'Typhoon Family' Lee Jun-ho really became the company president.
Cable channel tvN's weekend drama 'Typhoon Family' (written by Jang Hyun, directed by Na Jeong Lee and Dong-hwi Kim) concluded on the 30th of last month, revisiting the "Typhoon spirit" and ending with a deep aftertaste. The final episode's ratings were a nationwide household average of 10.3%, a peak of 11.4%, a Seoul metropolitan area household average of 10.7%, and a peak of 12.1%, setting its own record and ranking first in its time slot across all channels including terrestrial broadcasters. The 20-49 target rating also set new personal bests with a nationwide household average of 2.9%, a peak of 3.3%, a Seoul metropolitan area household average of 2.6%, and a peak of 3.2%, maintaining the No. 1 spot across all channels including terrestrial broadcasters and achieving a successful finish. (Based on paid platforms integrating cable, IPTV, and satellite / provided by Nielsen Korea)
In that episode, Pyo Hyun-jun (Mu Jin-seong) was revealed to have conspired with a foreign company about to launch a PMP to seize DavonTech's cooling fan patent through an auction. In response, DavonTech and Typhoon Family decided on a win-win decision to make the technology public to everyone. Kang Tae-poong (Lee Jun-ho) won the factory at auction for 30 million won and lifted DavonTech's provisional seizure. Pyo Hyun-jun's plan collapsed and, when he fell behind on payments for a preliminarily contracted merchant ship, he attempted to collateralize the Pyo Sang-seon building loan and close Typhoon Family. But Tae-poong became the "asphalt man" again and saved Pyo Bak-ho (Kim Sang-ho), and after recovering the IOU he returned to the president's seat and reported the son he raised poorly to the police on charges of breach of fiduciary duty, embezzlement, manipulation of financial transactions, and arson, leading to an urgent arrest.
Time passed to 2001, and Korea had completely emerged from the IMF regime. Typhoon Family, which had endured those times together, also regained vitality. Realizing that his flower garden was here, Kang Tae-poong became a respectable "real president," and Oh Mi-seon (Kim Min-ha), confident in the work of a trading company man even without a college diploma, poured herself into her career and became a Director. Go Ma-jin (Lee Chang-hoon), the Vice Administrator, sustained the company with family love, camaraderie and patriotism, and returning Cha Seon-taek (Kim Jae-hwa), the Director General, still boasted abacus skills faster and more accurate than computers. Founding member Koo Myung-gwan (Kim Song-il), as the saying "old officials are fine officials" implied, quietly supported the deep rooting of the company, and Delivery Manager (Lee Sang-jin) also showcased X-generation's trendy and agile handling of tasks.
People outside Typhoon Family also bore beautiful fruits in their respective places. Wang Nam-mo (Kim Min-seok) married Oh Mi-ho (Kwon Han-sol) and built a happy home, and Jeong Jeong-mi (Kim Ji-young) became part of Mi-seon's family and warmly embraced Oh Beom (Kwon Eun-seong). Having endured long darkness and a time of crisis, they joined hands and stepped energetically toward a new tomorrow. 'Typhoon Family,' which vividly revived the stories of ordinary people who survived the IMF, thus ended by bearing the firmest fruit within the garden of people.
#. "If you don't give up, you can accomplish anything!" the "Typhoon spirit" that IMF youth and family heads ultimately protected
The message running through 'Typhoon Family' until the end was, "If you don't give up, you can accomplish anything." Tae-poong rose again before countless crises to protect his employees' livelihoods, for the mother who, even if she couldn't bring money, put bulgogi on the dinner table every night, and for the father who had worked and sweat to build the company for 26 years. Mi-seon, whose college admission was thwarted by the IMF, clung to a new dream as a trading company worker and strove for a better tomorrow. Nam-mo did not collapse when his house failed but worked hard and earned money; Mi-ho's flight attendant hiring was canceled, but she worked as a department store elevator attendant and went to work with the single-minded desire to repay the debt of affection she owed her sister. Typhoon Family employees, Jeong-mi, and Eul-nyeo (Park Sung-yeon) also faced diverse realities but quietly endured their daily lives. And the reason they could hold on and live through today was that there were always people beside them who held them up. This "Typhoon spirit" that ordinary youth and family heads ultimately preserved was the real strength that allowed Korea to pass through the crisis. And in 2025, it also served as a meaningful source of resolve and comfort for someone who watched this work.
#. restoration of the warmth and romance of the 1990s that had been forgotten
The 1990s depicted in 'Typhoon Family' was not a simple retro recreation but a work that transferred the warmth and romance of the people who lived through that era intact. To portray the spaces of that time not merely as backgrounds but as places where people's lives were lived, the production devoted itself to meticulously recreating Seoul and Busan of 1997–98 through art. As a result, the lively 1990s—Line 1 and Euljiro that were crowded every commuting hour, Busan where exports and dollars gathered and created vivacity, and the hillside neighborhood where Tae-poong and Mi-seon lived—where people and scenery merged came vividly alive in the drama. The production also sought to capture the breath of that era's community even in passing scenes. Children, grandmothers and dogs who frequented the neighborhood were naturally included in the frame, preserving the vibrancy and warmth of the alleyways of that time.
Particularly, the "flowers" that appeared throughout the drama were the device that most warmly reflected the modest romance that filled that era. From the "Kang rose" that Tae-poong, a horticulture major, carefully grafted and grew, to the "strong flower" cosmos given to Jeong-mi and Mi-seon, to the freesia delivered to retired Eul-nyeo and Logistics President Choi (Lee Do-kyung), these carried small comforts and messages of encouragement. The gerbera Tae-poong handed when he reunited with friend Yoon-seong (Yang Byeong-yeol), who had fled in the night, symbolized passion and wealth, and the lilawadi Tae-poong gave Mi-seon in Thailand carried the message "meeting you was my good fortune." The lily conveyed Myung-gwan's respect. In an era without SNS, like these flowers that were the warmest way to express feelings, 'Typhoon Family' delicately revived the romance of the 1990s that had been forgotten.
#. proven by humanity, family love, camaraderie and friendship: "people are more beautiful than flowers."
No one was perfect, but in the moments they lifted each other up, the meaning contained in 'people are more beautiful than flowers' bloomed into reality. When President Park Yoon-chul of ShuBak, whom they barely knew, faced a life-threatening situation, Tae-poong and Jeong Cha-ran (Kim Hye-eun) helped him to the end as if it were their own matter; Tae-poong stripped himself to give everything he had to friend Yoon-seong who had fled; and Yoon-seong, who returned to repay his debt of gratitude with his first paycheck, all showed that connections could become family even without blood ties. Jeong-mi warmly embraced her son, saying "where you are is our home," and Yeom Bun-yi (Kim Young-ok), a grandmother who lost her memory, never lost her love for family; Mi-ho stood steadfastly by her sisters with the resolve to help pay for their college, and youngest Beom, who led the way as if it were his own business when something happened to his older sisters, all symbolized the strong solidarity of that era. Typhoon Family employees also became a "one team" by sharing failures and wounds, and Tae-poong realized that "my flower, my sunshine, my rain, my wind are all here," pledging, even in the face of future darkness, "I will not give up for my people." Those who protected, made each other shine and ultimately lived together were truly people more beautiful than flowers.
[Photo] Provided by tvN.
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