Introduction
The Taste of Money was released in 2012 in South Korea and was directed and written by Im Sang-soo. The director, whose primary interest lies in high society and social commentary, weaves a tale which examines the underlying aspects of the complex life of a high society individual.
The drama illustrates the life of a powerful and rich family and, in particular, the emotional burden family members carry. This drama does not rely on thunderous actions or overt suspense, but on the sullen, festering tension of personal ties and the emotional conflict each character faces.
In this film, the absence of overt narrative, the longing the characters express, high contrast visuals, and the narrative in the audience’s mind all combine to create a film which resonates with the audience on multiple levels.
Plot Summary
The film centers on a family of high achievers living in a sumptuous mansion on the outskirts of Seoul. The head of household is the company president, Yoon, and his wife, Geum-ok, the true head of the family and the dominant figure in family decision-making.
Also residing in the house are their two children, Nami, their thoughtful and intelligent daughter, and their son Chul, who is involved in the management of the family business. As far as the outside world is concerned, the family is respectable and polished. However, the family estate tells a very different domestic story.
The audience gets a glimpse of this world through the family’s trusted secretary, Joo Young-jak. Young-jak comes from humble beginnings, and he has worked hard to reach this point in his career. He now serves the family with great care and efficiency. However, the more he spends time in the family’s world, the more he sees the personal issues behind the challenges of their ostentatious lifestyle.
Young-jak, in time, becomes friends with Nami and their relationship deepens beyond professional friendship. As the family’s hidden secrets, such as financial problems and emotional turmoil, boil to the surface, the family is cornered with decisions that may have drastic consequences concerning their public image and, at the same time, the family issues. Young-jak, too, is faced with a decision concerning how much he wants to cross the line into the family’s private world.
The film intentionally avoids a loud climax and instead, draws attention to contemplation, aftermath, and emotional truth, culminating in a serene finish. In the end, Young-jak decides to forego a life filled with riches and decide to embark on a life with less and more compassion.
Main Characters
Joo Young-jak
Young-jak is an intelligent and poised individual in the family. He is the assistant. His loyalty and composure enable him to stay near the family, but over the years, he starts to realize how serving weath and power means losing yourself in the bargain and becomes conflicted.
Baek Geum-ok
As the matriarch, Geum-ok is confident, proud, and strong-willed. Even though she may seem emotionally detached, she works tirelessly behind the scenes to preserve the family’s control, reputation, and legacy. She is a multifaceted individual and one of the film’s emotionally central characters.
Yoon
The family’s father and company president. He projects an image of absolute triumph, yet he definitely endures doubts and rests. His relationship with his wife and children is markedly distant, emotionally.
Nami
Nami, as the family’s daughter, stands out as the most grounded and contemplative member of the family. She brings a certain softness to the story, and her bond with Young-jak offers a quiet emotional connection woven with understanding and underlying hope.
Chul
Chul is the son of the family. He is a man of expectation, and like Chul, each family member means well. However, unintended consequences of Chul’s actions have impacts on the family’s outward reputation and the family’s long-term planning.
Wealth vs. Happiness
The film demonstrates that comfort and accessibility to resources does not equate to a peace of mind. Each character comes across a realization, surrounded by the influence of wealth, and isolation. Their actions and choices mask the emotional cost of adjusting to life with imposed influence.
Loyalty and Personal Ethics
Young-jak’s character serves as the everyman, and he represents the fight to maintain personal identity while serving family obligations. The challenge is to reposition the ‘duty’ to the family so he can retain some ‘dignity’ in the battle.
Generational Expectations
Nami and Chul, as the younger characters, most openly carry the burden of pursuing the family’s legacy. Even when surrounded by luxury, the film demonstrates how children in rich families may feel trapped by high expectations. As a legacy, or by family destiny, children in wealthy families may feel confined.
Nami
Nami is the family’s daughter, and the most grounded and contemplative member of the family. She brings a certain softness to the story, and her bond with Young-jak offers a quiet emotional connection woven with understanding and underlying hope.
Chul
Chul is the son of the family. He is a man of expectation, and like Chul, each family member means well. However, unintended consequences of Chul’s actions have impacts on the family’s outward reputation and the family’s long-term planning.
Wealth vs. Happiness
The film demonstrates that comfort and accessibility to resources does not equate to a peace of mind. Each character comes across a realization, surrounded by the influence of wealth, and isolation. Their actions and choices mask the emotional cost of adjusting to life with imposed influence.
Loyalty and Personal Ethics
Young-jak’s character serves as the everyman, and he represents the fight to maintain personal identity while serving family obligations. The challenge is to reposition the ‘duty’ to the family so he can retain some ‘dignity’ in the battle.
