''Death's Game'' () is a South Korean

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

mystery thriller television series written and directed by , and starring

Seo In-guk Seo In-guk (; born October 23, 1987) is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actor. He launched his singing career after winning the talent reality show '' Superstar K'' in 2009, and made his acting breakthrough in '' Reply 1997'' (2012). Since ...

and

Park So-dam Park So-dam (; born September 8, 1991) is a South Korean actress. She gained recognition through her appearances in the film ''The Priests (film), The Priests'' (2015) and Korean drama, television series ''Cinderella with Four Knights'' (2016), ...

. Based on a

webtoon Webtoons () are a type of episodic digital comics that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allo ...

of the same name by Lee Won-sik and Ggulchan, which was serialized on

Naver Naver (; stylized as NAVER) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. The company's products include a search engine, email hosting, blogs, maps, and mobile payment. History Naver was the first Korean web provide ...

in 2019, it depicts the story of a person, who in the midst of frustration, begins a new life with death. It was released on

TVING TVING () is a South Korean subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service operated by TVING Corporation, a joint venture comprising CJ ENM Entertainment Division (CJ Group), Naver and JTBC by its JTBC Studios, now calle ...

from December 15, 2023 to January 5, 2024, at 12:00 ( KST). It is also available for

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in selected regions except South Korea and China.

Synopsis

''Death's Game'' centers on Choi Yee-jae, a young man who attempts suicide after struggling to find a job for seven years.

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

, however, is offended by Yee-jae's lack of concern for dying and chooses to punish him by making him play a game in which he must reincarnate and die 12 times before being sent to hell. But Yee-jae discovers that if he survives in any of the 12 incarnations, he will be able to continue living. Even after taking his own life, he begins to question whether things would have gone differently if he had lived the lives of others.

Cast

Main

as Choi Yee-jae : A man who lost his will to live after repeatedly failing to find a job for seven years. *

: A mysterious being who condemns Yee-jae to 12 cycles of death and reincarnation before falling into hell.

Supporting

Choi Yee-jae's reincarnation

* Choi Si-won as Park Jin-tae : A 33-year-old second son and successor of Taekang Group. * Sung Hoon as Song Jae-seop : A 38-year-old

extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk of injury or death. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extre ...

athlete. * Kim Kang-hoon as Kwon Hyeok-su : A 17-year-old high school student who's a school bullies' target. *

Jang Seung-jo Jang Hyun-deok (; born December 13, 1981), known professionally as Jang Seung-jo, is a South Korean actor, known for his roles in ''Money Flower'' (2017–2018), ''Snowdrop'' (2021-2022),''Familiar Wife'' (2018) and ''Encounter (South Korean TV ...

as Lee Ju-hun : A 35-year-old secret organization fixer who solves any client's request. *

Lee Jae-wook Lee Jae-wook (; born May 10, 1998) is a South Korean actor and model. He made his television debut in ''Memories of the Alhambra'' (2018–2019) and film debut in ''The Battle of Jangsari'' (2019). Followed by roles in the office romance '' Sear ...

as Cho Tae-sang : A 21-year-old aspiring

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

fighter who gave up his dream due to his family's circumstances and being imprisoned for some reason. * Lee Do-hyun as Jang Geon-u : A 24-year-old handsome model and heartthrob who catches everyone's attention wherever he goes. * Kim Jae-wook as Jeong Gyu-cheol : A 34-year-old mysterious painter who was born in an ordinary family. * Oh Jung-se as An Ji-hyeong : A 42-year-old detective who wanted to become a great police officer like his father. * Kim Won-hae as a homeless man

Others

* Kim Ji-hoon as Park Tae-woo : The first son and CEO of Taekang Group. *

Go Youn-jung Go Youn-jung (; born on April 22, 1996) is a South Korean actress and model. She made her acting debut in the television series '' He Is Psychometric'' (2019) and gained recognition for her supporting role in the Netflix production '' Sweet Hom ...

as Lee Ji-su : A novelist who has been in a relationship with Yee-jae since they were college students. * Yoo In-soo as Lee Jin-sang : Hyeok-su's classmate and a school bully. *

Kim Mi-kyung Kim Mi-kyung (; born October 14, 1963) is a South Korean actress. She is most active as a supporting actress in television dramas. Kim has been a member of the Yeonwoo Mudae theater company since 1985. Personal life On December 8, 2023, it ...

as Yee-jae's mother * Choi Woo-jin as Woo Ji-hun : A homicide detective and Ji-hyung's junior. * Oh Ji-yul as Woo Seul-gi : Ji-hun's daughter.

