The days when only good protagonists were loved are long gone.’Picaresque’ works, in which a villain with a moral flaw leads the story, are consistently popular in theaters and OTT(online video service)with unexpected story developments and strong characters.

The crime action film ‘Opposition’, which has been dominating the top ranks of the box office for a long time, also has ‘unjust characters’ driving the story.’Opposition’, which features a drug broker(Kang Ha-neul)who uses punishment as bait to get others into trouble and a prosecutor(Yoo Hae-jin)who will even instigate murder for success, captivated adult audiences with its hot level of violence, and thanks to that, it became the highest-grossing Korean film of 2025(cumulative audience of 2.55 million as of the 5th).

Along with the ‘opposition party’, the main characters of ‘Breakthrough’, which is currently being screened to rave reviews, are also characters closer to evil.The main character, Jo-gak(Lee Hye-young), is a ‘contract killer’ who has killed countless people for 40 years under the pretext of ‘quarantining insect-like humans’, and another killer, Tou(Kim Sung-chul), does not hesitate to kidnap and threaten children.

It’s not just Korean movies.The Marvel movie ‘Thunderbolts*’, which was released on the 30th of last month, is drawing attention with its story of a ‘group of anti-heroes’ made up of former ‘villains’ fighting against a greater evil.It’s a story of determination that is quite different from previous Marvel hero movies that featured typical ‘apostles of justice’ like Captain America.

On OTT(online video service), where thrillers, action, and other genres are strong, picaresque genres are more popular.Last year, works featuring murderers and criminals such as ‘The Murderer’, ‘The Eight Show’, and ‘No Way Out: The Roulette’ were popular, and recently, Netflix’s ‘The Evil Destiny’, which depicts the story of six villains intertwined, and Disney+’s ‘Hyperknife’, which features a doctor who kills people, received good responses both domestically and internationally.

Both inside and outside the industry, it is predicted that the picaresque genre, which allows for unpredictable developments and more stimulating stories amid the ‘content flood’, will see an increase in production.Regarding this, cultural critic Jeong Deok-hyeon expressed his opinion, saying, “The more the picaresque genre is about evil fighting evil, the more important it is to reveal a clear and cohesive thematic consciousness that sharply criticizes social problems or the state of affairs.”


Reporter Seungmi smlee@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.