Seven (7) K-Dramas That Revisit the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis

Korean dramas and films return so often to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis because it was a national turning point—an economic shock that reshaped everyday life, social values, and the country’s sense of identity.

 

The crisis forced mass layoffs, family upheaval, and a sudden loss of stability, giving storytellers a rich emotional landscape where characters confront economic insecurity, class mobility, and the tension between rapid modernization and personal sacrifice.

Below are seven (7) Korean dramas that set narratives against this backdrop; creators tap into a shared cultural memory that still resonates in South Korea, using the crisis as a lens to explore ambition, resilience, and the human cost of national transformation.

(1) Empire of Gold (2013)

A power struggle drama spanning 1990–2010. The story follows a 20-year battle for control of the Sungjin Group, unfolding against South Korea’s turbulent economic rise, collapse, and recovery—including the shock of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Jang Tae Joo, Choi Seo Yoon, and Choi Min Jae clash in shifting alliances marked by ambition, betrayal, and strategic marriages. As the empire expands and fractures, each contender uses loyalty when useful and treachery when necessary. Ultimately, the saga asks which of these power-hungry rivals will outlast the others in a brutal portrait of capitalism and survival.

(2) Default (2018, Film)

A dramatization of the government’s internal struggle during the crisis. It shows policymakers, bankers, and ordinary citizens facing the fallout. A tense portrait of South Korea’s 1997 financial meltdown, Default follows a government economist, a profit-seeking consultant, and a struggling factory owner as they navigate the week leading up to the IMF bailout. Their parallel stories expose the clash between institutional integrity, ruthless opportunism, and everyday vulnerability during a national crisis. Even after the bailout averts collapse, the film underscores the lasting human cost — inequality, instability, and shattered public trust.

(3) Reborn Rich (2022)

A reincarnation revenge drama starring Song Joong-ki. Yoon Hyeon Woo, a loyal employee of the Soonyang family, is murdered after uncovering their financial crimes and being betrayed during a mission to recover stolen money. Instead of dying, he awakens in 1987 in the body of Jin Do Jun, the family’s youngest grandson—armed with his past-life memories and knowledge of future events. Realizing this erased grandson’s fate is a mystery, he begins plotting how to change the family’s future and finally claim justice.

The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 is a real historical collapse that devastated South Korea’s economy, and becomes part of Jin Do Jun’s long-term revenge strategy. He uses his future knowledge of the crisis to outmaneuver the Soonyang family. He predicts the crash years in advance, positions himself to profit from it, and then uses the crisis to expose weaknesses in Soonyang’s leadership—especially the heir who betrayed him in his past life.

(4) Bogotá: City of the Lost (2024)

Guk Hui’s family flees South Korea after the 1997–98 Asian Financial Crisis, hoping Bogotá will offer stability through his father’s old war friend, Mr. Park. Instead, they enter a world of corruption, smuggling, and hard survival, where only Guk Hui manages to build a modest life while his father collapses under failure. As Bogotá’s fragile “opportunity” unravels, Guk Hui learns that in dirty business, trust is an illusion and everyone is ultimately on their own.

(5) Typhoon Family (2025)

Kang Tae- Poong, once a carefree young man focused on cultivating a unique Korean rose, is suddenly forced to abandon his dreams when the 1997 IMF crisis destroys his father’s company and takes his father’s life. Overwhelmed by grief yet driven by duty, he steps in as CEO to save Typhoon Trading, supported by loyal employees—especially bookkeeper Oh Mi-seon, who becomes his moral anchor. Together, they begin rebuilding the company, starting with Tae-Poong officially filling out his own employee card.

(6) Big Deal (2025, Film)

This Korean film uses the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis to frame a clash between two men whose values shape the fate of a historically significant soju company. Choi In-Beom is called in as an outside consultant to help restructure and rebuild the company. He is a profit-driven investment strategist who exploits insider knowledge to buy the company cheaply, with no care for the fate of its employees. Pyo Jong-Rok, the company’s loyal finance director, hides company funds in a shell corporation to protect what he sees as a cultural institution. Then he discovers his boss used the crisis to line his own pockets and also did not care about saving the company. The clash between Choi In-Beom and Pyo Jon-Rok reveals how unethical corporate financial decisions involve rigged systems and have cultural and national consequences.

(7) Undercover Miss Hong (2026)

A financial investigation drama that directly depicts the crisis’s emotional toll, including characters driven into debt and despair. Hong Keum Bo’s undercover mission unfolds against the backdrop of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, a period when South Korea’s markets were destabilized, and firms like Hanmin Securities were under intense pressure—conditions that made slush fund schemes and internal collusion easier to hide.

Disguised as her younger sister, she infiltrates the company to uncover corruption while navigating office politics, the chairman’s political connections, and the emotional tension of working alongside her former lover, Shin Jung Woo. The crisis amplifies every risk she takes, turning her covert investigation into a race to expose fraud before the collapsing financial system buries the truth.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

From ‘Typhoon Family’ to ‘Reborn Rich’: K-Dramas and Movies That Depict the IMF Crisis. | Allkpop

Hit K-Dramas Based on Money like ‘Typhoon Family’ That Had Viewers Invested. | Lifestyle Asia India

The Real Story Behind the IMF Crisis Shown in the K-Drama ‘Typhoon Family’: What Really Happened in Korea in 1. | Dojeon Media

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