Youngest Son of a Conglomerate (2022)

A sagacious revenge tale ruined by the ending

I don’t think anyone would be reading a review of this Show for a precis of the plot by this stage. I shall stick to some key observations and my conclusion.

1. This is the Goldilocks role for Song Joong-ki. The production has to use some serious filtering to make him look like a young man because of his real age. They did well but it did take me out of immersion a few times.

2. The whole soul swapping device is pure fantasy and the Show never bothered to explain its rationale. The Show went to town with the time travel motif as well and left no stone unturned. The ML loves to weaponize historical events as part of his various schemes. It can be entertaining and fun to spot the historical references.

3. The interactions between Do-jun and his grandfather are highlights for me. They are fighters who have a mutual love and respect for each other. The old man accepts the thrown gauntlet from his grandson with glee. We lost that spark when Jin Sr passed and the subterfuges become more grubby and less machiavellian.

4. The romance of our leads is ill conceived. They have little chemistry, and their progress felt laboured and frankly perplexing.
To be fair, the machinations in the early stages are both engaging and clever but it gets old after a while as it is the only game in town.

Like all good things . . . the end cometh for us all! Oh, how cruel are the drama gods!

While the Show’s ending works on a basic level and pulls most of the threads together it also opens up a Pandora's box of contrivances and inexplicable plot holes. Thus exposing some seriously questionable writing.

A) The ending basically undo what the ML has worked tirelessly towards for 17 years. He was at the cusp of claiming total victory and winning back the FL when he was murdered. Why, sweet Petunia, why? Most viewers would expect the show to just keep moving along that well plotted trajectory and use the last episode for some much-needed fan service.

B) How did Hyeon-Woo survives being shot by a hitman at point-blank range, falling down a high cliff and drowning in the pounding surf? Each event can and should be fatal and yet he survived all three. He spends one week in a coma and walks out of the hospital with barely a scar. Is he immortal?

C) Do-jun's timeline and Hyeon-Woo’s is separated by twenty years. Just before Do-jun was killed, both Jin brothers were being investigated for criminal acts. What happened to those investigations? What about Do-jun’s death? Is the FL that incompetent?

D) The aging and de-aging of the main characters are immersion breaking. For instance, by the end of the Show, the FL should be pushing 50 and yet she looks not a day older than when Do-jun was alive.

E) After all the damning revelations, dirty laundry lists and a public hearing at the National Assembly, the whole sorry saga is finally signed and sealed by one 20 years old phone recording. How and why did the young Hyeon-Woo record his call to Director Kim when he was supposed to be in a highly distressed and confused state. Even more incredulously, Kim forgot to hang up the phone and allow the most incriminating statement to be recorded. It is beyond contrived. The audacity is jaw dropping. This is the deal breaker for me.

In hindsight, I can see that they wanted to close the soul swapping loop and it becomes a redemption arc for Hyeon-Woo but what did that achieve? Hyeon-Woo’s family is happy that he is alive and he has his revenge. On the other hand, Do-jun would have achieved the same goal but the ramification of his death is so much worse. The FL became a lonely and bitter workaholic, Do-jun’s family is broken, and the worst part is the conglomerate carries on for another 20 YEARS! How is that a better outcome? I could go on, but you get the picture.

I freely acknowledge that some of the acting is superb. Some can be considered breakout roles. The bulk of the storyline is intricately crafted and engaging but . . .

Reborn Rich could have been one of the best dramas in 2022 which makes it even more baffling why they deviated from the webtoon ending and crash landed within sight of the runway.

One time watch for me. Peace out.

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Complicated with good moments and plotholes

I wish I could say I was enthralled with this series like so many others but something kept me from falling in love with it. One of the main reasons was not being able to understand every single business/political element to the story and there is plenty of it which is what adds to the thrill. So if you cannot completely comprehend some of those "wins", it gives a very dull effect. Something the writers should have considered and tried to explain or simplify. You can still enjoy the show. Just not to the full effect.

Best moments:
1. There are many shocking moments and revelations that you can't anticipate and were enjoyable.
2. The fantasy element that adds a twist and is a major part of the story.
3. The relationship between Do Jun and his grandfather were truly some of the best moments.
4. The way Do Jun makes his way through the hurdles armed with the knowledge of his past life.
5. Seeing the Jin family fail and fight amongst themselves was amusing.

