The most involving k-dramas feature some life lessons. Revenge never pays. Persistence and hard work can pay off. True love wins usually. "High Society," starring Uee, Sung Joon, Park Hyung Sik and Lim Ji Yeon, is no exception.
This entertaining drama has life lessons in every episode. Here are five we noticed.
1. Pretending does not work out. Whether you're a girl pretending to be a boy as Park Shin Hye did in "You're Beautiful" and a girl pretending to be engaged as Yoon Eun Hye did in "Lie To Me," sooner or later you will be found out. That's especially true for all those chaebols hiding secret slush funds and secret children. Poor Uee starts out the drama pretending to be a poor working girl so she can meet someone who loves her for herself and not her money, but it doesn't work out the way she planned. Sung Joon could be lying about liking her for who she is rather than who her parents are.
2. Being rich does not mean you have it all. In fact you could be really miserable with a pile of money. Drama plots have taught us that being rich does not protect characters from abuse, abandonment and heartbreak. Poor Joo Ji Hoon in "Mask" is a mess, thanks to ill treatment by his wealthy family. And Uee's rich family might be one of the worst in k-drama history. They are mostly cold, abusive and manipulative.
3. Friendship is more important than anything else. But it has to be genuine and not mercenary. The characters played by Uee and Lim become best friends and remain loyal to each other because they really like each other. That may not be the case for the characters played by Park Hyung Sik and Sung Joon.
4. Marrying for money or prestige is never a good idea, no matter how many wealthy k-drama moms set their kids up on blind dates. In "High Society," Uee's sister gets divorced after years in a loveless arranged marriage. Uee hopes her marriage will be more than an economic arrangement, but maybe Sung Joon is moe interested in her bank balance after all. Too bad since his parents are an excellent example of a couple with the right priorities.
5. Too much soju makes for some charming k-drama scenes but maybe is really not a good idea. Lim Ji Yeon's character is already pretty vulnerable to the charms of the sweet but clueless rich guy played by Park Hyung Sik. Getting in situations where you accidentally rip off a chaebol's shirt is probably not such a good idea. Not unless he is ready to defy his class-conscious family and marry you.
Are you watching this drama? What do you think?
