You can only pick one, and boy the pressure is on. The DB team will answer a new prompt in each post, and you’re invited to do the same in the comments. Ready to play?
You can only pick one chaebol boss
DaebakGrits: If I can only pick one chaebol boss, I’m picking the one with an underground batcave: Eun Sun-woo from Good Job. Sun-woo’s ultimate man cave looks like a fun place to hang out. For starters, it has an expensive computer command center and a decked out gym, where I can ogle Sun-woo while he works out and there won’t be anyone around (besides him) to judge me for my unabashed, wide-eyed stare. And then, once he goes to shower and my brain resumes functioning, then I can use the equipment, too. Secondly, as someone who occasionally cosplays, I’d also love access to his giant closet full of costumes, wigs, and FX make-up. A rich man who has a hobby of applying face prosthetics and lace front wigs while going undercover for spy missions sounds like exactly my kind of man. Plus, you know, Sun-woo is very caring and blushingly romantic once he finds the right person. There are a lot of chaebol CEOs in dramaland, but there probably aren’t many I could sweet talk into wearing a costume and being my plus-one at Comic Con.
Unit: How can I pick only one of the many chaebol bosses I adore in dramaland? Just ask me to pick between mom and dad. Sigh. Fine, I’ll just go the OG route and pick Joo Joong-won from Master’s Sun. He ticks all the boxes on the chaebol boss checklist: trauma, daddy issues, pettiness, great suits, a telescope to spy on his business rival, and an awesome right-hand man by his side. I will never not love his trademark “get lost” gesture, and the way he modulates his voice to deliver his dialogue. He’s the most adorable grumpy pants there ever was, and I loved that despite all his complaints, he willingly allowed himself to get dragged into the female lead’s ghostly world. I already liked him from the first episode, but I fell in love with him at the end of the fourth episode when he came to her rescue with his arms spread wide — even after she lied to him. “Your safety hideout came. Hide.” Yep. That sealed the deal for me!
Dramaddictally: Um, King The Land, please! This drama may be a tropefest but when it comes to this character archetype it breaks the mold. What do we know about chaebol bosses? Well, usually they’re a bunch of moneyed jerks with hearts of ice that need to be melted down by the female lead. But in the case of Won, he starts out right in Episode 1 with some solid principles, a class-conscious work ethic, and a heroic attitude that has him hauling his new office buddy out the door with him to shake up the company and take a stand. And if you didn’t love him from day one, how could you not love all his swoony acts of savior that go awry? If there’s one thing this drama loves to do, it’s make our chaebol boss the butt of a slapstick joke. And I for one am happy to see all that pretty-faced power knocked down a peg. Because what’s the real purpose of a chaebol boss? It’s to put our heroine in stark relief. And the more he’s knocked off kilter, the more moxie she gets to show. So, here’s to semi-competent bosses that can exercise listening skills while also looking good in a suit! And if they just happen to resemble Junho, all the better.