Midas Kdrama Review – The hand of Midas; is it a blessing or a curse?

Greed. Lonelesss. Love. Ambition. Dysfunctional family. Rock Bottom.

These are words that all come to mind when thinking about the Kdrama Midas. So what is this drama really about? Here are some definitions to help:

Midas: (Greek legend) the greedy king of Phrygia who Dionysus gave the power to turn everything he touched into gold

Midas Touch: an ability to make and manage large amounts of money

Synopsis: Kim Do-hyun (Jang Hyuk) is a very smart, ambitious person who just finished law school. As he begins his job search, he’s made an offer he cannot refuse which ends up changing his life.. But is this a good thing?

You could say that Do Hyun has the Midas touch. He is smart and can easily make money. But like the King of Phrygia in the legend, he is overcome by greed. With endless possibilities of personal gain, he sacrifices his own soul.

I liked this drama. It was the first business drama I’ve seen. Now, I’m not really interested in money, or the stock market. I could have really found this drama boring. But it wasn’t boring. It was interesting. I think it’s the actors that made the drama so easy to watch. It had a very well rounded cast. There was also such an eclectic mix of characters.

**The Spoiler Section**

Do Hyun’s decision to become rich at any cost, causes him to lose his fiancee. As he continues on his path leading to greatness, he’s blind-sided and stabbed fiercely in the back (figuratively speaking). It’s only at his lowest point, that he starts to question his decisions and tries to climb his way back up from a deep abyss. As he attempts to climb back up, he hopes to drag down the ones who caused his fall.

Although Do Hyun’s destruction is painful to watch, it was a lesson he needed to learn and it helped him snap out of his unknowing downward spiral. I don’t think he ever would have realized the errors of his ways if he hadn’t lost everything. Often in life (as demonstrated in this drama) we have to fall hard to learn a lesson. It’s when we hit rock bottom that we can finally reflect, admit our wrong and overcome our mistakes and rectify them.

Sometimes too in life, we see people we love go down the wrong path. Often we are helpless in these types of situations. We can try to warn them, we can show them love, we can write them off, but really, no matter what we do, they have to figure it out for themselves. This is unfortunately the position of Do Hyun’s fiancee. As his desire for money and riches deepens, they start to drift further and further apart.

Because I really don’t care about being rich, many of the selfish characters were very frustrating, but there are also characters with a lot of heart. I especially liked Jung-Yeon’s father. Even the character’s a didn’t like kept me entertained. There was something very hilarious about the goofy-money-hungry-brothers Sung-Joon and Ki-Joon.

There were even times I couldn’t stand Do Hyun, but then I realized he was being blinded by greed. I don’t think he was ever evil to start. Selfish.. and money hungry? Yes, at times, but really, he’s a good man.

Final thoughts: Good drama that makes you think. It has romance, but not in the typical Kdrama format. They’re already together, then run into obstacles which question the strength of their relationship. Very thought provoking. I like dramas which force me to reflect.

My rating: 3.8/5