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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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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A human tragedy at the heart of korean economy and finance world, intense and cruel.
It's a story which is focused on his characters (don't be afraid of financial vocabulary, its really interesting!) and going to talk about women's empowerment, fight against machismo...
Women are everything and Hye Joon is truly the queen of the game! And no toxic masculinity, men are allowed to cry.
This drama has its own visual identity: the parallels, the camera shots especially on hands are brilliant, the focus on every little detail, linking characters with colours, the cinematography and the atmosphere ? "No romance" but the plot and all the characters, it makes my heart skip a beat ? The chemistry and the acting were perfect!
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Powerful!
Where do I start? This drama was just mind blowing and this is coming from a person who has little to no knowledge about financing and banking. But I picked it up since the poster looked pretty promising.
Story: Well the story Is quite complicated to be honest and I am not the right person to comment on it since I have no knowledge about financing and stuff. Nonetheless I was still able to follow the story and understand all the important events that took place.
Characters: That is the main strong point of the drama. Even though I actually thought of giving this drama an 8 because of the story, I couldn’t because the characters were written very realistic and humane. I especially loved the female character, since it’s very hard to find such a strong female character that actually contributes to the story and isn’t just deemed as a love interest of two guys. I really loved her and of course Eugene Han. A bit more romance would just have been perfect. The actors were all perfect and their performances were outstanding!
OST: Perfect. I usually don’t really care about the OSTs but here it definitely added to the whole mood of the drama and fitted it perfectly!
Another thing: The camera work was just fabulous!!
So all in all: This drama is now one of my favorites!
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Insightful and gripping
I invested in this drama to gain more knowledge and understanding about business, finance and economics, as these industries are what I am particularly interested in pursuing. With that being said, I found this drama to be incredibly insightful and gripping to watch and I found myself growing an attachment towards this series more so than I ever anticipated. Everything from the plots, characters, acting, and the broad range of things to learn about within those areas and outside as well. It is definitely worth watching and can be a watched by anyone.The story revolves around the conflicting views of the government on how the economy operates. It tells a tragic and yet so cruel tale on putting the government at the centre of how our economy is operated and how our public and personal finances are managed. And it also tales the adversities of the rich and poor, power and greed, and intense human emotion. The story was well-paced, giving time for things to unravel. There were many plot twists that took me by immense surprise which made it even more compelling. At times, the story did become a little confusing due to the financial literacy, but for the most part, you would be able to eventually get a grasp of what it is they are talking about. I very much enjoyed gaining insight to the concepts of economics and getting familiar with the terminology that is of the financial markets - an area that I wish to explore more. Besides it being a business drama, what I found really engaging about this series is the authentic feelings that are experienced by the characters that made it a realistic and somewhat more relatable of a watch.
The acting is phenominal and every character did an incredible job in delivering the intensity in every scene that came about, as well as delivering the adverse of human emotions. On the other hands, the acting that took place in english did not deliver the intensity that was with the rest of the korean acting, which I found to be a slight disappointment. But neverless, I enjoyed every aspect of the acting. Lee Hye Joon I found to be quite admirable and I respect her for her level-headed and competence-ness in this series. Eugene Han, despite notoriously being known for his mischevious and tactical personality, I think what drawn me to him the most is his vulnerability and soft heart. Most of all, I am deeply impressed with Heo Jae due to his dynamics in emotions. And lastly, Chae Yi Hyun was the most authentic character with the emotions he portrayed in this series.
The OST'S were all fitting, especially the opening theme. I think they really added to the suspense and intensity that the drama brought
To conclude, this was a brilliant drama that portrayed a sense of reality on what goes on in this world and the perspectives that others have of life. I enjoyed learning the different terminologies within finance and economics, as well as grasping new concepts. I would highly recommend this drama to anyone and if you want to gain knowledge within these subject areas, this a good place to start.
