Recap Korean Drama "Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area Part 2(2022) " Episode 1

Episode 7 of Money Heist: Korea starts with a flashback, showing just how ruthless Captain Cha is. With his team, Moohyuk makes swift work of a man who claims that the Korea divide is over. Of course, we know that this is the case but when he pulls a knife, Moohyuk is too quick and he strings the guy up by the neck and leaves him for dead. Everything Cha has dedicated his life to has turned to ash as soon as North and South Korea joined together.

In the present, the Professor is greeted by Cha Moohyuk. He ignores a call from Sun Woo-Jin, who has realized that those inside the Unified Mint aren’t trying to get out, they want to stay in and print money, courtesy of that ripped part of the bank note she found last episode. “Their party will be over soon.” Woo-Jin says, confident that she’s going to put a stop to everything.

Captain Cha eventually leaves, but he does so after taking a tool from the Professor’s worktable. He intends to run the fingerprints and check if they’re a match.

Inside the Mint, the group continue to make the bank notes, with Nairobi offering some words of encouragement to those doubting themselves. However, a rebellion is growing among those who have been captured and Director Jo is inevitably at the front and center of this. Given the Ambassador’s daughter is inside the Mint too, it raises the stakes considerably for the government officials, who are desperate to resolve this as quickly as possible – but clearly they can’t use force and risk her being killed.

The Ambassador raises the stakes by deciding to grant immunity to anyone inside the Mint who is willing to help them. Our group brush off the news report, confident that no one can be compromised or buckle this way. The Professor though tells them all to remain vigilant, and tasks Rio with a separate mission, given he’s still hacking Cha Moohyuk’s phone.

When Woo-Jin brings her worries about the money to Kim Sang-Man, he shrugs it off, hinting that he actually has someone on the inside about to sneak Anne Kim out. She pleads with him to call it off, worried that they could end up getting a lot of people killed but he smirks in a way that seems like he has an alternate plan.

Woo-Jin rings the Professor out in her car and tells him they have a traitor among them and they’re going to kill Anne. It’s a lie, of course, but the Professor falls for it and immediately checks all the monitors with Nairobi and Rio. Nairobi believes a bomb has been set up in the vault and hurries down to check on it. Unfortunately, Anne Kim happens to be right there on the other side of the door.

Nairobi gets there just in time and throws her down, saving her from the explosion that rocks the hallway. So what happened? Well, Helsinki obviously found one of the masks, which allowed Anne to sneak away. The latter received a note telling her to meet by the vault, which was rigged to blow.

While those inside the Mint either band together or turn against one another, Woo-Jin decides to buy themselves some time and chooses to shut off the electricity. Before they get confirmation from their superiors to do this, some more intel comes in; an intercepted text message from Captain Cha on the inside. “Kim Sangman is trying to contact the robbers. Find out what he wants.” However, these are actually planted messages from Rio on the inside, intending to throw them off the scent.

It works too and Detective Lee shows up and tries to arrest him. Given Cha’s history with North Korea and his current suspicions about the Professor, it’s a neat idea to throw them off the scent. Moohyuk locks himself in the lab and prints out the fingerprint results as quick as he can, simultaneously trying to keep the door shut.

Moohyuk is clever and cunning, he manages to get away and runs off with details that Park Sunho is the Professor. Out in the parking lot he rings his contact, and eventually heads over to see Woo-Jin’s mother. Thankfully, the Professor gets there first and injects a tranquilizer into his leg, knocking him out. He hurriedly puts him in the trunk of his car and sneaks into Woo-Jin’s mother’s house. The Professor knows he needs to stop her from speaking the truth, but of course given she has a bad memory, she completely forgets why she was ringing and the Professor is saved from making a horrific choice.

Back inside the Mint, Anne manages to sweet talk her way into being on the lunch team of hostages. While making their food, she sneaks a note into the food, intending to communicate with the others. At the same time, the Director sneaks a gun into the toilets, hiding it in the basin. The hostages are getting the upper-hand and it seems like it’s only a matter of time before they properly strike back.

Meanwhile, the Professor heads home and finds Woo-Jin there waiting. She’s grown suspicious of him and demands to be taken upstairs so she can see what else he may be hiding. Specifically, to the workroom. With a gun to his back, the Professor leads the way. The place is completely empty and Woo-Jin apologizes, pointing out that she received intel from Moohyuk and was suspicious. The Professor plays the part well, acting heartbroken when, to be honest, he kinda is a bit, especially if the narration from Tokyo over the top is anything to go by.

As the episode closes out, Woo-Jin gives the command for all electricity to be cut in the Mint. Just as the lights go out, the hostages strike back.

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The Episode Review

The story has its perks and a few unique, original elements, but much like before the narrative is largely following what happened in the original Spanish version. While there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s not exactly lighting the world on fire, given how soon this series has come out next to the original.

The acting is great all round though and it’ll be interesting to see exactly who the traitor is among this lot and if it differs from the original tale. Either way though, the second part wastes absolutely no time getting back into the thick of the action and it’s anyone’s guess exactly what will happen next.