Not so great moments:
1. No one noticing that Yoon Hyun Woo and Jin Do Jun look EXACTLY alike.
2. Not being able to understand some of the "lingo" fully.
3. Do Jin ignoring his family after his real mother's death even when he could have.
4. The romance is practically non-existent and although I would not care otherwise, it feels like they built up a story for no reason.
5. The conclusion. Part of it does not make sense. You are rooting for a character and in the end, everything feels a bit bland and unsatisfactory.

Up until the 14th episode my rating was 8.5 for this show. I'm changing that now to a 7.5 based on the last episode. I am not likely to rewatch this show but it's a decent show. There are plenty of good reasons to watch it.

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You won’t be disappointed!

This was an excellent drama. It was both well written and executed. Let me explain why I say this.

The premise was intriguing: it was a revenge plot, but with a time travel supernatural twist. I’m already drawn to revenge dramas, and this new twist made it irresistible.

The pace was smooth. There seemed to be no draggy saggy middles or in betweens. It was very engaging, and kept you wanting more, like a book you can’t put down.

The story was enjoyable. There were funny parts, and yes, some unbelievable parts also; sometimes I did feel like the supporting characters were over the top, but it wasn’t enough to detract from the story. The chemistry between the grandfather and the main character was very nuanced: often charming, but guarded and adversarial at times. There were also compelling sad parts, that made you feel so sympathetic and indignant right along with the characters. The story was also cohesive and flowed nicely. It wasn’t predictable either, and made you think.

The characters were varied and interesting. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters, and the writers delivered a satisfying “biography” for each of the main characters. This wasn’t a drama that suffered from too many main characters that are never fully developed and leave you in confusion.

The main characters were fully developed, and that is what makes a drama for me! I love characters that are fully fleshed out and three dimensional. I loved our main guy, in both his lives. His relationships were so rich. I loved how he interacted with the female lead, and I really enjoyed her character also! It wasn’t overly romantic, but had enough to give you something to root for. Mr. Oh was also a great character, he brought both adventure and gravity to the table. My favorite character, besides Song Joon Ki’s was Grandpa! He was intriguing, and incredibly nuanced.

The cast was top notch. Their acting was outstanding, and they worked so well together. So I guess this also means that the directing was great too!

Try this drama! You won’t be disappointed!

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At the end, the fantasy element disappeared.

[Spoilers ahead] The drama started off well with a compelling story and amazing acting from the actors. A hardworking servant (ML) who simply follows conglomerate family orders without questioning them.

In a turn of event, murder attempt was made against the ML who went to withdraw money from foreign account. that is when the fantasy kicked in and the same employee(ML) was born as the "Youngest Son of the Conglomerate".

In an attempt to take revenge for his death ML decided to take over("buy") the Sunyang Group and punish whoever tried to murder him.

The Story progressed well until the 15th episode. But in the Last episode everything changed. The Fantasy element vanished into thin air. ML wakes up as an same old, hardworking employee who blindly follows orders and decides to fight for justice.

A number of loopholes exist in the story.

1. The money was donated to the public before Do Jun died. Then why was the money still available for the ML to withdraw as an employee of Sonyoung?
2. Was ML just imagining being the youngest grandson of a conglomerate? So where is fantasy?
3. "Survivor of car accident" is more believable than "survivor of head shots and falling off cliffs to sea". (is that was the Fantasy? not sure 😊)

Pros:

+ Amazing cinematography and acting.
+ The drama reminds many of significant moments in history such as Korea's football victory, Y2K, the terrorist attack on the US, and the incident involving the IMF.
+ Except for the last episode, good story and execution.
+ Do Jun and His Grandfather Duo was Great.
+ Grandfather's acting was top notch and some scenes were emotional.

Cons
- The romance was not well suited to the storyline.
- FL was boring and sometimes annoying.
- The ending was not satisfactory.
- Title "Reborn Rich" didn't make any sense after completing drama.

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it was perfection

So, it is my first time making a review, and I'm really upset at people that complaint about the final so that’s why I’m making it.

I waited for the series to finish so I could watch it all at once and judge without the expectation of every week's episode.

The series has perfect closure. Perfect cast and performances. Perfect music. Perfect story and plot. Perfect dialogues. It's just a masterpiece.

I don't understand how people comment on their reviews that they're not happy with the end, or that it was too easy for the protagonist. It was freacking two lives to figure out how to end victorious on a war between powerful people with elevated quantities of money.

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Great premise, fine ending.

