''The Scam'' () is a 2009 crime thriller, the first

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n film to tackle the

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange, ...

Plot

After losing everything, Hyun-soo (

Park Yong-ha Park Yong-ha (Korean: 박용하, August 12, 1977 – June 30, 2010) was a South Korean actor and singer. Career At seventeen, Park was noted for his acting and musical skills, as well as his good looks which earned him popularity with fans. A ...

) spends five years glued to the computer screen as an unshaven, full-time "ant" (individual investor). He eventually reaches the top of the game after a painful diet of instant noodles and sacrificing the cost of three luxury sedans. He vows to quit once and for all when he achieves his goal, a nine-digit savings account that will support his mother and studious younger brother. One day he hits the jackpot, not knowing that there are repercussions to disrupting a stock market scam. He ignites the fury of Hwang Jong-gu (

Park Hee-soon Park Hee-soon (; born February 13, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He graduated with a Theater degree from Seoul Institute of the Arts, and was a member of the Mokwha Repertory Company from 1990 to 2001. He became active in film beginning 2002, a ...

), a gangster-turned-financier bidding for entry into the top percentile of the rich and powerful. A fresh mobster persona, Hwang feigns elegance in his initialized Italian shoes, only to resort to kicking people for dramatic effect. He also begins every sentence with an `"OK" even though he cannot tolerate the full English phrasings of his Korean-American partner. Hwang, however, doesn't dwell on past indiscretions. He recognizes Hyun-soo's talents and employs him for the biggest scam yet, also giving him a nice makeover. Hyun-soo joins the other members of Hwang's dream team for the 60 billion won heist: Jo Min-hyeong, an elite stock broker who doubles as the think tank of fraudulent trades (musical star

Kim Mu-yeol Kim Mu-yeol (born May 22, 1982) is a South Korean actor. Following a successful career in musical theatre, Kim was first cast in minor parts on film and television. But after getting good reviews in his supporting roles in '' The Scam'' (2009) an ...

makes his big screen debut); sexy private banker Yoo Seo-yeon ( Kim Min-jung); Park Chang-joo, a second-generation chaebol CEO facing a management crisis (veteran supporting actor Jo Deok-hyun); and Bryan Choi (

Kim Jun-seong Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...

), a Korean-American fund manager who fakes foreign investment as a "black-haired foreigner." These are professional stock gamblers who win the house by reading everyone else's cards. They opt for new scientific technology, the cream of the crop for stock scams. Park's

chaebol A chaebol (, ; ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exc ...

company invests heavily in a friend's new environmental research and Seo-yeon has one of her clients buy the company's shares. They have a famous broadcaster hype public attention while Bryan creates the illusion of foreign investment, and the cash starts flowing in from blind "ants." A bigger scam, however, unfolds within the ring of scam artists. Outsider Hyun-soo becomes the ultimate insider as he becomes the pawn in a tangled web of backstabbing intrigue.

Cast

... Kang Hyun-soo, individual investor * Kim Min-jung ... Yoo Seo-yeon, financial planner *

... Hwang Jong-gu, gangster-turned-financier *

... Jo Min-hyeong, bond broker * Jo Deok-hyun ... Park Chang-joo, big stockbroker *

... Brian Choi, Korean-American fund manager * Lee Dong-yong ... Department chief Han * Jo Jae-yoon ... Deputy Lee * Park Jae-woong ... Deok-sang * Shin Hyun-jong ... Scholar Woo * Kwon Hyung-joon ... Kin Seung-beom * Yoo Seung-mok ... Yoon Sang-tae * Kim Seung-hoon ... Lee Jae-hak * Jeon Gook-hwan ... Masan Chang-too * Lee Yeong-ih ... Hyun-soo's mother * Park Yong-yeon ... Kang Joon-soo * Bae Ho-geun ... Park Ji-hyeok *

Kim Young-hoon Kim Young-Hoon (born October 2, 1978) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Web series References External links * * * * * 1978 births Living people South Korean male television actors Sout ...

... Secretary Nam

Critical Reception

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scam 2000s Korean-language films 2009 films 2009 crime thriller films Trading films South Korean crime thriller films 2000s South Korean films Sponge Entertainment films Showbox films