‘Mercy for None’ revives gangster drama abroad amid waning interest at home
"Mercy for None" follows Gi-jun’s return to the underworld after 11 years to avenge his brother’s death. Courtesy of Netflix
The early 2000s were a golden era for gangster-themed Korean films, but recent years have seen the genre fade from the domestic spotlight. Netflix’s latest series “Mercy for None” seeks to resurrect that gritty tradition, yet its reception in Korea has been lukewarm despite strong performance overseas.
Based on a popular webtoon, “Mercy for None” follows Gi-jun (played by So Ji-sub), a former mob enforcer who deliberately crippled himself to escape the underworld. Eleven years later, he returns to unravel the conspiracy behind the death of his younger brother Gi-seok (Lee Joon-hyuk), who had risen to become second-in-command of their former gang.
The series premiered June 6 and quickly captured the attention of global audiences. It topped Netflix’s Global Top 10 (non-English TV series) in its second week and ranked in the top 10 across 75 countries, including Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, France, Germany and Switzerland. It claimed the No. 1 spot in nine of them, and holds a perfect 100 percent score at time of writing on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer.
Homegrown skepticism
Despite its success abroad, Korean viewers have responded with mixed reviews. Critics say the show lacks the moral ambiguity and raw desperation of its webtoon counterpart, accusing So Ji-sub’s character of being overly invincible.
Some argue that the series offers little more than a standard revenge tale, echoing tropes from older gangster films without much innovation. For longtime fans of the genre, expectations of narrative depth and character complexity remain unmet.
The series' middling reception also reflects the broader decline in popularity of gangster dramas in Korea. Once dominated by hits like “My Boss, My Hero” and “Marrying the Mafia,” the genre gradually faded as formulaic plots and overused cliches led to audience fatigue.
While recent films like “The Outlaws” have maintained some momentum by casting gangsters as villains rather than protagonists, the days of mob bosses as central antiheroes appear to be over in Korea.
Huh Joon-ho, left, as Lee Ju-un, and Cha Seung-won as Cha Yeong-do in "Mercy for None" / Courtesy of Netflix
Why gangster dramas rose and fell
Cultural critic Kim Sung-soo said the rise of gangster narratives in the early 2000s coincided with a loosening of government censorship, which allowed filmmakers to explore Korea’s darker realities.
Initially, creators avoided portraying collusion between organized crime and political elites, fearing potential backlash.
"What could be told more freely was the relationship between gangsters and the police," Kim said, "but it was still difficult to go further up the power structure."
That changed in the late 2000s. "As democracy matured and alternative media gained credibility around 2008, creators began depicting more complex connections between gangsters and political power," Kim said.
By the 2010s, stories of nightclub turf wars gave way to portrayals of gangsters running corporations and engaging in white-collar crime.
"To tell those stories properly, you also had to include business, prosecutors, and the government. And only in a society where that’s safe to explore could such narratives thrive," Kim added, emphasizing that cultural trends always mirror societal shifts.
Overseas, a second life
While gangster stories may have fallen out of favor at home, “Mercy for None” is finding new life abroad.
Its international success suggests that, with the right packaging and emotional core, Korean gangster dramas still resonate globally.
The show’s high-stakes revenge arc, cinematic visuals and stylized violence may appeal to international viewers less fatigued by the genre’s history.
Though “Mercy for None” may not signal a full revival of the genre in Korea, its global popularity shows that the gangster narrative, reimagined and re-exported, still packs a punch.
So Ji-sub as Gi-jun in "Mercy for None" / Courtesy of Netflix
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.