Netflix orders Korean original

Netflix has linked up with award-winning director Hwang Dong-hyuk for a new and exclusive Korean original series.

Hwang Dong-hyuk

Round Six follows a group of people who have failed at life for various reasons but suddenly receive a mysterious invitation to participate in a survival game with a prize of US$10m.

The game takes place at an unknown location and the participants are locked up until there is a final winner.

The story will incorporate popular Korean children’s games from the 1970s and 1980s, including one described as a type of tag where offense and defense use a squid-shaped board drawn in the dirt.

Director Dong-hyuk is known for work including The Fortress (2017), which won best screenplay at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.

He is also associated with Miss Granny (2014), which has been adapted in Asian countries such as China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

“I’m already thrilled at the prospect of introducing Round Six to global audiences through Netflix. I also have high expectations for the great collaborative work I’ll be having with them,” said Dong-hyuk.

The launch date for Round Six has not yet been announced. It will join other Korean originals on Netflix such as eight-part zombie historical series Kingdom, graphic novel-inspired Love Alarm and romantic drama My First First Love.

It also ordered Korean original School Nurse Ahn Eun Young, based on a popular supernatural-themed book by local author Jung Se-rang, in December 2018, and has acquired a host of Korean dramas internationally.