Synopsis

“Cinderella and the Four Knights” (“Cinderella”) is a cohabitation K-drama based on the classic tale of Cinderella.   The story focuses on Eun Ha Won (Park So Dam) – our Cinderella – and the four men whose lives she totally transforms.  She begins the K-drama living with her stepmother and stepsister who treat her as a servant.  Eun Ha Won’s one desire is to become a college student, a fulfillment of her dead mother’s wish.  Unfortunately, with no family money to help her pay for tuition, Eun Ha Won works multiple part-time jobs in an effort to raise the money herself.  Chairman Kang of Haneul Group (Kim Yong Geon) wants to see which of his grandsons is most capable of taking over the company, and forces his grandsons to live together at Haneul House, the architecturally stunning, family home known as Sky House.  The three grandsons, however, are nothing more than strangers to one another.  After witnessing Eun Ha Won’s admirable attitude and the impressive way in which she handles two of his grandsons, Chairman Kang hires her to live at Haneul House with his grandsons and bring them together as a family.  Each of the grandsons carries an emotional scar from his father, however, and they refuse to see one another as family.  All of this begins to change when Eun Ha Won moves into Haneul House.  Eun Ha Won’s no-nonsense attitude and loving personality slowly win over the grandsons.  Through Eun Ha Won’s efforts, the grandsons begin to change their perspectives on family, and when their grandfather’s position in the family company is threatened, the grandsons begin to trust and rely on one another.  Unfortunately, the one condition placed upon Eun Ha Won by Chairman Kang when moving into Haneul House is that she may not date any of his grandsons.  Initially, Eun Ha Won cannot imagine developing any feelings for the often cold and aloof grandsons, but over time, she becomes close to all of them.  She and Kang Ji Woon (Jung Il Woo), the middle grandson, even fall in love.  The consequence of dating Ji Woon is that Eun Ha Won – like Ji Woon’s mother before her – is asked to leave Haneul House.  She is forbidden from ever seeing any of the Kang Cousins again.  But when Chairman Kang’s liver fails and he desperately needs a liver donated from a family member, Ji Woon is the only match.  Once again, Eun Ha Won is called upon to convince Ji Woon to help his grandfather.  It is during this endeavor that we discover that Eun Ha Won’s mother died trying to save Ji Woon’s mother, intertwining their destinies and drawing the two back together.  The K-drama ends, like any good Cinderella tale, with Cinderella and her Prince living happily ever after.     

Cinderella - Eun Ha Won

Eun Ha Won’s tale is a fairly traditional Cinderella tale in some ways.  Her mother passed away when she was young and her father is a truck driver whose job requires him to be gone for long periods at a time.  Eun Ha Won’s father (Seo Hyun Cheol) remarries, but her stepmother and stepsister are jealous and manipulative, mistreating Eun Ha Won.  The twist to this “Cinderella,” is that Eun Ha Won’s father believes that Eun Ha Won’s mother cheated on him and that Eun Ha Won is not his biological daughter.  Because of this, he spends most of the K-drama abusing and mistreating Eun Ha Won, as well.   

Like all Cinderella’s, Eun Ha Won is mature for her age.  Her life is pitiful, so she is very thoughtful and compassionate.  There are many examples of this throughout “Cinderella,” like when she buys white roses for the dinner table at Haneul House to cheer up the Kang Cousins after their fathers’ memorials.  She is also hard-working.  Her only wish is to go to college, but her stepmother refuses to give her the money that has been allocated to pay for her tuition.  Because of this, Eun Ha Won works ten part-time jobs to pay for her tuition herself, but has to use the money to pay for her mother’s columbarium fees when she learns that her father and stepmother have not been paying them. “Cinderellas these days don’t have time to meet a prince,” Eun Ha Won states. 

