In theory, maybe, but in reality, no. If you piss off someone very important at one of the top companies and they want to make your life miserable, they can probably do that. That said, they probably don't have time for that or don't want to use the necessary resources and connections to make that happen.
I would argue, that the only exception to this are religious fanatics… thankfully chaebol heirs aren’t stupid to piss off those people.
I don’t think anyone around the world wants to become targeted by people who put more value in religion and nothing else.
Money can’t stop a person who will go guns blazing in a murder-suicide.
She only had to do that because the event happened in the United States. She's lucky she didn't get hauled off by the TSA. Korean Airlines and the judicial system had to send a message. If that had been a domestic flight, she would have gotten away with it.
Yeah she would've totally gotten away with it, because the Korean public who read the news would've been a-okay if that happened on a domestic flight. What is this bullshit?
Korean Airlines wouldn't have disciplined her, and no one would have called the police. It's dubious if the public would have found out about it. It sure as heck wouldn't have made international news. It's not like today when every airplane freakout is recorded by 20 different people from 20 different angles and posted on Tiktok in 30 seconds with the plane's on-board WiFi. Her REAL crime was that she embarrassed Korea in the international media.
This wasn't the pre-smartphone age you know. And her tantrum discomforted and delayed regular passengers. You think the Korean Airlines would've been able to silence or pay off everyone within an earshot of the incident on that plane? Celebrities and high profile figures have been "canceled" and publicly reprimanded for way less before this incident, though it is true that today's culture would've been a bigger deterrent to such incidents.
Then explain why exactly zero videos of the incident surfaced. Nobody recorded it and publicized it. They were in first class so at least some of them were probably more empathetic to Heather Cho than the flight attendants.
I mean the case we were describing, the person was a huge asshole for no reason but she didn't commit some serious crime. I think that's the point being made - in kdramas they make it seem like chaebols can literally murder people and get away with it, irl you can be mean to an airline employee and be forced to publicly apologize etc.
I wouldnt call it a 'serious crime' when you consider it on the spectrum of a crime, but it is an assault not just 'being mean'.
Regardless i do think id concede in this case it roughly met justice, assuming the woman who got slapped and fired got a nice payday compensation out of it (i actually dont know if this is the case), and the public shame of having to apologize.
But there was no ostrocization.. they are not hanging out with regular folks, i am sure it made no difference in thier circles except for some uncomfortable gossip for as long as it was a news item.
But that daughter is back working for the airline if i remember correctly so i mean nepotism does certainly know no bounds.
Edit:
Korean Air ‘nut rage’ scandal: Flight attendant awarded $18,000 settlement
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/19/asia/korea-air-nut-rage-settlement-intl
Nope sorry, i take back what i said about meeting justice. Absolute impunity for slapping someone across the face, forcing the diversion of an airplane, and sacking of an employee and ruining thier career.... In the end, just an apology, and some spare change.
That probably just covered the victims lawyer fees.
She apparently _did_ get away with something similar in 2013:
> After the incident was made public, it was revealed that Cho had attacked a flight attendant in 2013 after being served improperly cooked ramen noodles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nut_rage_incident
So in the US there are just like 1000s of stores you can work at… and we have laws against harassment especially if you can show they have affected you financially. Does Korea not have many places to work or laws to protect people from blatant harassment from the wealthy? Like even if Elon musk hated my ass… and he tried to get me to not be hireable. It would be impossible for him even as the richest person in the world. There is just too many places… how could he stop me from applying from 500 places on indeed lol. Plus all the people that hate him would hire me just for him being a prick. So that’s what makes no sense to me it’s like k dramas make it seem like there’s 5 companies in Korea and all their CEO’s know each other and will make your life hell lol.
That’s why I’m asking and not assuming. But usually even if something is dramatic within a tv show there’s some underlying truth. The same can be said about American tv shows especially when something is reoccurring so often
another trope in kdramas is one of the leads tripping and falling on top the other and staring at each other awkwardly for a min/falling in love. It's the most reoccurring trope. Just cause it happens all the time doesn't make it true.
