'Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area' is coming to Netflix on Friday

The show is a remake of the popular Spanish hit 'La casa de papel'

Kim Yun-jin as Seon Woo-jin, left, and Kim Seung-o as Cha Moohyuk in 'Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area'. All photos: Netflix

Kim Yun-jin stars as investigating officer Woo-jin.

Jun Jong-seo as Tokyo and Jang Yoon-ju as Nairobi.

From left, Jun Jong-seo as Tokyo, Lee Hyun-woo as Rio, Jang Yoon-ju as Nairobi, Park Hae-soo as Berlin, Lee Won-jong as Moscow and Kim Ji-hun as Denver.

Park Hae-soo as Berlin.

While the show follows a similar format, it has a completely new narrative compared to the Spanish version of 'Money Heist'.

Lee Hyun-woo as Rio, Park Hae-soo as Berlin and Jun Jong-seo as Tokyo.

From left, Kim Ji-hun as Denver, Lee Joobeen as Yun Mi-sun and Lee Won-jong as Moscow.

South Korea’s version of Money Heist is almost here.

The anticipated remake of the popular Spanish show will make its debut on the streaming platform on Friday. It stars Yoo Ji-tae as the Professor and Kim Yun-jin as investigating officer Woo Jin.

Other cast members include Park Hae-soo as Berlin, Jeon Jong-seo as Tokyo, Lee Won-jong as Moscow, Kim Ji-hun as Denver, Jang Yoon-ju as Nairobi, Lee Hyun-woo as Rio, Kim Ji-hoon as Helsinki and Lee Kyu-ho as Oslo. The series is directed by Kim Hong-sun.

While the remake also features a dynamic band of thieves with coded city names, who wear red jumpsuits with white face masks and are led by a mastermind, the similarities end there.

The show takes place in the same fictional universe as the original, with North and South Korea on the brink of reunification. However, a heist team has been working underground to steal the new currency straight from the Unified Korea Mint. With a top-class comrade of thieves, they attempt to rob four trillion won (about $3 billion).

South Korean dramas have often been successful for Netflix, with shows such as Squid Game and Hellbound striking a chord with audiences and enjoying record-breaking viewership.

Money Heist, also known as La casa de papel, is a Spanish series that revolved around two heists, at the Royal Mint of Spain and the Bank of Spain, and is narrated by Tokyo, played by Ursula Corbero. The show ended in December.

The show was originally produced by private Spanish broadcaster Antena 3 and opened to mixed reviews in May 2017.

After receiving low ratings, it was cancelled at the end of season one, before Netflix came in and re-edited the first season to cut down the time per episode, making it ideal for binge-watching. It was the platform's most-watched non-English series in 2018. The show ran for a full five seasons.

Scroll the gallery below to see the most anticipated Korean films and series coming to Netflix this year.