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Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
12 Episodes 2022 - 2022
Episode 1
Episode 1
Fri, Jun 24, 202278 mins
A female North Korean soldier, secretly a fan of South Korean K-pop boy band BTS, narrates her life before the re-unification of both North Korea and South Korea. The story began in 2025 when the North-South border of the Korean peninsula opened to allow North Koreans and South Koreans to commute between both countries for work, as well as the South's investments in the North and the construction of the Joint-Economic Area (JEA) for economic growth of the two Koreas. The soldier, like many North Koreans, went to the South to find work, but ended up turning to a life of crime, robbing and killing loan sharks who extorted many Northerners and poor Southerners, and becoming a nationwide fugitive. A year later, after her partner was killed, the soldier was recruited by a man who introduced himself as the "Professor" to help commit a four trillion won money heist. The soldier would join him and take on the code name "Tokyo". Tokyo is also joined by former North Korean camp prisoner "Berlin", con artist "Nairobi", ex-convict "Moscow" and his son, underground fighter "Denver", skilled hacker "Rio", and brothers "Oslo" and "Helsinki" from a Yanbian gang. Together, the group went to the Mint at JEA, where they hold the employees and visitors hostage and begin to print bank notes worth four trillion won. South Korean crisis negotiation team leader Seon Woo-jin and North Korean captain Cha Moo-hyuk are later ordered to lead a group of police officers from both Koreas to monitor and diffuse the hostage situation. Unknown to Woo-jin however, the Professor is her current boyfriend and cafe owner Park Sun-ho.
Episode 2
Episode 2
Fri, Jun 24, 202274 mins
Not knowing the Professor's identity, Woo-jin negotiates with the Professor (who is giving orders in a secret room in his cafe) to ensure the safety of the hostages; the group (except Berlin) had promised to not hurt the hostages as long as they follow orders. Among the hostages are the Mint's director Cho Young-min, Young-min's lover and employee Yoon Mi-seon, and high school student Anne Kim, who is the daughter of the US Ambassador and part of a school field trip. As several employees of the Mint were ordered by their captors to print the notes, Young-min, who is desperate to get out, asks Mi-seon to help him take his smartwatch from his office to contact the police, since the hostages' handphones were confiscated. Mi-seon pretends to be pregnant in accordance to Young-min's lies and Denver thus takes her away to another room, where she sneaks out and retrieves the watch, with Anne's help. After a few attempts to contact the outside world, the smartwatch is discovered and Berlin, despite the Professor's orders, decides to punish Young-min by having his lover Mi-seon executed. Denver takes her to the bathroom and shoots her.
Episode 3
Episode 3
Fri, Jun 24, 202268 mins
Tokyo discovers that Denver shot Mi-seon in the leg, and decides to help him hide her in an underground vault, where they apply first aid. Tokyo wants to have Berlin removed from his leader position due to his violence and unpredictability, while Denver tends to Mi-seon. Young-min struggles with his sadness over Mi-seon's "death" while enduring the other hostages' condemnation for putting Mi-seon in danger in his place out of selfishness; the North Korean employees even threaten to kill him if he ever tries to put the others in danger again. Later, Tokyo enlists Nairobi and Rio's help to subdue Helsinki and Oslo and they confront Berlin at the office, where the heist members get into a heated argument over Berlin's disobedience. During the argument, Moscow is shocked and distraught to hear that Denver killed Mi-seon, and without knowing the full truth, he recklessly opens the door to surrender in his son's place, willing to take the fall for Mi-seon's "murder". Denver manages to catch up and stop him, revealing that Mi-seon is alive. As there are snipers stationed outside the Mint aiming their guns at the two, Berlin sends the team and a few hostages to escort Moscow and Denver back inside while armed. Young-min tries to once again threaten Tokyo and the others to release him. Mistaking Young-min as the captor, Woo-jin gives the order to the snipers to shoot Young-min.
