Karma- Episodes 1-2

“The Man With Loan Shark Debts”

Right from the jump, Karma pulls no punches. Episode 1 opens in pure chaos: a man, bound and bloodied, is left to die in a burning warehouse. Firefighters drag him out alive—but barely. He survives, but his face is unrecognizable. When he finally speaks, he names himself: Park Jae-yeong. One of the doctors looks visibly shaken when he thanks her, and boom—we’re yanked back 15 days earlier.

Jae-yeong’s life? A total mess. Three months behind on rent, dodging a loan shark, and deep in debt to everyone from banks to gullible co-workers. The loan shark finally catches him and gives him a terrifying ultimatum: cough up the cash in 30 days or lose your organs.

With no plan and time ticking, he heads back to his soul-sucking job. We learn he’s even borrowed money from Chang-seop, a naive but kind co-worker. While there, he witnesses the firing of Gil-ryong, an ex-con hired through a prison rehab program. Gil-ryong pulls a knife on the boss before storming off—and that’s not even the most disturbing thing.

Jae-yeong starts snooping. He sees Gil-ryong getting chewed out by his wife, notices a scar and tattoo, and does some research. Turns out, that tattoo belongs to the Knife of Yanbian—a violent Korean-Chinese gang infamous for brutal revenge.

Then comes the twist: Jae-yeong’s estranged dad, Dong-sik, gets hit by a car. The rich driver wants to settle quietly and hands over 5 million won. Jae-yeong gives his dad 3 million but quickly regrets it when he sees Dong-sik spending time with a mysterious younger woman. Convinced she’s a gold digger, Jae-yeong lashes out, then squeezes another 3 million from the driver.

And here’s where things turn dark. At his dad’s place, while grabbing some clothes, Jae-yeong spots a life insurance policy: 500 million won payout if Dong-sik dies in an accident or from illness. You can practically see the wheels turning in his head. As if on cue, a bunch of teenagers try to get him to buy them cigarettes. He mouths off. They beat him up and steal his stuff.

After a brutal nightmare of being hacked up, he wakes in the hospital. A furious Dong-sik rants at the police about alleyway CCTVs. That’s when inspiration strikes. Jae-yeong visits Gil-ryong and offers 60 million won to “accidentally” run over his dad. No weapons. Just a hit-and-run in the same alley where Jae-yeong got jumped. As insurance, he records the whole deal.

But Gil-ryong isn’t dumb. He follows Jae-yeong, does some digging, and realizes the insurance payout is way bigger. He demands 150 million. Cornered, Jae-yeong agrees, but not without a tantrum. Gil-ryong shuts him down cold: “Just get yourself a solid alibi.”

Cue the alibi operation. Jae-yeong invites Chang-seop to a barbecue and books a karaoke room with escorts. Chang-seop bails early, so Jae-yeong goes solo and makes sure the escorts remember him. Then he heads to a café, loudly watching videos, coughing, doing everything to make sure he's seen.

Right then, bang—Gil-ryong hits Dong-sik. Jae-yeong stays at the café till closing, goes home, and waits for the confirmation call. It doesn’t come. When it finally does, it’s not from Gil-ryong—it’s from Chief Park, asking him to ID his dad’s body. Jae-yeong forces a smile, but his eyes? They’re holding something back.

Stage 2 of the plan kicks off—with a twist. Jae-yeong fake-cries at the morgue but is blindsided when Dong-sik’s girlfriend shows up… as a witness. Flashback: she sees the whole thing, even watches Gil-ryong reverse and check the body. And the worst part? The body wasn’t found in the alley—it was buried. In the mountains.

Cue panic. Jae-yeong breaks down for real this time. His perfect plan just shattered. Gil-ryong went rogue. And now? Jae-yeong’s staring straight into the face of karma.

“The Man Who Disposed of a Body”

Karma is just getting started—and Episode 2 proves no one's safe from its grip.

We open on a snowy, quiet mountain—Mt. Chowol, the kind of place even hikers avoid. But one ambitious vlogger is out there, filming her solo trek when her dog starts furiously digging. What does it find? A freshly unearthed corpse. Yep, it’s Dong-sik.