Eun Ha Won does have a princess moment where she gets dressed up and shines.  Eun Ha Won’s Cinderella moment occurs when Kang Hyun Min (Ahn Jae Hyun), the eldest Kang Cousin, pays her to accompany him to his grandfather’s wedding.  Hyun Min brings in a glam squad to prepare Eun Ha Won for the event, and she enters the Chairman’s wedding on the arm of the “Prince.”  While Hyun Min misleads Eun Ha Won about his intentions of embarrassing his grandfather and his new bride, it is Eun Ha Won who steals the show when she beautifully manhandles Hyun Min and forces him to apologize to his elders for his behavior – all with killer hair and a gorgeous dress.  This is the first time that Chairman Kang encounters Eun Ha Won and is nothing short of impressed, setting the rest of the K-drama’s plot into motion. 

The Grandfather/Chairman Kang

Chairman Kang is the head of the Hanuel Group.  He is need of an heir for his company, but he is also suffering from liver failure and in need of a donor.  All three of the Chairman’s sons, the Kang Cousins’ fathers, died early.  The Cousins, therefore, are his only living relatives.  He hides his medical condition from his grandsons, and instead, focuses on the future of the company.  Only one of the boys can inherit the company, and it is imperative that he selects the right one.  He wants his grandsons to be capable of taking care of the company, and requires that they live together at Hanuel House.  But the cousins have each suffered emotionally, and are a handful to manage.  The Chairman sees how special Eun Ha Won is, and has great faith in her and her abilities from the beginning, offering to pay for her college tuition and to send her overseas to study, if she lives in Haneul House for three months and reforms his grandsons.

But Chairman Kang’s admiration for Eun Ha Won has its limits.  Eun Ha Won comes from a lower-class family and, despite his fondness for her spunk and ingenuity, that disqualifies her in the Chairman’s eyes as a suitor for one of her grandsons.  The only condition he places on her for living at Haneul House is that she is strictly forbidden from dating any of his grandsons.  When he discovers that she and Ji Woon are dating, he makes her choose between Ji Woon or her future.  He also makes it clear that if she chooses Ji Woon, she will be ruining his future, as the Chairman will no longer acknowledge him as his grandson. 

We learn that the Chairman also sent away Ji Woon’s mother – who was pregnant with Ji Woon – when she fell in love with Ji Woon’s father.  His mother was the daughter of an employee who had served the Chairman faithfully for many years, but since he viewed her as lower-class, she was unfit to marry his son.  Ultimately, Ji Woon’s father took his own life, unwilling to live his life without his true love.  Ji Woon’s mother raised him on her own as Han Ji Woon, and he only learned of his Kang lineage upon her death.  When the truth about the situation is revealed, Ji Woon is devastated, and unable to forgive his grandfather for the pain he caused his family.  But when Chairman Kang needs a liver transplant, Ji Woon is the only donor match.  It is Eun Ha Won who convinces Ji Woon to show his grandfather the compassion that the Chairman failed to show his parents.  The surgery is dangerous for Ji Woon, who is allergy to anesthetics, and his sacrifice for his grandfather is the ultimate show of love, melting the old man’s heart. 

The Kang Cousins – Knights 1, 2, & 3

Kang Hyun Min is the Chairman’s eldest grandson and first in line to inherit Haneul Group.  Known as a total player, he divides the women of the world into two categories - those he has dated and those he hasn’t dated, yet.  He is the most insecure about his position.  Hyun Min uses money to solve his problems, but the money only covers up his problems rather than actually dealing with them.  He feels that his grandfather is testing him, so he wants to shake things up.  When he sees Eun Ha Won handle a fellow entitled and disrespectful chaebol (son of a “massive, family-run business conglomerate [which] dominates Korea’s economy and wields extraordinary influence over its politics”), he decides that she is just the type of woman to shake things up.

Eun Ha Won provokes Hyun Min’s competitive side because she resists; She does not fall at his feet.  Hyun Min’s initial interest in Eun Ha Won is merely that of causing his family turmoil, but he eventually asks her to date him for real, because every other girl bores him and he genuinely begins to fall for her.  Eun Ha Won sees through Hyun Min, however, calling him out and telling him that he needs to take a good look at his feelings.  She understands that Hyun’s real love is childhood friend, Park Hye Ji (Son Na Eun), whom he puts through hell for most of the “Cinderella.”  Most of their scenes are filled with angst – which we learn is caused by Hyun Min’s guilt over Hye Ji’s twin brother’s death.  It is not until Eun Ha Won encourages Hyun Min to be honest with himself, that the truth of the situation is revealed and Hyun Min and Hye Ji are finally able to be happy together.

