Streaming services have been harvesting webtoons as the inspiration behind original film and television titles on an increasingly regular basis given the explosion in popularity of Korean content over the last few years, but any of the heaviest on-demand hitters would do well to craft anything as dramatic, engaging, and exciting as Concrete Utopia.
Adapted from the second part of Kim Soongnyung’s Pleasant Bullying, not only does the apocalyptic disaster thriller hold a perfect 100 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it’s already been selected as Korea’s entry into the running for next year’s Best International Feature category at the Academy Awards.
Set in the aftermath of a devastating natural disaster that’s reduced much of the world to nothing but smoldering rubble, the Hwang Gung Apartments in the center of Seoul is the only building left standing among the crumbling ruins of society. As more and more survivors appear in an attempt to secure shelter, the interpersonal and sociopolitical dynamics are constantly shifting, evolving, and edging closer to reaching boiling point.
Having already notched $28 million at the box office during its theatrical run earlier this summer, Concrete Utopia is now making its mark on streaming, after FlixPatrol named it as one of the most popular features on Google Play this week. Deftly balancing multiple genres and threading them all through a riveting narrative, with the end result bathed in the warm glow of nothing but unanimous critical acclaim, it’s the least it deserves ahead of what could eventually lead to an Oscar nomination.