A lot of reviews are comparing this show to the webnovel it is adapted from, or just focusing on the show ending. I think these things are important but I want to say that without knowing anything about the webnovel, I thoroughly enjoyed this drama start to finish.

The ending - although it wasn't what I expected - was actually enjoyable to me. Although, I wish there was an epilogue because I really desperately wanted to see the romance reignite and come to fruition.

A lot of people are saying that at episode 15 it all goes downhill, but I was on the edge of my seat completely not knowing what was going to happen next. It blindsided me and I enjoyed that fact. Everyone will think differently though, so the only way to know for sure how you'll like it is to watch it yourself.

Banger soundtrack and great actors btw.

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A fast paced bullet train of a revenge drama, that almost ended in a train-wreck

[DISCLAIMER] MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
READ ONLY IF YOU HAVE FINISHED WATCHING THE DRAMA

I binge watched the whole drama in 3 days. With a unique and fast paced plot, it felt like riding a roller coaster. The whole cast did a marvelous job, especially SJK as the grandson and the magnificent LSM as the grandfather. That duo was everything for me, how their relationship progressed from suspicion, to enemosity, to camaraderie, to trust was a work of art.

Now I wish to discuss the main issue at hand, which is the plot itself.
While the fast paced first episode pulled me in, the fantasy element in ep2 initially put me off (my mistake for not checking out the original work's synopsis first and not taking the title literally), but eventually we come to accept the fact that our hero HW had died and was reborn (for some reason midway) as DJ; the grandson of the soonyang family, the owners of the corporation he had previously worked at as HW. We also soon learn that the person he was reborn as, the youngest grandson DJ, had been dead and long forgotten by the time we saw HW working at Soonyang in 2022.
Although at a loss as to why and how he was reborn as DJ (just as much as we are), he accepts the truth (too swiftly tbh) and soon finds a purpose in this newfound life he was bestowed; he decides to take revenge on the Soonyang family that were behind his murder as HW, while also trying to salvage his poor family and save his mother from her untimely death.
First, He has to fight his way towards success and power in order to establish a place for himself in the family that he was initially not considered a part of (his father is an illegitimate son of the founder, who married an actress against his father's wishes and got disowned). He uses his knowledge of future events and the mental capabilities and expertise he acquired in his previous life, to one-by-one beat down all the evil and corrupt members of the Soonyang family, in order to reach his ultimate goal of becoming the chairman of the company, a promise disguised as a warning that he had made early on to his grandfather and the founder of soonyang.

