Money Heist: Korea gets heat for fanning anti-Japanese sentiment

Money Heist: Korea criticized by domestic audience [image via @NetflixKR/Twitter]

The latest Korean remake of the Spanish blockbuster OTT series Money Heist is once again being upbraided by its domestic audience. This time it was for a controversial scene in the first episode of the recently launched season which allegedly berated Japan.

The scene in question is a dialog by the character Tokyo, who when asked for an explanation for choosing the name of the city Tokyo as her pseudonym, says:

“Because we’re going to do something bad…”

The audience felt this dialog was an unwarranted derogatory comment against Japan. The statement is a reference to a hackneyed joke now frowned upon by the Korean demography.

In the early 2000s, Koreans who did something wrong or objectionable in a foreign country introduced themselves as Japanese so as to not put South Korea in poor regard. This act was justified given the long history of enmity between the two countries.

However, Korean viewers of the show did not take well to this joke. The young populace of Korea has more tolerance and courtesy for foreign nations and cultures due to the ubiquitous popularity of the Hallyu wave across the world, including Japan and the influx of Japanese entertainment in the nation. Hence, they did not approve of the dialogue which demeaned the country and stroked anti-Japanese sentiment.

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How did Tokyo from Money Heist: Korea stir up controversy?

Money Heist: Korea kicks off with a backstory of the character Tokyo. Tokyo is a North Korean youngster who is a part of the BTS Army as well as the real army of North Korea. It is the year 2025 and the war between the two Koreas has come to an end and now the formerly sparring nations are on the cusp of unification. After this diplomatic development, Tokyo decided to come to South Korea, the land of dreams.

However, her life in South Korea was more arduous than she expected it to be. Living in the underbelly of the capitalist state, she struggles to make ends meet and soon finds herself involved with a loan shark who tries to take advantage of her.

In order to protect herself and another girl’s life Tokyo kills the man and makes her escape. She is saved from the mouth of death by the Professor, who then inducts her into his group of robbers for the upcoming heist at the mint in the Joint Economic Area.

All the members of the group were asked to select a pseudonym in order to wipe clean their past and protect their real identity in case things go south. The characters adopted the names of the cities featured in the original Money Heist, albeit for different reasons.

When Rio questioned Tokyo about why she chose that name, she explained that if she was going to do something bad, Japan had to be involved. This is a reference to Koreans' widespread hostility against Japan as a result of Japanese colonization and multiple wars with the nation.

However, netizens did not take well to these comments. They berated the statement as tacky and unnecessary. One netizen’s comment on the issue read:

"Honestly, it was a tacky way to bash Japan out of nowhere."

Another netizen opined:

‘“I swear I am Korean, and I don’t like Japan either, but the anti-Japanese sentiment in the scene is totally unwarranted. If I was watching a Vietnamese movie and a character’s name is Seoul, and he goes killing people, I would honestly hate it. I understand Vietnam and Korea don’t have the history Korea has with Japan but still…”

Viewers also believed that the statement depicted the director’s personal and political beliefs and was entirely unwarranted for a show with an international audience. Comments were also made on how Money Heist: Korea is not only stirring up controversy, but is also a poor remake of the original Money Heist.