Episode 4
Episode 4
Fri, Jun 24, 202271 mins
Young-min is shot in the chest and barely survives; he is brought back inside the Mint to be given first aid, but there's little the robbers can do. The police recognize Young-min and decide to negotiate with the Professor to send medics inside the Mint to treat and save Young-min. Moo-hyuk pretends to be a nurse and enters the Mint with two nurses and a surgeon. Berlin, tipped off by the Professor, confronts Moo-hyuk. Moo-hyuk states that he's a policeman sent to ensure the medics' safety. In reality, an ambush team (wearing the same attire and mask as the heist team) was secretly infiltrating the Mint while Moo-hyuk and the medics helped buy them time to enter the compound. The Professor manages to see through this and orders the hostages and heist team to switch to another mask (to differentiate themselves from the officers); this leads to Woo-jin ordering the team to abort their mission and retreat. Before they do, however, Rio manages to install eavesdropping software on Moo-hyuk's phone. Denver and Tokyo steal the medics' medical supplies to allow Rio, a medical school dropout, to operate on Mi-seon. Berlin detains Tokyo and Rio, and tries to kill Mi-seon; Denver stands in front of Berlin's gun, showing his growing affection for Mi-seon. Nairobi subdues Berlin, who is later tied up as punishment for defying the Professor's orders. Mi-seon, now largely improved from her injuries, rejoins the hostages, who rejoice at the truth of her survival as Nairobi and Tokyo took charge and give more freedom to the hostages under their supervision.
Episode 5
Episode 5
Fri, Jun 24, 202265 mins
Park Chul-woo, a secret agent who was part of the ambush team earlier on, blends in as a hostage after he failed to escape with the other agents on time. He gets into contact with Young-min, Mi-seon and Anne to devise a plan to save the hostages and subdue the captors. Woo-jin gradually realizes the Professor was outside the Mint instead of inside, and there was evidence that a used car sent to the junkyard was used by the Professor on the first day the hostage situation occurred. As the Professor narrowly escapes police pursuit to take away the car and destroy evidence, Chul-woo and Young-min abducts Denver to torture and interrogate him on the Professor's identity and whereabouts. Chul-woo and Anne subsequently fake a situation of a fire breaking out as a distraction, while Berlin attacks Rio to escape his bonds. Young-min, thinking that Denver and Mi-seon were in a relationship, beats up Denver, but Mi-seon, who seems to have fallen for Denver, stops him and tells Denver about Chul-woo's plan. Just as Chul-woo is about to shoot Tokyo, Denver alerts her. A gunshot is heard from the distance. Outside, Woo-jin opens up to the Professor more as the latter begins to feel guilty for his secret identity.
Episode 6
Episode 6
Fri, Jun 24, 202264 mins
Having overheard the gunshot through a wiretap, the police assume that Chul-woo was murdered (it is revealed that Berlin showed up and shot him down before he could kill Tokyo). Woo-jin devises a plan to use media attention to turn public opinion against the heist team, as that seems to be what they value most. They negotiate for Woo-jin to enter with a camera to broadcast every face of the surviving hostages to assure the hostages' loved ones. Berlin, who reveals his real name as Song Jung-ho, gathers the hostages and allows Woo-jin to enter and verify the hostages' safety. Woo-jin reveals to the public that the "hostage" Chul-woo was missing and assumed dead, lying that he was a recently hired security guard, something that Anne and Young-min confirm. She claims the heist team broke their promise to not hurt the hostages, and takes the chance to demand for the students' release, which stirs the audience's outrage against the heist team. However, Berlin reveals that Chul-woo was still alive, as he had been wearing a vest when he was shot. Having overheard the police and their plan, the Professor sent CCTV footage of Chul-woo's actions to the press. Berlin accuses the police of using Chul-woo to endanger the hostages' safety, as well as only intending to save Anne (due to her father's political background) but not the others. Berlin declares that this proves the heist team only wanted money and never to harm the hostages, which further cements the public anger against the police and government; Woo-jin leaves the Mint in defeat. As heist team nears the end of their mission, Denver has sex with Mi-seon after implicitly bidding her an early farewell. On the outside, Moo-hyuk resigns, while a distressed Woo-jin goes on a date with the Professor, who realizes his love for Woo-jin. This date is cut short when Woo-jin finds a secret message left by Anne. As the Professor returns to his cafe, he comes face-to-face with Moo-hyuk, who earlier suspected him.
