Netflix Korea bets on young adult horror with chart-topping series If Wishes Could Kill

SEOUL – Following in the footsteps of South Korean youth-oriented horror hits such as the Whispering Corridors film series (1998 to 2021), Netflix has launched its own South Korean young adult genre entry If Wishes Could Kill, spotlighting a slate of rising actors.

The series centres on a group of high school students who discover a mobile app called Girigo that grants users’ wishes, but at a deadly cost: Whoever makes a wish is killed within 24 hours.

With a cast largely made up of emerging actors like Jeon So-young, Kang Mi-na, Baek Sun-ho and Hyun Woo-seok, If Wishes Could Kill is a potential launchpad, echoing the role the popular Whispering Corridors movies have played in the industry.

And it has topped Netflix’s weekly non-English series chart.

Speaking at a press conference in Yongsan in April, director Park Yoon-seo – the hitmaker behind action fantasy series Moving (2023) – said he hopes the show succeeds as a platform for discovering new talent. He is considering whether If Wishes Could Kill should adopt an anthology format or continue its current narrative going forward.

As horror has traditionally been anchored in feature films, the shift to a serialised format prompted a different creative approach.

Park noted that extended runtime allowed for a stronger emphasis on narrative cohesion and internal logic. “Films often rely on a tighter runtime to deliver impact through concentrated horror,” he said. “As a series, we focused on building a more structured narrative and maintaining plausibility, making sure the story sustains immersion through to the end.”

The approach also shaped the show’s overall palette. Rather than adhering strictly to genre conventions, the series incorporates elements of occult, action and school drama to maintain momentum across its eight episodes.

Park framed the hybridisation as central to the show’s identity. “We’ve combined traditional horror with Korean-style occult elements,” he said. “There are aspects that feel distinct from other works, and we structured the narrative to remain tightly paced throughout.”

The emphasis on grounded storytelling extends to the performances.

Actress Jeon, 24, who plays the lead role of Se-a, described the series as balancing realism with heightened, supernatural elements.

“It’s a mysterious project that blends the realistic and the unreal. The experience can feel different depending on whose perspective you follow. While the visual effects are strong, many scenes were performed by the actors themselves, which may help deepen immersion.”

At the same time, the production did not set out to cater to international audiences. Instead, according to Park, the focus remained on local specificity, with the belief that distinctly Korean elements would resonate more strongly abroad.

“Rather than tailoring it for global viewers, I wanted to highlight distinctly Korean elements. That, I think, can feel fresher to audiences abroad. At the same time, the idea of a curse spreading through a mobile app is something universally relatable.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK