{ "id": "epyn6mrvmd", "slug": "lucid-dream-2017-film", "title": "Lucid Dream (루시드 드림) (2017 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy", "label": "Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-5", "label": "Science fiction and fantasy films of the 2010s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-5" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-5.science-fiction-films-of-the-2010s", "label": "Science fiction films of the 2010s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-5.science-fiction-films-of-the-2010s" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-5.science-fiction-films-of-the-2010s.alpha-j-to-z", "label": "Titles J to Z", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-5.science-fiction-films-of-the-2010s.alpha-j-to-z" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Asia (other) · 2001 to 2020: Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "path": [ { "id": "geo.asia", "label": "Asia (other)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001", "label": "Asia (other) · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Lucid Dream (루시드 드림) is a 2017 South Korean SF thriller, Kim Joon-sung's feature debut, starring Go Soo, Sul Kyung-gu, and Park Yoo-chun; a father uses lucid dreaming to find his abducted son. It was the second Korean film signed by Netflix and earned 102,170 admissions.", "snippet": "Lucid Dream (루시드 드림) is a 2017 South Korean SF thriller, Kim Joon-sung's feature debut, starring Go Soo, Sul Kyung-gu, and Park Yoo-chun; a father uses lucid dreaming to find his abducted son. It was the second Korean film signed by Netflix and earned 102,170 admissions.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-5.science-fiction-films-of-the-2010s.alpha-j-to-z", "markdown": "# Lucid Dream (루시드 드림) (2017 film)\n\n**Lucid Dream** (루시드 드림) is a 2017 South Korean science fiction thriller directed and written by [Kim Joon](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-joon)-sung, in which a father whose son was abducted three years earlier uses lucid dreaming, a psychiatric method of dreaming with conscious awareness, to search his own and other people's dreams for clues to the kidnapping.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156562) • [2](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20170221002000315) It was Kim's feature-length directorial debut, released in South Korea on February 22, 2017, and distributed internationally by Netflix.[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&seq=4191)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | 루시드 드림 (Ru-si-deu Deu-rim) |\n| Genre and length | SF thriller, 101 minutes, rated 15 in South Korea[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156562) |\n| Release | February 22, 2017 (South Korea); June 2, 2017 (United States, streaming)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156562) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lucid_dream) |\n| Director and writer | Kim Joon-sung, his feature directorial debut[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&seq=4191) |\n| Lead cast | Go Soo, Sul Kyung-gu, Park Yoo-chun, Kang Hye-jung[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156562) |\n| Production and distribution | Rod Pictures; distributed by NEW (Next Entertainment World)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156562) • [5](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=44217) |\n| Box office | 102,170 admissions on 461 screens; total gross $565,174[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156562) |\n| Netflix deal | Second Korean film to sign a distribution contract with Netflix, offered in 190 global markets[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&seq=4191) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and premise\n\nChoi Dae-ho ([Go Soo](https://www.edgepedia.org/go-soo)) is a broadcast journalist who specializes in exposing corruption at large conglomerates, work that has made him enemies. His only son disappears at an amusement park during a family outing, and after three years of searching he gives up his career to pursue the case as the police prepare to close it.[2](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20170221002000315) • [1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156562)\n\nHis friend So-hyun ([Kang Hye-jung](https://www.edgepedia.org/kang-hye-jung)), a psychiatrist, suggests lucid dreaming, described in the film's materials as a new psychiatric healing method in which a patient falls asleep with the awareness of dreaming and recalls lost memories to treat traumatic experiences. Instead of using it as treatment, Dae-ho uses the method to revisit the past and hunt for clues to the abduction, facing obstacles, side effects, and unexpected acquaintances along the way.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156562)\n\nThe investigation brings in the veteran detective Song Bang-seop (Sul Kyung-gu) and a mysterious young man called \"[This Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/this-man)\" ([Park Yoo-chun](https://www.edgepedia.org/park-yoo-chun)), a figure in a black suit who appears abruptly in Dae-ho's dreams and later in the real world, where he introduces the concept of \"shared dreaming\" and helps gather decisive clues from other people's dreams.[5](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=44217) • [2](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20170221002000315) The story moves back and forth between the dream world and reality as the clues, including a man with a tattoo on his right arm and a suspicious photographer, converge on one person.[2](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20170221002000315) • [5](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=44217)\n\n## Production\n\nKim Joon-sung built his reputation through short films including *The Scent of Life* (2012), *Don's Life, Don* (2011), and *The Last Way Home* (2009), and won the Best Short Film award at the 46th Grand Bell Awards before directing this feature.