If you’re familiar with South Korean productions, you won’t be surprised to find out that since its release on November 19, Hellbound became the most-watched series worldwide on Netflix and dethroned the immensely popular Squid Game. The reason is simple: Hellbound is Korean drama at its best – creative setting, a good dose of social commentary, and, of course, plot twists.
The six-episode series is set in the near future, a time when society finds itself powerless against a supernatural threat. In the story, some individuals get a surprise visit from an entity (dubbed “angel”) that announces they will die and go to hell at a specific date and time. The prophecy is always fulfilled: when said time and date come, bulky creatures appear out of nowhere and kill their victims violently.
Hellbound was created by Sang-ho Yeon, who is none other than the director and screenwriter of another South Korean hit production, Train to Busan. He adapted the series from a webtoon and a short film he himself created. So who plays who in this wild series?
Jin Kyung-hun (Ik-joon Yang)
Tasked with trying to find the origin of the supernatural events that start taking place in Korea, Kyung-hun finds himself at his wit’s end as he investigates creatures that are almost literally ghosts and leave no trace behind. His job only gets more difficult when a cult-like organization called New Truth emerges to give religious meanings to the events.
Ik-joon Yang gained international attention after writing, directing, and starring in Breathless, a gritty film about abuse that was featured in several film festivals across the world, including Rotterdam International Film Festival and Austin Fantastic Fest. He was recently in Wilderness, a two-part Japanese movie about two losers rising to stardom as professional boxers.
Jin Hee-jung (Re Lee)
The daughter of Kyung-hun Jin blames herself for the death of her mother, as the woman was randomly killed when she was performing a task her daughter was supposed to do. She believes only divine justice can truly punish her mother’s killer, who was released from jail just a few years after committing murder.
Even though she hasn’t even made it into adulthood yet, Re Lee has already worked on several films and TV series, and collected nominations and awards wherever she passed. Her breakout feature film role was in Hope, a 2013 drama that earned her a Baek Sang Art Awards nomination at age 7. She voiced Yotsuha Miyamizu in the Korean dub of hit anime film Your Name. Recently, she starred in Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula, a stand-alone sequel to 2016’s Train to Busan.
Jung Jin-su (Yoo Ah-in)
The leader of the New Truth, an organization that decides to attach religious meaning to the supernatural events that take place in Korea. Jin-soo states that the ones being killed are sinners and anyone that tries to prevent God’s will from happening is an enemy of the New Truth.
Ah-in Yoo was in Korean series like Six Flying Dragons, Chicago Typewriter, and Fashion King, but he became known internationally for his role as Jong-su Lee in Burning, for which he was featured in the New York Times’ “Best Actors of 2018” list. He was also nominated for multiple awards for the role.
Lee Dong-wook (Do-yoon Kim)
A streamer who is a fierce member of the Arrowhead — a group of religious fanatics that take the New Truth’s teachings to the letter and take it upon themselves to punish anyone who disagrees with their convictions. Dong-wook makes constant live streams to stir viewers and expose so-called “sinners”.
Do-yoon Kim made his acting debut with Korean director Hong-jin Na’s 2016 film The Wailing, which earned international acclaim across several awards. He then worked with Hellbound creator Yeon Sang-ho in his 2018 film Psychokinesis, and most recently in Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula.
Park Jung-ja (Shin-rok Kim)
A mother of two who receives a visit from the “angel” entity on her birthday. She is the first one contacted by the New Truth, and the organization proposes they broadcast her execution in exchange for money to get her kids settled for a while. She quickly hires an attorney to make it legal.
Shin-rok Kim made her feature film debut starring alongside Ah-in Yoo with internationally acclaimed drama Burning. She also starred in the TV series Beyond Evil and The Cursed, two other supernatural Korean series.
Min Hye-jin (Kim Hyun-joo)
An attorney who is recruited after a potential victim is approached by the New Truth. Extremely skeptical about the cult-like society, she starts to become a target once she makes it clear she is not willing to bend to Jin-soo Jeong’s teachings.
Kim Hyun-joo rose to prominence after starring in the Korean TV series Glass Slippers. She was also in Twinkle Twinkle, and most recently in the investigative series Watcher, as well as the Korean adaptation of BBC’s Undercover.
Bae Young-jae (Jeong Min Park)
Bae Young-jae is a broadcasting station production director who is tasked with putting together a documentary about the New Truth. However, the more hours he puts into the project, the less he believes the teachings of Jin-soo Jeong should be taken seriously. The only problem is that this makes him a target of religious fanatics.
Jeong-min Park gained recognition after starring in the internationally acclaimed drama Bleak Night. He worked with Hellbound creator in 2018’s Psychokinesis and also starred in the Korean version of HBO’s Entourage. Recently, he was in the Netflix film Time to Hunt, which was featured in the Berlin International Film Festival.
Song So-hyun (Jin-ah Won)
The wife of Youn-jae gets desperate after receiving some disturbing news about her newborn baby. In the middle of a nation-wide supernatural event, she must find the strength to protect her child from threats she doesn’t even know are coming.
In her first television role, in the series Rain or Shine, Jin-ah Won was nominated at the Baeksang Art Awards in the Best New Actress category. She was recently in Long Live the King, another project based on a webtoon.
Deacon Yu-ji (Ryu Kyung-soo)
A priest within the New Truth tasked with carrying out the missions of the cult, such as locating sinners, exposing them, and preventing them from running away before their execution can be broadcast. Extremely loyal, Ji Yoo takes any criticism to the New Truth as a personal offense.
Kyung-soo Ryu was in Korean series such as Confession, Itaewon Class, and Netflix’s Lovestruck in the City. In cinema, he starred in The Divine Fury, A Resistance, and in the Netflix 2020 film The Call.
The Executioners
These bulky, gorilla-like figures appear out of nowhere in the exact day and time that a victim received their prophecy of going to hell. Always in a trio, they show up, kill their victims in several violent ways, and then burn them to a crisp until all that’s left are ashes and bones. They only interact with other people other than the victim if provoked and then disappear into thin air.
The Angel
A huge deity-like head that pops up unexpectedly and announces to a particular victim they will die and go to hell at a specific date and time. You can neither run from it nor ignore its message; once you see it, your days are numbered – literally.