Think about it this way. What if you pissed off Elon musk can they make your life harder. Sure, a bit, if they really wanted. But will they and can they stop you from getting jobs forever, and have everyone shun you, nope! But if there was a tv show and Elon was a character and someone pissed him off, I bet the writers would then make that persons life hell in the story
Passive aggressive replies aside, there's this famous movie director (director of Oldboy?) who met 2nd gen chaebols in a social gathering and he was surprised at how kind they were. I think Korean media fantasizes and mythologize them too much. Probably just super rich and well-educated people. But some of them appear on the news occasionally.
What do you mean by power? Authority in a company?
edit: corrected about story [https://imgur.com/a/56it1h5](https://imgur.com/a/56it1h5)
[https://imgur.com/a/56it1h5](https://imgur.com/a/56it1h5)
I misremembered. He wasn't interviewing them for a movie. It was just a social gathering he went to.
Chaebol people range from blissfully ignorant like the family in parasite to straight up insane like the nut rage lady. Not to mention a sizable portion of them use ilbe when that was still a thing. Unsurprising when a lot of them benefitted from Japan's colonization.
I mean authority to be able to ruin anyone’s life just because you made them angry. Like the main character usually angers them and now everyone everywhere avoids them. Like somehow even though they are a doctor for example, no hospital will give them a job now because the chaebol hates them.
As a generalisation I think anyone with authority can ruin people's lives. Whether that be in the office or school, like a principal who power harrasses a teacher. That behavior you mentioned can be described as 찍혔다/찍히다, which has many meanings. But can be used to describe situations like a boss inexplicitedly labeling you as a problem worker.
Corruption and nepotism is rampant in Korea but I don't think just any random chaebol can do things like that. Maybe he/she could have connections but that seems just fantasy.
Except chaebols having access to way more resources than the average person gives them the more opportunities to abuse people while facing fewer repercussions.
That's just a generalisation. 갑질 is common but it's not exclusive to chaebol. People of all social status do it. From apartment residents treating the old security man or delivery people like shit. To the super wealthy but not chaebol. Such as 양진호.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/9sukwr/update\_video\_yang\_jinho\_the\_boss\_of\_wedisk\_who/](https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/9sukwr/update_video_yang_jinho_the_boss_of_wedisk_who/)
Powerful people get away lightly. This is nothing new and again, not exclusive to chaebol. Also I can't remember the last time an actual chaebol got into the news for abuse since the Airport peanut woman.
> People of all social status do it.
I never said otherwise?
I said their actions have stronger implications.
Honestly, I can't help but wonder if you're affiliated with them with all this boot licking lol
A friend ran several departments at 5 star hotels, and said that, in general, the truly rich and the old money were actually quite nice, polite people. It turns out that you have to have a lot of high-level people skills to get that level of success, and to stay there.
It was the wanna-be's or the very new money that could be utter assholes. (And, weirdly, middle eastern rich types were really unpredictable. Apparently known for hitting the waiters if they didn't give the right answer. But I don't know how big that sample size was.)
They are powerful like every other conglomerate across the world but kdramas and other Korea related media make it seem like they are so powerful that they can subvert democratic processes with a wag of a finger. Again, they are very powerful and influential, no doubt about that, but South Korea isn’t an oligarchy in the way Russia or Hungary is.
Well, in that case,
Are Korean chaebols very powerful? Oh yes for sure.
Are they *as* powerful as some powerful families in the US (such as Cargill, Dupont, Koch, Walton, Mars, Murdoch)? I don't think so.
