Disney+ K-drama Gold Land: crime thriller with Park Bo-young is polished but lacks urgency
Suspenseful and visually stunning it might be, but Gold Land so far features too vague a narrative and lacks character depth
Lead cast: Park Bo-young, Kim Sung-cheol, Kim Hee-won, Lee Kwang-soo
Gold Land is a gleaming casino that rises up from a densely wooded forest sitting within waves of nestled hills in northeastern South Korea. Gambling is technically outlawed in Korea, but this fictional casino is granted a permit to stimulate the flagging local economy, which is made up of jobbing miners and the struggling local businesses that support them.
There are several casinos peppered around South Korea, but they only admit foreign nationals – visitors to the country’s international airports are generally greeted by ads for them.
There is only one casino that allows Korean residents, which happens to be in the mountains in the northeast, although it is a far more humble establishment than Gold Land – which looms large over the local town and is visible from any street.