Extended

* as Chairman Park : Tae-woo and Jin-tae's father, and the founder of Taekang Group. * Kim Geon-ho as an office worker / Yee-jae's 11th reincarnation * Kim Ha-eon as young Jin-tae * Jung Min-joon as young Tae-u * as Boss * Jeon Seung-hoon as Na Tae-seok * Seo In-geol as Kim Seong-hyeop * Seo Woo-hyeok as Han Jun-sang * Bae Gang-hee as Kim Eun-jae * Han Ye-ji as Park Min-ji * Lim Ji-gyu as Mr. Kim : Tae-u's right-hand man. * Jung Yong-ju as Kim Ji-yeong * Bae Ji-won as Kim Jin-u * Kim Han-sol as young Yi-jae

Special appearances

* Kim Sung-cheol as Kim Hyeon-su * Ryeoun as youngest PD

Episodes

Production

Development

Developed under the working title ''I'm Going to Die Soon'' (), ''Death's Game'' was written and directed by , who previously worked on dramas like '' Go Back'' (2017) and '' 18 Again'' (2020). He based the drama on the

of the same name by Lee Won-sik and Ggulchan. SLL, Studio N and

Saram Entertainment Saram Entertainment () is an entertainment company in South Korea, founded by Lee So-young in 2006 and partakes in artist management and film production. It currently operates as a subsidiary of Standus Corporation. Current artists Actors * Cl ...

co-managed the series' production. It was supposed to be a JTBC drama and would air on the network, and stream through

. On January 13, 2023, it was announced by director Ha that the production would be in the final casting and filming would begin as early as February and last for about six months. On May 31, 2023, Dexter Studios announced that they received an order for the

VFX Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action fo ...

technology of the series with a total budget of billion. The period of contract was from May 31, 2023, to January 31, 2024. A representative said, "Visual special effects would be widely used in various scenes as the main character is placed in different environments and conditions each time he lives 12 lives," adding, "the delicate technology would contribute to the drama's fantasy elements and mysterious atmosphere."

Casting

The role of Choi Yi-jae was first offered to

Kang Ha-neul Kim Ha-neul (; February 21, 1990), known professionally as Kang Ha-neul (), is a South Korean actor. He gained early recognition through television dramas such as ''The Heirs'' (2013), '' Misaeng: Incomplete Life (2014)'', and '' Moon Lovers: S ...

and

were cast for the main roles of the series in January 2023, and officially confirmed the next month. On February 21, ''Joy News 24'' reported that the actors conducted a full script reading on the 14th and Seo started to film on the 20th. It also marks Park's small screen comeback since tvN's '' Record of Youth'' in 2020, as she took a hiatus to recover from

papillary thyroid cancer Papillary thyroid cancer (papillary thyroid carcinoma, PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer, representing 75 percent to 85 percent of all thyroid cancer cases.Chapter 20 in: 8th edition. It occurs more frequently in women and presents ...

. On August 4, 2023, TVING released a video of the star-studded lineup cast namely Seo, Park, Kim Ji-hoon, Choi Si-won, Sung Hoon, Kim Kang-hoon,

, Lee Do-hyun,

, Kim Jae-wook, and Oh Jung-se.

Original soundtrack

Studio Curiousity's Park Sung-il led the series' soundtrack as the music director.

Album

''Death's Game''

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

was released on January 11, 2024; it contains all of the

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

and background tracks from the series.

Track listing

Chart performance

Singles

Singles included on the album were released from November 29, 2023, to January 5, 2024. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Chart performance

Release

confirmed the release date of ''Death's Game'' would be on December 15, 2023. On November 18, 2023, it was announced that the series would be available to stream through

in 240 countries and territories except China and South Korea. The series was divided into two parts: Part 1 was released on December 15, 2023, with first four episodes while Part 2 was released on January 5, 2024, with the remaining four episodes at 12:00 ( KST).

Reception

Critical response

Cine21 ''Cine21'' is a South Korean film magazine published by ''The Hankyoreh'' newspaper. The magazine was first published on 24 April 1995 in Seoul, and subsequent issues have continued to be released weekly. The first editor-in-chief An editor-in ...

'' Kim Hyun-seung wrote for the part one that "many works, including '' Along with the Gods'', have dealt with the afterlife, but the worldview built by ''Death's Game'' is quite novel." He also cited that "it received favorable reviews on CG that is rare in South Korea" but "somewhat disappointed that all narratives rely on visual effects." While ''Cine21'' Nam Ji-woo wrote for part two that the series "transforms into a contemplative drama that attempts to answer the philosophical questions surrounding suicide in its own unique way." Pierce Conran of ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

'' gave it 3/5 stars and described that "''Death's Game'' is the kind of pulpy entertainment where quibbling over plot points is ill-advised" and "plot moves quickly and the storytelling mode switches often, forcing logic to take a back seat to visceral thrills and emotional swings". Bhavna Agarwal of ''

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...

'' gave it 3.5/5 stars and stated that "the show strikes a balance between the emotional aspects and the action sequences" but "the only disappointment perhaps is that the show doesn't quite take into consideration the external factors or fails to stress the need for more mental health guidance to prevent suicides".

Viewership

A December 22, 2023 report claimed that, according to

statistics, the series was the most watched show in Indonesia and Thailand and in the top ten most watched shows in 43 countries around the world, including Australia, Brazil, Japan, Malaysia, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan.

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Listicles

Notes

References

External links

* *
''Death's Game''
on

* *
''Death's Game''
at Naver Webtoon
''Death's Game''
at Naver Webtoon {{Webtoon (platform) 2023 South Korean television series debuts 2024 South Korean television series endings Korean-language television shows South Korean fantasy television series South Korean pre-produced television series Television series about personifications of death Television series by SLL Television series by Studio N (Naver) Television shows about reincarnation Television shows based on South Korean webtoons TVING original programming