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Brilliant performances and equally brilliant story
So i finished this show and I. Am. In. Awe. Very rarely does one find a drama where every single character delivers. From the main cast to the supporting cast, all of them brought their characters to life.1) Heo jae: such an intriguing and complicated villain. Very rarely do i find myself sympathising with the bad guy and it was largely due to lee sung min's portrayal that i felt so conflicted about liking or disliking heo jae. I could absolutely understand Chae Yi Hun because it was so hard to dislike heo jae. I had to keep reminding myself that he was a murderer, that he had no qualms about killing again. But he was just so charismatic, he was just so honest about wanting to save korea....he had this ability to make even those who hated him join him in his cause. You may despise him, but when he started talking about his cause, about wanting to save korea, you got swept up in the fervour. In the end i was a little sad to see him go to jail. I genuinely wished he hadnt killed professor chae. Lee sung min absolutely shines in this role and ive become a huge fan.
2) chae yi hun. I had a bit of a hard time liking him. I related to him when it came to how conflicted he was regarding heo jae. Lee hye joon absolutely hit the nail on the head when she said he was narrow minded. He certainly was. But i think that was the whole point. He wasn't meant to be particularly likeable. He was human and flawed and obsessed with proving his father wrong. But Go Soo can act, very well at that. and when he cried upon his father's death, when he tried to warm his dead father's foot, i felt all of the emotions he felt. He was a man torn because doing what was right for his country meant joining hands with a man like heo jae. You could sense that when the fervour of patriotism was over, doubts would creep upon him because the only thing stronger than his patriotism was his sense of justice. We saw his character battle between the two and in the end it was his need for justice that prevailed because he realized that he never had to choose between the two. They were both converging paths. He could be a patriot and want justice, it was just heo jae that made him believe that being patriot meant following a man like him. Kudos to Go soo for playing such a character.
3) lee hye joon. My favourite character. I loved how she said precisely what i as a viewer wanted to be said. She was not going to take any false accusations upon her, she was not going to take any belittling. She was fire. And yes she did have an inferiority complex regarding her background and university but not once does she let it hold her back. She knew she didnt attend the best school and college and she was hell bent on proving that she didnt have to depend on such things because she HAD cleared the same exam those from better colleges had too. Also i loved her chemistry with eugene han. You cannot talk about lee hye joon and not talk about eugene han. She starts of by openly declaring her dislike of him. She had no problem telling the tobin tax team that eugene han wanted a reason to meet her. But then she goes from here to defending eugene han when chae yi hun was being his narrow minded self. And one particular scene that stood out and cemented atleast for me the fact that lee hye joon had started to feel something for him was when she was talking to chae yi hun right after the inspection team had asked questions probing into her and eugene han. The conversation was a marked difference from her usual stance. Before she was always very vocal about there being nothing between her and eugene, but now it was "this is my private life". Then "you are narrow minded" (to chae yi hun) to not picking eugene's phone when it rang there and then. Now would it not have been the perfect opportunity to pick up the call infront of chae yi hun and prove that there was nothing? But no she doesn't pick up the phone. Why? This is the same woman who had no problem mentioning that eugene han had been looking for excuses to meet her, that he was interested in her. But now she doesn't answer the phone because chae yi hun is standing there. Why? Is she afraid that she wont be able to hide her expressions when talking on the phone? And then the last conversation she has with eugene han was very telling. The fact that she was relieved that he hadnt been caught. The fact that she wanted to tell him she was believed he was korean, that he belonged to korea. And that he was a warm man capable of goodness. No one else could see this. She did. To see through someone at that level, you must feel something for them first. Also that scene when eugene got shot saving her was brilliantly shot. Especially that close up when he holds onto her coat, smearing it with blood was a nice touch. I know some people shipped her with chae yi hun but i honestly felt no chemistry between them.
4) eugene han everyone praising the actor and character are spot on. Such a complicated, beautifully gray character and played to perfection by yoo teo. Bravo to him for pulling it off so brilliantly. Loved every scene with him. The way he'd go from a rakish, devilish man to this sensitive man who was hurt by what the world had done to him and so had chosen the cold indifference of the world of money. But that isnt truly him. And lee hye joon saw that. She saw through the shields he had put up, saw through the smirk and cold exterior. She saw the warmth he was capable of and spoke to that. In doing so, she gave him a reason to throw away the passport and stay in korea. Which brings me to the last call. Why did he call her? Simple. He wanted to be given a reason to stay. He wanted to know if there was a reason for him to stay. And lee hye joon gave him that. "You are korean". The words he never knew he wanted to hear. And that was his turning point.
