Death's Game (2023): where to watch, cast and plot

About the series

Death's Game (Korean: 이재, 곧 죽습니다) is a 2023–2024 South Korean fantasy anthology television series written and directed by Ha Byung-hoon. Based on a webtoon of the same name by Lee Won-sik and Ggulchan, the series follows Choi Yee-jae (Seo In-guk), a man who dies by suicide after losing hope. He is subsequently punished by Death (Park So-dam), an entity who forces him to experience 12 cycles of reincarnation and death. If Yee-jae can survive the imminent death of any host, he earns the right to live out that life. It was released on TVING from December 15, 2023 to January 5, 2024, and is also available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video in selected regions except South Korea and China.

Death's Game received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its high production values and philosophical depth, though some noted a reliance on spectacle and a simplified approach to mental health. It also received a nominations for Best OTT Original and Visual Effects at the 2024 Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards, and listed as ninth Best K-Dramas of 2024 by Time Magazine.

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Death's Game (Korean: 이재, 곧 죽습니다) is a 2023–2024 South Korean fantasy anthology television series written and directed by Ha Byung-hoon. Based on a webtoon of the same name by Lee Won-sik and Ggulchan, the series follows Choi Yee-jae (Seo In-guk), a man who dies by suicide after losing hope. He is subsequently punished by Death (Park So-dam), an entity who forces him to experience 12 cycles of reincarnation and death. If Yee-jae can survive the imminent death of any host, he earns the right to live out that life. It was released on TVING from December 15, 2023 to January 5, 2024, and is also available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video in selected regions except South Korea and China.

Death's Game received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its high production values and philosophical depth, though some noted a reliance on spectacle and a simplified approach to mental health. It also received a nominations for Best OTT Original and Visual Effects at the 2024 Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards, and listed as ninth Best K-Dramas of 2024 by Time Magazine.

Synopsis

Death's Game centers on Choi Yee-jae, a young man who attempts suicide after struggling to find a job for seven years, losing all money to a fraudulent investment, and being kicked out of his apartment. Death, however, is offended by Yee-jae's suicide note and his view of death as a tool to escape from pain. Death chooses to punish him by forcing him to play a game in which he must reincarnate and die 12 times before being sent to hell. The rule is that if he manages to survive in any of the 12 incarnations, he will be able to continue living in that reincarnation. The game helps him acknowledge the power of death, understand the differences in each person's fate and life, and teaches him profound lessons about the value of life.

Cast

Main

Seo In-guk as Choi Yee-jae

A man who lost his will to live after repeatedly failing to find a job for seven years.

Park So-dam as Death

A mysterious being, in the form of a woman, 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 athlete.

Kim Kang-hoon as Kwon Hyeok-su

A 17-year-old high school student who's a school bullies' target.

Jang Seung-jo as Lee Ju-hun

A 35-year-old secret organization fixer who solves any client's request.

Lee Jae-wook as Cho Tae-sang

A 21-year-old aspiring mixed martial arts 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 serial killer and 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 serial killer and the first son and CEO of Taekang Group.

Go Youn-jung 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 as Yee-jae's mother

A single mom who loses her husband and raises Yee-jae on her own. Also, Yee-jae's final reincarnation, where he learns the pain and suffering of his mother for losing her only son.

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

Nam Kyung-eup 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

Kim Beop-rae 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 the youngest PD

Episodes

Production

Development

Developed under the working title I'm Going to Die Soon (이제 곧 죽습니다; Ije got jukseumnida), Death's Game was written and directed by Ha Byung-hoon, who previously worked on dramas like Go Back (2017) and 18 Again (2020). He based the drama on the webtoon of the same name by Lee Won-sik and Ggulchan. SLL, Studio N and Saram Entertainment co-managed the series' production. It was supposed to be a JTBC drama and would air on the network, and stream through TVING.

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 technology of the series with a total budget of ₩3.35 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.

Seo In-guk and Park So-dam 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.

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, Jang Seung-jo, Lee Jae-wook, Lee Do-hyun, Go Youn-jung, 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 was released on January 11, 2024; it contains all of the 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.

Chart performance

Release

TVING 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 Amazon Prime Video 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

Writing for the first half of the series, Cine21's Kim Hyun-seung noted that while many South Korean works like Along with the Gods have explored the afterlife, the "worldview built by Death's Game is quite novel". Kim lauded the series for visual effects (CG) rarely seen in domestic productions, though he expressed disappointment that the narrative occasionally relied too heavily on these effects. While Cine21's Evaluating the second half, Nam Ji-woo observed that the show successfully "transforms into a contemplative drama" that attempts to address the complex philosophical questions of suicide in a unique manner.

International critics also highlighted the show's generic fluidity. Jasneet Singh of Collider noted that while the high-concept premise of 12 lives is the initial hook, the "revenge storyline woven between its emotional folds" provides the series with its narrative heart and drive. Pierce Conran of South China Morning Post gave it 3/5 stars, describing it as "pulpy entertainment where quibbling over plot points is ill-advised". Conran noted that the fast-paced storytelling and frequent shifts in genre forced "logic to take a back seat to visceral thrills and emotional swings". In a 3.5/5 star review for India Today, Bhavna Agarwal praised the balance between "emotional aspects and action sequences". However, she noted a significant omission in the show's messaging, stating that it "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 Amazon Prime Video 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.