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Beyond 'Squid Game': 5 upcoming South Korean thriller films, TV series
South Korean thriller film "Wall to Wall" will premiere July 18 on Netflix. Photo courtesy of Netflix
June 27 (UPI) -- Wall to Wall, Trigger and other South Korean thriller films and TV series are coming in 2025 following the release of Squid Game Season 3.
The third and final season of Squid Game was released Friday on Netflix, bringing the hit survival drama to a close.
Here are five upcoming Korean shows and movies set for release on streaming services this year.
'Low Life'
The adventure crime drama from Big Bet creator Kang Yunsung will have a three-episode premiere July 16 on Disney+ internationally and on Hulu in the United States.
Set in the 1970s, Ryu Seung-ryong and Yang Se-jong star as veteran conman Oh Gwan-seok and his nephew Oh Hee-dong, respectively. Ryu is also known for the hit Korean series Moving.
Low Life follows Gwan-seok and Hee-dong as they race to find a rumored sunken treasure ship off the Korean coast, taking on fellow fortune-hunters and underworld baddies along the way.
'Wall to Wall'
The thriller film from Unlocked writer and director Kim Tae-joon premieres July 18 on Netflix.
Wall to Wall stars Kang Ha-neul as Woo-sung, a new homeowner whose apartment turns into "a nightmare filled with financial ruin and mysterious noises from neighboring floors," according to an official synopsis. Kang is known for playing Dae-ho, aka Player 388, in Squid Game Seasons 2 and 3.
The cast also includes Yeom Hye-ran as Eun-hwa, the building representative, and Seo Hyun-woo as Jin-ho, Woo-sung's "suspicious" neighbor who is also curious about the noise.
"Unpredictable twists" unfold after other residents blame Woo-sung for the noise and he begins to investigate the true source.
'Trigger'
The action thriller series from Kwon Oh-seung, the writer and director of Midnight, debuts July 25 on Netflix.
Trigger imagines a gun-free South Korea, where chaos "erupts when illegal firearms suddenly begin to circulate, sparking unprecedented violence," according to an official synopsis.
Kim Nam-gil (Song of the Bandits) and Kim Young-kwang (Somebody) star as two men who "take up arms for very different reasons."
Kim Nam-gil plays Lee Do, a former military sniper-turned-detective who strives to stop the violence and find the source of the illegal weapons, while Kim Young-kwang portrays Moon Baek, "a mysterious figure" with hidden motives.
'Mantis'
Mantis is a spinoff of the 2023 action crime thriller Kill Boksoon. Byun Sung-hyun, the writer and director of the original film, returns to co-write the script with Lee Tae-sung, who directs the new movie.
Set in the same universe as Kill Boksoon, Mantis stars Yim Si-wan as Han-ul, aka Mantis, an assassin working for MK Ent. Mantis returns from his "vacation" mentioned in Kill Boksoon to find several skilled assassins vying for the top spot. Yim played Myung-gi, aka Player 333, in Squid Game Seasons 2 and 3.
The cast also includes Park Gyu-young (Sweet Home) as Jae-yi, a former MK Ent. assassin who was ousted from the group, and Jo Woo-jin (Narco-Saints) as Dok-go, a retired founding member of MK Ent. and Mantis' mentor.
Mantis is set for release on Netflix in the third quarter of the year.
'Good News'
Kill Boksoon writer and director Byun Sung-hyun is also working on the thriller film Good News, slated for release on Netflix in the fourth quarter of the year.
Set in the 1970s, the movie follows "a covert operation" to save the passengers of a plane that has been hijacked in the air, according to an official synopsis.
Sul Kyung-gu (Kill Boksoon) stars as "a mysterious fixer who shows up whenever needed to resolve problems." The cast also includes Hong Kyung (Weak Hero Class 1) as an Air Force lieutenant involved in the mission and Ryoo Seung-bum (Moving) as the government official in charge of the operation.
Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun attend 'Squid Game' S3 premiere
Star Lee Jung-jae arrives on the red carpet at Netflix's "Squid Game" Season 3 premiere at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on June 18, 2025. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
