Karma Review
Director: Lee Il-hyung
Date Created: 2025-04-04 20:08
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Karma Review: The newest Korean series 악연 from Netflix is a thrilling six-episode ride that keeps you guessing from start to finish. Created and directed by Lee Il-hyung, the series is adapted from the webtoon Akyeon by Choi Hee-sun. It stars an amazing cast, including Park Hae-soo, Shin Min-ah, Lee Hee-joon, Kim Sung-kyun, Lee Kwang-soo and Gong Seung-yeon. All six of these actors play characters whose lives become entwined with one another’s in ways that seem both connected and incidental.
One apparent unifier is the show’s setting: six characters appear to be living disconnected lives, but fate brings them together in unusual ways. The Chameleon: One man witnesses a terrible accident and then makes a choice he can never undo. Ju Yeon, a surgeon, grapples with the painful memories of her past before finally meeting the person who was behind her trauma. A third man, mired in debt after a bad investment, takes a speculative plunge that lands him in peril.
Another, wrongfully dismissed from his position, becomes embroiled in a nefarious, if high-risk, arrangement. A successful doctor appears to live a perfect life but has dark secrets, and his girlfriend, Yu Jeong, is not as innocent as she appears to be. As their lives intersect, one event leads to another, unleashing a chain reaction of repercussions none of them can avoid.
Karma Review
The first thing I loved about Netflix’s Karma was its unpredictability. Initially, I didn’t know where the story was headed. The first episode was a little slow, and I was confused as to how all of these disparate characters were connected to each other. But as the episodes went on, it all started to make sense. The relationships between the characters are unveiled slowly, and that’s what drew me in.
One of the best things about this show is how it plays with the idea of karma— “what goes around comes around”. The characters make decisions that strike you as tiny at first, but those decisions will come back and bite them in ways they could never have anticipated. It makes you wonder: Is this truly destiny, or are they simply reaping the rewards of poor choices?
It also has a lot of deeper and darker themes like financial woes, crime, revenge and even social issues like scams and corruption. Not only does it not just focus on the action and the drama, but it also makes your blood boil as it reveals just how selfish people can be. To its credit, I even found myself laughing and smiling as things fell apart for them, as they were such terrible characters that it was gratifying to see them suffer.
Karma kdrama is so compelling in part because the characters aren’t perfect. They’re all flawed, and some of them do horrible things. But rather than rendering them as simple “good guys” and “bad guys,” the series makes us empathise with why they do what they do.
There is one character that stands out to me, and that is Ju Yeon, played by Shin Min-ah, the surgeon. She was someone I could sympathise with, owing to her painful past. Whereas the other characters make reckless and selfish choices, she’s just trying to heal from her trauma.” It was heartbreaking to watch her work through her past and stand up to the person who hurt her.
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Some of the other characters, though, are frustrating. They are gluttonous, self-serving and, at times, downright evil. Some are proud of their very own crimes and don’t even feel daunted at the thought of hurting others. But this did not make me hate the show; it made it more interesting. I wanted to watch until they finally got their due.
The thing that Netflix Karma does best is building suspense. The show doesn’t give everything away upfront. Instead, it gradually reveals the threads between the characters, building excitement in every episode. Just when I thought I knew what would be next, the series surprised me. Even the smallest decisions can have massive consequences, and the moments you least expect to hit are the ones that hit hardest.
While I really enjoyed Karma, there were a few things that I think could have been improved, but I am not complaining. Some of the story was a little draggy, and I was looking for a few more gut punches in some moments. Given the six-episode length, I think some of the character backstories could use more exploration.
Summing Up
The Korean drama Karma is dark, haunting and thought-provoking; it kept me engaged until the end. It prompts reflection on fate, choices and consequences. With top-notch acting, great story writing, and the way everything connects is truly brilliant. This drama is definitely something you should watch if you relish thrillers with rich, tiered storytelling. Just be prepared for a couple of dark and disturbing encounters.
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