KOCOWA Releases the First Short Movie, “Bank of Seoul”

Some notable figures in history are known to spend little time sleeping each day. Leonardo da Vinci painted Mona Lisa by taking only 20-minute naps every 4 hours, adding up to only about 5 hours of sleep throughout the day. Inventor Thomas Edison regarded sleep as a waste of time and slept for merely 3 to 4 hours a night.

Does it mean that the lack of sleep contributes to greater success?

Originating from the Korean webtoon “Lee Malryun Series,” the film “Bank of Seoul” thinks that it might not actually be that simple.

The already sleep-deprived characters in the film were given the privilege to take out a “sleep time” loan from Sleep Bank. The bank offers to hold off their need for hours of sleep, with an interest rate, to help them get more productive at work. But will these hardworking characters really get to achieve what they want?

Here are the characters of “Bank of Seoul“!

Lee Sung-Jae (Played by Park Hee-Soon)

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Lee Sung-Jae is not only a regular employee in a major firm, but a tired, sleepless zombie. He has not slept for the past few days and his superior keeps giving him more work. After being assigned to a huge project that could possibly expedite his promotion, Lee Sung-Jae stays in the office all day and night to work on it–only to fall into a deep sleep right before his completion.

In his dream, he meets the manager of Sleep Bank and is given an offer to take out a “sleep time” loan to help him finish his project before the given deadline.

Manager of Sleep Bank (Played by Yang Dong-Geun)

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The manager of Sleep Bank encourages people to take out loans, but he often reminds them with a sinister smile, “You can only take out a loan that you can afford to pay back.”

Chief Park (Played by Lee Ki-Young)

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Chief Park thinks that one should work their hardest while they are young to be able to succeed in their careers. He strongly encourages his younger employees to do so, creating a toxic work culture.

Ji Hyun-Soo (Played by Kim So-Hye)

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She thought that everything would work out well in life with good grades. Ji Hyun-Soo sacrificed her sleep to study for her exams, only to be met with another huge obstacle–getting a job.

Is compromising a basic human need such as sleep for success a good idea? It is a known fact that people would always have to compensate it with something else–like caffeine or in the long run, health.

For the sleepless characters in “Bank of Seoul,” they have consequences to face too. Their interest accumulates and eventually, they owe Sleep Bank more hours of sleep than needed to put off a mere 8-hour sleep per night. And after achieving success, they would have fewer hours awake to enjoy the fruits of their labor or to even keep up with it.

What do you think? Would you compromise your sleep for anything? Find out more about “Bank of Seoul“ on January 16 (KST), only on KOCOWA.

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