Hey, everyone! How’s it going? Today I’m here to review the drama Glamorous Temptation, which delivers an intense exploration of political corruption, family betrayal, and the devastating consequences of revenge that unfolds across 50 gripping episodes of moral complexity and emotional turmoil.
Glamorous Temptation premiered on October 5, 2015, and aired for 50 episodes until March 22, 2016, on MBC during the Monday and Tuesday 22:00 time slot. This South Korean political melodrama stars Joo Sang-wook, Choi Kang-hee, and Cha Ye-ryun, with Nam Joo-hyuk appearing as the teenage version of the male lead. Directed by Kim Sang-hyub and written by Son Yeong-mok and Cha I-yeong, the series is available on various streaming platforms including Apple TV, Plex, and can be found through JustWatch for Netflix and Prime Video availability.
The series follows three interconnected characters whose fates become tragically entwined through ambition, jealousy, and vengeance, exploring how the pursuit of power and status can corrupt even the most well-intentioned individuals. With compelling performances and complex political plotting, Glamorous Temptation manages to deliver both satisfying dramatic moments and sobering commentary on corruption, loyalty, and the price of justice.
Eun-soo’s Dangerous Ascent to Power
A young woman learns from her whistleblower father that honesty is not always the best policy. Soon after her marriage, she finds herself saddled with crushing debt that threatens to destroy her family’s future. Through a series of events, she discovers an opportunity to join the top 1% of society, but this ascent comes with moral compromises that will test every principle she once held dear.
Glamorous Temptation excels at showing how financial desperation can lead good people to make increasingly questionable choices, demonstrating how the glamorous world of the elite operates on corruption, manipulation, and the exploitation of those seeking entry. Eun-soo’s journey from honest citizen to someone willing to navigate moral gray areas provides the emotional foundation that drives the series’ exploration of power and its corrupting influence.
Shin Eun-soo: From Victim to Player
Choi Kang-hee delivers a powerful performance as Eun-soo, a woman who transforms from an honest, struggling newlywed into someone capable of playing dangerous political games to secure her family’s future. Her character development shows how circumstances can force people to abandon their principles while still maintaining some core sense of right and wrong, creating internal conflict that drives much of the series’ emotional tension.
What makes Eun-soo particularly compelling is how she maintains her humanity even while engaging in morally questionable activities, showing viewers someone who is neither purely victim nor villain but a complex individual trying to survive in a system designed to exploit the desperate and reward the ruthless.
Jin Hyung-woo: The Man Consumed by Vengeance
Joo Sang-wook portrays Hyung-woo, a man who lives for revenge after those in power drove his father to death when he was still a teenager. His character represents the dangerous territory of long-term vengeance planning, showing how the desire for justice can become an obsession that consumes everything else in a person’s life, including their capacity for love and forgiveness.
Nam Joo-hyuk’s portrayal of teenage Hyung-woo provides crucial backstory that explains how childhood trauma and injustice can shape someone’s entire worldview, making viewers understand his motivations while questioning whether his methods will ultimately provide the satisfaction and closure he seeks.
When Personal Becomes Political
The series reaches its most intense moments when the personal vendettas of individual characters intersect with larger political corruption schemes, creating a web of betrayal and manipulation that threatens to destroy everyone involved. These climactic episodes showcase how individual desires for revenge or advancement can have far-reaching consequences that affect entire communities and political systems.
The revelation scenes demonstrate how the series has been building toward confrontations that will test every character’s limits and force them to choose between personal satisfaction and moral responsibility, creating genuinely suspenseful moments that don’t offer easy answers or simple resolutions.
Success on MBC and International Streaming
Glamorous Temptation performed well during its original MBC broadcast, earning recognition at the 2015 MBC Drama Awards with multiple nominations including Top Excellence for Jung Jin-young and Best Supporting Actor for Kim Ho-jin. The series has found international success on various streaming platforms including Apple TV and Plex, where viewers can access the complete 50-episode run with subtitles. Available through JustWatch for Netflix and Prime Video users, Glamorous Temptation has attracted international audiences interested in Korean political dramas that combine personal stories with larger social commentary. The series represents MBC’s commitment to complex melodramas that tackle serious social issues while delivering emotionally satisfying character development.
The Perfect Political Thriller for K-Drama Enthusiasts
If you love political intrigue with complex moral dilemmas, revenge narratives that explore the cost of justice, and character-driven stories about corruption and power, Glamorous Temptation is the perfect series to binge on MBC or international streaming platforms. This series proves that the most dangerous temptations are often those that promise to solve our problems while creating far worse ones.
When Justice Becomes Injustice
Glamorous Temptation delivers a sobering exploration of how the pursuit of power and revenge can corrupt even the most well-intentioned individuals, showing that sometimes the greatest victories come at costs that make them indistinguishable from defeats.
Series Details
Number of Episodes: 50 episodes
Platform: MBC, Apple TV, Plex, Netflix, Prime Video
Release Year: 2015-2016
Current IMDb Rating: 7.0
Genre: Political Drama, Melodrama, Revenge
Production Type: Korean drama (K-drama)
Status: Completed series
Protagonists: Choi Kang-hee (Shin Eun-soo), Joo Sang-wook (Jin Hyung-woo), Cha Ye-ryun
Antagonist: Political corruption system, various corrupt officials