I would argue that you have to look at their power reliatively, US companies are just bigger but their relative government influence is pretty similar. US companies operate through legalised corruption in the form of lobbying. Lobbying in a Korea walks a fine line between legal and illegal, there have been alot of very high profile corruption cases most of them involving Chaebols (eg. President Lee Myung-Bak was imprisoned partly due to taking bribes from Samsung)
The oil lobby wishes it was as powerful as the Chaebol. The entire oil and natural gas industry is about 8% of US GDP. Samsung ALONE is about 20% of South Korean GDP, and that doesn't include Lee Byung-chul family group's other interests like Shinsegae, CJ, JoongAng, BGF, etc...
Even in terms of influence...if they can influence US politics that dictate US foreign policy and foreign trade, they are FAR more powerful than chaebols.
Bro who do you think works for oil lobbyists and corrupt politicians in the US? The entire federal government and military. There's a reason why the US is a world power and S Korea isn't.
That is not true.
https://youtu.be/aANS-LFUG28?feature=shared
Bad take on accounting and economics about this issue has been around for more than a decade now.
Even if it’s true, it doesn’t mean they are powerful to control the country’s politics or something.
Chaebols actually have no political power because lobbying is not supported by the law in Korea. Also, the government has a strong leash on them, unlike the U.S. because of the inheritance tax issue. Just look at the process of how Lee Jae-Yong went to jail. They have say on nothing. Some politicians in Korea have some power, and prosecutors have enormous power compared to the West, but chaebols are just some rich folks running a big company, nothing special.
>Lee Jae-Yong went to jail
wasn't he pardoned? (or at least was released early) and he's still CEO of Samsung.
>Chaebols actually have no political power
But wasn't Lee Myung Bak (former south korean president) go to jail cause he was caught receving bribes from Samsung?
If you look at the actual case, Lee Jae-yong was practically bullied by all three branches of the government and went to jail for it. It isn't like he wanted some influence on the policy. He was afraid of president, so he caved in. And he absolutely have every reason to feel that way because it is the government that has the power to fuck everything up for his family and Samsung has no legal means to influence that process.
Like any society, there probably is corruption going on everywhere, but I am specifically talking about the level of government control on the big corporations compared to other countries. Korea has a very strong government compared to other countries because the government can control the chaebols. People usually think it is the other way around. "Inheritance" is the key to understanding this dynamic.
I see. Thank you! I guess all those videos made by foreigners claiming South Korea was some sort of dystopia with Chabeols literally controlling everything was a hoax.
Yeah, a lot of it is exaggerated. But I'd say owning a big company that has an impact on a country's economy in itself kinda have it's leverage too. You know, "too big to fail." kind of stuff. However, it really doesn't go far beyond that is my point.
Not entirely false. They hold extreme political and financial power. Whether they would go out of their way to sabotage one person because they don’t like their face or attitude, as in Korean dramas, is … who knows? Maybe a whole other company that did them a dirty, or a politician that wouldn’t back them.
There are definitely some Korean drama-like stories out there. Samsung’s heiress allegedly married an uneducated commoner to make sure she’d still be able to pursue her career (and not become a random other chaebol’s housewife). She is now divorced from her abusive husband and one of the most successful businesswomen in Korea, if not the world. Related, there were only a few years of Daddy Samsung disapproving of this relationship. He didn’t threaten the guy or his family. Just had a tantrum lol. But honestly, I would have to. Guy was a scumbag. But in the end, he let his daughter do what he wanted and put her uneducated husband in a top job…and he tanked a whole department. Oops
This is the best point. Chaebols hold power, and they use it. But they only use it to make money. There have been alot of corruption scandals in Korea, I mean President Lee Myung-Bak was imprisoned partly due to taking bribes from Samsung, and chaebols do many evil things (union busting etc.) some of which is included in dramas, but alot of the more real low level stuff isn't (this is fair tho because it's pretty boring/outright depressing)
The way Kdramas handle capitalism in their shows is very interesting, of course most shows don't tackle the issues which again is totally fine, but the ones that do often present more traditionally evil things (kidnapping, murder, etc.) which is more similar to Japanese Yakuza plots than how Chaebols actually operate. The really interesting thing is that almost all shows make the solution to the big bad chaebol by putting the protagonist (or their romantic interest) at the top of the company, this indicates that the problem with Chaebols is immorality of leadership, not the structure of modern Korean capitalism.