I wish this show had been successful enough for the makers to create a season 2. I would have loved to see it. I think it would have involved our heroes taking down bahama and eugene helping them to do so. He turned back to korea which mean he either planned on doing his time in jail (highly unlikely, he's not there yet lol) or he planned on bargaining with government to grant him immunity in return for him helping them take down bahama. I would have loved to see everyone bring korea out of this financial crisis. And of course i would have loved to see lee hye joon and Eugene han together lol :P. This drama is definitely up there with my faves like my mister, stranger, beyond evil etc. Loved it from beginning to end. Some of the terms were hard to understand but i was able to form some context and google the rest. Amazing show.
If you are putting this show off because you think it might be too dry or that it might be too complicated, put aside your doubts and watch this masterpiece. You will not be disappointed
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Direction- 10/10
I was so impressed by the direction of this drama that I specifically went an extra mile to search for Director Kim Sang-ho and his other works. South Korea is very lenient when it comes to writing and directing credits and this drama prooves that why credits should be given importance. Anybody watching this drama will feel like they are watching a piece of an Art. Some of the shots were cinematic brilliance. I liked how director made the choice of keep the film rolling and capturing the actors while they were doing absolutely nothing and just stairing out of the window or corner. Its hard to act when you are asked to portray your emotions of guilt, anger, frustration, sadness while saying and doing absolutely nothing but those were the actully best captured shots. He looked like the director who gets best out of his actors. Acting from everybody seemed top notch, not only casting director ( Whose name I couldnt find even after searching) should be commended but Director should also be given fair share of praise for getting best out of the actors.
In short this drama is NOTHING SHORT OF A PIECE OF AN ART.
Actors.- 10/10
Acting: After certain tragic event when 3 people of IFB seemed worried, distreesed and disheartened they looked like your average people mouring the loss of a colleague. Their weeping and tension was so real that I felt like that I have came out from real funeral. Eveyone acted so well that it feels like you are watching people in their everyday life. None of them looked Actor except Eugene Han( his style of acting was different but I still liked him though believability of his character was lowest). Actors were simply doing nothing but just being there and you still can figure out what kind of emotions they are feeling. That is best acting when actors can portray everything by doing nothing. Its too easy to over act in such situations but none of them did. Acting so far is so good that I am afraid that just one mistake and it ll ruin a master piece.
Story- 7.5/10
Based on 8 episodes so far story was too good for first 7 episodes. It never feels like your typical Kdrama from the core topic of the story to the events. But in the 8th episode they lost huge point where they introduced romantic elements although Romace is quite believable but they could have managed without it. I think making a K drama without Typical elements of Kdrama isnt easy in Korea, people simply refuse to watch it. Hence they must not have any choice apart from that. But core story of finacial situation is good. Storywise Its a breath of fresh air in typical Korean Drama Industry. Apart from cliche Romantic element I would give this story and writing 10/10.
Research- 10/10
I am not an economic expert but while watching this drama you can feel like they did and enormous amount of research on economic conditions of differen countries in the world. Like in the 8th episode when they mentioned that many reports were made to publicise BRICS so that their funds can be sold. That was true in BRICS apart from CHINA & INDIA other countries didnt show much of a dramatic growth. Its just that Growth of China and India was so much big that it inceased the value of BRICS and people failed to notice faliure of such growth in BRAZIL, SA and RUSSIA. Not just this part but facts they mentioned about different currencies, foreign reserve held buy different nations, East Asia finacial crisis and political blunders that caused it, were so great. There were many situations where I didnt agree with finacial ideologies of Show but they were backed by strong facts hence I ended up accepting them as a different view on same situation.
Score 9.5/10
Choices of the music score were intresting specifivcally when they chose south of heavy breathing out at very important decisive moments, it felt like they are playing with lungs of the country ( Finacial situation metaphorically compared to lungs). Through out the drama I have watched so far score took a back seat highlighting the acting and story. The indication of good score is that when you can feel for story and actors. Score wasn't very strong hence it did its jobs quite perfectly. Apart from repetitive theme score (song) which gets annoying at times bcoz it doesnt suit the story everything with the score was perfect. Sometimes they chose to not use the score and go complete silent and those monets were great too.
