Kathryn_51

it is irrelevant whether Hyo S eventually comes around. -it was WRONG of TH to use sibling relationship with Hyo Shim to ask for his help AGAIN after HSeong had made it clear he did not want to get involved - and explained many times WHY he didn't want to get involved. Honestly - if Hyo Shim knew about this, do you think she would be happy???? Hell no - she would be furious. As would Grandmama.

It really doesn't matter what WE - the viewer - know. Therefor HS is acting perfectly rationally - and Tae Ho is acting shamelessly.

Hmmmm - I wonder if it a translation issue. Whatever I watched, Madame Seo said "the manager" - and I assumed it was someone on the inside of Taesan because she was talking about people trying to locate Director Park and Advisor Choi asked her to work with people who were on her side - to make Tae Ho go back to the USA. i'll go re-watch both Viki and Kocowa and will correct if wrong.

Based on earlier statements (known each other 30 days, etc), it should be 4 months. The drama began in September and they gave dates for Grandmama's death and establishing the scholarship that were the actual dates that the episodes aired. They began filming outdoors in June, didn't go in-studio until early September - 10 days before Episode 1 aired. If you re-watch, a significant portion (>60%) of the early episodes were non-studio - either outdoors, the fitness gym, funeral home, restaurants. Everything aligned, including the "holiday' background (Christmas music at the stores). and casual mentions of Christmas and the New Year recently occurring.

So, yes - the 6 months is a revision for some reason - maybe sloppy writing or perhaps some indication that Hyo Shim has been on good terms with Tae Ho for more than 2.5 months??

We don't seem too worried about spoilers here, but if anyone objects, I'll re-do this in a spoiler post.

Lost of new info and fun/intriguing scenes (as in things that make me go. . . . hmmmmmmmmmm) with all characters. in Episode 31 - probably one of my favorites. Now that holidays weekends are behind us, writer-nim is really revving up all stories.

1) Director “Jung Yong Soo” sent an email to TH documenting that Dragon Mom set up ‘paper” companies in the USA in order to siphon off funds from TaeSan. Unclear how long it was going on (looked like 2008?? But 2018 would make more sense). I think Director Jung is the man that Tae Ho met at the temple.
2) Landlady’s son and grandson went to the USA 20+ years ago. Grandson’s name is jun Young is 25/26 years old. [ I wonder if he will ever show up? Actually, I don't wonder - there's no point in mentioning him with a name and age if he doesn't show up eventually.]
3) Tae Min went to Han River late at night – and Hyo Shim ran into him while out jogging. He told her he purposely chose a different neighborhood to avoid running into her and she told him she recently moved.
4) Su-kyung challenged TM: “Do you honestly think things would have worked out for you and her (meaning HS) if it weren’t for me?’ [Tae Min! Reality check! Things would NOT have worked out with you and Hyo Shim! Every viewer watching this drama knew that from the beginning, lol]
5) Next day, Su-kyung apologizes to TM and says she won’t bring up HS again and then offers to use her contacts w/in the media to gossip about Tae Ho. TM – yes, the HONORABLE TAE MIN – really lets her have it and tells her to leave Tae Ho alone – he’s his cousin and Tae Min will work things out on his own. “Don’t try to win me over with such despicable tricks”.
6) Meanwhile, Tae Ho tries his own despicable trick. When he learns that Hyo Seong is HS’s older brother, he ONCE AGAIN, tries to get Hyo Seong to work on his behalf against TM’s family. He tried to use the older brother’s relationship with Hyo Sim to get him to get involved in something that Hyo Seong had already told him he wasn’t interested in. No wonder Hyo Seong doesn’t trust him with his younger sister!
7) Major new info: Hyo Seong was once worked at “Director Park Jin Myeong’s secretary’s office when the Director worked at the office” For those keeping track, Director Park (i) is the ‘only person who has the evidence that can prove all of [Ms. Jang’s] transgressions” and (ii) at the apparent direction of Grandmama, “took care of the accident” by taking the car and the dash cam footage from the police. [And now for all viewers who have been watching carefully – that would be moi – we have a big hint as to the name of "the manager" that purchased the phone, and in whose name it is in, for Grandmama. Just a hunch.]
8) Ga-on is on TV again and this time someone asks “who does she take after” and Dad (actually step-dad?) says she’s just naturally talented. Also, Ga-on is famous on YouTube and on-line. [Maybe that story about Ga-on’s mother showing up will really happen? (I gave up on it a few weeks ago].
9) Tae Hee returns home with newly minted hubby Hyo-do and introduces him. She tells her mother that she did it to put an end to the dream of marrying into the Seo family because they would never want a divorcee (so, that seems to be her ultimate plan? Or just a good excuse for Mom). And, she offers him up as a Vice Chairman candidate since Tae Ho is trying to destroy TM. Meanwhile, Yeom beats up Hyo Do (not knowing they are married) and it couldn’t be any clearer to any viewer paying attention that he is her father. [For a nano-second, I felt sorry for Hyo Do because he doesn’t’ realize what a snake pit he has married into.]
10) And the best part of the show (although much too brief) is any scene with Hyo Jun and Mi-rim because they are really a good comedy team. Mi-rim comes back from her “kissing scene”, totally drunk but happy because she was able to do it – and then plants one big fat kiss on Hyo Jun to show him how she did it. 💕💕💕💕💕

