‘Adamas’ is a symbol of Haesong, the biggest conglomerate corporation in a fictional world of South Korea. It is said to be made of a 300 carat diamond, more than enough to make all thieves in the country drooling. Ha Woo-shin, a well known crime novelist, decided to ghostwrite for Haesong’s Chairman who wants to make his autobiography. Following a strict protocol from Haesong, he goes to the Haesong mansion and live there to focus on his writing. But, he has an ulterior motive. He wants to steal the Adamas. Meanwhile, his twin brother Song Soo-hyun is investigating the truth behind the death of their step father 22 years ago, which then lead him to Haesong.
The K-drama ‘Adamas’ is deeply mysterious. Everything from cinematography to music is perfectly set up for some kind of a treasure hunter. As we go further, we find ourselves trailing the dots that connect one character to the others, and how their relationships intertwine with the Adamas. But, what I find the most interesting is the supporting characters. Usually, the supporting characters’ action follow the main characters. They are the supporter who will drive or help the protagonist towards their goal. But in this series, they are unpredictable and act at will. Their movement affected the course of the story and make the twins look like a small fragment in a grand scheme even though they are the main protagonists. Or perhaps, the true protagonist in this series is always Haesong? Nonetheless, I find it quite refreshing to see main protagonists in this type of drama who don’t always hold the key and supporting characters who have their own voices and motives.
In the K-Drama ‘Adamas’, Haesong is depicted as this powerful force that influence the whole country. Every government institution and media are run by Haesong, and the law is owned by them. Their power is of course accompanied by their cruelty. They have a secret department called Team A, and that department won’t hesitate to obliterate anything or anyone that got in their way. They are behind many death and disappearance. It’s utterly baffling because can you really believe a corporation can holds an entire nation under their palm? That everything and every one belong to them? Won’t it just make you a pathetic conspiracist? Actually, it’s not too hard to believe. However, the fact that one person holds such ultimate power is just too scary. A world like that is a scary place to live in because then, how can you be so sure that the life you think is yours is truly yours? Where everything can be distorted, are we certain that the truth we think is true is the truth?
Adamas left me feeling pessimistic. You’d wish a corrupt and bankrupt organisation such as Haesong is destroyed forever. But, despite the change in their face, nothing really changes. In fact, the generational cycle is repeating itself. In front of Haesong, even the twins, the hero of this story, can’t do much. It’s infuriating.
By the time the bad guys get caught, I was thinking if everything the twins and their team did is pointless. Are we really that helpless and insignificant in front of power? Maybe. And maybe power will always prevail and we can’t change the world at all. But then, Ha Woo-shin does something at the end. He is only a small fragment in this whole grand scheme, but he does something different and follow his own path.