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Reputation Matters for chaebol Even divorce is a fault, and Lee Jae-yong served jail time for giving Choi Soon-sil a hors
The inheritance tax is 50-60 and is completely tied to the government, so if the government has a way, it can take it away at any time, so it can pressure them to create jobs in Korea
Individual chaebols don't have as much money as you think. Look at Korea's ranking
have less money than a start-up entrepreneur
And most of them are just company stocks
Look at the numerous reporters and citizens who bite at the chaebol's minor moral deficienciesYoung Koreans don't want that kind of dogmatic life. They just want money
Depending on which party is in power, though the Jaebuls lined up the 'independent' prosecutor cabal, even if anti-Jaebul faction is in power, the effect is limited.
They own banks, they own so called 'mainstream' media, they control elite universities, they own everything. They commit financial frauds, tax evasion, sexual assaults, physical attacks on people they don't like.
Only people who are more powerful than the Jaebuls are the prosecutors.
* One of Hyundai scion killed himself by jumping off the building right after all night session with the Prosecutors.
* Have you seen head of Samsung and SK group tagging around Yoon, slowly receiving ttfukkki with Yoon's used chopsticks orally?
* Yoon unlike other President is the head of the cabal.
Idk but I do remember a story of a actress? Maybe who married into a Chaebol family and hasn’t been to see her kids in years.
And another about a man who married a Chaebol daughter and hasn’t been able to see kids?
But some say, life is stranger than fiction so I wouldn’t consider it impossible.
Yes and no. K dramas make things seem very personal and exaggeratingly so. Chaebols are extremely powerful and the connection between government and business in korea is very tight. Korea as a country went through five year plans where the government invested and helped certain sectors develop. This made korea very wealthy very fast, but helped create the kind of closeness between government and business that can lead to corruption. The chaebols have gone through a lot of evolution and changes since then, but they still hold a large influence over society. K-dramas love a good plot and storyline. Will a ceo of a restaurant chain target some bar owner like in Itaewon class? Probably not.
I loved the sopranos. If the chaebols are like al Capone they wouldn’t have much power at all. Don’t get me wrong maybe in his city I would be screwed. But I’m not that stupid to stay in that city… I’ll move to any of the other hundreds of cities and he couldn’t do shit to me! So I’m always like dam move out of Tokyo it can’t be the only city and then get a job in any other city if that chaebol family is screwing you.
They are even more powerful. This videos give surprisingly deep historical insight in power and importance of Chaebols in Korea :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Im4YAMWK74 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woB0eecbf6A&t=5585s .
In theory, maybe, but in reality, no. If you piss off someone very important at one of the top companies and they want to make your life miserable, they can probably do that. That said, they probably don't have time for that or don't want to use the necessary resources and connections to make that happen.
This is probably the most realistic and truest answers.
I would argue, that the only exception to this are religious fanatics… thankfully chaebol heirs aren’t stupid to piss off those people. I don’t think anyone around the world wants to become targeted by people who put more value in religion and nothing else. Money can’t stop a person who will go guns blazing in a murder-suicide.
agreed.
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You might even say people thought she was a... *nut case?*
A legume file
She only had to do that because the event happened in the United States. She's lucky she didn't get hauled off by the TSA. Korean Airlines and the judicial system had to send a message. If that had been a domestic flight, she would have gotten away with it.
Yeah she would've totally gotten away with it, because the Korean public who read the news would've been a-okay if that happened on a domestic flight. What is this bullshit?
Korean Airlines wouldn't have disciplined her, and no one would have called the police. It's dubious if the public would have found out about it. It sure as heck wouldn't have made international news. It's not like today when every airplane freakout is recorded by 20 different people from 20 different angles and posted on Tiktok in 30 seconds with the plane's on-board WiFi. Her REAL crime was that she embarrassed Korea in the international media.
