Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalIMDb TIFF Portrait StudioHispanic Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

The Drug King

Original title: Mayakwang
  • 2018
  • TV-MA
  • 2h 19m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
4.1K
YOUR RATING
The Drug King (2018)
Watch Trailer [OVS]
Play trailer1:05
1 Video
99+ Photos
Drug CrimeActionCrimeDrama

Set in Busan, South Korea during the 1970s, Lee Doo-sam builds an empire as a drug smuggler in the Busan underworld, while public prosecutor Kim In-goo attempts to take down Lee Doo-sam.Set in Busan, South Korea during the 1970s, Lee Doo-sam builds an empire as a drug smuggler in the Busan underworld, while public prosecutor Kim In-goo attempts to take down Lee Doo-sam.Set in Busan, South Korea during the 1970s, Lee Doo-sam builds an empire as a drug smuggler in the Busan underworld, while public prosecutor Kim In-goo attempts to take down Lee Doo-sam.

  • Director
    • Min-ho Woo
  • Writer
    • Min-ho Woo
  • Stars
    • Song Kang-ho
    • Jo Jung-suk
    • Bae Doona
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.2/10
    4.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Min-ho Woo
    • Writer
      • Min-ho Woo
    • Stars
      • Song Kang-ho
      • Jo Jung-suk
      • Bae Doona
    • 16User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 nominations total

    Videos1

    Trailer [OVS]
    Trailer 1:05
    Trailer [OVS]

    Photos121

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 115
    View Poster

    Top cast27

    Edit
    Song Kang-ho
    Song Kang-ho
    • Lee Doo-sam
    Jo Jung-suk
    Jo Jung-suk
    • Kim In-goo
    Bae Doona
    Bae Doona
    • Kim Jeong-ah
    Jeon Ah-hee
    • 3rd Younger sister
    Kim Dae-myung
    Kim Dae-myung
    • Lee Doo-hwan
    Kang Deok-Joong
    • Secret Service smuggling squad member
    Jang Eui-don
    Jang Eui-don
    • Japanese captain
    Chang-Hyeon Han
    • Busan Citizen's Hall MC
    Lee Hee-joon
    Lee Hee-joon
    • Choi Jin-Pil
    Ga-Yoon Heo
    • Jong-Soon
    Lee Ho-Cheol
    • Hippo
    Son Hyun-joon
    • Freight car crew
    Yun Je-mun
    Yun Je-mun
    • Yakuza
    Kim Ji-eun
    • Choi Jin-pil's wife
    Eom Ji-man
    • Soonpyeong gang member
    Kim Joon-Hyung
    • Yong Man-ho ship company employee
    Eo Ju-seon
    • Handcart cleaner
    Lee Ju-won
    • Baek Woon-chang courtyard agent 3
    • Director
      • Min-ho Woo
    • Writer
      • Min-ho Woo
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews16

    6.24K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    7georgetm-60546

    Korean Scarface/American gangster

    A good movie to smoke up, kick back and enjoy. Try and keep up with the subtitles though, don't look away haha.
    7phd_travel

    Song Kang Ho's tour de force

    Watch this for Song Kang Ho in a meaty role. Endearing till the end. His character is funny and not bad like Escobar. Not a wanton killer. Interesting to see a Narcos biopic of a Korean drug lord.
    7kosmasp

    (Drug) Train to Busan

    Though obviously ship would be more fitting, but that other movie I was riffing off is called Train to Busan, so ... anyway, just a small joke in the summary line, hope you don't mind. The movie itself has Kang-Ho Song in the lead and if you are as bad as I am in remembering names at times, you might not immediately know who that is, but if you've watched more than 1 Korean movie, it is more than likely you've seen him.

    Netflix has gotten into the producing movies market and not a minute too late if you think about Disney shortly coming up with their own streaming service. And with content like this Netflix might have a chance against other giants. This is a straight up crime story with really good acting and the comedy you might already know from other movies. Violence is also there and quite something, so also not for the squeamish ... A good movie with a really good cast then
    7RosanaBotafogo

    #MadeInKorea

    Based on Lee Doo-sam's true story, I like South Korean humor, slightly unpretentious and in disconnected moments, but here I missed the humor, as they were not successful, and ended up becoming overwhelming, Kang-ho Song is great as calm citizen, a common and ambitious man, almost clumsy, there is no way not to associate it with the wonderful "Breaking Bad", but here we lack the humor ... We have great photography, ambiance, soundtrack from the 70s, delights, but a bit long and almost dispersed ... That ending, almost "heroic", was crazy and fun, that dark humor that we love, #MadeInKorea.
    9THE-BEACON-OF-MOVIES-RAFA

    SOUTH KOREAN (A+ Movie) My Ratings 9 /10

    GLOBAL POLITICAL REALITY

    A solid but overly familiar true-life crime drama from Inside Men director Woo Min-ho.

    WITH THE MIXTURE OF KOREAN HUMOR WITH BEAUTIFUL MUSIC.

    ENJOY.

    More like this

    The Policeman's Lineage
    6.1
    The Policeman's Lineage
    Time to Hunt
    6.3
    Time to Hunt
    Secret Reunion
    6.9
    Secret Reunion
    Rough Cut
    7.0
    Rough Cut
    Steel Rain
    7.1
    Steel Rain
    Believer
    6.6
    Believer
    Psychokinesis
    6.0
    Psychokinesis
    A Violent Prosecutor
    6.7
    A Violent Prosecutor
    Hit-and-Run Squad
    5.9
    Hit-and-Run Squad
    The Age of Shadows
    7.1
    The Age of Shadows
    The King's Letters
    6.4
    The King's Letters
    The Chase
    6.6
    The Chase

    Related interests

    Wendell Pierce and Dominic West in The Wire (2002)
    Drug Crime
    Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Song Kang-ho and Bae Doo Na had previously worked together in the 2006 film, The Host.

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ17

    • How long is The Drug King?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 19, 2018 (South Korea)
    • Country of origin
      • South Korea
    • Languages
      • Korean
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Drug King
    • Filming locations
      • Taiwan
    • Production company
      • Showbox/Mediaplex
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $14,446,477
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 19m(139 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.