South Korean movie ‘Crypto Man’ set to premiere in January 2025

The South Korean movie titled ‘Crypto Man’ starring the late actor Song Jae-rim is scheduled to be released on January 15, 2025. The movie is inspired by real events surrounding a $34.9 billion crypto crash.

According to South Korean media JTBC, the film’s director Hyun Hae-ri stated that the film was based on real events regarding South Korea’s crypto crash, which resulted in massive financial losses of more than 50 trillion won ($34.9 billion).

Although Hyun did not specify which case, he said that many victims were “still waiting for the final decision from the judicial authorities.”

Hyun Hae-ri is known for directing the movie “Nine Times Fired”, which premiered at the Cannes International Drama Festival. Hyun is known for his socially conscious documentaries.

“I will present it as realistically as possible and at the same time sharply, and include elements of black comedy,” Hyun said, adding that the production team had to undergo “rigorous legal advice” during the film’s production.

The film stars the late actor Song Jae-rim, who died at his home in November 2024. His death was ruled a suicide after police found a suicide note at the scene.

Song plays a young entrepreneur named Yang Do-hyun. After going through a series of startup ventures that lead to bankruptcy, Yang and his friend Ji-Woo find success when they launch a cryptocurrency venture backed by hundreds of millions of won from an investor.

Yang develops an altcoin called MOMMY that grows to massive sizes, but he also finds himself in hot water as regulators begin to monitor him closely because of his crypto activities. The film aims to depict the lives of young Koreans who are “addicted to stocks by day and trading crypto by night.”

An October report by Upbit and Bithumb, two of South Korea’s leading crypto exchanges, revealed that 3,759 South Koreans had crypto wallets worth more than 1 billion won ($699,000) by the end of 2023.

Investors in their 20s were the third largest group; More than 185 South Korean youths were storing their funds in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. South Koreans in their 20s own an average of 5.23 billion won ($3.65 million) in crypto.

However, most of the crypto holders in South Korea were in their 40s, with a total of 1,297 people. Each person in their 40s had an average of 9.29 billion won, or $6.50 million.