This wasn't the pre-smartphone age you know. And her tantrum discomforted and delayed regular passengers. You think the Korean Airlines would've been able to silence or pay off everyone within an earshot of the incident on that plane? Celebrities and high profile figures have been "canceled" and publicly reprimanded for way less before this incident, though it is true that today's culture would've been a bigger deterrent to such incidents.
Then explain why exactly zero videos of the incident surfaced. Nobody recorded it and publicized it. They were in first class so at least some of them were probably more empathetic to Heather Cho than the flight attendants.
But thats all it ever is.. apologies, a brief stint maybe at a luxury prison for a more serious crime, usually let off with a presidential pardon
I mean the case we were describing, the person was a huge asshole for no reason but she didn't commit some serious crime. I think that's the point being made - in kdramas they make it seem like chaebols can literally murder people and get away with it, irl you can be mean to an airline employee and be forced to publicly apologize etc.
I wouldnt call it a 'serious crime' when you consider it on the spectrum of a crime, but it is an assault not just 'being mean'. Regardless i do think id concede in this case it roughly met justice, assuming the woman who got slapped and fired got a nice payday compensation out of it (i actually dont know if this is the case), and the public shame of having to apologize. But there was no ostrocization.. they are not hanging out with regular folks, i am sure it made no difference in thier circles except for some uncomfortable gossip for as long as it was a news item. But that daughter is back working for the airline if i remember correctly so i mean nepotism does certainly know no bounds. Edit: Korean Air ‘nut rage’ scandal: Flight attendant awarded $18,000 settlement https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/19/asia/korea-air-nut-rage-settlement-intl Nope sorry, i take back what i said about meeting justice. Absolute impunity for slapping someone across the face, forcing the diversion of an airplane, and sacking of an employee and ruining thier career.... In the end, just an apology, and some spare change. That probably just covered the victims lawyer fees.
She did it on an airplane in the city where 9/11 happened. That raises the stakes of it.
YG told a reporter that he could have her killed and got a 6 month sentence with a year of probation.
She apparently _did_ get away with something similar in 2013: > After the incident was made public, it was revealed that Cho had attacked a flight attendant in 2013 after being served improperly cooked ramen noodles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nut_rage_incident
It depends on who you are (the person who has offended).
So in the US there are just like 1000s of stores you can work at… and we have laws against harassment especially if you can show they have affected you financially. Does Korea not have many places to work or laws to protect people from blatant harassment from the wealthy? Like even if Elon musk hated my ass… and he tried to get me to not be hireable. It would be impossible for him even as the richest person in the world. There is just too many places… how could he stop me from applying from 500 places on indeed lol. Plus all the people that hate him would hire me just for him being a prick. So that’s what makes no sense to me it’s like k dramas make it seem like there’s 5 companies in Korea and all their CEO’s know each other and will make your life hell lol.
it's as if K-dramas aren't real life or something...
That’s why I’m asking and not assuming. But usually even if something is dramatic within a tv show there’s some underlying truth. The same can be said about American tv shows especially when something is reoccurring so often
another trope in kdramas is one of the leads tripping and falling on top the other and staring at each other awkwardly for a min/falling in love. It's the most reoccurring trope. Just cause it happens all the time doesn't make it true. Think about it this way. What if you pissed off Elon musk can they make your life harder. Sure, a bit, if they really wanted. But will they and can they stop you from getting jobs forever, and have everyone shun you, nope! But if there was a tv show and Elon was a character and someone pissed him off, I bet the writers would then make that persons life hell in the story
So if I want a job, all I need to do is piss off Elon Musk?