Episode 7
Episode 7
71 mins
Moo-hyuk visits the Professor's cafe, where he probes him. He secretly steals a handcraft blade to confirm his suspicion that Park Sun-ho is the Professor. Aware that Moo-hyuk is suspicious, the Professor instructs Rio to hack into Moo-hyuk's phone to make it appear as Moo-hyuk was the mole who fed information to the robbers. While Moo-hyuk is at the JEA Police Headquarters to retrieve DNA results on the handcraft blade, the JEA Police attempt to arrest him for leaking official secrets. Moo-hyuk resists arrest and runs away to attempt to tell Woo-jin that Sun-ho, her boyfriend, is the Professor. Moo-hyuk is not aware that Rio has intercepted his phone and is blocking his phone calls, so Woo-jin never receives the message. However, the Professor is waiting for him and after a struggle, injects him with an unknown liquid that makes him unconscious. He puts him in the trunk of a car. Woo-jin's mother witnesses the event from inside the house, and runs to the phone to tell her daughter. Conscious that there can be no loose ends, the Professor enters the house with the intention of killing Woo-jin's mother. Upon entering, he overhears her phone call with her daughter. She cannot remember why she rung her daughter. The Professor recalls that Woo-jin told him that her mother has "an illness as a result of old age", and he realizes that Woo-jin's mother suffers from dementia. He leaves the house without killing Woo-jin's mother. Kim Sangman, a politician, broadcasts a message to the thieves that he would speak to the President to grant immunity to any thieves that would bring an end to the heist. An unidentified thief contacts Sangman, and Sangman provides a condition that the US ambassador's daughter, Anne Kim, must first be killed. Anne was the only factor stopping the police from using brute force to enter the Mint. Woo-jin finds this out after speaking with Sangman, and informs the Professor. The Professor contacts the thieves who frantically search for Anne, and discover a bomb in the vault. Anne is safe, as she did not wish to go on her own. Woo-jin, upon discovering of Moo-hyuk's supposed betrayal, visits Sun-ho. She points a gun towards him and demands he show her upstairs in his cafe. When they enter the room, it appears to be a storage room. Woo-jin apologizes, Sun-ho tells her to leave and ends the relationship. After realizing that the thieves are printing money, Woo-jin orders the Mint's electricity to be cut off.
Episode 8
Episode 8
68 mins
Oslo is struck down by the hostages, who set their escape plan into motion while the lights go out in the Mint. The hostages head to the loading bay, but find the exit blocked by explosives. The thieves reach and subdue the hostages just as the police blows their way inside. The thieves manage to push the police off and block the entrance while the hostages head to the rooftop for rescue. Meanwhile, Park Chul-woo finds and destroy the thieves's communication equipment, and secures a vial of Berlin's medicine. Although the thieves reach the rooftop and stop the hostages, 29 of them manage to escape. Helsinki finds Olso and Rio tries to reanimate him, but it is too late. The remaining hostages start acting defiant towards the group. Without his medicine, a deranged Berlin is hell-bent on finding the traitor, who is revealed to be Nairobi. She called Sangman after seeing her son on television. Convinced that Tokyo is the traitor, Berlin restrains her, while a grieving Helsinki sides with Berlin and knocks Rio out. Rio confesses to be the traitor, but Berlin is sure that he is only doing so to protect Tokyo and concluded that she is traitor. He hauls her off, tied up on a cart, to be arrested. Park Chul-woo provides Woo-jin the medicine he retrieved. Deducing that one of the thieves has a terminal disease, she has deliveries of the medicine tracked down to the resort where the thieves planned their heist. The Professor and Berlin are revealed to be brothers.
