Karma: When did the thriller series starring Park Hae-soo release? Streaming details and more, explored

Karma is a dark, tightly scripted limited series. It debuted on Netflix on April 4, 2025, it was one of the most anticipated shows this year. It immediately attracted notice due to its captivating premise promising suspense, emotional depth, and morally complex characters.

Supported by a diverse cast and based on a well-known Kakao webtoon, Karma examines how lives may turn upside down when fate steps in and desperate decisions are made.

Karma is ideally suited to the wave of noir-inspired narratives that is enthralling viewers on all continents as K-dramas continue to spread their influence throughout the world. Lee Il-hyung, best known for A Violent Prosecutor, wrote and directed both.

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More about Karma series

On April 4, 2025, the six-episode miniseries Karma (Korean title: 악연), which means "ill-fated connection," debuted on Netflix. Choi Hee-seon's Kakao webtoon Ill-Fated Relationship.

It served as the inspiration for the brutal psychological thriller series. Karma is directed by Lee Il-hyung. He directed Remember (2022) and A Violent Prosecutor (2016), Zwas intended to be a limited series that told its whole plot in a single season.

The plot concentrates on six characters brought together by a horrific and unexplained incident. Each episode pulls back the layers of their lives, showing the choices and consequences that lead them to that fateful moment. Morally complex characters bear the emotional burden, the pacing is purposeful, and the tone is somber. Setting the tone for the entire series, it begins with a murder-for-hire scene set to a melancholic version of "When the Saints Go Marching In."

A trauma surgeon plagued by a previous surgical disaster, a cryptocurrency investor who loses everything in a fraud, and a man who is coerced into committing a crime out of desperation are some of the main plotlines.

These characters are linked by fate and circumstance rather than friendship or family, The show offers a contemporary take on the butterfly effect from the perspective of a criminal drama.

Karma, which was released on April 4, quickly became popular on Netflix. By April 6, 2025, it was ranked among the top 10 non-English TV shows worldwide. Its popularity is a reflection of the rising demand for emotionally complex, well-written Korean thrillers abroad. Its split-screen cutting, nonlinear timeline, and daring character choices that defy expectations won accolades from both critics and fans.

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Cast of Karma

Karma features quite a diverse cast in South Korea. Each member of the ensemble portrayed characters who are morally torn and profoundly impacted by their past decisions. This adds emotional depth to the film. The cast's nuanced performances helped make the series one of the most captivating Korean Netflix offerings of 2025.

Choi Do-hyuk, portrayed by Park Hae-soo, is a former financial analyst whose life fell apart following a botched cryptocurrency investment scheme. Han Yoo-jin, played by Shin Min-a, is a trauma surgeon who suffers from PTSD after losing a patient in questionable circumstances.

Detective Jang Tae-seok, portrayed by Lee Hee-jun, is looking into the main crime. Kim Sung-kyun assumed the persona of a low-level gang member attempting to flee the criminal underworld.

A jobless man with a gambling addiction who unintentionally becomes a witness is played by Lee Kwang-soo. Ji-won, portrayed by Gong Seung-yeon, is a freelance journalist who seeks the truth but ultimately finds herself compromised morally.

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