Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area

Lore & Background

The series follows the storyline and characters of the original Spanish series. 'The Professor' (Yoo Ji-tae), a strategist criminal mastermind, plans a heist in the reunified Korean Peninsula. The operation involves strategists and desperados with different characteristics and abilities, who face unusual situations. Robbers overtake the mint of a unified Korea, with hostages trapped inside, while the police must stop them and the operation's shadowy mastermind. The gang includes characters such as Berlin (Park Hae-soo), a North Korean former prisoner; Tokyo (Jeon Jong-seo), a North Korean woman with military training; and others like Moscow, Denver, Nairobi, Rio, Helsinki, and Oslo.

Reader's Guide

Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area is significant as the first international adaptation of the popular Spanish series Money Heist, transplanting the heist narrative to a unified Korean Peninsula. The series was developed by BH Entertainment and Zium Content, with Netflix confirming the remake in December 2020. Filming was suspended in July 2021 due to COVID-19 guidelines. The first six episodes were released on June 24, 2022, and the second part on December 9, 2022. Critical reception was mixed: on Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of 17 critics' reviews were positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10, while Metacritic assigned a score of 56 out of 100, indicating mixed or average reviews. Critics noted the series' slick execution but lack of surprises for fans of the original. The series explores themes of economic disparity through its setting.

Did You Know?

• The series is the second series in the Money Heist franchise, based on the original Spanish series.
• The character Berlin is a 41-year-old North Korean former prisoner of the Kaechon concentration camp, where he served 25 years' detention since age nine.
• Tokyo serves as the narrator of the series.