Kang/Han Ji Woon is the Chairman’s middle grandson who popped up unexpectedly.  We later learn it is because Chairman Kang only acknowledged Ji Woon’s existence after his mother died.  Ji Woon is a thug who uses his fists to solve his problems and constantly challenges boundaries.  He is angry at the world.  He is exceptionally pouty and throws his recently acquired money, all while acting too good for it.  He views himself as a victim and rarely attempts to see a situation from a different perspective.  Ji Woon also has a hero complex and what Hye Ji calls an “unexpected soft side.”  When Eun Ha Won first encounters Ji Woon, he is running down a bag snatcher.  He also comes to Eun Ha Won’s rescue several times throughout the series, frequently playing the role as knight in shining armor who saves the damsel in distress.    

But when Eun Ha Won enters Ji Woon’s world, his life perspective is turned topsy-turvy as he is forced to do battle with a more than capable opponent.  Despite finding herself in need of rescuing a few times, Eun Ha Won’s mother was a taekwondo instructor and Eun Ha Won proves herself quite capable of defending herself physically when Ji Woon attempts to manhandle her with his thuglike approach.  And Eun Ha Won is able to understand Ji Woon’s anger and sadness because she, too, lost her mother at a young age.  Eun Ha Won calls Ji Woon out for only caring about his own emotions and not caring how he may hurt others.  She tells him that he cannot find a family in his cousins because he does not treat them like family.  It is only through his relationship with Eun Ha Won that Ji Woon is finally able to let go of his anger at the world and embrace love for others.   

Kang Seo Woo is the youngest of the Chairman’s grandsons and, without question, my favorite, leading to a bit of SLS (Second Lead Syndrome) action.  He is a talented singer-songwriter and a cutie pie.  The grandfather considers him a good for nothing, when in fact, he is the hardest working of all the grandsons, frequently having to rearrange his hectic schedule to accommodate his grandfather’s requests.  He is the most humane and compassionate of the Kang Cousins.  By her own admission, Seo Woo is the only one of the Kang Cousins who treats her like a human being when she first arrives at Haneul House.  This is how they end up in a dating scandal when pictures surface of the two of them being physically close and comfortable with one another.  Seo Woo frequently shows how much he cares for Eun Ha Won.  He also tells her that she is pretty, and even writes a song for her. 

But Seo Woo’s love for Eun Ha Won extends beyond his personal romantic feelings for her.  Despite his unrequited love, he still protects her.  Seo Woo is the only one of the Kang Cousins who never physically forces himself on Eun Ha Won in anyway.  Hyun Min frequently touches Eun Ha Won without her consent, as does Ji Woon, whose first unwanted touches are actually rather aggressive threats.  By contrast, Seo Woo never physically invades Eun Ha Won’s personal space without her consent.  In addition, when he witnesses Eun Ha Woon and Ji Woon romantically embracing, Seo Woo chooses to keep what he saw a secret.  He could react angrily and vengefully and have Eun Ha Won removed from Haneul House, but Eun Ha Won’s happiness matters more to him than his own and he chooses to remain silent.

Knight #4 – General Secretary Lee Yeon Song

General Secretary Lee Yoon Sung (Choi Min) is Chairman Kang’s right-hand man.  He is never considered a suitor for Eun Ha Won, but rather plays more of a role of an older brother.  He is very considerate of Eun Ha Won and takes care of many of her needs.  Initially, this is because of the Chairman’s orders, but over time, he genuinely grows to care for and appreciate Eun Ha Won, whose positive effect on the Kang Cousins he witnesses firsthand.  But Yoon Sung and Eun Ha Won never see each other as potential love interests.  In fact, Eun Ha Won calls Yoon Sung "ajusshi," a term which, according to SBS Pop Asia, “is normally used for older men who you don't properly know. It's almost like the equivalent of calling a stranger 'sir' or 'mister', except it's more age-specific.”

