 A scene from the new SBS drama “Midas” / Courtesy of SBS |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
SBS aims to reign the local drama scene again with money, ambition and love all intertwined in the series “Midas.”
The drama will examine people’s thoughts on money and desire, rather than feature normal happenings of everyday life.
“When people pass by Yeouido or Teheran-ro, they might wonder who owns those tall buildings and why they have nothing. This drama will portray the people who own them and those who want them,” Kang Sin-hyo, the director said at a press conference for the show, Monday. Kang directed the 2008 drama “Tazza,” which dealt with the world of gamblers.
The program will show how a young lawyer changes as he becomes greedy under the influence of the richest woman in Korea.
“Midas” casts veteran actors to realistically portray the deepest desires of people blinded by ambition and how the wealthiest people live.
Jang Hyuk, the winner of 2010 KBS Drama Awards with his role in “The Slave Hunters,” returns to the small screen as Kim Do-hyeon, a lawyer awakened by an impassioned desire to achieve success.
“Kim is a person of ambition, but he also longs for the ordinary daily life he used to live,” Jang said.
Jang added he is not under any pressure to live up to the popularity of his previous drama. “I think the character and the actor are two separate things. Last year, it was Jang who played the role of slave hunter Lee Dae-gil, but now I am Jang, acting Kim in ‘Midas,’” he said. “I chose the roles because the characters suit me.”
Actress Kim Hee-ae will play the role of Yu In-hye, returning to the small screen after four years. Yu plays the eldest daughter of a billionaire family, operating hedge funds.
“Things have changed so much in four years that I feel like I’m working in a different country,” she said.
Her fashionable wardrobe on TV always becomes the talk of the town among middle-aged women. “Yu is the richest among the richest, but I will take a minimal approach in the costumes since she is a working woman,” Kim said.
Lee Min-jung, the sweetheart of the 2010 movie “Cyrano Agency,” plays the role of Lee Jeong-yeon, a nurse engaged to Kim.
“It is an honor to even star with Kim Hee-ae, an actress I want to emulate,” Lee said.
As Jang’s character grows more and more absorbed with money, and not her, Lee falters in her determination to marry Kim when another man tries to win her heart.
Singer-turned-actor No Min-woo from Trax, who portrayed the half-goblin and half-human veterinarian Park Dong-ju in the drama “My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox” (2010), plays the role of Yu Myeong-jun, the younger brother of Yu In-hye, who has a crush on Lee.
“Yu is a typical scoundrel from a rich family. He was deprived of his mother’s love as a child and turned into a womanizer. He meets Lee while hospitalized as a cancer patient,” No said.
The drama began broadcasting Tuesday, following the action-packed “Athena.” It is to compete with art school students in KBS’ “Dream High” and two men battling for their switched destinies in MBC’s “The Duo,” all airing at 9:55 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays.
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