The End.

Oh, not quite. Grandmama found out that Hyo Shim’s new boyfriend is none other than Tae Ho – and she will not be happy about that at all – she wants him back in the US. [Grandmama - just call Tae Min and tell him everything - you know he is the one person who can be trusted to protect the family, Tae Ho and TaeSan Group. Oh well, if you did that, the drama would be over by episode 35 or so. 😊]

Well, we THOUGHT Grandmama moved in 4 months ago, but in Ep. 30, she and Landlady said it was SIX months ago, which is irritating because they were definitely handling dates and seasons pretty well until then. Maybe a writer glitch.

I've never understood the Korean system of "years" (and I believe the law recently changed), but if she was 34 years old (my original guess) in 2023, then under Korean law/birth registration/something/something, she then became 35 as of January 1st and everyone else also officially became a year older.

I'm not sure that she ever legally "dis-owned" him (in an earlier episode I think she said that she was 'estranged" from her son and DIL" and in Korea, you cannot "disown" a child or spouse from their statutory portion. Dis-owning would also imply she took them off the family registry, so I question the translation). Plus, always keep in mind, Grandmama trusts Tae Min - she wouldn't disown him or Tae Hee.

I believe Grandmama was locked up -because she wasn't going to support Kang Jin Bum for the position of Chairman after his brother died. it's possible that she was going to disclose whatever other deeds of Dragon Mom but the main reason was because Dragon Mom wanted her husband to be Chairman and Advisor Choi would have stopped that.

In early episodes, writers provided innuendo that Grandmother would blame Dragon Mom or kang Jin Bun for the accident, but I doubt that - I think Grandma was at the accident scene and knows what happened.

With or without subs??

Today was so full of new information and events that I took notes the minute the subs were available.

The email was from Director Jung Yong Soo - I believe that's the person that met him at the temple.

yeah, yeah. . .😀 Tae Min bad👿 Tae Ho good. 😇😇😇

I guess TM should have thrown the book at the couple at the villa and treated them badly so that they would run off to the media and spilled it all instead of starting an investigation again to find his grandmother. The company, of course, would have floundered as stock price plummets, thousands of people lose jobs, whatever, whatever. if you think Grandmama would have been happy with that, you don't know Grandmama.😁

But, re: Tae Ho is Episode 30 - he was more than willing to believe the Director that Tae Min knew all along about his grandmother in the villa. Just like Oh Se Gi in "Crazy Love". And he's plotting his revenge against the family, using "grandmother" as his excuse because he has never given a rat's ass about TaeSan Group before except as his money tree . Grandmama would be (she WILL be) unhappy.

Haha, no, I am comparing Ha Jun in his portrayal of kang Tae Ho (today/episode 30) and his portray of Oh Se Gi in "Crazy Love". Judgmental, relying on gossip/innuendo, revenge-driven, etc. etc. Oh Se Gi WRONGLY targeted his close friend, just as Tae Ho is wrongly targeting his cousin. (Aunt and Uncle are okay targets, TM is not). Ha Jun does it so well and I'm glad the SOB version finally showed up.

