Hellbound (TV series)

Hellbound
Hangul
지옥
Hanja
地獄
Literal meaningHell
Revised RomanizationJiok
Genre
Based on
Hellbound
by
  • Yeon Sang-ho
  •     Choi Gyu-seok
Written by
Directed byYeon Sang-ho
Starring
Music byKim Dong-wook
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producers
  • Byun Seung-min
  • Yang Yoo-min (season 2)
ProducerKim Yeon-ho
CinematographyByun Bong-sun
Editors
Camera setupSingle camera
Running time41–60 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNetflix
ReleaseNovember 19, 2021 (2021-11-19) 
present

Hellbound (Korean: 지옥) is a South Korean supernatural dark fantasy thriller television series written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho with Choi Gyu-seok, based on their own webtoon of the same name. Set in the then future year of 2022, supernatural beings suddenly appear out of nowhere to condemn people to Hell. The series stars an ensemble cast including Yoo Ah-in, Kim Hyun-joo, Park Jeong-min, Won Jin-ah, Yang Ik-june, Kim Do-yoon, Kim Shin-rok, Ryu Kyung-soo, Lee Re, Kim Sung-cheol, Im Seong-jae, Lee Dong-hee, Hong Eui-jun, and Cho Dong-in

The first season of Hellbound's was first premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival in the "Primetime program of TV series" on September 9, 2021, and became the first Korean drama to make it to the festival. It was released on Netflix on November 19, 2021, and became the world's most-watched Netflix series the next day, surpassing Squid Game, released two months prior in Singapore. Critics were positive of the show, but also cognizant that it followed in the footsteps of Squid Game; nonetheless, they predicted it to be heavily discussed and to have a lasting impact.

The second season was invited as one of the six drama series in the On Screen section at the 29th Busan International Film Festival. It was released on October 25, 2024.