The Golden Spoon is an ongoing television series that tells a rags-to-riches story of a poor boy who switches lives with a chaebol with the help of a magical golden spoon.
Yook Sung Jae plays the role of Lee Seung Cheon, a boy belonging to a poor family. When most of Lee Seung Cheon’s classmates spend their parent’s money on lavish things and partying, he saves his hard-earned income for his tuition and family needs. Seeing him and his family strive to make a living, truly makes us appreciate the things we have in life.
Spoilers Ahead!
Times Our Hearts Ached For Lee Seung Cheon
Seeing him being treated unfairly, makes our heart wrench. Here are some of the moments we wished Lee Seung Chun didn’t have to face because of his poverty.
Lee Seung Cheon Being Bullied
From the first episode itself, Lee Seung Cheon is portrayed as the victim of bullying. One of the most disheartening moments is at his friend’s Park Jin Seok’s (played Shin Joo Hyup) funeral.
Park Jin Seok and his parents committed suicide due to debt and poverty. And when Seung Cheon attends the funeral, he meets bullies from his class Park Jang Goon (Kim Kang Min), Jeong Yun Su (No Seong Eun), and Kwon Min Ho (Lee Min Jae). Jang Goon beats him but Seung Cheon doesn’t hit back because he will have to face the consequences.
The most aggravating moment was when Park Jang Goon threw 50,000 won on the floor as compensation for hitting Seung Cheon. And out of desperation, Seung Cheon even accepts it.
Later in the episode, he even beats him for not being selected to join Class Eagle (a batch of top-performing students).
Infuriating!
Lee Seung Cheon Eating at Hwang Tae Yong’s House (Lee Jong Won)
On episode 1, Lee Seung Cheon was asked to run an errand for Park Jang Goon, he goes to Hwang Tae Yong’s house (episode 1). And Tae Yong asks him to stay for lunch.
Park Jang Goon and his friends belittle Seung Cheon’s father because he is not a well-known webtoon artist. Moreover, Jang Goon even tells the servants to get him a silver spoon, when everyone is eating with golden ones, because it might make Seung Cheon greedy (ugh! Such atrocity!).
But, Seung Cheon takes out his own golden spoon and proudly says that he was raised with care too.
A power-packed punch right in the face of bullies.
In the same episode, When Seung Cheon decides to believe the anonymous grandmother and test the golden spoon, he goes to Tae Yong’s house to eat dinner. When they are about to start eating, Tae Yong’s father, Hwang Hyun Do (Choi Won Young), enters and reminds Tae Yong who he should be friends with.
Afraid of him, Tae Yong takes Seung Cheon out of the room and tells him to come later.
But Seung Cheon didn’t want to miss the chance and returned to the dining room. When he sees no one around, he gulps down the food as fast as he can. I was secretly wishing that no one would catch him.
But, just at that moment he lifts his eyes and sees Tae Yong’s parents standing in front of him
The embarrassment was contagious!
Seung Cheon’s tear-filled eyes truly made our hearts ache for him and made us wish he didn’t have to face such embarrassment.
Lee Seung Cheon Being Expelled From School
Hwang Hyun Do (Choi Won Young) finds out that Tae Yong has been paying Seung Cheon for the assignments, and he decides to expel Seung Cheon from the school.
Tae Yong’s lawyer charges him with the crime of extorting money. Seung Cheon denies it persistently. But when Tae Yong (who fears his father) and his stepmother Seo Young Sin (Son Yeo Eun), who lacks sympathy for the underprivileged, refuse to drop charges, Seung Cheon’s father, Lee Chul (Choi Dae Chul) begs Young Sin on his knees in front of everyone. Seeing him cry at Young Sin’s feet for his son was the most saddening scene in the drama.
Seung Cheon clenched his fists in anger, but couldn’t do anything to save his family’s pride because his family is neither rich nor influential.
Urgh! I wish some time later in the drama Hwang Hyun Do and Seo Young Sin get the taste of their own medicine.
Lee Chul in the Hospital
In episode 4, when Lee Chul (Choi Dae Chul) had an accident and was on the brink of death, Seung Cheon rushed to the hospital. When he sees his father lying on the bed, with bandages all over his body, he couldn’t help but cry.
It is at that moment, our hearts truly ached for Seung Cheon. Seeing his father injured, he couldn’t even comfort or cry for him because he is no longer recognized as his son.
How painful it must have been to see his father in that state but not being able to acknowledge his relationship with him. A heart-wrenching scene!
Times We Cheered For Lee Seung Cheon
The drama not just has saddening moments, but also scenes where we cheer for Yook Sung Jae's character. Here are a few scenes when we, in our hearts, applauded him.
Lee Seung Cheon beating up bullies
In episode 2, when Lee Seung Cheon becomes Hwang Tae Yong, he uses this chance to teach his bullies a lesson.
When he comes to know that Park Jang Goon and his friends are bullying Tae Yong, he comes to his rescue. Seung Cheon scares Jang Goon by firing a blank from his father’s gun. It was nothing compared to what Jang Goon did to Seung Cheon, but good enough to scare him.
And the look on his face was worth watching!
Lee Seung Cheon becoming the CEO of Dosin Hightech
In episode 9, when everyone thought Lee Seung Cheon had turned into a brat after returning from America, he made a powerful comeback by acquiring shares of Dosin Hightech worth 500 billion won and proving he is more than capable to become the CEO of Dosin Hightech.
At the Dosin Hightech’s board meeting, Seung Cheon dismisses his uncle, Seo Joon Tae (Chang Ryul) from his CEO position for slush funds, nepotism hires, bribery, and other corrupt deeds.
He hit two birds with one stone by beating his uncle at his own game and becoming the CEO of Dosin Hightech!
Lee Seung Cheon defending Oh Yeo Jin (Yeonwoo)
In episode 10, Lee Seung Cheon and his rich family are having a family dinner with Oh Yeo Jin(Yeon Woo) and her dad. Seung Cheon’s stepmother, Seo Young Sin (Son Yeo Eun), insults Oh Yeo Jin, saying that she is not worthy enough to become her daughter-in-law because she is not at their level in terms of money and class.
But Seung Cheon comes to the rescue and says that he chose Yeo Jin because he trusts her and she has helped him for the past ten years.
A true prince charming!
What were your best Yook Sung Jae moments from the drama? Let us know in the comments!