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As South Korean television programming, or K-dramas, continues to find success with audiences worldwide, one overlooked gem is "Song of the Bandits." A Netflix original series, "Song of the Bandits" is a period piece Western set in the 1920s during the brutal Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula. While not as popular as other K-dramas available to stream on Netflix, "Song of the Bandits" deserves its place among the best K-dramas on the platform. Moreover, "Song of the Bandits" is a fantastic Western in a region and culture not typically associated with the genre.

Incorporating actual history into its narrative, "Song of the Bandits" takes place primarily in the Gando region of China, near the Korean border. In the face of the oppressive Japanese control over Korea, many Korean refugees fled to Gando, including resistance fighters looking to liberate the peninsula from the Japanese. With the sudden influx of refugees,...

Picture: Kim Nam Gil in Trigger – Netflix

An exciting new action-thriller K-drama series is in development at Netflix. Starring Kim Nam Gil, and Kim Young Kwang, filming for Trigger is scheduled to start in November 2023. We’ll be keeping track of all of the latest Trigger news, including cast and production updates, trailers, and the Netflix release date.

Trigger is an upcoming South Korean action thriller K-drama written and directed by Kwon Oh Seung. Bidangil Pictures is the production studio behind the K-drama.

Table of Contents When is the Trigger Netflix release date? What is the plot of Trigger? Who are the cast members of Trigger? What is the production status of Trigger? When is the Trigger Netflix release date?

We still don’t have a full release date for Trigger. However, Netflix has confirmed that K-drama will be available for streaming sometime in Q3 (July-September) 2025.

What is the plot of Trigger?...

Picture: Lee Hee Jun (left) and Shin Min Ah (right) in Karma – Netflix

The exciting upcoming South Korean thriller series Karma is in post-production at Netflix. The series, which features a star-studded cast, will be released on Netflix in Q2 2025. We’re keeping track of everything you need to know about Karma, including the plot, cast, trailer, and Netflix release date.

Karma is an upcoming South Korean Netflix Original crime thriller directed and written by Lee Il Hyung. The series is a co-production between Moonlight Film and Baram Pictures. The former is the studio behind the Netflix crime drama Narco-Saints, while the latter produced orginals such as Kingdom: Ashin of the North, Song of the Bandits, Behind Every Star and Castaway Diva.

When is the Karma Netflix release date?

Netflix has confirmed that Karma will be released in Q2 (April-June) 2025. We’re still waiting for Netflix’s official release date,...

It is rather difficult to describe “Song of the Bandits”, a wild, exciting mix of historical drama, spectacular actioner, rugged western and comedy. Led by the charismatic Kim Nam-gil, the show is an explosive action/adventure romp through the badlands of the Manchurian wilderness, set against the backdrop of the Japanese colonization of Korea.

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The series mostly takes place in 1920 after the fall of the Joseon Empire and during Japanese occupation. The story centers around Lee Yun (Kim), a Korean native who used to serve in the Japanese military forces and carried out atrocities against defenseless civilians. Wracked by guilt, Lee is seen in the first episode deciding to go to Gando, officially part of China but in reality a lawless place inhabited by many Koreans and scoured by criminals, resistance fighters and Japanese paramilitary forces. There, he soon...

Netflix quietly released one of the best K-dramas in recent years called Song Of The Bandits in 2023. Netflix is home to many exceptional K-dramas such as its most-watched series of all time, Squid Game, which returns for its highly anticipated second season on December 26, 2024. The rise in popularity of K-dramas and K-pop has produced several global phenomenons in music, film, and television. Some of the K-dramas with the highest budgets are also available to watch on Netflix.

Song Of The Bandits is a historical action western that takes place in the early 20th century. Season 1 of the series spans nine episodes, which were directed by Joon-Jyeok Hwang of Black Dog (2019) acclaim. Song Of The Bandits is set in the tumultuous period of Japanese colonial rule over Korea where a group of people end up in the lawless land of Gando. The Western aspects of the series are some of its most fascinating and immersive qualities.

Renowned South Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun is set to take the lead role in an upcoming Disney+ crime drama series titled “Knock-Off.” Scheduled for release in 2025, the series will explore the underworld of counterfeit goods. Kim will play the complex character of Kim Sung-joon, an ordinary office worker whose life takes a dramatic turn after losing his job during Asia’s 1997 financial crisis. He gets involved in the illegal counterfeit trade and eventually rises to the top as a global kingpin.

