The Fall 2024 K-Comics Guide

Reborn Rich

What's It About? 

Having started from the bottom and worked his way to the top, Hyeonwoo finds himself betrayed by the royal family of Soonyang Group, the largest corporation in South Korea, after providing 13 years of dedicated service. Just when he thinks all his efforts have been made in vain and prepares to embrace his death, he suddenly wakes up in the body of Dojun Jin, the youngest grandson to the founder and CEO of Soonyang, having traveled back in time. Having been granted this second chance, Hyeonwoo begins to lay the foundation for his revenge against his evil relatives.

Reborn Rich has a story and art by JP. English localization and publication by WEBTOON.

Is It Worth Reading?

Reborn Rich is what I wish Trillion Game had been. It's a power fantasy about making millions, sure, but it never loses its “eat the rich” edge. The story stars a former peon of the wildly wealthy Soonyang Corp conglomerate who is insultingly dispatched by his merciless employers… only to wake up 20 years earlier in the body of the CEO's youngest grandson. Now Dojun is ready to use his knowledge of the future to take revenge on the stupid rich people who ruined his past life—and snatch up their company while he does it!

Dojun starts his second life as a young child about to visit his grandfather, the elderly but still- sharp CEO of Soonyang Corp. Dojun's intelligence quickly makes him his grandfather's favorite, and this affection only doubles after Dojun takes a monetary gift and exponentially increases its value (he invests it in real estate, and he alone knows for sure which land is going to be pricey in the future). It's a harsh wake-up call for Dojun's petty, greedy uncles and aunt, who have been selfishly squabbling over their still-living dad's assets all their lives. Over and over, Dojun outsmarts the wealthy with his past knowledge gleaned from being a white-collar office worker who actually did the work for them while they remain out of touch with reality. One funny example: Dojun disregards everyone's advice and bankrolls what everyone believes to be a sure-to-fail Hollywood film: “Homie Alonie.” And what does Dojun use his winnings for? Buying a brand new laptop for every student in his law school class, for one. He doesn't need a lavish lifestyle so he uses his cash to make a statement, to one-up his clueless rivals, and in one humiliating chess move, to bail his grandfather out of debt.

In short, Dojun's smarts go way beyond his future knowledge. Combined with his unwavering integrity, he continues to be a protagonist to root for, no matter how much money he makes. These are exactly the kind of stunts I'd want to pull if I were rich, which is the highest praise I can give to this protagonist. That said, there are a lot of lengthy text bubbles, a lot of characters sitting around tables scheming, and a lot of strategizing that relies heavily on footnotes about the Korean Financial Crisis of 1997, so this will be too esoteric for some readers.