[Drama 2019] The Banker, 더 뱅커

[Chikadora]

Enjoyed the first episode so much! Kept me wanting for more and very engaging. 

 

Hope this pace steadies all the way to the end. I like the story too. It’s uncommon and interesting! 

[irilight]

On 3/29/2019 at 8:05 AM, gerrytan8063 said:

"I do not understand the Korean language. But I am curious why Auditor Noh speaks in such a weird rhythm/tone. He sounded like he is from a different era."

 

Auditor Noh is from Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do province, he is speaking in that province dialect. The dialect notably have slower enunciation than most & its unique jargon.....he play with "sound like" words....mentioned as "Aje"'s Blaque

ahhh, @Blizzardistkaputt, I was wondering about the same.

@gerrytan8063 to the rescue.. Thank you very much !  

 

 

On 3/30/2019 at 1:57 AM, Lmangla said:

and the economic issues are touched in such a human, light-hearted manner that it becomes very interesting. the power of co-operatives, the difficulties that rural businesses face, the threats that small businesses face from large supermarkets, importance of banks in small regional areas -- it was interesting to watch.

 

and the elements of fraud that we saw set up as well as the corporate backbitting means there are going to be lots of nuances -- this makes a really boring sector into a kind of thriller as well as put a human face on banking and bad loans.

Waves back to you, @Lmangla  

These elements your describe here are what draws me to the drama as well.

It sort of reminds me a bit of the excellent recent Korean movie "Default" with Kim Hye-Soo, Yoo Ah-In, and Vincent Cassel (as managing director of IMF).  

Both of these productions bring the human face to a cold and calculating monetary disasters.

After watching the 4  (half hour) episodes, I am still wondering about Kang Sam-Do and whose side he is on.
Initially I thought he was on the side of the rich, but now I am not so sure.  He was the first to applaud No Dae-Ho for his speech at that bank's gathering, and seems to even approve of him leaving.  It made me think, that there was this reason he brought No Dae-Ho - to clean up the bank from the corruption and deceit.

The scene of that courageous young woman throwing the money down to the people was powerful.
 

[Lmangla]

@irilight ~ what I find interesting about the drama is that it focuses on the small guy and how important money plays a role in their lives. they are showing the small stories behind these large complex numbers.

 

in many movies about financial systems, it is usually about the ultra glamourous and super rich. the stock brokers and traders. so financial crimes dont' really feel real in some sense as it is a world that is far too different for many.

 

here, we see auditor noh constantly talking about the role of the bank in a common person's life. we see how it affects teller jin and how devastated she is that someone who fakes bankruptcy and not paid her father is still getting bad loans one after another even though he he has stolen from the subcontractors....

 

am really liking the questions that auditor noh asks about banking and what does it mean to have a set of ethics. so I don't think it is a coincidence that I noticed 3 logos in the beginning of the drama along with 15 rating. so there was FPSB (financial planning and standards board), CFP (certified financial planner) and AFPK (associate financial planner korea) -- all of these are financial professional associations who require members to have a set of ethics, guidelines. so in a way, I do think that the drama is trying to show the smaller stories of finance and how there are finance professionals who are not all sharks and do care about ethics.

 

also, we really see an interesting dilemma for banks -- on one hand, you need loans to grow but if you keep giving out bad loans, then eventually bank will collapse. but the frustration for many is that while big folks like the corrupt Gu gets away with getting loans issued to him, small genuine folks like Jin's father are denied... so there is a kind of complex cycle...

 

but I am liking our little budding investigator bo geul -- how cute was he while running around! hahahha... so pretty obvious that he will become our little side kick to auditor noh.

 

as for your question, my guess is that chairman kang is lot more complex than just good or bad but I do think he brought auditor noh knowing very well that things will shake -- think he wants the bank to genuinely get audited and have all the bad apples fall out. perhaps, he wants to get another term? or maybe use that for further ambitions? we will have to wait and see...

 

am more curious about director han. she seems to be mentored by vice president yook but seems to play for her own purposes and ambitions. she has only a high school diploma and worked hard but still not seen as someone who climbed up on her own merit. and yet, she is giving tips to auditor noh who she seems to see as a friend or ally?

 

actually had to laugh when auditor noh was so annoyed with drinking expensive wine and feeling so uncomfortable with having a driver. his interactions with both the driver as well as his secretary were kind of amusing as they were sort of giving him tips on how to navigate this world he has been just pushed into. so future allies and helpers?