Joining Kim in the cast is actress Jo Bo-ah, known for her roles in “Tale of the Nine Tailed” and “Military Prosecutor Doberman.” She will portray Song Hye-jung, a police officer who specializes in enforcing counterfeit laws. Her character happens to be Sung-joon’s ex-girlfriend, setting up a tense dynamic as their jobs put them in an ongoing cat-and-mouse game.

The series is being written by experienced screenwriter Han Jung-hoon,...

Kim Soo-hyun's role in Queen of Tears propelled him to superstardom as South Korea's highest-paid actor with a stellar career ahead. Knock Off, his upcoming black comedy K-drama, promises a fresh spin from Queen of Tears, showcasing his comedic talents and chemistry with Jo Bo-ah. The star-studded cast of Knock Off, including Lee Jung-eun and Woo Do-hwan, adds to the anticipation of this highly anticipated series.

Kim Soo-hyun has just announced his next K-drama following the success of Queen of Tears, and it could not be more perfect. Though it initially started with modest ratings, Queen of Tears quickly found domestic and international success, breaking Crash Landing on You's record as Tvn's most-watched drama of all time and easily becoming one of the best K-dramas of 2024. Kim Soo-hyun's role as the lawyer Baek Hyun-woo played a large part in the show's overwhelming success, which has earned him a...

Netflix has become one of the premiere streaming sites for carrying both existing and original content from across Asia. This is especially true when looking at Korean movies and original series (such as Mask Girl and Song of the Bandits), often dominating the rating charts. Continuing on our #tributetonetflix, we wanted to highlight some of the best films on the platform you can watch right now. Here are the best Korean movies currently available for streaming on Netflix.

*The following applies to the availability in the US

1. The Wailing (2016) by Na Hong-jin

“The Wailing” features many grotesque scenes. Cannibalism, violent killings, people acting like zombies, the terribly depicted skin infection, the cock killing ritual, and the amounts of blood all point towards an extreme horror film. The same applies to Hyo-jin's behavior, which is very hard to watch, particularly during the ritual scene. The sequences involving the dog and the...

Class is still in session at Netflix as the fourth and final season of Sex Education remained at the top of its TV ratings charts.

The teen series scored 13.4M views in its second week, up from the 12M views that it secured last week. The move also helped the first season sneak into the top ten with 1.9M views. Elsewhere, on the TV charts, British true crime doc Who Killed Jill Dando? claimed second place in its debut week with 5.5M views, Love Is Blind was in third spot, the second season of Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal was in fourth place, alien docuseries Encounters discovered 4.4M views in fifth place, followed by One Piece, which got 3.8M views to take it to 57.8M views to date, season five of Virgin River, the video game adaptation Castlevania: Nocturne, which got 2.6M views and HBO series The Pacific in tenth spot.

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The fourth and final season of “Sex Education” has toppled “One Piece’s” reign atop Netflix’s global top 10 list of the most-watched TV series of the week.

“One Piece” held onto the coveted position for three weeks in a row. But on Tuesday, the streamer revealed it had been topped by the final season of the comedy “Sex Education,” which brought in 12 million views. It was then followed not by “One Piece” but by Season 2 of the true crime docuseries “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal,” which debuted in its first week with 7.6 million views. Season 1 of the series also re-entered the weekly list, bringing in 2.4 million views.

After “Sex Education” and “Murdaugh Murders,” “One Piece” took the No. 3 spot with 6.2 million views followed by Season 5 of “Virgin River” in...

Song of the Bandits is a historical action-drama series directed by Hwang Jun-hyeok from a screenplay by Han Jeon-hoon. The Korean series is set in the 1920s and revolves around Japan’s colonial rule over the Korean people and the subsequent insurgence that followed. The series tells the story of a soldier in the Japanese army, who is seeking atonement for his deeds. When he travels to Gando he finds a former righteous soldier and together they create a ruthless gang of bandits who work hard to protect and provide for their countrymen. Song of the Bandits stars Kim Nam-gil, Seohyun, Yoo Jae-Myung, Lee Hyun-Wook, and Lee Ho-Jung. So, if you loved the Netflix series here are some similar options you check out next.

The Dirty Black Bag (AMC+ & Prime Video Add-On) Credit – AMC+

Synopsis: A story over eight long days describes the encounter and clash between two men: McCoy,...

Previously, in Song Of The Bandits episode 8, we saw the mounted bandits, led by Jang-Ki-Ryong, orchestrate an attack on the Joseon bandits. They held Choong-soo and his accomplices captive and brutally tortured them. One of those captives, Nam-chun, stepped in to safeguard his entire group by attempting to sacrifice himself. While he managed to distract Jang-Ki-Ryong and his associates by leading them to a desolate land, Lee Yoon and Eon-nyeni went to the prison, where Choong-soo and the others, including Seon-bok, were being held captive. Although Yoon and Eon-nyeni manage to set them free, Jang-Ki-Ryong, realizing Nam-chun’s deception, shoots him, leaving him to die on the ground.