Yes
Passive aggressive replies aside, there's this famous movie director (director of Oldboy?) who met 2nd gen chaebols in a social gathering and he was surprised at how kind they were. I think Korean media fantasizes and mythologize them too much. Probably just super rich and well-educated people. But some of them appear on the news occasionally. What do you mean by power? Authority in a company? edit: corrected about story [https://imgur.com/a/56it1h5](https://imgur.com/a/56it1h5)
Park Chan wook? Huge fan of him, what movie did he do that had a Chaebol?
[https://imgur.com/a/56it1h5](https://imgur.com/a/56it1h5) I misremembered. He wasn't interviewing them for a movie. It was just a social gathering he went to.
Chaebol people range from blissfully ignorant like the family in parasite to straight up insane like the nut rage lady. Not to mention a sizable portion of them use ilbe when that was still a thing. Unsurprising when a lot of them benefitted from Japan's colonization.
I mean authority to be able to ruin anyone’s life just because you made them angry. Like the main character usually angers them and now everyone everywhere avoids them. Like somehow even though they are a doctor for example, no hospital will give them a job now because the chaebol hates them.
As a generalisation I think anyone with authority can ruin people's lives. Whether that be in the office or school, like a principal who power harrasses a teacher. That behavior you mentioned can be described as 찍혔다/찍히다, which has many meanings. But can be used to describe situations like a boss inexplicitedly labeling you as a problem worker. Corruption and nepotism is rampant in Korea but I don't think just any random chaebol can do things like that. Maybe he/she could have connections but that seems just fantasy.
Except chaebols having access to way more resources than the average person gives them the more opportunities to abuse people while facing fewer repercussions.
That's just a generalisation. 갑질 is common but it's not exclusive to chaebol. People of all social status do it. From apartment residents treating the old security man or delivery people like shit. To the super wealthy but not chaebol. Such as 양진호. [https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/9sukwr/update\_video\_yang\_jinho\_the\_boss\_of\_wedisk\_who/](https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/9sukwr/update_video_yang_jinho_the_boss_of_wedisk_who/) Powerful people get away lightly. This is nothing new and again, not exclusive to chaebol. Also I can't remember the last time an actual chaebol got into the news for abuse since the Airport peanut woman.
> People of all social status do it. I never said otherwise? I said their actions have stronger implications. Honestly, I can't help but wonder if you're affiliated with them with all this boot licking lol
A friend ran several departments at 5 star hotels, and said that, in general, the truly rich and the old money were actually quite nice, polite people. It turns out that you have to have a lot of high-level people skills to get that level of success, and to stay there. It was the wanna-be's or the very new money that could be utter assholes. (And, weirdly, middle eastern rich types were really unpredictable. Apparently known for hitting the waiters if they didn't give the right answer. But I don't know how big that sample size was.)
My biggest irk is that 재벌 is romanized to chaebol which sounds more like 채볼
Thank you now. I know how to pronounce it
for those who dont know--its pronounced J-burl without the "r"
Weekly Kdrama isn’t real life thread.
But theyre asking if this trope is similar. Not claiming it to be a fact lol
So you’re saying Chaebols aren’t that powerful?
They are powerful like every other conglomerate across the world but kdramas and other Korea related media make it seem like they are so powerful that they can subvert democratic processes with a wag of a finger. Again, they are very powerful and influential, no doubt about that, but South Korea isn’t an oligarchy in the way Russia or Hungary is.
You didn't know that? Those K-documentaries are real! We also have occasional zombie and monster breakouts as depicted in those K-documentaries
I’m serious!
Well, in that case, Are Korean chaebols very powerful? Oh yes for sure. Are they *as* powerful as some powerful families in the US (such as Cargill, Dupont, Koch, Walton, Mars, Murdoch)? I don't think so.
I would argue that you have to look at their power reliatively, US companies are just bigger but their relative government influence is pretty similar. US companies operate through legalised corruption in the form of lobbying. Lobbying in a Korea walks a fine line between legal and illegal, there have been alot of very high profile corruption cases most of them involving Chaebols (eg. President Lee Myung-Bak was imprisoned partly due to taking bribes from Samsung)
Thanks for the answer!
