CathieHubert

The first three episodes of the much expected new Korean drama, The Murky Stream, have aired today on Disney Plus worldwide. Directed by Choo Chang Min, it premiered at the Busan International Film Festival on the 18th of September 2025. Consequently, Rowoon and Shin Ye Eun, the female lead role, both won"The Emerging artist award", for their performance. The Murky Stream tells the story of Jang Si Yul, a man who buries his dark past to survive as a gangster, Choi Eun, a sharp-minded righteous woman, and Jung Cheon, an idealist striving to become a honest police official. The fate of the three main characters, unfolds in lawless Joseon, where the once beautiful Gyeonggang River, has turned into a murky stream. Their destinies will bring them together. Without revealing too much about the story, the first three episodes immediately take us into a dark, lawless land, where survival comes at a cost. The first three episodes, like a chessboard game, introduce the viewers to the main and secondary characters, how they stumble upon each other, and set the historical and sociological background of the story. The night or dusk scenes are predominant, a sort of no man's land, between night and day, a land of secrets and danger. That feeling is cleverly underlined by the muted colours and aesthetics chosen by the director. A hellish depiction of humanity, where justice is scarce and treachery predominates. As a metaphor of our modern world, a few righteous, pure hearted characters, have to bear the corrupted police and state hierarchy, the cupidity of a few and the desperate struggle of those who have nothing. The Murky stream is first a portrayal of the Mapo River gangsters, those too poor to be honest, those too rich to share their wealth and power. The camera work and general cinematography is beautiful, the long takes of the river and landscape, alternate with the dramatic close ups of Siyul's face and the grotesque gangster's deformed theatrical smirks, in particular Mudeok ( Park Ji Hwan), a sort of pathetic antithesis of Jang siyul and his desperate, pure, moving gaze. Rowoon 's acting, was praised in Busan. His usual beauty disguised with a clever make up, beyond those artifacts, he does a truly remarkable interpretation of Siyul. Wandering aimlessly into this doomed world, his lonely silhouette is often filmed from below, accentuating his height and aloofness and his lonely hero aura, as opposed to the filming of the river crowds suffocating feeling. His expressionist embodiement of Jang Siyul, takes over the screen, in particular when the camera comes closer into his desperate eyes. A huge change, compared to his previous Joseon characters and I cant wait to see more and how the three heroes will come together. So far, this gripping story leaves the spectator with a haunting feeling, an uncontrolable desire to know what's coming. The Murky Stream and the tale of Jang Siyul 's fall and hopefully redemption is already a must watch. Next Episodes on the 3/09/25 on Disney Plus worldwide. Cathie Hubert. France