The original Money Heist became an international symbol of discontent and resistance. The show has a thematic undercurrent that calls out the pitfalls of capitalism with the motto ‘Viva la resistencia!’ Robin Hood-like elements of the heist,
Money Heist: Korea showcases this sentiment more overtly. There’s a new dynamic tension between the North Koreans and South Koreans. North Korea is communist while South Korea i s capitalist making the imagined creation of the common currency hinge delicately upon economic politics.
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Being from the north or the south is a defining aspect of each character. Tokyo (Jeon Jong-seo) is a North Korean immigrant who arrives in South Korea only to find her promised housing and job were a scam (which should sound familiar to Squid Game viewers). After she’s forced into working as club hostess, she murders her boss to thwart him from misusing her. After that, Tokyo begins robbing any gangsters who take advantage of North Korean immigrants as an act of revenge. But her partner is killed, and she is identified.
Berlin (Park Hae-soo) is also a northerner. His mother was shot and killed right in front of him when he was a child when they tried to cross the border to the south. As an orphan and a defector, he is raised in a forced labor gulag, which contributes to his psychopathology.
Money Heist revealed character backstories with efficient flashbacks, Money Heist: Korea dwells excessively on those backstories to fill out their characters.