🌟 Trailer And Atmosphere
The Taste of Money (2012) is a lavish and sensational Korean drama that explores the corrupt and excess-laden world of a chaebol family. The trailer offers glimpses to a seductive mix of exorbitant luxury, treachery, erotic involvements, and power struggles against the backdrop of sleek mansions with glittering chandeliers and heavily guarded gates. Classical music mingled with cold lighting sets the stage for secret affairs, whispered threats, and quiet despair, evoking a simultaneously alluring and suffocating atmosphere in which desire, greed, and vengeance intertwine and coalesce into an intoxicating haze.
👤 Cast And Characters
Youn Yuh-jung as Baek Geum-ok: The icy-warm matriarch of the family who controls the empire with an iron fist, displaying deep vulnerability that is softened by layers of her frosty power.
Kim Kang-woo as Joo Young-jak: The loyal secretary of the family, now deeply ensnared in an affair with the matriarch and slowly losing himself to her influence, enjoys the wealth he has come into.
Baek Yoon-sik as Yoon: The rotund morally decayed aging chairman claiming outward dignity, whose infidelities and reckless arrogance trigger fatalistic consequences.
Kim Hyo-jin as Nami: The overly empathetic daughter of the couple who idealistically tries to keep the family honor from financially falling apart in her relationship with Young-jak.
On Joo-wan as Chul, the morally flawed son, further intensifies the warped dynamic of the family.
📝 Story Synopsis – Told Cinematically
Beginning with Young-jak, a charming and capable secretary attending to the whims of Chairman Yoon and his wife, Baek Geum-ok, “The Taste of Money” unveils the inner workings of a chaebol dynasty. However, beneath the marble floors and silent servants, the opulent mansion harbors a festering rot of greed and lust.
After discovering an affair between her husband and the maid, Baek turns the tables on him by seducing Young-jak and drawing him into a web of control through sexuality. Young-jak, ensnared by money, fear, and dark fascination, becomes lost in her web of manipulation. At the same time, he serves as a misguided redemptive figure for Nami, their daughter, who falls for him despite the family’s deeply rooted sins.
As betrayal, blackmail, and even murder unfold, the empire crumbles. Young-jak confront the culmination of his actions alongside his forced complicity. The film concludes with him staring at the family mansion from a distance, coming to the bitter realization that the wealth which tempted them can never allow true escape.
⭐ Themes & Reception
The Taste of Money dives deep into moral rot, exploring greed, corruption, and the insatiable hunger for power. It offers criticism towards the South Korean corporate elite, reflecting the state of humanity under the influence of money—decadence intertwined with hidden perversions.
As mentioned in the review from the film’s critics, some of them praised “The Taste of Money” for its intriguing storytelling, Youn Yuh-jung’s fearless performance, and the erotic scenes, but branded it as ‘melodramatic and morally hollow.’ Im Sang-soo, its director, explained that he considers the film as a spiritual sequel to The Housemaid (2010) and said that “The Taste of Money” deepened the moral cynicism.
🎞️ Final Impression “The Taste of Money” brutally and boldly portrays the dark sides of the pursuit of wealth. It is an unsettling and seductive piece that would be ideal for those who are interested in psychological erotic dramas about power, class, and the corruption of humanity. The film is designed to linger in one’s mind, leaving them with a powerful ‘bitter aftertaste.’ Even though it is stylish and visually attractive, it serves as a reminder that behind every empire lies the dark side filled with secrets conquering them which few people dare to confront.
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