TVN- 10/10
TVN is known for making best Kdramas and they have prooved it once again.
So Far this drama has been treat to watch, it ll be a great watch for people who are tired of cliche Korean Dramas.
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A powerpacked political feast
Firstly i ain't a writer this is just my personal review after I finished the drama just 5 minutes beforelet's start with the story line firstly this drama is centered around economy, money, power and politics so if you are not interested in any of these topics you may find the drama slow as in the beginning of this drama where each topic regarding the finance they used is in very detail manner so if you are not aware of those financial terms you may find this drama difficult to understand because the story the entire plot is around those financial key moments and financial key aspects of an economy
so as a financial financial as the finance student
myself I love this drama but the story from the first episode to the first episode is little slow because it was building up and the plot I think considering the non financial audience they have taken it slow in the first five episodes so to build up the entire story but after episode 5 if your patient and have to watch that long you will find a boom in the graph of the the pacing
this emotions in this drama felt so realistic to me that I have never seen before each character have their own vulnerable moments and sometimes how they are not afraid to show it at all and how nothing is entirely black white
the actors in this drama are fabulous specially lee sung min I am a big fan of him like he is a scene stealer every motion and every expression of his is a treat to watch and and the second main lead go soo's character was so real no matter what he does he's always so true with his emotions and always so clear believe in what he wanted to do and then the female lead I saw lot of people talking that she is the most realistic female lead they have seen and I agree with that she is very levelheaded and realistic I am very impressed by her and the other actors as well and the eugine han he also very much impressed me in the terms that he was like a cherry on top of this drama where the moment he showed up the story takes off but I found a depth lacking in his character like of course I would love to know about his background and how he achieved the position he was in ,a certain depth to his character definitely is what I would like to see other than that he was a great addition to the drama definitely
special mention to the cinematography and the camera work that was brilliantly spectacular brilliant I also love the ost of this drama and to say that this drama I started very hesitantly because I didn't know how it would end up but I mean also the reviews if you go by the reviews of the people wheather to watch this drama
I think half of the audience that have already watch did or have even started watching this belong to non financial background which is not there fault but I think just to clarify that those reviews can be biased according to their own personal understanding so if you have an interest in the economical aspects of country or politics you must give it a try I am so glad that I started this drama and finished it on such high note..
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Good enough
The drama had commitment issues and was quite indecisive in what to make out of this drama. It was swinging between making an economic/political piece supported by human drama and between a human drama themed around economics and politics. This was mostly noticeably around the middle parts. Irrespective of its narrative direction, dramas of this nature are reliant upon the strength and range of their characters, and in this case it was pretty limited in that regard. The four leads did provide that to some extent and had a good dynamic and contrast but that wasn't remotely enough for a drama of this scope. The remainder of the cast felt more or less like a background noise, of which, they were divided into two groups, the selfish ones and the lesser selfish ones.Regarding the ending, the drama built itself up to a big climax but it never got there. It didn't allow itself to manifest into something greater despite the earlier episodes indicating the exact opposite of that. One last thing, in the last episode they were throwing around new emerging ideas/topics and relevant world news that are related to economics at the time but it was a load of crap! By the way, the title of the drama is kinda cheesy compared to its actual content. Anyway, it's good enough.
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This review may contain spoilers
story: i'm very interested in global media, but i pretty much only exclusively watch kdramas while i do watch a lot of global cinema. so, as a...radical (i would say..) woman, i especially love to learn about the perception of justice and capital in the world, but particularly SK especially as an american and the very close (but imo tense and power imbalanced and wrong imperialist) relationship...i read up on this a lot when i started. the writers/crew were very adamant about attacking capitalism and the idea of winners/losers and what poverty means. the IMF crisis seems to live in a vacuum here, as if the IMF and world bank arent specifically interested in lining their pockets. the show narrowly addresses it by being shrouded in complex theory (which is fine whatever. i just had to learn more hhahah) and making economic decisions and crises the fault of like 1 or 5 instead of the world and system.
