There's a new crop of k-dramas and that means there are plenty of wealthy villains.
Why is that?
While there are undoubtedly plenty of people in the world who became rich by being bad, the proportion of wealthy villains in k-dramas is high. You rarely meet a wealthy character that's kind or compassionate.
In the recently concluded "A Secret Love Affair," Kim Hee Ae goes to jail because the rich people who ran the Seo Arts Foundation assumed she would take the rap for them. After all they owned her because they paid her salary. Meanwhile they could just go on committing their crimes because they had the money to silence their opponents and buy the best lawyers.
In "A New Leaf," the successful lawyers are the ones prepared to part with their principles. They would have no qualms representing the wealthy characters in "A Secret Love Affair." In "Big Man," Daniel Choi is a spoiled brat of wealthy parents so unethical they would kill an innocent man just to get their son a heart transplant.
And how about Lee Hongki's mom in "Bride of the Century. She was prepared to sacrifice the life of an innocent girl to a curse just so she could have the daughter-in-law she really wanted.
And Ji Sung's parents in "Secrets" set a plot in motion that resulted in the death of their own grandchild.
And the more power and money a k-drama character has, the more corrupt they are likely to be. This especially extends to k-drama politicians. There's the president in "Doctor Stranger," who arranges for Lee Jong Suk's father to die after he makes a huge sacrifice for his country. In "Three Days" and "City Hunter," presidents also sacrificed the lives of innocent countrymen to further political agendas. In "God's Gift - 14 Days," those in power play with the law and threaten a child's life to cover up their crimes.
And even if a chaebol is not out-and-out evil, he or she is often spoiled and bratty. Take Lee Min Ho in "Boys Over Flowers" or Ji Sung in "Protect the Boss" or even Yoon Eun Hye in "My Fair Lady."
Jung Yong Hwa played one of the rare heirs with a conscience in "Future's Choice." H is character empathized with his future employees and he had work ethics. Kim Jae Wook was not bad in "Mary Stayed Out All Night" either. He acted decently but he did not learn how from his father who indifferently made his unsuitable marriage arrangements.
And finally Lee Min Ho was a decent guy for a chaebol in "The Heirs" but his dad and adoptive mother were mean and manipulative.
Obviously a villain with money makes for a more dramatic plot as rich villains can use that money to make things worse for everyone they hate. Any theories though on why the rich have to be so bad in k-dramas? Or why there are so many bad-to-the-bone heirs? Let us know what you think.
