According to Koreaherald, Netflix's global hit film "The art of Sarah" revives a shocking fraud case in South Korea a decade ago, with many incredible similarities to the story in the film: fake luxury goods are advertised as high-end products produced in Europe, earning huge profits.
In the film, the story revolves around Sarah Kim (played by Shin Hye Sun), a super swindler who uses many different identities to build the Boudoir handbag brand, turning it into the seemingly top name of the luxury world.
Boudoir is advertised as a super exclusive brand, only for VIP customers and the European royal family. However, later people discovered the completely opposite truth: these bags were actually cheaply produced in Korea with cheap materials, along with fake papers to prove that they were European handicrafts.
As investigators gradually approach the case, the film becomes both a "cat and mouse" chase, and a psychological portrait of a woman driven by ambition and desire for wealth and status.
Although the film affirms that the characters and events are fictional, the plot still reminds the public of a real scandal that once shocked South Korea.
The case named "Vincent & Co." occurred in 2006, related to a watch brand suddenly appearing, claiming to have a hundred-year history in Switzerland and owning customers who are elite, even members of the British Royal Family.
This brand builds its reputation by giving watches to celebrities before opening a store in the luxurious Cheongdam-dong area in Seoul, South Korea.
The opening event attracted many top stars of that time such as "Squid Game" actor Lee Jung Jae and "Winter Sonata" beauty Choi Ji Woo, along with many editors and famous fashion stylists.
Media effects help sales increase sharply. Each watch is said to be priced up to 100 million won (about 1.8 billion VND). Many famous figures in the entertainment industry and even politics also wear them at public events.
According to police reports, at its peak, this brand sold products worth 446 million won and earned about 1.57 billion won from franchise fees and related guarantees.
However, just a few months later, the "cover" collapsed when a complaint appeared about the suspicious quality and structure of the watch. Police concluded that they were assembled domestically using components imported from China, but were advertised as "100% Swiss-made" or a limited edition ordered by the European royal family.
To increase reliability, the operating side also sent the watch to Switzerland and then imported it to have legal import documents - a similar detail in the movie when Sarah forged evidence of European production for the Boudoir bag.
The mastermind of the "Vincent & Co." case was finally sentenced to 4 years in prison. The court determined that the fraudulent act was sophisticatedly calculated, intentionally deceiving consumers and there was no satisfactory compensation for the victim.
The case in real life now becomes a "warning mirror" reflected in "Sara's Art of Deception", a film that continues to resonate globally thanks to exploiting false glory and the desire to escape mediocrity to step into a "different life".
Thanks to positive word-of-mouth effects, the film currently ranks No. 1 on Netflix in many countries such as Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia..., and also entered the top 10 in 38 other countries, including Japan, Singapore, Colombia, Kenya...