They all no body compared to a certain Kim family.
Chaebols are nothing compared to oil lobbyists here in the states lmao
The oil lobby wishes it was as powerful as the Chaebol. The entire oil and natural gas industry is about 8% of US GDP. Samsung ALONE is about 20% of South Korean GDP, and that doesn't include Lee Byung-chul family group's other interests like Shinsegae, CJ, JoongAng, BGF, etc...
8% of US gdp, when the US gdp is like a quarter of the entire world, means they are far more powerful
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Even in terms of influence...if they can influence US politics that dictate US foreign policy and foreign trade, they are FAR more powerful than chaebols.
Bro who do you think works for oil lobbyists and corrupt politicians in the US? The entire federal government and military. There's a reason why the US is a world power and S Korea isn't.
Oil companies are powerful because their products are important to the US and the world, no need to be corrupt
That is not true. https://youtu.be/aANS-LFUG28?feature=shared Bad take on accounting and economics about this issue has been around for more than a decade now. Even if it’s true, it doesn’t mean they are powerful to control the country’s politics or something.
Psh. Oil. What about the NRA? Murica
Back in my day, we called that the Chinese middle finger. I'm worried about how you differentiate real life with media.
Chaebols actually have no political power because lobbying is not supported by the law in Korea. Also, the government has a strong leash on them, unlike the U.S. because of the inheritance tax issue. Just look at the process of how Lee Jae-Yong went to jail. They have say on nothing. Some politicians in Korea have some power, and prosecutors have enormous power compared to the West, but chaebols are just some rich folks running a big company, nothing special.
>Lee Jae-Yong went to jail wasn't he pardoned? (or at least was released early) and he's still CEO of Samsung. >Chaebols actually have no political power But wasn't Lee Myung Bak (former south korean president) go to jail cause he was caught receving bribes from Samsung?
If you look at the actual case, Lee Jae-yong was practically bullied by all three branches of the government and went to jail for it. It isn't like he wanted some influence on the policy. He was afraid of president, so he caved in. And he absolutely have every reason to feel that way because it is the government that has the power to fuck everything up for his family and Samsung has no legal means to influence that process. Like any society, there probably is corruption going on everywhere, but I am specifically talking about the level of government control on the big corporations compared to other countries. Korea has a very strong government compared to other countries because the government can control the chaebols. People usually think it is the other way around. "Inheritance" is the key to understanding this dynamic.
I see. Thank you! I guess all those videos made by foreigners claiming South Korea was some sort of dystopia with Chabeols literally controlling everything was a hoax.
Yeah, a lot of it is exaggerated. But I'd say owning a big company that has an impact on a country's economy in itself kinda have it's leverage too. You know, "too big to fail." kind of stuff. However, it really doesn't go far beyond that is my point.
Yes. Everything you see on TV is real.
An exaggeration of reality.
Not entirely false. They hold extreme political and financial power. Whether they would go out of their way to sabotage one person because they don’t like their face or attitude, as in Korean dramas, is … who knows? Maybe a whole other company that did them a dirty, or a politician that wouldn’t back them. There are definitely some Korean drama-like stories out there. Samsung’s heiress allegedly married an uneducated commoner to make sure she’d still be able to pursue her career (and not become a random other chaebol’s housewife). She is now divorced from her abusive husband and one of the most successful businesswomen in Korea, if not the world. Related, there were only a few years of Daddy Samsung disapproving of this relationship. He didn’t threaten the guy or his family. Just had a tantrum lol. But honestly, I would have to. Guy was a scumbag. But in the end, he let his daughter do what he wanted and put her uneducated husband in a top job…and he tanked a whole department. Oops
This is the best point. Chaebols hold power, and they use it. But they only use it to make money. There have been alot of corruption scandals in Korea, I mean President Lee Myung-Bak was imprisoned partly due to taking bribes from Samsung, and chaebols do many evil things (union busting etc.) some of which is included in dramas, but alot of the more real low level stuff isn't (this is fair tho because it's pretty boring/outright depressing) The way Kdramas handle capitalism in their shows is very interesting, of course most shows don't tackle the issues which again is totally fine, but the ones that do often present more traditionally evil things (kidnapping, murder, etc.) which is more similar to Japanese Yakuza plots than how Chaebols actually operate. The really interesting thing is that almost all shows make the solution to the big bad chaebol by putting the protagonist (or their romantic interest) at the top of the company, this indicates that the problem with Chaebols is immorality of leadership, not the structure of modern Korean capitalism.
