Karma (Netflix)

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Drama: Karma (English title) / Ill-Fated Relationship (literal title)
Revised romanization: Akyeon
Hangul: 악연
Director: Lee Il-Hyeong
Writer: Choi Hee-Sun (webcomic), Lee Il-Hyeong
Network: Netflix
Episodes: 6
Release Date: April 4, 2025
Runtime:
Genre: Crime / Thriller
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

Plot Synopsis by AsianWiki Staff ©

The lives of 6 people become entangled in ill-fated relationships. A man (Park Hae-Soo) witnesses a mysterious accident and makes an irreversible deal. Lee Ju-Yeon (Shin Min-A), who works as a doctor, lives with trauma that occurred in her childhood. She runs into the person who is responsible for her trauma. A man (Lee Hee-Jun) wanted to make a large amount of money to change his life. He resorted to borrowing from loan sharks to invest in cryptocurrency, but his investment collapses. Jang Gil-Ryong (Kim Sung-Kyun) unfairly lost his job and is then asked to do something involving a large sum of money. Han Sang-Hun (Lee Kwang-Soo) runs a successful private clinic in Gangnam. He has a girlfriend, Lee Yu-Jeong (Gong Seung-Yeon), who is dangerously charming.

Notes

Based on webcomic "Akyeon” by Choi Hee-Sun (published April 7, 2019 - January 26, 2020 via Kakao).

Cast

Main Characters



Park Hae-Soo	Shin Min-A	Lee Hee-Jun	Kim Sung-Kyun	Lee Kwang-Soo
witness	Lee Ju-Yeon	debtor	Jang Gil-Ryong	Han Sang-Hun

Gong Seung-Yeon

Lee Yu-Jeong

Important Characters



Kim Nam-Gil	Park Ho-San	Choi Hong-Il	Cho Jin-Woong	Park Mi-Hyun
Yoon Jeong-Min	Hwang Cheol-Mok	Park Dong-Sik	loan shark	church member



Kwon Da-Ham	Shin Joo-Hwan	Chung Ye-Jin	Kim Young-Ah
car accident driver	driver passerby	passenger passerby	nun

Police



Lee Seo-Jun	Shin Mun-Sung	Lim Chul-Hyung	Nam Yun-Ho	Jung Han-Bin
Baek Ji-Hun	Park In-Seok	Kang Yeong-Sik	Detective Choi	police officer (ep.1)

Guhoe High School (2005)



Bae Youn-Kyu	Shin Do-Hyun	Choi So-Yoon	Park Sang-Eun	Yoo Dong-Hun
Park Jae-Yeong	Lee Ju-Yeon	Lee Yu-Jeong	Yang Yong-Seon	Ahn Sung-Min (ep.3)

Song Geon-Hee

Kim Beom-Jun (ep.6)

Sungsim General Hospital



Ji So-Yae	Kim Gui-Seon
nurse	hospital patient

Others



Jo So-Yu	Kim Kyung-Min	Nam Tae-Hoon
fast food worker	Chang-Seop	taxi driver



Han Tae-Eun	Han Yu-Eun	Byun Yoon-Jeong	Han Ji-Hyo	Lee Tae-Young
karaoke hostess (ep.1)	hiker (ep.2)	clinic patient (ep.2)	Lee Mi-Rae (ep.3)	funeral hall staff (ep.3)



Seo Ji-Young	Kang Duk-Jung	Park Kyung-Geun	Park Bo-Yeon	Choi Sung-Won
Park Dong-Sik's sister (ep.3)	mechanic (ep.3)	apt. security guard (ep.3)	Hwang Cheol-Mok's client (ep.5)	Kim Nam-Jun (ep.5)



Na Ki-Soo	Kang Myoung-Soo
chairman (ep.5)	prison guard (ep.5)

Additional Cast Members:

Lee Jin-Hong - clinic nurse
Ham Sung-Min - teen thug
Bae Jae-Young - teen thug
Lim Hyun-Joon - rental car agency staff (ep.5)

