Review | Netflix K-drama review: Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area Part 1 gives a slick geopolitical makeover to hit Spanish thriller series
- The storyline is largely the same, with criminal mastermind the Professor assembling a break-in gang to steal money, but the setting is a newly unified Korea
- With an ensemble cast that includes Jeon Jong-seo, Jang Yoon-ju and Yoo Ji-tae, and the same red uniforms and masks, the Netflix series opens fluently
3.5/5 stars
The über-successful Spanish drama series sensation Money Heist gets a makeover for Netflix’s hottest market in Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area, which drops its first six episodes on June 24 with another batch to come.
The characters, set-up and broad story beats remain the same in this update, but the background against which the action plays out gets a unique spin. In the near future, North and South Korea have unified and the heart of this geopolitical entity is the Joint Economic Area on what used to be their border – a play on the existing Joint Security Area between the two.
At the heart of this Joint Economic Area is the mint that produces the unified Korea’s currency. This is the target of the criminal mastermind who calls himself “the Professor” and his band of criminals with global cities as their code names.
Over the past few years, Netflix Korea has become a one-stop shop for breathless dystopian tales that are as socially conscious as they are stylised. With bigger budgets than Korean series have previously enjoyed, and high-concept thrills, these shows have broken new ground for Korean drama.