Yoon Sung’s role becomes more involved as we learn that the Chairman’s new wife, Ji Hwa Ja (Kim Hye Ri), is Yoon Sung’s estranged mother.  Hwa Ja abandoned Yoon Song as a child because she was not able to take care of him herself.  Hwa Ja’s decides that the best way to redeem herself as a mother is to take advantage of the Chairman’s illness to have him removed from his position at Haneul Group and have her son instated as the new chairman.  Her efforts are thwarted by the grandsons who close ranks to protect their grandfather.  And though Yoon Sung’s role in the scheme seems to be one of betrayal of Chairman Kang, in the end, he acts to protect the man to whom he has always been loyal.   

What is Family?

The Kang Cousins are related by blood, but for most of “Cinderella,” are at odds with one another and do not see one another as family.  The first time the three cousins work towards a common goal is at Eun Ha Won’s graduation when she is being bullied for having a relationship with their family.  One uses his brains, one uses his brawn, and one uses his status as an idol, but all three use their skillsets to protect the woman they have all come to admire.  The three cousins further bond as a family when their grandfather is threatened, both his life and his position.  All three boys submit to testing to see if they are donor matches, but it is Ji Woon who donates his liver – at great risk to his own life.  In addition, Ji Woon signs a power of attorney over to his elder cousin to vote on his behalf at the shareholders’ meeting being held to remove Chairman Kang.  While Ji Woon is prepping for surgery, Hyun Min and Seo Woo meet individually with Haneul Group shareholders to prevent Yeon Seong and his mother from removing their grandfather as Chairman.  And both Hyun Min and Seo Woo are there to support Eun Ha Won when Ji Woon’s body goes into shock and he initially fails to wake up after his surgery.

One of the underrated characters in “Cinderella” is the housekeeper, Mrs. Beolgyo (Jung Young Joo).  Mrs. Beolgyo, though not related to the Kang Cousins by blood, in many ways is family to them.  She plays a large part in the lives of the boys during their time at Haneul House, often mothering the boys behind the scenes.  It is Mrs. Beolgyo who explains to Eun Ha Won that the idea of “family” has brought pain to the Kang Cousins and therefore, family-centric, everyday happenings are tough for them.  She explains that Hyun Min has been eating alone since he was a kid, and that it makes it awkward for him to eat with others; that Seo Woo makes a living based on his looks, so he constantly diets to uphold his image as an idol; and that Ji Woon is still getting used to the idea of being part of a wealthy family, and is more comfortable keeping to himself.  Because of Mrs. Beolgyo, Eun Ha Won realizes that the lives of the Kang Cousins are not as glamorous or as easy as she once suspected. 

Final verdict: SKIP  

I am a sucker for a good Cinderella tale, unfortunately, “Cinderella and the Four Knights” is ultimately a SKIP, in my book.  The message of “Cinderella” – that you should be with the one you love, regardless of social status – is a lovely notion and one that deserves to be told.  And despite her adversities, you cannot help but root for Eun Ha Won if for no other reason than her admirable determination and inspiring sunniness. But I was never quite sold on the lead couple, mainly due to Ji Woon’s harsh treatment of Eun Ha Won for a large portion of the series.  Behind-the-scenes, the relationship between the two actors seemed lighthearted and fun, but on screen, Ji Woon is hostile, demeaning, and uses physical intimidation against Eun Ha Won.  Although he eventually apologizes to Eun Ha Won for his behavior, the message that some viewers may take away from this is that there exists a certain tolerance level for abuse in a romantic relationship. This is reckless and irresponsible. For that reason, I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this K-drama.

So there it is, our review of “Cinderella and the Four Knights.”  What did you think?!  Thank you for joining us on this journey. 

Have a favorite K-drama you think we should review, comment down below!!  We look forward to seeing you back again next week!

Up next, “Soundtrack #1”