So, in essence the story at first seems to depict an elaborate, smart and meticulously plotted revenge. He chooses to squash the business of the evil and corrupt members of his family, whom he knows one of which had orchestrated (in the future to come) his murder as HW and most probably had been behind DJ's death.
We are also shown clearly, that despite DJ's ability to utilize his knowledge of the future to change certain outcomes in the present, it is clearly established that when it comes to matters of life and death, there is nothing he can do, and no matter how he manages to change details in people's lives, ones who were destined to perish will ultimately perish (like HW's mother). So by this point, any rational viewer would realize that DJ as well is bound to meet his demise sooner or later. And despite an initial failed attempt at his life, I for one knew I would be disappointed if the drama ended with him alive.
So for that reason, I was not shocked or angry like others seem to have been when the writers opted to show him getting killed. On the contrary, that was one thing that made sense to me (much more than the mechanics behind his reincarnation into DJ or his shifting back to HW did). In all honesty, somewhere in my brain that was already exercising a major amount of suspension of logic, I somehow had the feeling that the drama will choose to use the card of "HW hadn't died", and I foresaw the possibilites that he might as well die as DJ as destined to happen, and return to his previous/future self as HW.
And that was exactly how it unfolded, but with a major plot twist. A twist that helped answer a question that must have been on everyone's minds since ep 1; namely the unrevealed background story of how a impoverished high school graduate managed to climb his way up to become a team manager and the trusted right hand man of the chairman of a large corporation, it managed to provide a convincing albeit sad, dark and unexpected answer. That exact same twist, served also as a kind of hint as to the important question that we as viewers had chosen to push to the back of our minds all through the drama; none other than why he was reborn as DJ in the first place. The "how" is impossible and futile to try to wrap your head around at that point, but "why" he, HW was reliving his life as DJ, was a question that certainly needed answering.
In that sense, the twist that was revealed at the end of ep 15 although shocking and somewhat disappointing made absolute sense, and neatly tied all the loose ends. HW was partly responsible for DJ's demise. We had also been shown at that point brief flashbacks of HW's miserable life at the time, paving the way to our understanding of how he was pushed into silence and obedience, and why he chose to do that against his conscience in order to secure himself a stable income that would help pull him and his family out of misery and poverty, living for 20 years serving his masters, the same people that he always had known were capable of the most heinous of deeds, without questioning their orders or judging it. One can say that he kind of brainwashed himself into becoming their ever-so loyal servant and slave.
Having a rego at life as DJ, he thought, his purpose lied in taking revenge. But he ultimately found out that it was all for repentance. He needed to right the wrongs that were done to him, both as HW and DJ, and hold accountable the people responsible. He was reborn as DJ to gain insight into the person he had witnessed getting killed with his own eyes and chose instead to erase all memory of his existence and untimely death. He was reborn as DJ, to learn about the machinations of the chaebol family he once served, to achieve the things he had long craved for; a higher education and a stable family life. But although he was focused and determined to prove himself and make the most out of the miracle that is him being reborn as a chaebol family's youngest grandson, he must have known that no matter how much he tried, he could never alter his destiny.
Logistically and logically speaking, him switching back to HW at first felt ridiculous. How come a week-long coma could enable someone to experience 17 years worth of life? But, seeing the events that unfolded, how HW chose to give justice to DJ's wrongful murder, while also ridding his grandfather's legacy, that is soonyang, of the corrupt and evil family that almost but all destroyed it. But, how the writers chose to achieve that feat was somewhat laughable imo (check the finale's recorded phone call, a conspirator for murder who forgets to end a call, and address his criminal mastermind boss who comically names himself for the audience LOL), and although that kind of dampened my enthusiasm in the plot that up to that point was neatly and tightly woven for the most part, setting my frustration aside and focusing on the outcome, that is HW took revenge for himself both as HW and DJ and that although DJ was tragically killed by his kin, his death wasn't totally in vain, soonyang was rid of the poisonous venom that was choking it.

On a side note:
I learned after watching the final episode, that the original web novel has a totally different ending, what could be considered a conventional happy ending. Some people might be enraged as to why the writer of the drama chose to change the ending in such a drastic way instead of simply adapting the same ending. I can not speak with certainty since I haven't read the original, but as a rule, I am of the firm belief that if a story that has a fantasy or sci-fi element chooses to establish certain terms and codes, it MUST stick to it. And since Reborn Rich had chosen to (rightly) establish that altering people's death is out of the question, it only makes sense that they stick to their rule, however much it might upset the fans.
Watching the final couple of episodes, I had a suggestion to how differently the story could have been written. they could have instead chosen to adopt a parallel universe scenario (one which was almost alluded to near the end with a side to side shot of HW and DJ) ie, that two peoples' souls swapped into each other in two different universes. My suggestion although a bit confusing would have been then that they make another actor play the role of HW after our lead was reborn as DJ, and when he returned as HW they show DJ as the same actor in flashbacks. I know Some might laugh at this, but look me in the eye and tell me you were not bothered by the fact that no one recognized HW's face as that of DJ. *side eye*

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Left an empty place, a scar, and some resentment in my heart but I don't regret watching this one.

This drama was wonderful all throughout its run. I just find the modern-day to past connection hard to believe. I still don't get why ghost-coma and now time-reverse dramas need a realistic approach. The story this drama tells is a peculiar story and that ending, although hard to watch, was understandable. I just hated how the world I was introduced to for 14 episodes crumbled all at once. The first episode was too hard to finish but I held through because I knew it wasn't part of drama's main world. This didn't make the final episode any better. I could be one of the "delusional ones" who can't understand why we did this shift. But I will respect the author's choice of ultimately making HW the main character and not DJ.

To me, in the end, DJ died an unjustifiable death right before achieving his goal and HW got to repent, reconcile with his family, and even achieve DJ goal. Even during the "past" time, the drama made sure to strip HW/DJ from a parental tie with his rich parents. Not at any specific moment did he come to consider them as family. In the last episode, it was no different. He saw them as DJ family with a completely different emotional reaction to meeting his current-day father and brother.
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This drama aside I can't believe I began and ended 2022 with outstanding dramas with an unsatisfactory end. Hoping 2023 brings an even better performance with a matched story.