 

am randomly tagging chingus who might find this drama interesting -- @jadecloud @lclarakl @Ldy Gmerm @UnniSarah @sava2sava @zenya22 @rolisrntex @Carmarie @stroppyse  @lu09 @jongski   .....

[katakwasabi]

2 hours ago, irilight said:

The scene of that courageous young woman throwing the money down to the people was powerful.
 

 

I like that scene. I thought it was powerful too and I'm glad she survived. But...scenes like this always make me wonder how did she end up on the rooftop. Its not even her office 

 

not sure if this was shared before:

The Banker relationship chart

 

I look forward to Mr Noh teaming up with a group of young eager workers: his secretary, Bo Geul and another young lad which I don't recall seeing him yet.

 

 

[gerrytan8063]

@irilight

 

"to the rescue.. Thank you very much ! "

 

I have watch the Japanese adaption version "Auditor Nozaki Shuhei (監査役野崎修平, Kansayaku Nozaki Shuhei )" last year, although the Korean drama supposed to have been based on the manga series from the said title but since have adopted a Korean twist. Noh Tae Gu, Silver Olympic Medalist in Shooting & able to fence with an umbrella

[Lmangla]

7 hours ago, katakwasabi said:

9 hours ago, irilight said:

The scene of that courageous young woman throwing the money down to the people was powerful.
 

 

I like that scene. I thought it was powerful too and I'm glad she survived. But...scenes like this always make me wonder how did she end up on the rooftop. Its not even her office 

employee key card? hahahaha... so the wrong thing to focus on but thought it was interesting that she had purple shoes even though she was wearing the bank uniform... and wonder how they manage to do those jumping scenes in buildings... always stresses me out when watching such scenes even though I know it is not like he is not going to catch her and pull her up....

 

6 hours ago, gerrytan8063 said:

since have adopted a Korean twist. Noh Tae Gu, Silver Olympic Medalist in Shooting & able to fence with an umbrella

 

any idea if sharp shooting a big/popular or obscure sport in korea? so did the jdrama/manga have him a different type of athlete?

[Ldy Gmerm]

11 hours ago, Lmangla said:

am randomly tagging chingus who might find this drama interesting -- @jadecloud @lclarakl @Ldy Gmerm @UnniSarah @sava2sava @zenya22 @rolisrntex @Carmarie @stroppyse  @lu09 @jongski   .....

Thanks for the tag. I checked out the first four episodes and loved it.. I will be checking into the thread soon. 

[gerrytan8063]

@Lmangla

 

"any idea if sharp shooting a big/popular or obscure sport in korea? so did the jdrama/manga have him a different type of athlete?"

 

The Japanese version, he was not a former athlete...just a sense of justice & humanity, definitely can't fight as he always end being "battered". He didn't divorce from his wife & have a warm family to go back to....

 

Archery is a great sport in Korea & hold dominance in international sport events. Sport shooting is also a popular sport in Korea, although not as good as archery

 

 

[irilight]

18 hours ago, gerrytan8063 said:

I have watch the Japanese adaption version "Auditor Nozaki Shuhei

ah.. thank you @gerrytan8063.   Added to my watch list, to watch after this drama is completed.

 

 

19 hours ago, Lmangla said:

what I find interesting about the drama is that it focuses on the small guy and how important money plays a role in their lives. they are showing the small stories behind these large complex numbers.

@Lmangla, yes. I agree with you.  Same focus was in that film that  I mentioned - "Default" - which was also based on real events.
 

 

19 hours ago, Lmangla said:

as for your question, my guess is that chairman kang is lot more complex than just good or bad but I do think he brought auditor noh knowing very well that things will shake -- think he wants the bank to genuinely get audited and have all the bad apples fall out. perhaps, he wants to get another term? or maybe use that for further ambitions? we will have to wait and see...

I think so too, and I hope that is the case.
Auditor No Dae-Ho can perform much better with a powerful man like Chairman Kang behind him.

 

19 hours ago, Lmangla said:

am more curious about director han. she seems to be mentored by vice president yook but seems to play for her own purposes and ambitions. she has only a high school diploma and worked hard but still not seen as someone who climbed up on her own merit. and yet, she is giving tips to auditor noh who she seems to see as a friend or ally?

I think so too. That they will be allies.

