Netflix subscribers may already be well aware of the fact that the platform has made a push into the international space in recent years. Many new projects have been developed to appeal to subscribers from a Korean, Japanese or Spanish language background. One of the latest ventures from the streamer, a mini-series titled Karma, showcases this intent. This six-episode crime thriller developed as an adaptation of a popular web comic of the same name, which released on Apr. 4. The series centers on six ill-fated strangers who find themselves entangled in a messy web of lies, greed and even murder. As each of these characters pursue their destiny, they cross paths in increasingly conflicting ways, leading to an explosive end.
Since the series has drawn so much attention, now seems like as good a time as any to examine Karma‘s plot, narrative and final moments. Be advised that there will be full spoilers for the show ahead, so be sure to bookmark this page and return later if you haven’t finished watching it yet. For everyone else, let’s dive right in, and see what we can learn about the karmic system that controls the lives of each character in the show.
What Happens in ‘Karma’?
The series begins with a man named Park Jae-yeong, a financially struggling construction worker who finds himself deep in debt to a dangerous loan shark. After failing to make his first few payments, the thug informs him that he will need to get square with his finances in 30 days, or he will be killed. With no options remaining, Jae-yeong concocts a diabolical scheme to kill his own father, and repay his loan using money from a life insurance payout. To carry out this plot, the man reaches out to one of his seedy acquaintances, who frequently scams wealthy Koreans working in the financial district. The criminal, Jang Gil-ryong, agrees to take on the job, and shows up at Jae-yeong’s home a few days later with an accomplice named Kim Beom-jun.
Unfortunately, the hit gets severely botched, and ends with the criminals loading Jae-yeong’s injured and nearly dead father into the back of their truck. After departing the house, the not-so-dynamic duo come up with a secondary scheme, dumping the body in front of a wealthy doctor’s car. The doctor, Han Sang-hun, panics after discovering the scene, and decides to bury the body himself rather than going to the authorities. As he packs the body into his own car, he sees Kim Beom-jun spying on him, and threatens to kill him unless he helps dispose of the man. Once the body is firmly planted in the ground, the doctor attempts to pay his associate off, though Beom-jun demands increasingly absurd amounts of money in return for his silence.
Things Spiral Out of Control
With most of the key players in place, the narrative of Karma continues to spiral. Each criminal’s web of lies expands to an unmanageable house of cards, especially as new details emerge. After returning home from burying the body (and suspiciously lying to his wife about his whereabouts), the doctor examines a clip captured by his dash camera. The footage, which he really should have checked sooner, displays Kim framing him for the murder. Enraged, the doctor calls upon his own underworld associate, Lee Yu-Jeong, who agrees to broker a meeting between the two parties. Unbeknownst to the doctor, Yu-Jeong is actually a close associate of Kim’s. The criminals wind up ganging up on the doctor and attacking him at their meeting. In the scuffle, both Lee and the doctor wind up getting severely injured, and Kim hits the road as the pair take their final breaths.
As all this is going on, Park Jae-yeong receives the news of his father’s death, putting on a show of sadness for the local authorities. Before he can claim the insurance money, however, Jae-yeong is informed that the death is being investigated as a murder, thanks to the sloppy handiwork of Jang Gil-ryong and Kim. Despite his poor handling of the situation, Gil-ryong begins hassling Jae-yeong for his cut of the money, creating a scene as the latter is speaking to one of the police investigators. In the commotion, Gil-ryong winds up killing a police officer, and resolves that he must flee the country in order to avoid capture. He commands Jae-yeong to pay him that day, and leaves to begin packing a bug-out bag.
The Body Count Rises
As the walls begin closing in on each of the criminals, they all begin to turn on each other like crabs in a bucket. Park Jae-yeong decides to kill Gil-ryong so he doesn’t have to pay him off, while Kim plots to kill them both after the police discover his involvement in the murder of Doctor Han. Eventually, all three end up in an abandoned building under construction, where they battle it out in a flurry of fists and weapons. Kim ultimately takes out his former partner, before tying Park to a chair and setting the building on fire. Before he can escape, the building explodes, severely burning Kim and leaving him disfigured. After the paramedics arrive, Kim tells them that his name is Park Jae-yeong. He claims that one of the bodies left behind is actually his own, in order to steal Jae-yeong’s identity – and insurance money.
Unfortunately for Kim, one of the doctors treating him at the local hospital becomes suspicious of his identity and alerts a private investigator to look into his background. Aware of the doctor’s suspicions, Kim takes an early discharge from the hospital, and heads back to Jae-yeong’s home, hoping to get the insurance money. Using Jae-yeong’s phone and contact information, he manages to get through to a representative from the insurance company, who informs him that the money has been donated to a local church, per the will of the deceased. Kim is furious, and even goes to the church to fight this order. Of course, he ultimately comes up empty handed, when a nun reveals that they have Jae-yeong’s father providing the details of his will on video. As it turns out, there was never any money in this scheme to begin with.
Kim Beom-jun Feels the Heat
By the time the series comes to a close, Kim is being pincer trapped by the consequences of his actions. The local authorities have discovered his identity and plan to track him down, just as the loan sharks arrive to kill the man that they believe to be Park Jae-yeong. Kim attempts to flee town with what little cash he can scavenge, and makes way for a bus stop. As he waits, a mysterious black van pulls up, and a pair of goons leap out to kidnap him. The next time we see Kim, he’s waking up in an organ harvesting factory. Having scammed, lied, and killed his way to the top of the food chain, karma finally catches up with him, and the surgeon even decides to operate without using any anesthesia.
‘Karma’ Ending Explained
In the end, Karma tells the story of a bunch of genuinely evil criminals who die trying to avoid doing the right thing. Whether they’re putting together murder-for-hire plots, burying bodies or simply hacking and slashing their way through anyone who inconveniences them, the characters in this story don’t provide much in the way of morals or ethics. Luckily, there seems to be a regulatory force of nature maintaining a karmic balance throughout the series, as the evil characters all meet gruesome ends which are of relatively equal measure to their sins. The story almost feels like a Squid Game style take on Fargo, with the character dynamics of Trapped in the Closet.
For now, it doesn’t appear likely that Netflix will order a second season of Karma, even though the series has managed to bring in droves of new fans. The core characters are all dead and gone, and the story has wrapped up neatly. Still, if enough subscribers check out the recent release, the streamer may be forced to reevaluate their take on the brief six-episode adventure, and expand the franchise as an anthology story. If this does pan out, there are plenty more tales of evildoers finding their just-desserts to explore.
