The Youngest Son of a Conglomerate
Overview
The Youngest Son of a Conglomerate (Korean: 재벌집 막내아들) is a Friday-Saturday drama that aired on JTBC from November 18 to December 25, 2022, totaling 16 episodes. Based on a web novel of the same name, it tells the story of a protagonist who, after serving as the secretary to a conglomerate chairman, is reborn as the youngest son of the conglomerate family and achieves revenge and growth. Starring Song Joong-ki, Lee Sung-min, and Shin Hyun-been, the drama garnered significant attention and achieved a viewership rating of 26.9%, the highest among JTBC dramas in 2022.
Main Content
Plot
Protagonist Yoon Hyun-woo (played by Song Joong-ki) works loyally for ten years as the secretary to Jin Yang-cheol (played by Lee Sung-min), the chairman of South Korea's largest conglomerate, Sunyang Group. However, he is unjustly killed after being caught up in internal conflicts within the Sunyang family. When he wakes up, he finds himself reborn as Jin Do-joon, the youngest grandson of Jin Yang-cheol. Returning to 1987, he uses his knowledge of the future to take control of Sunyang Group and devises a plan for revenge against Jin Yang-cheol and the Sunyang family, who had him killed. The drama unfolds around Jin Do-joon's process of acquiring Sunyang Group stocks, seizing management control, and engaging in a fierce confrontation with Jin Yang-cheol.
Main Characters
- Jin Do-joon / Yoon Hyun-woo (Song Joong-ki): The youngest grandson of the Sunyang family and the former secretary in his past life. He uses his brilliant mind and future knowledge to take over Sunyang Group.
- Jin Yang-cheol (Lee Sung-min): The founder and chairman of Sunyang Group. He controls his family with cold charisma and calculated moves.
- Seo Min-young (Shin Hyun-been): A lawyer and former prosecutor who becomes Jin Do-joon's lover and ally. She has a strong sense of justice and joins Jin Do-joon's revenge.
- Jin Young-ki (Kim Nam-hee): Jin Yang-cheol's eldest son and heir to Sunyang Group. He strives to gain his father's recognition but repeatedly fails.
- Jin Hwa-young (Kim Shin-rok): Jin Yang-cheol's eldest daughter. She has excellent business acumen but resents her father's discrimination.
Themes and Messages
The drama addresses the greed of conglomerates, power struggles within families, and issues of revenge and forgiveness. Jin Do-joon's revenge extends beyond personal feelings to critique social inequality and the tyranny of conglomerates. Additionally, through the fantasy element of rebirth, it realistically unfolds the imagination of changing the past, offering viewers both satisfaction and ethical contemplation.
Direction and Production
Directed by Kim Tae-hee, the drama was adapted based on the popularity of the original web novel. It meticulously recreated the historical settings from the 1980s to the 2020s, with particular praise for the sets of Sunyang Group's headquarters and Jin Yang-cheol's mansion. Song Joong-ki's passionate performance and Lee Sung-min's overwhelming acting skills were credited with enhancing the work's quality.
Recent Trends
As of 2024-2025, The Youngest Son of a Conglomerate continues to stream steadily on OTT platforms (such as Netflix and Tving) even after its broadcast ended, maintaining global popularity. It has particularly established itself as a representative K-drama among international viewers, with reports of discussions for remakes in Japan and Southeast Asia. Additionally, fans continue to demand sequels or spin-offs of the original web novel, but no official announcements have been made. In 2024, Song Joong-ki and Lee Sung-min each won the Best Actor award at the Baeksang Arts Awards, reaffirming the work's status. Meanwhile, controversy over the drama's ending (the ambiguous handling of whether Jin Do-joon's rebirth was real or a dream) remains a hot topic among fans, with various interpretations being proposed.
Related Topics
- [[Song Joong-ki]]
- [[Lee Sung-min]]
- [[JTBC drama]]
- [[Rebirth motif]]
- [[Conglomerate drama]]
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