Thank you for pointing out that despite the fact that Auditor No feels like a fish out of water in this new surrounding, and while many of the characters there look down on him, there are few who are in his court.

 

 

8 hours ago, Ldy Gmerm said:

I checked out the first four episodes and loved it.. I will be checking into the thread soon. 

Nice to see you, @Ldy Gmerm.     I have not been much on Soompi and it is nice to run into old friends. 
I am glad you will be joining us.

 

 

7 hours ago, gerrytan8063 said:

Archery is a great sport in Korea & hold dominance in international sport events.

@gerrytan8063, so I heard, about Archery.
There is also an upcoming KDrama with the male lead being a national archer.
It is called Joseon Survival.

 

Spoiler

Speaking of archery, I read a fun children's book with time sleep about Jumong showing up in our modern world. It was called "Archer's Quest."  It was well written with lots of humor.  I think Jumong is still my favorite sageuk...
 

Regarding our drama,  I also wonder what role would Yook Gwan Sik play.   As @Lmangla have mentioned, he is tutoring Han Soo-Ji...  At this point in the drama, he seems to be for the status quo in the bank, and seems unhappy with any shake up.  Lets see if he changes his  mind...


 

[Lmangla]

9 hours ago, gerrytan8063 said:

The Japanese version, he was not a former athlete...just a sense of justice & humanity, definitely can't fight as he always end being "battered". He didn't divorce from his wife & have a warm family to go back to....

ah I see; so it is in some ways a different character. am really liking auditor noh -- his warmth, sincerity as well as astuteness. in some dramas, people are sincere but kind of dumb in some ways. here he understands how the system works but thinks of how they can use it to make people's lives better which is a smart way of using that sincerity...

 

and the family background shows us why he would be driven to do something as an auditor instead of just sitting there in an empty office like auditors before him...

 

it looks like he sold his father-in-law some sort of currency bond/long/short? while on one hand, he can't be blamed for the investment failing -- the economic fallout came from across the ocean over events he had no control or knowledge about -- but he did perhaps sell an investment product to someone who wasn't equipped to handle such risks. the father-in-law seemed to think it was a safe product and did he put all his savings?

 

so looks like an instance of either mis-selling or bad risk profile matching (or both) and in that sense, auditor noh was responsible. so can understand why his wife felt so guilty that she wanted a divorce. so the family life incident makes a nice background to auditor noh by giving him depth and clear motivation.

 

1 hour ago, irilight said:

Regarding our drama,  I also wonder what role would Yook Gwan Sik play.   As @Lmangla have mentioned, he is tutoring Han Soo-Ji...  At this point in the drama, he seems to be for the status quo in the bank, and seems unhappy with any shake up.  Lets see if he changes his  mind...

it will be interesting to find out what the deal is with vice president yook. he seems to be channeling dirty money for that politician and then closes bank branches to cover it up as part of restructuring. so does he just want to be president and has been denied? is that it? or he has higher ambitions? am also curious about the other lady director who seems to be in a power struggle with president yook and how that will affect the story..

 

1 hour ago, irilight said:

@Lmangla, yes. I agree with you.  Same focus was in that film that  I mentioned - "Default" - which was also based on real events.

will check it out; thanks for the recommendation.. so in my place, we had a banking scandal a while back. short version -- there was some bad loans made out to a jewelry owner. since he has high profile, it wasn't questioned but finally, it was some branch officers who were like "these documents make no sense" and the whole apple cart fell. so the idea of this drama where a small employee prompts changes in a bank does seem realistic in some sense....

[UnniSarah]

@Lmangla.... I will certainly give this drama a chance. Thanks for tagging me chingu 

[Carmarie]

@Lmangla & @Ldy Gmerm

 

Thank you for the recommendation.  I had been looking for a good K-drama after the completion of Romance is a Bonus Book; however, nothing caught me attention.  I am going to try this drama, it looks interesting and most of the actors are veteran actors. I am slowly moving towards more mature themed dramas with substantive plots.  

 

[celebrianna]

On 3/30/2019 at 6:11 PM, Chikadora said:

Enjoyed the first episode so much! Kept me wanting for more and very engaging. 

 

Hope this pace steadies all the way to the end. I like the story too. It’s uncommon and interesting! 

