'Money Flower': why same old stories keep viewers turning in
By Kang Hyun-kyung
“There’re people out there who say money is nothing but a tool, and they even say they hate the super rich. I bet they wouldn’t say that if they were rich. Hypocrites! They hate rich people because they are jealous of them. They’re disgusting.”
In episode 3 of the popular TV series “Money Flower,” soft-spoken Lee Mi-sook, who plays Jang Mal-ran, widow of the first son of Cheong-A Group founder Jang Kook-whan, drops this sarcastic remark. She was speaking about the girl her son is dating ? the daughter of a leading presidential candidate ? in a conversation with her mentor, Jang Hyuk who plays corporate lawyer Kang Pil-joo.
The corporate lawyer briefed Lee about the developments of the marriage of convenience the super rich family has been pushing for to benefit their business in the future.
TV critic Jung Duk-hyun describes “Money Flower” as a cliche but high-end drama. “It’s a cliche because the TV series deals with old topics such as money, infighting inside a super rich family to gain control of a company, and revenge. These are all too familiar with viewers because there were so many dramas with similar topics in the past,” he said. “But at the same time, ‘Money Flower’ is a high-end TV show because such topics are well processed and make it strong enough to appeal to prime time TV viewers.”
As the title of the TV series indicates, “Money Flower” is about super rich people chasing money to meet their endless greed to gain more and become richer. It depicts their frustration as well, while pursuing their goal to take over a business empire. Italso a revenge drama. Corporate lawyer Kang, who Jang believes is her henchman, turns out to be her enemy. He was born out of wedlock and his father is Jang’s husband, the Cheong-A Group founder’s first son who died three decades earlier.
“Money Flower” is one of the top-ranked TV shows in terms of viewer ratings. Nielsen Survey found its viewer ratings hit 16.5 percent last Saturday when episode 14 aired. The viewer rating soared in the last two weeks.
Jung said the TV series struck a chord with MBC’s traditional viewers? the older generation who watch dramas only on TV. Unlike younger viewers, people in their 40s or older are the viewers watching dramas on TV without using digital devices such as computers or phones. These viewers are passive, conservative and accustomed to traditional stories about money, revenge and infighting.
“The younger generation is different,” Jung said. “They are tech-savvy viewers. They watch dramas and reality shows through various digital devices and they choose what to see. They download programs and watch them on their computers or mobile devices. They are active viewers and they explore various cable networks to find programs to suit their tastes.”
“Money Flower” defies the success formula for a TV series. According to popular beliefs about what it takes to make a top-rated TV show, fresh faces, innovative storylines and genre matter.
Although “Money Flower” repeats the same old topics that have been recycled for decades, it still captivates viewers. Topics like super rich people chasing money, power struggles within the owner family of a business empire and conspiracies to rise to the top are all too familiar. But the same old stories still keep viewers tuning in.
Kwak Dae-kyung, a professor of sociology at Dongguk University, said the TV series appears to benefit from its title. “I think it’s fair to say one way or another, the word money in the title helps draw attention because people crave money. Some are stressed out because of money and some are dying for it. Some are eager to increase their wealth,” he said. “The drama could have sounded negative if the title only had money because one can easily think of it as something related to materialism. But Money Flower doesn’t quite sound as such because the other word flower kind of dilutes such a materialistic image.”
Kwak, however, noted the title itself, of course, is not all the sole reason behind the success of the TV series. Gripping stories and charismatic veteran actors and actresses are some of the strengths of the drama, according to him.
The sociologist said a solid storyline helps viewers feel those stories are plausible and realistic and veteran actors’ and actresses’ intriguing performances also elevated their show to a premium prime time drama.
He said actors and actresses play a larger role to determine the fate of TV shows.
Some viewers praise veteran actress Lee for her ability to find surprising depth in the screenplay and her keen insight into her role.
Rho Eun-kyung, a housewife and avid viewer of the drama, said she likes the female lead.
“I used to not be a drama fan. I watched some of them but was rarely drawn into them,” Rho said. “But Money Flower is different. It makes sense and I like the female lead because she is charismatic and makes me feel she is real.”
In the drama, Lee’s character is an ambitious woman craving money, even though she is already rich. She is anxious to take over the business empire established by her uneducated, self-made father-in-law and grooms her son to be the successor of the group once her father-in-law dies.
She is pushing for a marriage of convenience to help her son take over the business. Her father-in-law, who is the founder of Cheong-A Group, is a self-centered, brutal, calculative old man. He lets his two grandsons? Lee’s son and her nephew born from the founder’s younger son? compete to rise to the top of the business empire. The survival of the fittest competition continues between the two cousins.
Internet user Kim Su-han wrote the TV series has twists and turns and this adds to fun. “I was drawn to the drama because it’s thrilling,” he wrote on social media. Another internet user nett**** wrote she feels like time stops when she watches the TV series. Internet user nada**** wrote the drama is “breathtaking.”