Generational Expectations
Nami and Chul, as the younger characters, most openly carry the burden of pursuing the family’s legacy. Even when surrounded by luxury, the film demonstrates how children in rich families may feel trapped by high expectations. As a legacy, or by family destiny, children in wealthy families may feel confined.
Nami
Nami is the family’s daughter, and the most grounded and contemplative member of the family. She brings a certain softness to the story, and her bond with Young-jak offers a quiet emotional connection woven with understanding and underlying hope.
Chul
Chul is the son of the family. He is a man of expectation, and like Chul, each family member means well. However, unintended consequences of Chul’s actions have impacts on the family’s outward reputation and the family’s long-term planning.
Wealth vs. Happiness
The film demonstrates that comfort and accessibility to resources does not equate to a peace of mind. Each character comes across a realization, surrounded by the influence of wealth, and isolation. Their actions and choices mask the emotional cost of adjusting to life with imposed influence.
Loyalty and Personal Ethics
Young-jak’s character serves as the everyman, and he represents the fight to maintain personal identity while serving family obligations. The challenge is to reposition the ‘duty’ to the family so he can retain some ‘dignity’ in the battle.
Generational Expectations
Nami and Chul, as the younger characters, most openly carry the burden of pursuing the family’s legacy. Even when surrounded by luxury, the film demonstrates how children in rich families may feel trapped by high expectations. As a legacy, or by family destiny, children in wealthy families may feel confined.
Nami
Nami is the family’s daughter, and the most grounded and contemplative member of the family. She brings a certain softness to the story, and her bond with Young-jak offers a quiet emotional connection woven with understanding and underlying hope.
Chul
Chul is the son of the family. He is a man of expectation, and like Chul, each family member means well. However, unintended consequences of Chul’s actions have impacts on the family’s outward reputation and the family’s long-term planning.
Wealth vs. Happiness
The film demonstrates that comfort and accessibility to resources does not equate to a peace of mind. Each character comes across a realization, surrounded by the influence of wealth, and isolation. Their actions and choices mask the emotional cost of adjusting to life with imposed influence.
Loyalty and Personal Ethics
Young-jak’s character serves as the everyman, and he represents the fight to maintain personal identity while serving family obligations. The challenge is to reposition the ‘duty’ to the family so he can retain some ‘dignity’ in the battle.
Generational Expectations
Nami and Chul, as the younger characters, most openly carry the burden of pursuing the family’s legacy. Even when surrounded by luxury, the film demonstrates how children in rich families may feel trapped by high expectations. As a legacy, or by family destiny, children in wealthy families may feel confined.
- Emotional Distance
Family members can remain emotionally detached despite cohabitation. This subtle disconnection vividly encapsulates the atmosphere of the film, inviting the audience to consider the essence of intimacy.
- Choice and Change
The film does not attempt to build drama through reversals; instead, it focuses on the quieter, more resolved moments. Character decisions promote themes of personal evolution, moving toward the meaningful and authentic, and choosing to leave behind lives built on mere façades.
Visual Style and Direction
Im Sang-soo’s direction demonstrates both elegance and restraint. The mansion is airy and luxurious, but it is also cold and lifeless. Each shot is composed to emphasize the distance between characters, even when they are sitting next to one another.
The stillness, silence, and shadow of the cinematography convey emotional and psychological weight. The film’s long scenes and measured dialogue invite reflection, eschewing fast cutting and jarring music.
Costumes and design choices including the color palette are all clean and formal, further complementing the theme of polished surfaces encompassing concealed realities. Such an execution poetically felt, allowed the film to motivate its audience to not merely observe the sequence of events, but rather the manner in which individuals respond to the events occurring.
Reception and Reflection
The Taste of Money was acknowledged for its audacious artistry and subtle intensity. While an audience segment sought a more pronounced dramatic narrative, many viewers complimented the film for the understated storytelling and emotional profundity. Regarding the performances, especially those of the principal actors, there was an acclaim for their convincing and tempered portrayals and realistic performances.
Moreover, the film, in its themes which are most definitely universal—the quest for the real, the burden of expectation, and the wish to live honorably—served, as a continuation of the director’s previous focus exploring more deeply, the challenges of the
affluent in contemporary Korean society.
Conclusion
The Taste of Money does not attempt to be a grand melodrama, or a fast-paced thriller, but rather it is an understated work which has been diligently programmed to penetrate the surface of success. It invites its audience to reflect on profound issues of family, responsibility, and the life which to a great extent is disposable, and the worth of life beyond mere monetary success.
Through its elegant execution and intelligent narrative, it invites reflection on the nature of happiness and to question the silence, discontent, and isolation that may accompany the pursuit of status.
The Taste of Money is an option to consider, particularly for viewers seeking films that deal with the the emotional facets of power and the intricacies of the relationships involved. The Taste of Money is both pleasing and memorable.
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