the IMF crisis happened because rich people dont give a fuck and it has a huge to-do with colonialism. it emerged at an incredibly specific time and IMF, essentially, makes countries indebted to it for neo-colonial and imperial gain. "IMF Report Admits IMF's Obsession with Capitalism Is Killing Prosperity" (a literal piece btw) so i'm sad the inciting incident was literally heo jae being unhinged and murdering someone. it should have been a red flag but i thought it would be more of a personification of capital as evil then a ridiculous revenge plot.
i really should have stopped when the introduction of wall street as an official player came in. honestly this is one of the most confusing and stupid plots i think i've seen. the tone of the show makes it seem as if it's serious but you cannot tell me a man who is an economist and believes in more control of the government wants to make things so bad they get better that he does a deal with fucking wall street and expected them to KEEP THEIR WORD? and there is no way that economists whether pro or anti capital do not understand, at the very least MINIMALLY, the social position and the ways colonialism, slavery, imperialism and capitalism have played into forming our modern (global) society. i'm actually mad that happened so i think this is one of the show's biggest flaws lol
i can't really comment on the women of the story or the heart of it. i liked hye joo and ma ri a lot together but since the show couldn't find its emotional beats it always seemed off. the glumness was part of why it seemed like it was so long.
acting/cast: sung min is a really good actor. eun kyung did a good job. go soo had some pretty interesting ways to express himself with his features (i personally liked some of the acting bc of this)....yoo teo....needs voice lessons. badly. like his english accent erodes his acting abilities because he isn't voicing himself properly. it's easier to watch him speak in korean (but i've seen him in that movie the moment or whatever and he isnt actually too bad so it's half the dialogue) but his character is a baby lmao. everyone else is fine
music: i dont remember....it's ok idk im nto rly a fan of OSTs lol
rewatch value: i guess if...you....are into it? i dont know. i think my idea of the show and attraction to it is different than some others.
overall: it's a weird show. i give it a 5 out of generosity but honestly i just feel 'eh' about it and then 'lol' about the message and politics; half bc it doesnt have a message and the other half bc it's diluted capitalism to one on one interactions lol
i absolutely do think the camera crew did a GREAT job though, those closeups are fantastic truly (imo) like just a really good idea esp to show heo jae
i guess the biggest thing for me is that it approached this situation as "why" it happened and seemed to really want to attack what we've built up as a world system but made it so clinical and individualized that it did nothing. and with either solutions, the decision fucked up the citizens and the economy. and that's exactly the problem. the idea was that money is this thing that's a game, right but what ABOUT IT? besides /saying/ the stakes were high, were the stakes high? one day changing the value happened and it was illegal. the consequences? were they really /shown/? so what did these decisions really change? wasn't this always going to happen? and how could these "very intelligent" people not foresee it? i know more now and lots of economists are stupid so maybe i'm overrating their abilities. i'd argue that being in hye joo's line of work, there is no way you will receive a moral and ethical outcome anyway. why was everyone so shocked? maybe it's the idea that people on the inside could really change and want the best for people but it couldn't even demonstrate that effectively. it wasn't even good at circulating the feelings needed for us to just go on vibes instead of story and logic.
on top of that how in the interim between the IMF crisis and the show's timeline were people living? clearly things are very hard. i'd argue...probably got a bit worse...
and it's even sadder when you realize that although people in the world aren't materially equal, their decisions had the same weight in the show. tit for tat; both sides. how the story about the uncle managed to basically only vocalize the problems instead of show them via the production and then the attempt to show how disproportionate life is by putting him in jail and having his family mad at him was hilarious. because it's a callback to yi hyun's dad being emotionally absent and a capitalist that ruined things. lmao
everything just happened and that's the way it was, that's it. and all their solutions couldn't imagine anything revolutionary, and when a revolutionary solution came up it's seen as an extremely dirty word. wanting to go the neoliberal third way. and well in a way the prophecy of our current world was well kept i guess. the idea of winners and losers will never change, huh. even in a fictional story with a world of possibilities it's still the same.
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