Smash cut to: Dr. Han Sang-hun, your average boring rich guy. He’s waiting for his girlfriend Yu-jeong and monologuing about his cushy, uneventful life. That peace doesn’t last long. Yu-jeong’s sharp, unpredictable, and very much in control. She wants to hook up, he nervously complies. She’s annoyed when he won’t drink, but pushes through. After the deed, she suddenly claims her friend’s dad has died and insists Sang-hun drive her—even though he’s tipsy.

Sang-hun caves, and while driving, Yu-jeong starts getting handsy. He's protesting when—boom—they hit a man. He’s killed on the spot. Yu-jeong wants to call the cops, but Sang-hun panics. He blames her for making him drink, and spirals into self-preservation mode. Calling the cops is off the table.

And the body? It’s Dong-sik.

Another car pulls up. A chatty mechanic and his girlfriend offer help, but Sang-hun waves them off. As they leave, they joke that they should’ve snapped a pic of him. Big mistake, doc.

With the scene clear, Sang-hun decides to bury the body. Yu-jeong flips out. They argue, but just as things heat up—bam! A random guy drops his convenience store drinks nearby. Wrong place, wrong time. He bolts on a bicycle, but Sang-hun chases him down and knocks him out cold.

Yu-jeong is done. But Sang-hun, now in full unhinged mode, kidnaps the eyewitness and guilts Yu-jeong into coming along. They drive to Mt. Chowol to finish the job.

This is where it gets really twisted.

Sang-hun wants to kill the witness. Yu-jeong tries to talk him down. Mid-argument, the witness wakes up screaming. Sang-hun beats him with a golf club until the guy promises silence. He even bribes him—10 million won—calling him an "accomplice." The guy, bloodied and crying, agrees.

Then comes the shallow grave. Sang-hun, bleeding from an injured hand, forces the witness to help bury Dong-sik. The guy suggests digging deeper. Sang-hun snaps and shuts it down. They cover the body and get back into the car. But the witness has gotten a taste for cash—he asks for another 10 million. Sang-hun throws 20 at him just to shut him up.

Yu-jeong looks horrified. The witness looks thrilled. And in the distance, watching quietly? The same dog from earlier. Uh-oh.

Back in town, the mess keeps growing.

The witness, now bold, asks Sang-hun for taxi money. Sang-hun laughs in his face. Then he pulls the memory card from his car’s black box and takes it in for repairs. It costs him 4.8 million won, and he looks like a man barely holding it together.

Worse, the mechanic and his girlfriend—remember them?—start stalking him and snapping photos. His hand is infected. Yu-jeong ghosts him. When she finally texts back, he asks her to chip in for the car repairs. Then he coldly tells her not to contact him for a while. Internally, he’s smug. He wants her to suffer for “making” him drink.

But karma’s not done with him yet.

As he’s treating his festering hand in the clinic, the door creaks open. He looks up—and freezes. It's the witness.

Cue the dread. Cue the unraveling.

DramaZen's Opinion

“This Show Is Unhinged in the Best Way Possible!!!”

I did not expect to be this obsessed after just two episodes—but Karma came out swinging and I am HERE FOR IT. Episode 1 had me clutching my popcorn within five minutes. Burned mystery man? ✔️ Organ-harvesting threats? ✔️ Plotting your dad’s murder for insurance money?! ✔️✔️✔️

Park Jae-yeong is such a lovable trainwreck of a human being. Every decision he makes is worse than the last and somehow still fun to watch. And don’t get me started on Gil-ryong—my favorite knife-wielding ex-con with daddy issues. The moment he asked for 150 million instead of 60? Iconic behavior.

Then Episode 2 said, “Hold my beer,” and gave us Dr. Sang-hun: accidental killer turned amateur grave digger. That man’s moral compass fell out the window and got run over twice. Watching him spiral while his shady one-night stand became his partner in crime was pure gold. And that poor crying Eyewitness? He went from victim to reluctant accomplice so fast I had emotional whiplash.

I’m already addicted. The drama, the chaos, the unhinged logic—Karma is a rollercoaster and I don’t want to get off.