Song Of The Bandits Episode 9 opened in the prison cell, where Eon-nyeni and Lee Yoon managed to get all the prisoners out of the cell. However, as they were escorting them out, the Japanese consul launched an attack on them. Hiding inside the precinct,...

Previously, in Song Of The Bandits episode 7, we saw Yoon manage to escort Hee-shin to a safe route to help her escape MayeongJeong. Hee-shin acknowledged Yoon’s contributions to her life and shared a kiss with him. Meanwhile, the Japanese army led by Major Lee Gawang was still after them, desperately intending to kill Lee Yoon. Eon-nyeni escaped from prison and subsequently joined forces with Yoon to take out all the Japanese men who were posing a threat to their lives and their fight for freedom.

Song Of The Bandits Episode 8 picked up where Episode 7 left off. We saw Hee-shin’s departure, while Lee Yoon returned to confront the Japanese army. The Japanese men surrounded Yoon, who was fearless. He knew he had been successful in his ultimate mission to transfer the money to the Independence Army in order to bring freedom to his homeland. He returned and faced his enemies,...

Previously, in Song Of The Bandits Episode 6, Hee-shin survived the injury she had endured in the station of Changchun. It turned out that the men Yoon and Hee-shin had met there were from the Japanese military, pretending to be insurgents. Gawang, however, had information about Yoon escorting the man with the stolen money, so he raided the village where they were staying. But Yoon managed to scare Gawang off, threatening to kill him. Eon-nyeni was once again assigned the task of killing Yoon, but she didn’t even want to do it. In Song Of The Bandits Episode 7, we got to see whether she could kill Yoon or change sides to take out the Japanese men instead.

Song Of The Bandits Episode 7 opened with Lee Yoon successfully escorting Hee-shin to the hotel, operated by Seon-bok in MayeongJeong. For a few days, they decided to conceal themselves from the threat of the Japanese army.

Episode 6 of Song of the Bandits opened in Tapeyong-dong five years ago when Eon-nyeni, pretending to be a helpless woman who had lost her family to the Japanese army, came to meet Choong-soo. Eon-nyeni’s sole purpose in coming to the village was to kill Lee Yoon. In the recent timeline as well, she had returned to the village with the same purpose. But this time, Choong-soo was well aware of her intentions. Choong-soo and Eon-nyeni sat together with the other members in Choong-soo’s group. While Choraeng-yi became impulsive and decided to kill Eon-nyeni, Choong-soo asked him to look under the table. As Choraeng-yi took a look, he found Eon-nyeni had already held Choong-soo at gunpoint. One move, and she would finish him off. Therefore, she would like to offer them a second chance to live if they informed her about where Lee Yoon was.

Spoilers Ahead

Is Hee-shin alive?...

Episode 5 of Song of the Bandits opened some years ago, when Lee Yoon had just witnessed the massacre in Gurye, which left him traumatized. Ever since he had been responsible for all those deaths, he had isolated himself from the rest of the army. During this time, when Lee was having dinner at a restaurant, an explosion took place. Some insurgents from the Independent Army had orchestrated the explosion. Lee Yoon found Hee-shin was one of them, who had taken refuge at the restaurant. Lee Yoon helped her hide herself and let her escape from the clutches of the Japanese army. But before escaping, Hee-shin thanked Lee Yoon for saving her life.

Spoilers Ahead

Did Lee Yoon kill Hee-shin?

The scene shifted to the current timeline of the plot. Choraeng-yi feared that, due to his failure to kill the railway bureau manager, Hee-shin, Lee Yoon would probably punish him, but...

Previously in Song Of The Bandits Episode 3, Hee-shin and Eon-nyeni made their way to MayeongJeong, while Lee Yoon and Seon-bok decided to wait for the vehicle carrying the railway construction money to arrive to perform the heist. However, seeing Lee Yoon alive, Eon-nyeni decided to kill him, resulting in a fight between them. However, the Japanese authorities’ intervention stopped their altercation from escalating and put them behind bars. Later, at the request of the Japanese consul, Yamada, Lee Yoon, Eon-nyeni, and Seon-bok were released from prison.

Episode 4 of Song of the Bandits opened with a grim visual, showcasing the brutality and torture the Japanese army had inflicted upon Joseon’s people. An army general called Lee Gawang to his office and expressed his suspicion about Gawang’s loyalty to the Japanese force. The general asked if Gawang was aware of the railway construction money getting transferred from Hoeryong to MayeongJeong,...