I thought the new employee was one of Lee Hyo Seung's team, but perhaps not - but both men seemed to already know who he was - we never got a name or "history".

What country are you using for Viki? I don't think it is available in any of the countries that license content to Viki.

Since the article was written before the show aired, I think the "hidden past" is related to the accident s - the "truth' about that is gradually being revealed. But it could be simply the secret involving Grandmama in the villa.

Tae Ho's father wouldn't have the legal right to 'will" the chairmanship, but it's a given that TH would inherit the shares. That's why TM told him that the company was his father's legacy, not the car.

"A new employee joined Taeho's group and is controlled by Beom and his girl (TM mom)."

I think he is/was part of Hyo Seong's team before - he's a lamb being led to slaughter.

For those viewers who watched Ha Jun in "Crazy Love" (which was my first time seeing him and enjoyed his performance), I'll just say that Oh Se Gi showed up today - which is a complement to Ha Jun's talent, but not admiration for either character (Oh Se-gi or TH). 😄😄😄

I think "Dragon Mom" is a way of distinguishing between the other horrible mother.

She's not going to prison. Maybe the looney bin, but not prison. Be happy with the wedding that will surely take place!

"there was no indication that he was a Kang (bio)"

Are you talking about Tae Min or Tae Ho😂😂? There is no hint that either one of them might not be a bio Kang - their parentage/heritage is simply presented as fact. Hmmmmmmm. . . . now that I think about it, just why did Tae Ho's parents send him off the USA?? Maybe HE is not a Kang!🤣

Dragon Mom's reason for the 3-year imprisonment of Grandmama is different than her fear of Kang Tae Ho. I could write another lengthy post on that as well, but basically, after Tae Ho's parents died in the accident, there was a battle w/in TaeSan Group for who would take over the Chairmanship. Grandmother was totally opposed to her eldest son and she apparently had the votes/influence to stop him. So, that's why she had to be removed.

At some point, the company needed to have a Chairman and it took 3 years before enough people (again, not clear if it was shareholders or Board of Directors) to vote in Kang Jin Bun. Even then, many were unhappy about the vote.

Something to keep in mind: Grandmama didn't want her son to be Chairman, but he's a mere figurehead at this point. She is happy that Tae Min is running the company - she has never threatened to go public with whatever she knows about prior scandals or even her imprisonment - she has threatened to go to Tae Min and that is Dragon Mom's biggest fear at this point. 😉

I don't think it has anything to do with the accident, Yes, there has been innuendo that she was involved, but I think that's just writer playing games (red herrings) with the viewers.

For @angelwg

Part 2: Moving forward, exactly what does Dragon Mom fear from Kang Tae Ho?

All of this was explained in the first few episodes, an article that I will link to later and the KBS website character descriptions.

The episodes. When TM left prison, his father told him that Tae Ho had returned and wondered “why now” when Dad had just been elected Chairman – which was clearly not a unanimous decision by the “shareholders”. In other conversations: the plan was to elevate TM to the Vice-Chairmanship soon; TH “saw his father become vice chair in his late ‘30s. . you can’t see TH as ‘standing alone’’ That is, there were a number of shareholders/Directors (unclear) who were Kang Jun Bun (TH father) loyalists. These were all warnings to TM – you must deliver or people loyal to TH’s father will look to him as a potential Vice Chairman/successor. TM delivered. A speech to employees that was very well received throughout the company. Stock price increased immediately A financial turn-around within months of him taking over.

Artticle; I’m going to cherry-pick (favorable to TM) from this Article , but you might enjoy reading the whole thing because both actors talk about their characters and how they enjoy working with each other: https://www.starnewskorea.com/stview.php?no=2023090509592449810'
“Kang Tae-min', the third generation of chaebol who has both humanity and courtesy, as Tae-ho's cousin.
“Kang Tae-ho', a talented man who completed a master's degree in business administration at the Ivy League in the United States.. . . returns to Korea. Because there is a truth that must be revealed. However, he hides his true intentions. (Deceitful little pr**k,😂)

The Big Takeaway Sentence: “Therefore, for the position of successor to the group, competition between the two is inevitable. “

The coming chaebol battle between Kang Tae Min and Kang Tae Ho has been fore-shadowed, fore-ordained, planned, predicted from the very first week. And that is why Dragon Mom wants Kang Tae Ho “gone” (jail, back to the US, whatever).

