Money Game (2020)

The business part of this drama is kinda heavy and a foreign subject to me, but ever since the 1st ep I compared the terminology of this to a medical drama; they have their own acronyms and dynamics that I know zero things about, so that shouldn't stop others from watching them.

It shouldn't be a spoiler to say that there's murder and suspense in this drama. now it's not the main focus of this and they don't try to investigate, but that tension adds alot to the structure of the story..
the simple version of the story is "power struggle", good vs bad, greed, and the basic "they are trying to steal our money"..

that tension and the characters are what made me stay, I honestly love how layered and realistic the characters are, Lee Hye Joon is the most level headed normal female lead in dramaworld.

Lee Sung Min is honestly such an amazing actor! I mean maybe korea always knew/admit that, but in some ways I feel like he's underrated or maybe he just focuses more on movies. but his character here was just so beautiful.
it's like the events of this drama didn't just randomly taint him, and I feel like that happens alot of characters like him, they are like driven by hate/evilness...
basically, no one was the "bad" guy, no one was evil, but also no one was pure good/righteous. they were just people driven by their background. their past made them who they were and that just means the writers did a really great job making them. I first gave the story a 8.5 becasue the business aspects were lost on me, but the characters actions and words/dialog made me change it.

and yes, Eugene Han.. rather than saying he's the reason I continued this drama, I prefer to say "he was the cherry on top". he's such an intriguing character, and I'll only say this as a fangirl, but he is the cutest xD

also, the pace of this drama is actually really nice, like by ep12 usually most dramas go downhill, but here it actually feels like a solid 12eps have passed and we have enough time for the rest of the story. it doesn't feel draggy or rushed.

and I'd actually either love a 2nd season, one episode of romance based plot with these characters, or a romance drama written by these writers. honestly, if only they focus on their characters in a romance genre instead of following the usual patterns xD


the ost of this drama is gold! I mean they have Elaine singing the main song so~
I rarely rewatch things, but I kinda have a nostalgic feel about this, I miss the characters so I might rewatch it one day xD

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One thing that viewers should be aware of before watching Money Game is that it is an economics drama and it stays true to its genre. Therefore, someone who has no knowledge of economics will be very confused when they watch this drama. Even with a general understanding of economics, I sometimes found certain conversations difficult to follow, but despite this, the drama was very gripping and had me on the edge of my seat each episode. If you don’t want to be completely confused in the beginning, I’d recommend at least reading a little bit about the IMF Crisis and neo-liberalism before you start this drama.

Story
While not perfect, the pacing of this drama is excellent. Not too slow, not too fast. Many dramas start off well, but eventually lose track of their momentum around the latter half, but this does not happen with Money Game. Each episode plays an important part in driving the drama towards its finality. Attention is paid well to the details of each scene and the dialogue of each character so that everything is well connected to the story as a whole. I do think the drama could've gone more into depth on the rationale behind why some characters believe that capitalism and neoliberalism is bad and vice versa.

There technically is no romance in this story, but there is a very subtle “romance” that was unexpectedly very engrossing despite not being the central part of the drama.

Acting/Cast
The acting in this drama is phenomenal, especially by the main four leads (technically, main three leads and a side character who doesn’t feel as if he is a side character).

As always, Lee Sung Min did a great job portraying Heo Jae as a multi-layered character who is very driven and willing to compromise his moral beliefs to achieve what he think is for the better good. Throughout the drama, it is difficult to easily say whether he is “good” or “bad” because he has very believable, although maybe not justifiable, reasons for his actions. His frustrations with the 1997 IMF Crisis and South Korea’s current economy are understandable as they are debatable.

Go Soo portrayed Chae Yi Hun very well as probably the most human character in the drama for me. He is intelligent and ambitious, but also gets lost along the way, becomes unsure of what he’s working towards, and sometimes lets his emotions affect how he treats the people around him. However, he is a character that truly cares for other people and is able to reflect on his actions and even apologize to his subordinates when he knows he’s in the wrong.

Shim Eun Kyung did such an excellent job in portraying Lee Hye Joon that I can’t imagine anyone, but her as Hye Joon. Lee Hye Joon is probably the most level-headed and reasonable female character I’ve ever seen in a drama. She in incredibly ordinary, but she isn’t at the same time. Even in her most vulnerable moments, she still stays true to her beliefs while being able to be empathetic, even sometimes being the one to make her male counterparts open their eyes to the big picture. She is hands down my favorite character not only in Money Game, but out of all of the dramas I’ve watched.

As for Yoo Teo, I also can’t imagine anyone, but him for the role of Eugene Han. Despite being a side character, he was a scene-stealer in every scene he was in as the Korean American “bad guy” from Wall Street. Eugene could have easily been portrayed as more of a one-dimensional antagonist who only cares about money, but Yoo Teo added depth to his character that made him easy to empathize with even when many of his actions would be considered morally wrong. I do have to mention that he does have an accent when speaking English, as in it doesn't sound like an American accent even though his character grew up in the United States. This didn't bother me, but some people seemed to be put off by it.

Music/OST
The OST is mellow and fits the drama very well. I like all of the songs, but I think Elaine’s “Fallin’” is amazing. The line “I wish it was a dream” gives each episode quite a dream-like quality and when I think about, don’t we all wish all our economical and money problems were all a dream?

I don’t rewatch dramas, but I’d consider Money Game as one of the more rewatchable ones as it’s quite informative on economical and social issues.

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