Golden Cross ~ Do All Countries Have a Shadow Organization?
“Golden Cross” is an old but gold, 2014 Korean drama series, with 20 episodes, categorized as Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, and Romance; streaming on Viki and KOCOWA+.
SUMMARY: You probably know about us but don’t know who we are. You’re not supposed to know. Our identity is a secret because we operate in the “shadows”. Nevertheless, we control the purse strings of the entire nation.
♦ We Don’t Run the World. Just the Country. We’re Not Greedy!
There is a shadowy society known as “Golden Cross”, and it is deeply embedded, i.e. firmly rooted in the country’s financial framework. If you ask the “Golden Cross” to justify their existence (that’s IF you knew who they were and you could ask them), they’ll say it’s all because of the “IMF Crisis”.
- The IMF is the International Monetary Fund, and according to history, many economies around the world tanked, and the IMF played a major role in stabilizing them. The Asian Financial Crisis occurred during 1997-1998, and the IMF “saved the day” by intervening with an injection of $40 billion to stabilize economies like South Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Well! After that happened, would people in power or who hold leadership positions, particularly in the financial sector, want to be at the mercy of an external institution to rescue them if it ever happens again? NO!!! That means they have to come up with a way to save themselves.
If they had a mission statement for everything they do, it would probably read:
That sounds so noble and patriotic, doesn’t it?
Plus, nobody can explain the economy anyway. Nobody cares about a recession. People only understand what “depression” means when it happens to them. Nobody cares about stagflation? But everybody understands “inflation”! If the Golden Cross is doing what they do to make the country’s economy great, who would ever question their honorable intentions? If you did, you’d probably end up dead somewhere.
Even so, someone might THINK even if they didn’t ask:
- IF you’re so great and it’s for the good of all the people, why is it such a BIG SECRET?
Don’t say it’s because the people in your organization are humble and want to do their “almsgiving” anonymously. Tell the truth. This has nothing to do with love of country. You’re just satisfying your own selfish lusts. Hey! You’re not special. That’s what most people in “secret organizations” do. The secrecy is because if the activities the organization engaged in to achieve their “righteous cause” were exposed, they would be deemed illegal, unethical, immoral, and … just plain old mean and nasty!
It would be extremely hard to convince the citizens of the country (and the world, because news spreads like wildfire – and global opinion is very important!), that you were only acting in their “best interests”.
Nope! If the “secrets” got out, everybody would probably be chanting: “OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!”
♦ MEET THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ENTANGLED IN THE “GOLDEN CROSS WEB”
You try your best to live a decent and honest life, and sometimes, through no fault of your own, you get caught up in a web of deceit and power struggles. How did you get involved when you were certain that you took the straight and narrow path? You either have a family connection, a romantic connection, or both! But once you realize that you’re tangled up in the web, you also realize how naive and ignorant you were when you asked your father: What good is being honest and hardworking?
You had no idea what your father was going through FOR YOU, YOUR SISTER, and YOUR MOTHER. But when your father kills your sister because ___________, all of a sudden … the real cruel and ugly world crashes on top of you. What are you going to do? Like it or not, YOU’RE IN THE “GOLDEN CROSS WEB”.
- Kang Do-yoon tried so hard, and he did it! He accomplished his goal of becoming a prosecutor. His father, mother, and sister were so proud of him. But he was only on top of the world for a short while. His beloved sister innocently walked into a trap, and when she tried to escape, they threatened to ruin her brother’s career or worse, make him disappear. She loved her big brother as much as he cherished his little sister. Everything in his happy life changed when she was murdered and his father was framed for the crime.
- Seo Dong-ha is the man who framed Kang Do-yoon’s father. He is a powerful man behind the secret organization known as the Golden Cross. Kang Do-yoon is determined to get justice and revenge; however, he’s in love with Seo Dong-ha’s daughter.
- Seo Yi-re is the daughter of Seo Dong-ha. She is also a prosecutor and Kang Do-yoon’s colleague and lover. She has always loved, admired, respected, and obeyed her father. Until she found out that he had an ugly, dark side. Seo Yi-re wanted to be an honorable truth-seeking prosecutor who upheld the law. But now, she’s caught between the two most important men in her life – her father and her lover.
Will justice prevail?
Main Characters:
- Kang Do-Yoon (played by Kim Kang-Woo, “The Childe”, “The Vanished”, “The Tyrant”, “Wonderful World”, “Circle: Two Worlds Connected”)
- Seo Yi-Re (played by Lee Si-Young, “My Beautiful Bride”, “Killer Toon”, “The Divine Move”, “Boys Over Flowers”)
- Michael Jang (played by Uhm Ki-Joon, “Little Women”, “Heart Surgeons”, “The Escape of the Seven 1 and 2”, “I’m Not a Robot”, “Penthouse 1, 2 and 3”)
- Hong Sa-Ra (played by Han Da-Gam, “Durian’s Affair”)
- Seo Dong-Ha (played by Jung Bo-Suk, “Secret Royal Inspector & Joy”, “Jung-Yi, Goddess of Fire”, “The King in Love”, “Giant”)
Viewership and Rating:
My personal rating is the same as the Viki viewers.
“Golden Cross”? Who doesn’t love a good thriller about a shadowy secret organization that controls the money and power of the country?
I was first introduced to the concept of shadow secret societies in Korean history when I watched the historical epic series “Six Flying Dragons”. It was set during the Joseon Era. They hadn’t quite caught on to the symbols often linked to Christianity, so there were no “crosses ”. The secret organization was called “Moomyung” (which translates “Nameless”). That’s an appropriate name, don’t you think? In the modern era, “Nameless” is known as “Golden Cross”. By either name, they are scary people!
LINKS OF INTEREST:
Golden Cross Korean Drama | KoreanDrama.org
Drama Review – Golden Cross (KBS, 2014) | The cat that watches TV
Greed and crime drive financial thriller – Golden Cross | Dramabeans
Golden Cross 2014 Korean Drama Review | Asian Movies & Dramas
KBS WORLD TV – Program | Golden Cross
TRAILERS/TEASERS:
KBS WORLD TV. (2014). Golden Cross [Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-KG2Te0npw.
♦
