The character with the personality who served as the inspiration for spin-offs was supposed to be Hwang Do Hee, the Queenmaker. However, we only have a shaky knowledge of her at this point. We’ll start at the beginning and suppose that she didn’t have a wealthy or prosperous upbringing. She originally caught the Chairwoman of Eunsang’s attention when she demonstrated her loyalty by diving into a pool of water to recover her scarf. Since that time, the Chairwoman has favored Do Hee for precisely this reason—she has complete faith in her. Another issue is that respect does not automatically accompany trust. The chairperson valued Hwang Do Hee as a resource. She only valued an opinion when it complemented her own beliefs and objectives.
Do Hee showed little interest in the Chairwoman’s viewpoint when she instructed her to prevent Baek Jae Min from becoming the Mayor. It has never been more obvious that the Chairwoman does not share Hwang Do Hee’s values than it is right now. For the first time ever, Hwang Do Hee refused to comply with the Chairwoman’s demands because it was obvious that she did not care about the suffering that had been done to I Seul as a result of Jae Min. When Do Hee voiced her concerns about Jae Min during this conversation, the Chairwoman shot at her, narrowly missing her. It conveyed the idea that she was against dissent. Even if it was risky, Do Hee had already experienced insults before.
The Chairwoman assigns Do Hee trivial jobs like instructing her to throw out the water or to drive her about when she runs into her during her calligraphy class. A delicate balance had to be struck between showering the employee with benefits and letting them know they will never be treated equally. When the women in the first episode of the Queenmaker began chatting in French, it was obvious that they were discussing Do Hee and the fact that despite her prominence and status, she was a subordinate. If not the language, then at least the implied meaning was comprehended by Do Hee. In a previous post, we said that we could not understand why I Seul’s death had such a profound effect on Hwang Do Hee, given that during the course of her mending duties as a Queenmaker working to maintain the dominance of the Eunsang Gang, she had caused the deaths of numerous people and the destruction of many other lives. Although we are still having trouble understanding it, we may be beginning to.
Do Hee undoubtedly had to fight for even the most basic necessities because she was an underprivileged child. Her life did improve after she accepted a position at Eunsang. She received a luxurious apartment and automobile in addition to having all of her father’s medical expenses paid for thanks to the resources and connections of the Eunsang company. Do Hee may have believed she owed them her life, which is why she was willing to ignore her morals. Do Hee did not condemn Eunsang’s conduct since she had grown up with the idea that everyone was out to get them. Someone else would take advantage of the disadvantaged if the group did not. She might as well give back to those who had supported her in her time of need, particularly the Eunsang Group. Her commitment to Eunsang rested only on that.
However, something changed, particularly with Baek Jae Min. We don’t believe Do Hee had any lofty expectations of him, but she did recognize him as the guy who did not constantly insult her. The daughters openly mocked her, and even the Chairwoman made sure to remind her when it was time. However, Jae Min always treated her well. They were the only two outsiders in the family, he even noted. She got into the image he had painted of himself, so when he told her I Seul was framing him, she believed him. However, she realized her error when her misguided sense of duty led I Seul to fall to her death and Do Hee noticed the cuff link in her hand, which served as incriminating proof. Up until that point, Do Hee had always been ready to face the moral consequences of her deeds. She was unprepared for this one occasion. She wasn’t ready for the sensation of injustice and shame that suddenly overcame her, and for once, she couldn’t deceive herself or rationalize away her own behavior in the name of loyalty.
Jae Min had assumed that Do Hee would defend him and showed no regret for his actions when she confronted him about it. Do Hee discovered that even the elderly woman did not care what Jae Min had done when she spoke to the Chairwoman about it. Even though Do Hee had never harbored any delusions about the Chairwoman’s twisted moral compass, this was the first time she found it difficult to support it. Consider this: Do Hee has not yet deserted Eunsang. She was still watching out for them, attempting to prevent any further problems by denying Jae Min additional authority. Although it couldn’t have been difficult for the Chairwoman to locate a replacement for the mayor who wasn’t her son-in-law, she simply wanted things done her way. Do Hee found her complete disdain for anything other than money and profit intolerable. Particularly considering that Do Hee had spoken to her immediate predecessor and learned that Jae Min had always been this way and that his mother-in-law was always aware of his deeds. Do Hee recognized the true wickedness of Eunsang and realized she could no longer stand with them. She made the decision to leave that life at that point.
