

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My thought is that originally, they would not have been thought of with the term Chaebol but as a "house" similar to the one in James Clavell's NOBLE HOUSE.

Of course, the reality is that most likely "Eighth Generation Chaebol" is intended as a satirical riff on the more common "Third generation Chaebol" in K-dramas- because in fact such a critter really does not exist and certainly would have been out of place in Joseon.

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Oh, I was reading it as satire. Which is why me picking at the reality is overthinking it.
Though the real world, people paid a lot of attention to who your family was- if you had good parents and grandparents, then an equivalent 3rd Gen status might be possible in Joseon.

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"I don't know where I am, that's why it's a kidnapping" shouldn't have made me laugh as much as it did XD

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hehehehe! The dialogues are one of a kind. This show is such a delight!

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As episode 4 was ending, I was hoping for a food slap, which for me is the Goat of kdrama memes. Is this cliche too old for another parody?

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Although a few things in these episodes were a bit off I still really enjoyed them

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Finally, a 2024 kdrama I can get behind! Its so hilarious and silly, made my week really. The ML is perfectly extra and the comic timing of both leads is excellent. Both the links with Cinderella as well as the departures are thoughtful. Super self-aware the drama is.

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Just finished Ep 6, these uncles killed it in their limited role. Their scenes were hilarious and amazing. I hope to see more of them in the future.

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