The Drug King

"He who was a criminal and a patriot."

2018 2h 19m KO

😐

6.3

MID

🍅

75%

FRESH

⭐

6.2

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 173🍅75%Rotten Tomatoes★6.2IMDB · 4,044

CrimeActionDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Busan, South Korea, 1970s. Lee Doo-sam is a small-time smuggler. After helping a drug gang to smuggle meth, he falls into the dark crime world. Quick-witted and full of ambition, he eventually takes over the drug underworld and starts to lead a double life: a good community leader during the day but an infamous drug lord during the night.

“He who was a criminal and a patriot.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

NetflixSubscription

Netflix Standard with AdsSubscription

Cast

Song Kang-ho
Lee Doo-sam
Cho Jung-seok
Kim In-goo
Bae Doona
Kim Jeong-ah
Kim So-jin
Seong Sook-kyeong
Kim Dae-myung
Lee Doo-hwan
Lee Sung-min
Seo Sang-hoon
Lee Hee-jun
Choi Jin-pil
Jo Woo-jin
Jo Seong-gang

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Woo Min-ho
Writers: Woo Min-ho, Lee Ji-min
Languages: English, Korean, Portuguese, Japanese
Countries: South Korea

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 8 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, Korean, Portuguese, Japanese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Woo Min-ho, shot by Go Rak-sun. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Cho Young-wuk. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kim Sang-bum shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Song Kang-ho and Cho Jung-seok and Bae Doona carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He who was a criminal and a patriot.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt6914542 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Woo Min-ho directs. Go Rak-sun behind the camera. Cho Young-wuk scores. Kim Sang-bum cuts. Produced in South Korea. Dialogue in English, Korean, Portuguese, Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 8 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, Korean, Portuguese, Japanese.
3Directed by Woo Min-ho, shot by Go Rak-sun. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Cho Young-wuk. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Kim Sang-bum shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Song Kang-ho and Cho Jung-seok and Bae Doona carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "He who was a criminal and a patriot.".
8IMDB entry: tt6914542 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 13 themes, including "drug dealer", "drug abuse", "drug trafficking", "1970s".