[6](https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20170118_0014648110) The production team designed the film's dreams, from the dreams Dae-ho experiences directly to those entered through shared dreaming, taking into account the events occurring in dreams and the characteristics of dreams themselves. The [lucid dream](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucid-dream) sequences centered on the amusement park where the son vanished were staged with restrained direction grounded as much as possible in realism.[7](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/movie/luciddream/luciddream_2-1.htm)\n\nThe music was composed by music director Cho Young-wuk, known for his scores for *Pandora*, *The Handmaiden*, and *The Beauty Inside*.[7](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/movie/luciddream/luciddream_2-1.htm) The film was produced by Rod Pictures, with Seong Jin-gyeong and Hong Yong-su as producers and Choi Sun-joong as executive producer, and was distributed in South Korea by NEW.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156562) • [5](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=44217) IMDb lists an estimated budget of $5,000,000.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6830780/)\n\n## Release and Netflix distribution\n\nTwo days after the film's Korean theatrical debut, trade news reported that it had become only the second Korean film to enter a distribution contract with Netflix, following the previous year's disaster drama *Pandora*. Both deals were secured by Contents Panda, the international arm of Next Entertainment World, and the film was to be offered exclusively in Netflix's 190 global markets outside Korea's theatrical window. Jessica Lee, Vice President of communications for Netflix Asia, announced the acquisition.[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&seq=4191) The film was screened in the Korean Fantastic: Features section of the 2017 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN).[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156562)\n\n## Box office and reception\n\nThe film opened poorly. It debuted in seventh place at the Korean box office with 27,000 admissions on its opening day, and by the evening of March 8, fifteen days after release, total admissions stood at 101,823 nationwide according to the Korean Film Council's integrated computer network; the film was effectively ending its theatrical run and moving to VOD service at that point.[3](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&seq=4191) • [9](https://www.newspim.com/news/view/20170308000352) Final figures recorded 102,170 admissions and a total gross of $565,174 on 461 screens.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156562) A NEW investor summary lists cumulative revenue of 0.8 billion won and 102,000 admissions.[10](https://file.mk.co.kr/imss/write/20180807112737__00.pdf)\n\nCriticism focused on the screenplay. Yonhap's review called the film mediocre with a distinct lack of suspense, faulting a wholly predictable and loose plot and noting that it recycles devices from the Hollywood blockbuster *Inception*, such as characters being locked in someone's dreams and using others' dreams to resolve a case. The same review praised the realistic visual effects used to portray the dream world and Go Soo's persuasive performance as a desperate father, while finding Park Yoo-chun's acting unconvincing.[2](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20170221002000315) The Korea JoongAng Daily wrote that viewers expecting a Korean version of *Inception* found the dream material used mainly as a means to find the son, without much complication.[11](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/lucid-dream-lacks-connection-to-viewers/11674788) On Rotten Tomatoes the film held a Tomatometer score of 42% from two reviews at the time of the site's snapshot.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lucid_dream)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Lucid Dream (2017), Korean Film Council (KOFIC) Film Database](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156562)\n2. [Shim Sun-ah (2017). \"(Movie Review) 'Lucid Dream': Unsalvageable mediocrity\", Yonhap News Agency](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20170221002000315)\n3. [Pierce Conran (2017). \"Netflix Takes Enters into LUCID DREAM\", Korean Film Council News](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&seq=4191)\n4. [Lucid Dream (2017), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lucid_dream)\n5. [루시드 드림 (Lucid Dream) 상세정보, 씨네21](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=44217)\n6. [고수·설경구 '루시드 드림', 2월 개봉…'자각몽 스릴러', 뉴시스](https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20170118_0014648110)\n7. [루시드 드림 제작 노트, 한국영화데이터베이스 (koreafilm.co.kr)](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/movie/luciddream/luciddream_2-1.htm)\n8. [Lucid Dream (2017), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6830780/)\n9. ['루시드 드림' 관객수, 개봉 보름 만에 10만 '흥행참패', 뉴스핌](https://www.newspim.com/news/view/20170308000352)\n10. [NEW 2017~2018년 영화 라인업 투자 실적표, 매일경제](https://file.mk.co.kr/imss/write/20180807112737__00.pdf)\n11. [\"'Lucid Dream' lacks connection to viewers\", The Korea JoongAng Daily](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/lucid-dream-lacks-connection-to-viewers/11674788)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 2010s › Science fiction films of the 2010s › Titles J to Z*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/lucid-dream-2017-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/lucid-dream-2017-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Lucid Dream (루시드 드림) (2017 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/lucid-dream-2017-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Lucid Dream (루시드 드림) (2017 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucid-dream-2017-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/lucid-dream-2017-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucid-dream-2017-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Lucid Dream (루시드 드림) (2017 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/lucid-dream-2017-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Lucid Dream is a 2017 South Korean SF thriller, Kim Joon-sung's feature debut, starring Go Soo, Sul Kyung-gu, and Park Yoo-chun; a father uses lucid dreaming to find his abducted son." }