Karma

“Karma” (native title: “악연”) is a tightly wound Korean crime-thriller series created by Lee Il-hyung (writer–director) that premiered April 4, 2025 on Netflix. Adapted from the Kakao webtoon of the same name by Choi Hee-seon, it weaves six lives into one chain of consequence – greed, guilt, and chance colliding until “what goes around” comes due. The show runs 6 episodes of roughly 47–61 minutes.

Plot Synopsis

A debt-crushed son hatches an insurance-murder scheme. A disgraced ex-gangster takes a job he can’t undo. A physician with buried childhood trauma meets the face she hoped never to see again. A hit-and-run sets off blackmail, cover-ups, and collateral deaths. Told in intersecting threads, “Karma” tracks how one “witness” and a single bad choice ripple across Seoul’s underbelly – until the ledger balances in a finale that’s both grim and eerily poetic.

Cast & Character

Main Characters

• Park Hae-soo – a morally corroded striver at the story’s core.
• Shin Min-a – Dr. Lee Ju-yeon, whose past trauma resurfaces.
• Lee Hee-joon, Kim Sung-kyun, Lee Kwang-soo, Gong Seung-yeon – key figures orbiting the crime, the cover-ups, and the “witness” motif.

Creative Lead

• Written and directed by Lee Il-hyung.
• Music by Hwang Sang-jun.

Reception

Critics generally praised the series’ noir atmosphere, knotty structure, and performances – especially Park Hae-soo – while noting that the early slow burn pays off once the threads converge. On Rotten Tomatoes, Season 1 holds an 83% Tomatometer (critics) and ~90% audience score (as of April 2025). Decider’s review recommended viewers “stream it,” citing the moral-consequences throughline; TIME published a widely read ending explainer underscoring the show’s karmic design.

Fun Facts & Behind the Scenes

From webtoon to screen

The adaptation keeps the source’s bleak humor and “no deed disappears” ethos.

Press-room framing

Netflix’s launch materials and Korea-based outlets emphasized the “six fates, one orbit” concept and Lee Il-hyung’s single-vision control (writer + director).

Performance notes

Park Hae-soo spoke about building a villain “almost like a demon,” with Lee Il-hyung citing influences that avoid one-note menace.

The “witness” idea

Interviews highlighted a chameleonic “witness” whose identity shifts – fitting the show’s theme that everyone is complicit.

Where to Watch

Streaming Access

Streaming on Netflix..

Gallery