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An ambitious drama... but maybe too ambitious

I'll start this review by admitting that I am normally not a big fan of plots about greedy rich family members fighting over power positions but once I saw Song Joong Ki I knew I would have to watch this. He never disappoints, even in dramas I don't love, and this unfortunately was one of those dramas. Don't get me wrong, there are some really great things about "Born Rich" and I say this knowing nothing about the book it's based on. The rivalries are intense and keeping up with the lead character's wins and losses flavored with Korean nostalgia was fun each week. This was largely due to Lee Sung Min as Jin Yang Cheol, the family patriarch at the center of all the greed and corruption.

Jin Do Joon and Jin Yang Cheol's relationship are what makes this drama so exciting. There are other great characters as well but watching them match wits eclipses everything else. The main story is a pretty standard revenge plot with a retro twist, and clever Do Joon is easy to root for, but what I liked more was the feeling of watching an intense game of chess between two fierce rivals who clearly admire each other. I was less interested in the war between siblings, even with some impressive actors in those roles. The terrible rich people being terrible trope is just not as engaging after a while, and too many of the family members were 2 dimmensional awful people.

One part of the story that really did not work well is the romance plot. I think in this case it wasn't just the writing but Shin Hyun Bin's performance that made this storyline fall flat. Her choice to play Seo Min Young as cold, guarded, and robotic throughout left no room for any romance scenario that made sense. I felt myself rolling my eyes whenever her character showed up, and that's not a good look for a love interest.

Another problem I had with "Born Rich" is that there were a lot of times I had a hard time following what was going on and who was who. There are a lot of characters with agendas, and a lot of agendas conflict and overlap. Add to that a lot of significant Korean history moments going over my head and me likely missing a lot of important details. Thankfully the music helped me know when something sinister was about to go down. lol

Would I watch this again? Maybe. Now that I know the ending I would be slightly interested in seeing it from the beginning with that in mind. However, the episodes are so long that I think without the suspense they may not be fun to watch anymore. I was satified with seeing the main character's evolution and I think that's enough for me to move on from this for now. I know a lot of people didn't like the direction the story went towards the end but I appreciated the twist and what it said about the blind pursuit of wealth and power.

Overall, "Born Rich" didn't disappoint but it did fall a little short. It just felt too inconsistent. By the end of episode 15, I was really excited about this drama's ending, but it kinda fizzled and turned predictable by the very end. Is it worth watching just to watch Song Joong Ki? Yes. Is this as good as some of his other famous roles? Definitely not. Even his infamous charming smirks seemed more low key in this one. If you didn't read the synopsis, good! Don't! I'm glad I started watching knowing nothing from the very beginning. The conflict for me is that I liked the story more than how it was told. I loved the suspense and cliff hangers but hated the repetitive scenes with shadey characters staring suspiciously at each other. Be aware that this is a plot that stays true to one genre and focuses on Politics, Power, and Revenge. If you find people discussing plots and schemes tedious this is not the drama for you.

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Good show but ending could've been better.

I won't dissect whole drama so no deep dive. All I want to throw light on is, the ending epi.
Everything was going so fine and great but just that ending epi was a bit unnecessary and unsatisfying. This is just my thought but if they had not killed Do Jun, and showed that he took over sooyang and got married and lived a life happily, that would've been enough. I mean, I don't think so viewers were even looking for a closure for Yoon Hyun Woo's death. People were already satisfied with how he got reincarnated and became more powerful.
But idk what came into the story writer's mind that he chose a vague ending.
It's not like I am in the position to judge someone's work but it's just a viewer's perspective.
Well, it is fine. I've watched so many kdramas and a lot of them (including the good ones) suffer a terrible ending.

Also, it is pretty obvious that there will no s2, so to even think about that is futile.

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Episode 1 to 15 is rated 10/10 but Episode 16 is 1/10

This drama is great. Very exciting and compelling from episode 1 to 15 you will get hooked until the last episode that ruin everything. They should have made the Hyun Woo suffer the consequence in the end. That Do Joo, what a poor guy. He did nothing wrong but still die in the end, while Hyun Woo run free, without consequence. And why they are look alike, not explained properly.

I was planning to rewatch it after last episode but after watching the last episode, ahh nevermind. there are other upcoming and ongoing dramas that is good also. I just have to ask, why why why is the ending like that. I felt rob on my time and effort watching this. Well at least I had to commend the acting and music which are all great, 10/10 infact. And as I said its 10/10 from episode 1 to 15. I will never forget this drama because of the ending LOL

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