A newly released Korean film is being torn apart across online communities, with viewers accusing it of insulting the audience’s intelligence and exposing what they call the director’s glaring lack of filmmaking ability.

While audiences are still praising other Korean releases for their addictive charm — from endlessly rewatchable hits to beloved dance-heavy male leads — The Great Flood has quickly become the opposite kind of talking point.

Recently released on Netflix, The Great Flood (Vietnamese title: Đại Hồng Thủy) drew early attention thanks to its natural disaster premise. However, expectations quickly collapsed. Despite heavy promotion and a star-studded cast including Kim Da Mi and Park Hae Soo, the film has been met with overwhelming criticism.

Directed by Kim Byung Woo, who previously faced backlash for his controversial adaptation of Omniscient Reader, The Great Flood has been labeled by netizens as one of the most disappointing Korean films to close out 2025.

As its title suggests, the movie opens with a catastrophic flood sweeping through Seoul, submerging high-rise apartment buildings and seemingly trapping everyone inside. What initially appears to be a tense survival thriller abruptly veers into surreal science fiction, leaving viewers confused and frustrated.

On the Korean forum theqoo, the film has been flooded with negative reviews criticizing its chaotic editing, incoherent storytelling, and increasingly incomprehensible plot progression. Some viewers remarked that the director seemed to be attempting an Interstellar-style narrative — without the skill to pull it off.

The film lurches wildly between genres, shifting from disaster to science fiction, then to gunfights, before collapsing into an overwrought melodrama.

Adding to the backlash, the storyline has been heavily criticized for its lack of logic, absence of depth, and outdated narrative devices. Netizens argue that the script tries to mask its glaring plot holes with forced, tear-jerking scenes that feel manipulative rather than emotionally earned.

Particularly infuriating to viewers was the use of a child character as what many described as an “emotional burden” and a tool for provoking resentment, sparking intense backlash online.

Ironically, the performances of Kim Da Mi and Park Hae Soo were singled out as rare bright spots. Yet many agreed that even strong acting could not salvage what they called a major cinematic failure in late-2025 Korean cinema.

Korean Netizen Reactions:

• “The director should stop making movies and find another career.”

• “Zero points for the plot. No logic at all. There’s barely any tragedy, just endless sobbing. If that’s the case, they should’ve just made a mother-child melodrama.”

• “The acting is good, which somehow makes the movie even worse.”

• “I usually cry easily during emotional scenes, but this movie left my face completely blank.”

• “Were they trying to turn the child into a punching bag for the audience?”

Kim Byung Woo previously faced fierce criticism for Omniscient Reader, where fans of the original work were outraged by what they described as disastrous changes. Many were even more shocked to learn that The Great Flood was originally scheduled to be released before Omniscient Reader, raising questions about how the project was funded in the first place.

Ultimately, The Great Flood has come to symbolize a bleak end to 2025 for Korean cinema — a warning sign, critics say, of an uncertain future if filmmakers fail to learn, adapt, and evolve.