Five K-Dramas In Which The Chaebol Is A Woman

When viewers think of the kdrama chaebol, they usually assume that the character will be male. And if there is a rich heir, there is probably also a poor but hardworking girl in the drama that is eager to marry him. But, it's not always the case. There have been a few kdrama chaebols who were daughters. And this season there were two, in the dramas "Yong Pal" and "High Society."

Here's the rundown on some of the kdramas that turn the tables and have poor guys play out a Cinderella story with rich women.

"Yong Pal"

 Kim Tae Hee plays the Sleeping beauty heiress, frozen in a mysterious coma probably due to a plot to steal control of her family's company. Kim Tae Hee plays the heiress and Joo Won plays a gifted doctor so desperate for cash that he indulges in all sorts of unethical medical procedures. He's immediately drawn to her but is it because she is beautiful or because she is wealthy?

"High Society"

The recently ended "High Society" featured both a male and female chaebol. After School's Uee played the heiress who wanted someone to love her for who she was and not who she was related to. While working as a part-timer she meets an ambitious man, played by Sung Joon, and assumes he thinks she is poor. But what he really wants is to marry a rich woman.

"My Fair Lady"

Yoon Eun Hye played he poor girl who marries a prince in "Princess Hours" but she then turned the tables and played a rich girl heiress to a company called "Lady Castle" in "My Fair Lady." She's used to getting everything she wants. But what she never knew she needed was a gigolo turned personal assistant/chauffeur, played by Yoon Sang Hyun. Even the wealthy lawyer, played by Jung Il Woo can't compete.

"I Do I Do"

The character played by Kim Sun Ah in this drama did not really inherit her money although she did come from an upper middle class family. She worked hard to get where she is at the helm of a pricey shoe company. So, who should she wind up in bed with but a poor shoe counterfeiter played by Lee Jang Wook? While this Cinderella story reverses gender roles it does keep glittering shoes as an important element in the success of the romance.

"Fantasy Couple"

This kdrama plays off the story in the Goldie Hawn film "Overboard." A spoiled rich married woman, played by Han Ye Seul, has a fit on her yacht and pitches her handyman, played by Oh Ji Ho, overboard. Then she falls off the boat and develops amnesia. She forgets that she is an heiress and has to spend time living with her handyman, which ultimately might be the better deal.

Have you seen any of these reverse Cinderella stories? Can you think of any others? Let us know.