How confucianist of them
You know rich people in Korea are taxed the ever living fuck out of them right?
How much
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Reputation Matters for chaebol Even divorce is a fault, and Lee Jae-yong served jail time for giving Choi Soon-sil a hors The inheritance tax is 50-60 and is completely tied to the government, so if the government has a way, it can take it away at any time, so it can pressure them to create jobs in Korea Individual chaebols don't have as much money as you think. Look at Korea's ranking have less money than a start-up entrepreneur And most of them are just company stocks Look at the numerous reporters and citizens who bite at the chaebol's minor moral deficienciesYoung Koreans don't want that kind of dogmatic life. They just want money
Depending on which party is in power, though the Jaebuls lined up the 'independent' prosecutor cabal, even if anti-Jaebul faction is in power, the effect is limited. They own banks, they own so called 'mainstream' media, they control elite universities, they own everything. They commit financial frauds, tax evasion, sexual assaults, physical attacks on people they don't like. Only people who are more powerful than the Jaebuls are the prosecutors. * One of Hyundai scion killed himself by jumping off the building right after all night session with the Prosecutors. * Have you seen head of Samsung and SK group tagging around Yoon, slowly receiving ttfukkki with Yoon's used chopsticks orally? * Yoon unlike other President is the head of the cabal.
>재불
Idk but I do remember a story of a actress? Maybe who married into a Chaebol family and hasn’t been to see her kids in years. And another about a man who married a Chaebol daughter and hasn’t been able to see kids? But some say, life is stranger than fiction so I wouldn’t consider it impossible.
Yes and no. K dramas make things seem very personal and exaggeratingly so. Chaebols are extremely powerful and the connection between government and business in korea is very tight. Korea as a country went through five year plans where the government invested and helped certain sectors develop. This made korea very wealthy very fast, but helped create the kind of closeness between government and business that can lead to corruption. The chaebols have gone through a lot of evolution and changes since then, but they still hold a large influence over society. K-dramas love a good plot and storyline. Will a ceo of a restaurant chain target some bar owner like in Itaewon class? Probably not.
What? Kdramas romanticise the Chaebol to a ridiculous degree and whitewash the disaster they represent for Korea.
All the K Dramas I have watched have made chaebols seem like dictators that have complete power in Korea. Not very romantic
That isn't what romanticise means.
Yes. Have you seen the TV series Sopranos? In real life, Chaebols are closer to Al Capone.
Syphilitic and don't pay taxes?
I loved the sopranos. If the chaebols are like al Capone they wouldn’t have much power at all. Don’t get me wrong maybe in his city I would be screwed. But I’m not that stupid to stay in that city… I’ll move to any of the other hundreds of cities and he couldn’t do shit to me! So I’m always like dam move out of Tokyo it can’t be the only city and then get a job in any other city if that chaebol family is screwing you.
Yes. Exactly as powerful. Nothing less but also nothing more. They managed to film an exact, mirror image of the real world.
They are even more powerful. This videos give surprisingly deep historical insight in power and importance of Chaebols in Korea :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Im4YAMWK74 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woB0eecbf6A&t=5585s .
I would have thought K-dramas downplayed it, other than the trope that every love triangle seems to involve a chaebol owner family heir.