Trailers

Awards

2025 (4th) Blue Dragon Series Awards - July 18, 2025
- Best Supporting Actor (Lee Kwang-Soo)

Comments

Arte Dec 19 2025 10:33 pm Love it. Love the ending especially. Give me the sense of achievement. The only thing I found distracting and funny is how come the guy still got hair despite being burned wkwkwk

anne Oct 06 2025 10:45 pm i love how each relevant detail gradually unfolds. such a masterpiece!

jeneca Oct 03 2025 8:04 pm yea i hate that it was only 6 episodes but this drama was too crisp! however, they left a lot of things hangin (they really should have told me more about yoon + some developments on that beom-jun and jae-yong identity crisis)

Ani Aug 25 2025 10:53 pm Really enjoyed this show! Great storyline and acting.liked it was only 6 episodes. Great ending!

Kdramastan Aug 15 2025 12:55 pm Flawless writing and impeccable performances. one of the best shows on Netflix !

Nullifi3d Jul 20 2025 12:56 am Ah finally a sidetrack from the usual sappy romantic or period piece kdrama. I love the raw gritty plots and the violence, and the character development. Each of the protagonist got their just desserts. I hope to see more of such series.

Joyce Sung May 31 2025 7:42 am Thumbs up for the storyline, short series with lots of excitement, worth watching. Love the acting of all the main casts, especially the Park Hae-Soo, really hated his scenes in this drama; Kim Sung-Kyun and Lee Kwang-Soo also showed another side of themselves in acting out of the characters.

Xag May 18 2025 4:31 am Goddamn, such an awesome drama, I highly recommend it, it's just plot twist after plot twist every episode until the end, it's crazy. Hats off to the writer, you did a freaking great job and I hope that you'll only receive good karma to your life and to the actors, y'all did an incredible job, specially to Mr. Park Hae-Soo, I hope you'd win an award for your acting in this drama. And as a Running Man fan, Kwang Soo really did an splendid job, I always can't take Kwang Soo seriously in serious drama because he's a natural comedian, but he did a great job here, I took him seriously. Great job to all involved in this amazing thriller/crime drama.

melody Apr 22 2025 3:12 pm its confused me because the witness and the debtor look a like

coffee Apr 18 2025 7:12 pm Crazy kdrama! and i mean really bat$#it crazy!!! it was so good and bloody and so satisfying! there are some scenes i can barely look but still took a peek hahaha! this drama has no loose ends and i love how short it is. so fast paced and all the actors are amazing! I can't remember the last time i watched something that made me satisfied like this. definitely one i would recommend!!!!

8 Apr 14 2025 10:38 pm surprised to see namgil as a supporting actor. but even stranger is mention that him carrying the whole story. that's an exaggeration, you know

Erik Apr 13 2025 4:54 pm Park Hae-soo was phenomenal in this show. I had chills when I saw his character scenes. He’s amazing. It’s so hard to believe he can play as a himbo baseball player in Prison Playbook and play as a psychopathic con artist. Love him

Aly Apr 10 2025 9:48 pm I was confused because the debtor’s and the witness’s face are alike

Shairli Apr 10 2025 8:42 am Brilliant storyline! Plot twist with 100% karma. Short drama series but compact content with dull scenes. Kudos actors & crew.

King Pup 1722 Apr 09 2025 10:25 am Netflix’s Karma is a dark, twist-filled thriller that dives deep into the consequences of human choices, but it’s not all doom and gloom. Beneath the gritty exterior and morally complex characters, there’s an undeniable sense that this is entertainment first and foremost. The drama doesn’t take itself so seriously that it becomes overwhelming, and that balance keeps viewers hooked even as it explores heavy themes like trauma, guilt, and retribution.

The story revolves around six interconnected characters whose lives are shaped by one violent incident from their past. Shin Min-a shines as Lee Ju-yeon, a surgeon haunted by her teenage trauma. Her performance is raw and layered, making her journey from victim to someone seeking peace both heartbreaking and inspiring. Lee Hee-joon’s portrayal of Park Jae-yeong, a desperate man drowning in debt, is equally compelling. His flawed humanity makes his bad decisions feel tragically relatable.

