Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area Season 1 Episode 2 Recap – Episode 2

This episode starts by showing Berlin as a young boy. He tried escaping North Korea with his mother. They used the river, which is a popular route among other defectors, in the hope that they could find a free country. However, on the night of their escape, Berlin’s mother was shot while they were crossing the river. Young Berlin was brought to the prison camp, where the other prisoners beat him up. Even though he was just a kid and was outnumbered, he fought back. He picked up a shovel and killed one of the men attacking him. Every time he was placed in isolation, the number of people who feared him increased. Twenty-five years after being taken in, he led other prisoners in an attack and escaped afterward. 

At present, at the 15th hour of the heist, Berlin tells the Professor that the hostages take turns cooking and working. They work in shifts to get their minds off things. The Professor plans to control the hostages and make them believe they’ll be safe if they cooperate. The director finds out from another hostage that the robbers are printing money and are digging a tunnel.

Outside, Woojin goes back to continue the negotiation. She finds a lot of reporters outside wanting a confirmation if the authorities attempted a raid the night before and that the North Koreans will take responsibility and be replaced. Woojin arrives just in time and says it is fake news and that the safety of the hostages is their top priority. She tells her team afterward that she will handle the negotiation and will be the one to make crucial decisions. So, Captain Cha Moohyuk hands her the information they got from the operation. The police now know the robbers have military training and are heavily armed. Woojin calls the Professor again to know how the hostages are doing. The Professor starts asking personal questions like the last time Woojin had sex. He says one way to have a successful negotiation is to build trust. After the call, Woojin thinks they have the upper hand. She knows that given the number of hostages, food in the cafeteria inside the Mint will only last for four days.

Once the cocky attitude is over, the robbers will look for a way to escape, but it is impossible for them to cross the border. But the thing is, the Professor is the one who is using the time to their advantage. Four trillion won needs time to be printed. Some hostages are printing money, and the others are digging a tunnel. Those who print the money are careful with the ink and misting. The director of the Mint is tasked to dig the tunnel with the others. He says he’s not for that job, and Denver gets angry at him.

Berlin walks in and tells Denver not to be swayed by his emotions. Denver says he’s worried about his father and if they will both be leaving that place alive. Berlin assures him that the heist is going to be successful. Moscow tells his son to control his temper and that he is just like his mother. Denver gets angry again hearing about his mother. He doesn’t think of her as his mother after she left when he was a baby and ran away. The director tells his staff that the robbers don’t have a plan to keep them alive because they’ve already seen their faces. He tells one of the staff that they must make a sacrifice to contact the police. The vice director takes the staff’s place and volunteers to be the sacrifice.

Denver and Moscow hear screaming from inside the room, so they go back in, only to find one of the men hurt. Denver rushes to get the first aid kit, and the director takes the chance to sneak out of the room. He crawls on the floor but gets caught by Tokyo. When he is brought to Berlin, he says he only left his station because he panicked after seeing his co-worker hurt. Berlin knows better, and after that, he gathers the hostages again. He tells the North Koreans to stand on his right and the South Koreans to stand on his left side. Berlin says that a South Korean will be punished if a North Korean is at fault. And if a South Korean is at fault, a North Korean will be punished. Tokyo tells Berlin that the Professor told them to treat the hostages humanely and coax them into cooperation. But Berlin stands by his decision to divide and rule. Meanwhile, the daughter of the US Ambassador is taken to another room, separated from others. 

Woojin realizes that there may be an IT specialist among the robbers. So, she tells her team to turn off all their phones and smart devices so they can get all the signals within the perimeter.

The director tells Misun, his mistress, to get the smartwatch from his drawer. Denver sees the two talking, so they lie and say Misun is pregnant. Denver doesn’t want her to have a miscarriage, so she lets her rest with the girl student. The girl learns about the plan and volunteers to be the distraction. She tells Rio she needs to use the ladies’ room, and once she’s done, she kisses him before disarming him. She pulls the trigger, not knowing there is a safety slide. Rio takes the gun back and takes her back. Misun finds the smartwatch and contacts the police. But she turns it off again when Denver gets back. Denver doesn’t notice the watch and thinks Misun is in pain because of the pregnancy. Denver even brings her some bread and milk. Misun says the director doesn’t want the baby. When Denver confronts the director, Misun takes the chance and slides the smartwatch into the director’s pocket. But because Denver is being careful, he doesn’t take his eyes off the director even when he’s using the toilet.

The Professor realizes that Woojin is relaxed during their phone calls, so he tells her to come over to the cafe. He prepares food for her, and when Woojin receives a call, he walks away to give her privacy. However, through the reflection in the mirror, Woojin sees him eavesdropping. She takes out the handcuffs and tells him he should have a good reason for why he’s listening to the conversation. With teary eyes, he tells Woojin his feelings are real, and he is just worried Woojin is seeing someone else. Woojin believes him but leaves the cafe to get back to work.

The Professor tells Berlin about the smartwatch, so Berlin immediately gathers the hostages. The director clicks the link on the smartwatch, creating a backdoor that the police hacks. The police can now hear the conversation and even see videos depending on the model of the watch. Berlin asks the director to come forward, so the director passes the watch to Misun. Berlin hands him a scanner, telling him to find the person who used a device to contact the police. When the scanner makes a sound when checking Misun, Berlin thinks it’s because she’s wearing a necklace. But when he turns around, the smartwatch falls from under her clothes. Berlin takes the watch and stomps on it until it’s broken.

The Professor calls Woojin to tell her he will let it slide this time, but there won’t be the next time. Berlin tells Denver to execute Misun for what she did.

Rio and Denver don’t want to kill Misun, but Berlin tells them it’s their fault it came to that because they were not watching the hostages. The Professor tries to contact the robbers, but Berlin tells Rio not to answer the call. So, Rio tells Tokyo what is happening. Denver doesn’t want to kill Misun. But when he finds out Misun is not pregnant, he thinks she’s making fun of him because he was nice to her. He pulls the trigger, and Tokyo and the others hear the gunshot. The vice director says the director only told Misun what to do. But the director denies it and begs Berlin not to kill him because he has kids. Berlin tells him he won’t punish him because Misun’s death is his punishment. 

Our Thoughts:

We know that the hostages all want to leave the Mint and come home safe. But, the director using his staff and leaving them when they get caught is not a nice thing to do. He doesn’t know when to shut his mouth and gets them in trouble. Then he has all these ideas on how they can all escape, but then he asks someone else to make the sacrifice, not himself. The vice director looks like he hates the director. But seeing how the director acts towards the others, he might receive more hate in the future.

Denver was nice to Misun after he found out that she was pregnant. They didn’t want to hurt the hostages. So when Denver found out that Misun was lying, he was torn. He didn’t want to kill her, but he didn’t like looking like a fool. Berlin said they have to make an example. We thought that the Professor would get caught, and that was close. But when he used Woojin’s emotions against her, he escaped quickly. But how does he plan on disappearing after the heist is over? Woojin will look for him.