South Korean crypto film Crypto Man, based on real-life events from a cryptocurrency crash, will premiere January 15, 2025. Shot by Hyun Hae-ri, this film features the late actor Song Jae-rim, and she is director of the socially conscious documentaries.
Inspired by a crypto crash that cost financial losses above 50 trillion won ($34.9 billion), the film’s director, Hyun Hae-ri, in an interview with South Korean media outlet JTBC, said that the film draws inspiration from the incident. Hyun refrained from naming the specific incident, but she said most victims, for now, still await judicial rulings regarding the crash.
Hyun Hae-ri brings realism to Crypto Man
Hyun, whose film Nine Times Fired premiered at the Cannes International Drama Festival and put her at the fore of new talent, reiterated the importance of telling the story authentically and sharply. “I will present it as realistically as possible, and with the sharpness of true dark comedy,” she said. Hyun has also told how the production went to great lengths in regards to legal consultations.
Once known for his work in the musical Haempel and TV movie Memorystick: The Telecine Experience, Song Jae-rim (who sadly passed away in November 2024) stars in the film. A note reportedly found at the scene was ruled to be from the suicide. Song stars as Yang Do-hyun in Crypto Man, the yarn of a young entrepreneur’s leaps from failed startups to cryptocurrency success at the core of the material.
But all that changes when Yang creates his own altcoin, called MOMMY, and he becomes famous and rich but also attracts a regulatory spotlight. It focuses on the generations of South Korea, many of whom are said to be ‘stocks addicted during the day and crypto trading by night.’
Meanwhile, South Korean society is being influenced by the rising tide of cryptocurrency, and particularly, crypto-owned millennials. About 3,759 South Koreans held wallets containing over 1 billion won (about $699,000) worth of crypto by the end of 2023, according to a major October 2024 report from major South Korean crypto exchanges Upbit and Bithumb.
More than 185 investors held cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which accounted for the third-largest group of those in their 20s. The average amount of crypto owned by South Koreans in their 20s was 5.23 billion Won, or roughly $3.65 million. Most of the wealthiest crypto investors were indeed in their 40s, and the average was 9.29 billion won ($6.50 million) per investor.
Crypto Man aims to show the duality of crypto allure and panache, just as there’s allure and panache in the generation being led by financial instability and ambition. Featuring dark comedic undertones and a gripping story, this film hopes to speak to an audience on a global scale to explain the highs and lows of the blockchain phenomenon.
When the movie hits screens in January, I think it’ll certainly make waves, both for paying homage to the legacy of Song Jae-rim and to highlight the social effect of cryptocurrency.