ITA. I just finished watching the first episode and I was thoroughly hooked. I’m in the financial field though not banking so I’m really looking forward to seeing what Mr. No will accomplish as an auditor especially with the corrupt practices that we already got a whiff of from the Vice President of the bank. Right now I don’t trust any of the characters except Mr. No so this should be an interesting ride especially when I notice that a lot of the characters seems focused on promotion but at what cost or sacrifice to their integrity. I feel like Mr. No might be the only one I can trust because he seems to have solid integrity.

[jongski]

Finished both episodes earlier. It's that umbrella!

 

For a drama that deals with money and  auditors and bankers corruption, laundering. It's enyoyable. It's not the boring one.

 

The only actors I know from this drama is Kim Tae Woo and Ahn Nae Sang  but I'm enjoyiong the the male lead. I'll continue to watch this.

[seteney]

On 3/31/2019 at 10:03 AM, irilight said:

The scene of that courageous young woman throwing the money down to the people was powerful.

 

Yes, I cried at that scene. She carried the burden for so long and then snapped. Money has sadly the power to destroy hope and happiness as we have seen with her, the little farmer and the father-in-law. And these aren't far-fetched scenarios at all, people do kill themselves because of money/bank problems

 

On 4/1/2019 at 9:17 AM, Lmangla said:

so does he just want to be president and has been denied? is that it? or he has higher ambitions?

 

With those types it's mainly 'how high can they climb the career ladder, what can they achieve with the right backing, connections and schemes". It's a game for them, they live in their own bubble. He certainly wants the ultimate position of the bank and targets now our hero, he sees as pawn created by Kang.

 

On 3/31/2019 at 11:57 AM, Lmangla said:

but still not seen as someone who climbed up on her own merit

Eeek the show off scene by Do when she commented on Han

I wonder how Do will get screwed over in the next episodes, she already is on her way out.

 

Ah and can't wait for Lee

 

 

Yass, be more sulky

 

[jongski]

@seteney thanks a bunch chingu! Me seeing the  KTW gifs -->

 

My Ajussuhi crush!

[seteney]

You're welcome @jongski And luckily we get more material this week.

 

Btw if you are looking for clips of the show

https://www.youtube.com/user/MBCdrama/search?query=the+banker

The English captions are a bit hilarious tbh, but I appreciate they think a bit about the international viewers.

 

No getting scolded like a kid His humility makes him a bit childlike, I like that. Yook could learn a bit from him

 

 

 

 

[Lmangla]

15 hours ago, jongski said:

For a drama that deals with money and  auditors and bankers corruption, laundering. It's enyoyable. It's not the boring one.

so true! isn't that surprising? hahahhah... was genuinely expected to be bored when I randomly watched. LOL. but somehow was really entertained. feel like we need to give the PD and writer real props for making this enjoyable!

 

14 hours ago, seteney said:

With those types it's mainly 'how high can they climb the career ladder, what can they achieve with the right backing, connections and schemes". It's a game for them, they live in their own bubble. He certainly wants the ultimate position of the bank and targets now our hero, he sees as pawn created by Kang.

makes sense!

 

14 hours ago, seteney said:

Eeek the show off scene by Do when she commented on Han

I wonder how Do will get screwed over in the next episodes, she already is on her way out.

yea hope the explain what the deal is with Do. the way she comments on Han is really quite insulting. she seems to imply that Han slept her way through? or that she has jumped into a place where she doesn't belong or is not good enough? maybe Do is one of those people who was educated well and can't take that someone from a lower background making it? the swipes are really quite vicious....

 

chingus, any idea of what role KTW will be playing? and will he be appearing in this week's episodes?

 

[seteney]

You don't need even to know what is said in this scene, you know Seo is begging for a job at Nos bank.

9 hours ago, Lmangla said:

yea hope the explain what the deal is with Do. the way she comments on Han is really quite insulting. she seems to imply that Han slept her way through? or that she has jumped into a place where she doesn't belong or is not good enough? maybe Do is one of those people who was educated well and can't take that someone from a lower background making it? the swipes are really quite vicious....

Oh, this was totally her point,as was it by the gossipers in that scene before she and No entered the building. Good point about Do feeling insulted by Hans 'social climbing'.

 

[lclarakl]

@Lmangla, Thanks for the tag. I've been watching in an endless loop The Story of Minglan (one of the best dramas I've ever watched--wickedly intelligent OTP, with a very good storyline and plot).  I'm addicted to that wonderfully written drama, so I've been needing something different to watch.

 

I'm starting this drama today.  Thank you. I always love recommendations. Not only that, this drama is in my line of business.