What sets Karma apart is its ability to weave suspense with moments of levity—subtle hints that remind you this is still a drama meant to entertain. The nonlinear storytelling might be tricky at first, but once the puzzle pieces fall into place, the payoff is worth it. The twists are shocking without feeling forced, and the karmic justice meted out to each character is satisfying yet thought-provoking.

While Karma isn’t for everyone—it’s dark and unflinching—it never loses sight of its audience. It keeps you engaged with its characters’ struggles while delivering just enough intrigue to keep things from getting too heavy. If you’re looking for a thriller that balances tension with entertainment value, this one delivers.

Rating: 8/10 Karma is gripping, bold, and well-acted, but its slightly convoluted timeline might frustrate some viewers. Still, it’s a solid watch for fans of morally complex thrillers!

keenan Apr 09 2025 7:10 am Kim nam gil supporting actor?

Ron Apr 08 2025 5:44 pm Did not like this series.

E'Annah Apr 07 2025 6:30 pm Park Hae-soo!!!! I forgot to mention him in my last comment. How could I ever forget my darling. He was amazing also!!!!!

E'Annah Apr 07 2025 6:25 pm All the actors/actresses did an amazing job. This story was so unique and perfect. The way everything was connected blew my mind!!!!!!!!!! The show,the actors/actresses, the writer and director deserves tons of awards. P.s Shin Min-a is one of my favorite actresses but I left this show being a huge fan of Lee Hee-jun he was really amazing so was Lee Kwang-soo. Kim Nam-gil surprised me as a supporting character. Kim Sung-kyun is my forever actor. 10/10 Highly recommend

nein Apr 07 2025 8:15 am shin min ah and kim namgil look so good together in this drama! hope they can reunite as couple again in another drama!

Lils Apr 07 2025 2:48 am Kim nam gillll...I was shocked that Kim Nam Gil is only a supporting actor — I want to see more of him in this series!

Jane Apr 05 2025 9:33 pm Dang…really bloody but I actually liked this. Watched all 6 episodes today and that last plot twist was nice.

Piyoe_chan Apr 05 2025 5:01 am Plot twist after plot twist

hugsandcookies Apr 05 2025 4:17 am 10/10

Shin Min-ah my fave actress. PHS and LJH and KSY such amazing actors. So different to see KNG in a supporting role. This is such a great cast, and what they bring to this six part series is the plot twist to which it just kept getting better and better. All this for money. Greed makes people do stupid things. So each episode has a heading, and it’s helps how you understand the next scenes.

Highly recommend.

Chey Apr 04 2025 2:07 pm BTW, I didn't recognize Kim Nam Gil with his slightly chubby face here. Nevertheless, this is still one compelling serie!

Chey Apr 04 2025 2:06 pm I'm.just gobsmacked!!!!! Glued to my screen since 1st episode. Daebak!!!!! Didn't expect that plot twist! Congratulations to the whole cast & crew!!!!

Hawti ini Apr 04 2025 12:31 pm Karma has never been this sweet. Loved this.

AAA Apr 04 2025 10:14 am Kim NamGil supporting cast? 6 episodes are posted at once. Episode 1 and im hooked.

Amad Khan Mar 20 2025 9:16 am Can't wait to see it ?

Rosemary Nov 25 2023 7:34 am Yippee! Gong Seung Yeon is here!

Vero Nov 11 2023 9:45 am Can't wait for Going Seung Yeon performance.. So happy

Natalie Nov 09 2023 7:06 am Oh My Goshhh Yess, I've been checking this website everyday waiting for my favorite actors to release new things and oh my goodness Lee Kwangsoo and KIM Sung-Kyun and working together again. Yes please thank you universe!??

Karma (Netflix)

Contents

User Rating

Profile

Plot Synopsis by AsianWiki Staff ©

Notes

Cast

Main Characters

Important Characters

Police

Guhoe High School (2005)

Sungsim General Hospital

Others

Trailers

Awards

Comments

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