Money or a Splash of Water – The Separation Bribe

Even in the West, there is a story trope where the parents (usually of a wealthy and respectable young man) meet the lover (usually an impoverished and sincere, if not quite respectable, young woman) in secret to destroy the relationship. In the European canon, the most famous examples are Alexandre Dumas’ (fils) Camille and its subsequent opera, La Traviata. But rumor has it that this element of classical literature has become a K-drama staple.

Water or Cash

Before I ever saw this trope in action, I heard it explained in the often-meta Crash Landing On You. Somewhere around episode 12, resident North Korean K-drama expert Kim Ju-muk explains: when South Korean parents meet their child’s prospective spouse alone, one of two things always happens. They either splash water in the young person’s face and storm off, or they slide an envelope full of cash across the table and say, “Is this enough for you to leave my child alone?”

Cash Landing?

Of course this does not happen in Crash Landing. Instead, the mother asks her dimpled future son-in-law to look out for her daughter. But Ju-muk’s explanation raised my anticipation for experiencing the trope.

I was starting to think the in-law payoff was a myth. In Sam Soon, the mother disapproves of the relationship, but she says so directly to the girl in front of her son. In Cinderella and Four Knights, the meddling grandpa actually pays the girl to hang out with his grandsons. Although, it was with the understanding that she wouldn’t date any of them and her payment was subject to that clause.

Riders: Catch Tomorrow

I finally saw the separation bribe trope in action in episode 10 of Riders: Catch Tomorrow. The dastardly tiger mom from hell, who presents as the primary antagonist of the series, meets her son’s new girlfriend and pretends to be charmed. Then she meets the girl alone at a cafe and accuses her of being a gold-digger. She doesn’t slide an envelope across the table, but she does ask how much money it would take for the girl to go away. When the girlfriend protests, she uses the old Dumas tactic of saying, “If you really care about him, you would leave quietly instead of dragging him down with an unsuitable girlfriend.”

It was as tacky and gross in the TV show as it would be in real life, and I’m pretty sure any American woman would have thrown water in the mother’s face. Which is a trope I’m still looking forward to seeing.

Meta Riders

Then, a few episodes later, Riders explained the trope as belonging to a particular type of K-drama, the makjang, which is more like our daytime soaps than the high-production value K-dramas that are (still pretty OTT) so popular now. After a scene in which the son explains that his mom is too practical and classy to watch such shows, we see that the dastardly mom from Riders is herself watching a makjang K-drama. In the show she is watching, a younger pregnant woman meets a very tacky older woman at a restaurant. The older woman splashes the younger one with a glass of water, then smacks her in the face with an envelope full of money that spills all over the table, for which the Riders mom call her a nasty bitch.

Where Else?

Secret Garden – The man’s mom sees him and the female lead together at his house. Misunderstanding the situation, the mom tries to kick her out and asks, “Is there a reason we have to see each other again? Do we have to meet separately to give you money and pour water on your face?”

Descendants of the Sun – Our brave surgeon heroine is kidnapped by the bad guy, a former colleague of the Special Forces hero. The bad guy is going to kill her, but just to be a dick, he gives a speech (in English) about how she should break up with the hero. She replies (in Korean), “You should say such things while handing me an envelope full of cash and a glass of water.”d

So, where else does this happen in K-drama? I haven’t seen it anywhere else yet. Let me know if you have.