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The transfixing K-drama spinoff of Money Heist stays pretty true to the original Spanish cult series. But at its heart is an intriguing Korean tale set against a fictional political backdrop, reflecting the Korean peninsula's checkered past and complicated present.
The new show sees a pulsating heist and hostage crisis unravel in the year 2025, with the two halves of the peninsula slated to be reunited following the formation of a Joint Economic Area (JEA).
The thieves plan to steal four trillion [Korean] won of a unified currency from a Korean mint set in the JEA and "be gone like the wind," according to the Professor (played by Yoo Ji-tae), the mastermind behind the grand robbery.
This historical and political configuration is what makes Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area "so unique" and "very much a Korean story," Yoo and Kim Yun-jin (who plays Woo-jin, the leader of the task force and negotiator of the hostage crisis) told Newsweek ahead of the series release.
Kim—who said she'd binged through two seasons of the original work nearly overnight—explained: "I think the audience will appreciate the scale and detail of the Korean version and how it is very much a Korean story," due to the geographical, historical and political references.
"I think this backdrop, while it's a sad reality, gives the work such a strong Korean identity, making it a story that can only be told by our country."
Yoo said the JEA is an area that's "neither North or South Korea," symbolic of the peninsula's real-life Joint Security Area (JSA), which is part of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where diplomatic negotiations between North and South Korea take place.
The historically loaded feel of the JSA adds an intensity that is uniquely Korean and this theme of political tension is referenced throughout the series, perhaps even in the release date of the series falling on June 24—a day before the anniversary of the Korean War.
The war began on June 25, 1950, triggered by North Korean forces invading South Korea following several clashes at the border.
The two countries are technically still at war because while an armistice agreement was reached in July 1953, it was never signed by the then South Korean president, Syngman Rhee.
And neither was there a peace treaty signed to formally end the war.
In a scene overlooking the hostages, who are a mix of North and South Koreans, Berlin, the formidable leader of the heist team inside the mint, observed: "They fought each other for so long. Will putting them together force them to get along? They don't see us because they're busy fighting among themselves."
Stirring the pot further, Berlin later announces that if a North Korean hostage gets caught making escape attempts or any other suspicious moves, a South Korean hostage will be punished for the deed, and vice versa.
In addition to hostages, cross border divide and tension are also felt among the task force, which consists of an equal number of North and South Korean forces.
"The rivalry between the North and South is quite evident among the task force," Kim said, as the leaders from both sides come head-to-head with their polarizing approaches to conflict resolution.
Yoo, another huge fan of the original series, was intrigued when he first saw the script for the Korean remake: "I remember thinking this could either be really great, if done well, or really bad, if we mess it up, and we could get a lot of heat for it," feeling a huge sense of pressure around doing justice to the Spanish work.
"What makes the Korean version so unique is its configuration, set against the backdrop of a soon-to-be-reunified Korean peninsula. The concept of a Joint Economic Area is quite a new idea and unfamiliar term, which I felt was well thought out in the show, with a great composition and dynamic storyline within a tight script," said Yoo.
So what message does the Korean spinoff have and what does it say about the future of Korean reunification?
"That democracy is very messy, like in America," said Kim. "Trying to do anything democratic is messy and it takes a long time, but we'll get it done one day."
Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area is available to stream on Netflix from June 24.
About the writer
Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in Read more