This is for @angelwg, answering some questions from earlier comments. Will be separated into multiple posts.

@angelwg: "If TM was the heir by birth, why would the evil cow want to off the grandma and TH. That is my question. If grandma knows that the evil cow killed her second son and DIL, why did she cover up the investigation? Stock price? Maybe we will get to know more as the story progresses. Hope the writers give out a valid and satisfying explanation for the same."

First things first, Let’s take a step back and look at your statement that she wants to ‘off the grandma and TH.” Has Dragon Mom ever planned or even ordered a killing? No. if she had wanted to kill Grandmama, she could have done so in the last 3 years. She throws around threats, but never once has executed a plan. In order to keep Grandmama controlled, she threatened Kang Tae ho – who was thousands of miles away. But the moment Tae Ho appeared in Korea, she didn’t try to eliminate him. Her plan was to frame him for an internal crime whereby he would be sent to jail or. . . . as was planned at one time for her and hubby. . . exiled away from Taesan Group/elite society.

In Episode 11, at the river w/Yeom, she said “We need to put an end to the era of Choi Myeong Hui who once controlled. . . the great Taesan. . . I’ll go crazy.’

Crazy she is, and Yeom knows it, but he clearly had no desire to kill Grandmama. Then he came up with a plan – actually a damn good plan. Evil, but good.

She wants them out of her life and she doesn’t care much about how it happens – but she has never taken the step of actually “offing’ them, to use your term. And it has zero to do with TM’s birthright as heir.

You, the viewer thinks TM's mom wants to kill TH and Grandmama because the writer has structured the dialogue (and used an actress who does Crazy Lady on Steroids) to hint at it. She is violent, scheming, cruel, corrupt, heartless - but when one steps back and looks at what was really said and done, she's' not a killer. Yet. Maybe by the end of the drama, she will attempt to kill someone in a fit of rage, but I think it more likely she will dissolve into a pathetic, gibbering, insane psycho and it will be off to the villa for the rest of her life. The question for you - the viewer - if that is the end result, will you be satisfied? Or, will you think you have been conned?

I'll try to prepare answers to your other questions later today/tomorrow before the Saturday episode.

@angelwg; "I think that grandma knew about the dangers of TH being close to the evil cow and what she could do to destroy his life and I think that is her reasoning for wanting TH far away from Taesan."

Yes, you and I are watching the same show. 😊 Dragon Mom (that's a name someone used over on Dramabeans) told Grandmama (when imprisoned in the villa) that if she didn't stay put, that somehow she (Dragon Mom) could reach Tae Ho while sitting on a sunny beach. Too late - thanks to grandmama's telling TH to stay away (!!), she provided the catalyst for TH's return.

Now that I think about it, Grandmama is pretty stupid with these phone calls. None of them seem to achieve the desired result.

@bloomingtide "I had high hopes at the beginning that she would help HS into self realization of her situation, and bond with her before Taeho could but nope nothing. "

i know you had high hopes that Grandmama's role would quickly intersect with Hyo Shim and Tae Ho. I never believed that - I always assumed we would get many near misses but, after all, every good drama needs some villains to create conflict - conflict that will last until the end (or at least Episode 48). Truthfully, I have always envisioned some big corporate shareholder/board of directors show-down with TaeMin and Taeho - and grandmother walks in to clean it all up. 😊

They stopped wondering about her identity in (checks notes) in Episode 14 when Madame Seo visited and claimed to be her daughter - the daughter of "Chae Geum Ja".

Although writers have changed some of the backstory, as far as we currently know, Grandma wants Tae Ho back in the good ole' USA - she doesn't want him near Taesan Group. That's why she fainted in the hospital - when she saw Tae Ho on television. And she told Madame Seo to work with unknown allies to get him to return to the USA.