Episode 9
Episode 9
68 mins
The Professor led the police to the fake evidence he planted where he trained the Heist team where he blew some of the fake evidence. Woojin start questioning Tokyo who was sent out by a crazed Berlin who lacks of his medicine. After Tokyo didn't take any of Woojin offer to tattle on the heist team, she was sent into a detention center. It is revealed that Berlin and Tokyo planned the entire skit so that they can narrow out who is the traitor which turn out to be Nairobi who Sangman threaten her child safety. Tokyo was saved by Berlin's henchman while on route to the detention center where Tokyo relayed the team predicament after the lose of communication and also that Nairobi kid predicament. Sangman then proceeded to enter the task force to relief Woojin as the South Korea Counter Terrorism Unit is in charge of the situation with Yong-soo who was Berlin concentration camp warden who volunteered to stall as they attempt to raid The Mint at all cost. The Professor sent Tokyo and Seoul to rescue Nairobi kid while Woojin was told that one kid from the video broadcast is a child of the Heist team and said that he didn't return to the orphanage to which Woojin realized that Sangman help an innocent kid hostage to get Anne killed. As Yong-soo and Berlin chat, Yong-soo tries to portray as Berlin as an enraged killer who raped and killed his daughter but a live broadcast by the Professor revealed that Yong-soo daughter is well and alive as she is Seoul who helped Tokyo escaped earlier and tells the truth of why Berlin initiated the riot at the concentration camp leaving Yong-soo embarrassed and the talk falter due to that.
Episode 10
Episode 10
70 mins
As the thieves prepare for the return of Tokyo into the Mint, Berlin offers the hostages a choice between money and freedom, if they decide to help them, as the remaining heist team discussed this in an epilogue and also during the training before the heist. After finding out about his son's love affair with Misun when Denver told the group that Misun choose to stay with the heist team, Moscow then reveals his past that haunts both him and Denver.
Episode 11
Episode 11
69 mins
As Moscow is injured due to the shot by the snipers of the Police, which puts the thieves on edge as their plan to leave The Mint was cut short with no one to dig the tunnel, while the deadline to carry out their plan is cut short. Woojin finally deduces that the Professor is her boyfriend lures the Professor to a nearby hospital where Moo-hyuk is being treated. She then plan to catch him at the hideout but failed as Seoul notified that Woojin car is reaching the hideout together with the Professor. Woojin is being suspended for internal questioning because the Professor is her boyfriend. Moscow chats with Mi-seon and finally Moscow asked Denver to take care of Mi-seon if they both make it out of The Mint before telling the team his name before breathing his last breath. Moscow death made the mood in The Mint solemn as they print the last remaining money. Rio questiones the motive of the Professor and Berlin before being told by Tokyo that she believes in the Professor as he is the team leader of the entire heist and told Rio that she came back not only for them but she had a reason to return which made Rio uncomfortable and decides to go to the tunnel to help Denver who took over digging duty.
Episode 12
Episode 12
77 mins
The police close in on the thieves as they prepare a barricade to stall the entering forces. As the team were preparing, they breached and Tokyo was shot by Chul-woo before Denver fight him and Chul-woo almost killed Denver before Misun shot Chul-woo elbow and was knocked out as he attempts to stab Misun, Denver then knocked him out. The whole heist team alongside Misun stalled the Police long enough to escape to the tunnel as the team outside The Mint transfer the money through the tunnel, Woojin entered the tunnel earlier then the Police but was captured under the orders of Sangman. As Nairobi wanted to close the tunnel, the bomb timer malfunctioned and Berlin who took one of the hostage phone called the Professor to say his last final word as he tries to stall them from entering the tunnel. Seoul who heard that Berlin is the last man return to the tunnel to find Berlin in the tunnel wanting to do a last stand before Seoul shot at the bomb which sealed the hole. As the Professor realized that they are cornered at their initial place where they want to escape, the Professor realized that the paper where he drew is the map of the last remaining open tunnel linking North and South Korea and decided to go through that passage; as the Police entered the tunnel, the mercenary placed bombs at the manhole surrounding Peace Square and Sangman instruct the police to close them to prevent the Heist team to escape under the chaos. The bombs explodes and balloons of pigs filled with the Professor's share is blown leaving the money scatter everywhere. Moo-hyuk then leave the task force in anger because Sangman cares about killing the civilians and also the robbers and he proceeds to free Woojin from police custody so that she can chase after the heist team. The heist team successfully escape through the tunnel where they board a train to cross over to Russia. Months later, Woojin was told by an international law firm that they are taking the defense of the internal investigation of Woojin and she realize that the Professor is the one who assisted her in his special way. She then ransacks her belonging before her mother gave the postcard that Professor gave her to which she travels to Kherson, Ukraine and encounters the Professor and he ask if you want to join the heist of the century.