Incarnation of Money () is a 2013 South Korean television series about greed, ambition, and love. Starring Kang Ji-hwan, Park Sang-min, Hwang Jung-eum, Oh Yoon-ah, Choi Yeo-jin and Kim Soo-mi, it aired on SBS TV from February 2 to April 21, 2013 on Saturdays and Sundays at 22:00 for 24 episodes.
Plot Lee Cha-don grew up in an orphanage and became a prosecutor, one of the most respected professions in Korea. But, as it turns out, it also can be one of the most corrupt professions, with plenty of opportunities to shake down gamblers and pocket some extra cash. With no memories of his past, Cha-don's fate is inextricably tied with Bok Jae-in, the daughter of a loan shark who funded Cha-don's upbringing and education, and wants to be repaid for the investment. Ji Se-kwang, a senior prosecutor who is responsible for the trajectory of Cha-don's life, pretends to be a righteous prosecutor while hiding the misdeeds of his past.
In 1998, a wealthy businessman, Lee Joong Man, was killed by Ji Se-kwang, and all his property went to his mistress Eun Bi Riyeong (later: Angelina). Lee Joong Man's wife, Park Gi Soo, was accused for that murder, and sentenced to prison. After Park Gi Soo was imprisoned, Lee Joong Man's son, Lee Kang Seok (later: Lee Cha-don) having nowhere to go, went to Ji Se-kwang' apartment, and discovered that Ji Se-kwang was having an affair with Eun Bi Riyeong, and that both conspired to murder Lee Joong Man. Lee Kang Seok then told the lawyer and a reporter who was involved in the murder case about the truth, but both of them were bribed by Ji Se-kwang and stayed silent. Ji Se-kwang, in order to cover all his crimes, tried to kill Lee Kang Seok. Lee Kang Seok, while running away from Ji Se-kwang, was hit by a car, and lost his memory. The person who hit him, Madam Bok Hwa Sool took pity on him and adopted him. When the prosecution office raided Hwa Sool's residence for the ledgers of her illegal dealings, Kang Seok stumped upon the book and discarded the ledger before the prosecutors can acquire it. It is revealed that he has photographic memory, which enabled him to memorize the entire book in record time and discard the ledger after comprehending the content. Seeing his potential, Hwa Sool wanted to make Lee Kang Seok as the official member of her family but Kang Seok disagreed so she was forced to send him to the orphanage and watched over him. Over time, she funded Kang Seok's studies and wished that he would become a prosecutor to become her asset.
Ji Se-kwang, who killed Lee Joong Man, and plotted the whole murder, lives as a respected, righteous prosecutor. Lee Joong Man's mistress, Eun Bi Riyeong, went to the USA after the murder case was closed. Both the lawyer and the reporter live successfully and become famous people in Korea.
It is 2013, and Lee Kang Seok/Lee Cha-don now works as a prosecutor. He learns about his past, and tries to take revenge on five people: Ji Se-kwang, Eun Bi Riyeong/Angelina, the lawyer (Prosecutor Kwon Jae-gyu), the reporter (Reporter Go), and Lee Joong Man's lawyer (Hwang Jang Shik).
Cast Main characters Kang Ji-hwan - Lee Cha-don/ Lee Kang-seok Park Ji-bin - young Kang-seok Park Sang-min - Ji Se-kwang Hwang Jung-eum - Bok Jae-in Seo Shin-ae - young Jae-in Oh Yoon-ah - Eun Bi-ryung Choi Yeo-jin - Jeon Ji-hoo Kim Soo-mi - Bok Hwa-sool
Supporting characters Park Soon-chun - Park Ki-soon, Kang-seok's mother Lee Ki-young - Kwon Jae-kyu Jung Eun-pyo - Hwang Jang-shik Lee Seung-hyung - Go Ho Yang Hyung-wook - Yang Goo-shik Kim Hak-chul - Jung Hae-ryong Choi Jin-ho - Lee Kwan-soo Do Ji-han - Kwon Hyuk Lee Byung-joon - Jo Sang-deuk Yoon Yong-hyun - Kim Pal-do Joo Hyun - Lee Joong-man, Kang-seok's father Lee Ji-hyun - Hong Ja-mong Go In-beom - Kang-seok's uncle Seo Dong-kyun - Secretary Seo Son Byong-ho Jo Woo-jin
Guest appearances Song Kyung-chul - Gentleman of Jingogae, Jae-in's father/Hwa-sool's ex-husband Noh Hyung-wook - Jae-in's math tutor (ep 3) Lee Han-wi - plastic surgeon (ep 5) Lee Moon-sik - Park So-tae (ep 9) Kim Byeong-ok - nursing home director (ep 11) Choi Jong-ryul - Ji Man-ho, Se-kwang's father (ep 15) Kim Kwang-in - Yellow Sea Credit Union's major stakeholder Maeng Bong-hak - Yellow Sea Credit Union's major stakeholder Choi Sang-hoon - Jeon Hoon, Ji-hoo's father
Ratings Original broadcast dateAverage audience shareTNmSAGB NielsenNationwideSeoulNationwideSeoul 1 2 February 20139.2%10.0%9.7%10.6% 2 3 February 20137.6%8.4%9.2%10.2% 3 9 February 201311.0%12.3%10.2%10.7% 4 10 February 201310.7%11.1%10.6%12.3% 5 16 February 201314.1%14.9%14.5%16.6% 6 17 February 201313.0%13.8%13.1%15.2% 7 23 February 201313.9%15.3%13.3%15.0% 8 24 February 201311.7%12.8%13.4%15.1% 9 2 March 201313.3%14.2%12.2%14.0% 10 3 March 201310.9%11.6%11.4%12.8% 11 9 March 201312.4%13.7%12.4%13.8% 12 10 March 201311.8%13.1%15.1%16.5% 13 16 March 201313.2%14.7%14.5%16.6% 14 17 March 201313.0%14.3%15.3%17.5% 15 23 March 201314.1%16.0%16.4%19.1% 16 24 March 201313.7%15.3%15.3%17.2% 17 30 March 201315.1%17.5%14.7%16.0% 18 31 March 201313.4%14.6%15.6%17.4% 19 6 April 201314.4%16.6%16.1%18.0% 20 7 April 201313.4%15.2%14.6%16.3% 21 13 April 201311.6%12.3%14.2%16.7% 22 14 April 201312.6%14.0%15.2%17.5% 23 20 April 201313.4%14.3%14.3%15.4% 24 21 April 201314.2%15.7%16.8%18.8% Average 12.6% 13.8% 13.7% 15.4%
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result 2013 7th Mnet 20's Choice Awards 20's Booming Star – Male Do Ji-han 21st SBS Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama Special Kang Ji-hwan Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Drama Special Hwang Jung-eum Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama Special Park Sang-min Special Acting Award, Actress in a Drama Special Oh Yoon-ah Achievement Award Kim Soo-mi
References
External links