Previously, in episode 2 of Song of the Bandits, Seon-bok discussed a master plan with Lee Yoon to alleviate the overall condition of the settlers from Joseon. A similar scheme was employed by the Independent Army member Nam Hee-shin, who recruited the contract killer Eon-nyeni to orchestrate the plan. Both of them had planned to loot the railway construction money, 200,000 won, which was coming from the Hoeryong Bank Branch to the MyeongJeong office via the Gando Line. However, both parties were concerned about the Japanese Army posing a problem in their way, but putting all the worries aside, Lee Yoon and Eon-nyeni both pledged to carry out the task and get rid of all the obstacles on their way.

Spoilers Ahead

How did Sang-guk die?

Song of the Bandits Episode 3 opened with a scene from 16 years ago, revealing what the relationship between Hee-shin and Lee Yoon was. Lee had a crush on Hee-shin,...

Previously, in the first episode of Song Of The Bandits, we were introduced to Lee Yoon, a Korean man working for the Japanese army. He had a history with the bloodbath that took place in the Gurye region of Korea. A Japanese army opened fire on this village, killing almost every innocent villager in the area, not even sparing children. Among those villagers, the family of a Korean man named Choong-soo was killed, and Lee held himself responsible for that. Therefore, abandoning his position in the army, he comes to Gando to apologize to Choong-soo and get killed by his hands as a punishment. However, in the midst of this, Lee was really worried about the atrocities that the bandits had unleashed on the settlers from Joseon. He decided to take on the role of a bandit himself and kill the tyrants who caused the deaths of these innocent people.

Netflix has just released a nine-part series called Song of the Bandits, filled with some intense violence and blood-soaked scenes. “Song of Bandits” is an intense South Korean action drama that delves deep into the historical massacres that took place against the chaotic backdrop of China in the 1920s. The narrative revolves around the Korean kingdom of Joseon, which was colonized by Japan during the 1920s. The people of Joseon were forced to relocate from their homeland to settle in China. A Korean soldier, Lee Yoon, who was enlisted in the Japanese army, could not take the Japanese army’s ongoing violence against his own countrymen, so leaving his position in the army, he took up a life of crime, becoming a bandit, to stand up against the violence.

Spoilers Ahead

Who was Lee Yoon?

Episode 1 of Song of the Bandits opened by mentioning the tumultuous events taking place in...

Netflix is nothing if not a goldmine of content, with basically something to watch for everyone, and today we are making a list of the best new shows coming to Netflix in September 2023 that you can watch in the upcoming month. The shows in this list are ranked according to their availability dates.

Disenchantment Season 5 (September 1)

Synopsis: It all endeth here. The misadventures of hard-hitting, hard-drinking Queen Bean, her feisty elf companion Elfo and her personal demon Luci culminate in an epic battle for Dreamland in the fifth and final installment of Matt Groening’s comedy fantasy series Disenchantment.

To save Dreamland from Queen Dagmar’s wicked rule, Bean must vanquish her mother and outrun a prophecy that foretells she will kill someone she loves. The stakes are as high as ever as our heroes face Satan, a headless corpse, an evil stientist and most terrifying of all- their true destiny.

"Song of the Bandits" is a new live-action adventure TV series directed by Hwang Jun-hyeok, starring Kim Nam-gil, Seohyun, Yoo Jae-myung, Lee Hyun-wook and Lee Ho-jung, streaming September 22, 2023 on Netflix:

".... set in the 1920's, during a turbulent period, the people of 'Joseon' have been deprived of their place of living. 

Those who headed to 'Gando', a land of lawlessness with different stories, unite as one to protect the homeland..."

Click the images to enlarge...

Netflix has a string of K-dramas and movies coming to the platform in 2023. As Korean entertainment continues to gain notoriety worldwide, streaming services are playing a big part in this new wave as they make many shows accessible to a wider audience. In 2023, Netflix is ready to continue this trend by releasing multiple new K-dramas, ranging from all kinds of genres.

Over the years, the streaming service has already housed several great shows that eventually became worldwide phenomenons. For example, the Hyun-Bin and Son Ye-Jin-led show, Crash Landing On You, which is exclusively available on Netflix, was so successful, there are plans for an English-language adaptation for it. Meanwhile, Squid Game has become such a massive hit for the service that it resulted in an upcoming second season and a reality competition. Suffice it to say, there's clearly a growing interest in Korean entertainment. For those who are looking to delve deeper into it,...