# Bargain (몸값)
**Bargain** (몸값, *Momgap*) is a 2022 South Korean disaster thriller series on the streaming platform TVING, in which men lured to a motel by an organ-trafficking ring are trapped inside the collapsing building by a massive earthquake and fight to survive. It is an expansion of a 14-minute 2015 short film of the same name directed by [Lee Chung-hyun](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-chung-hyun), and it became the first [Korean drama](https://www.edgepedia.org/korean-drama) to win an award at the Cannes International Series Festival, taking Best Screenplay at the sixth Canneseries in April 2023.[1](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20220224/director-lee-chung-hyuns-short-film-bargain-to-be-remade-into-tv-series) • [2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20230420/korean-dystopian-thriller-bargain-wins-best-screenplay-at-canneseries)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Six-episode TVING original series, about 35 minutes per episode, premiered October 28, 2022[3](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/bargain/details/) |
| Origin | Expansion of Lee Chung-hyun's 14-minute 2015 short film of the same name[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20230420/korean-dystopian-thriller-bargain-wins-best-screenplay-at-canneseries) • [4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/bargain-writers-surprised-by-international-reactions/10764440) |
| Cast and crew | Directed by Jeon Woo-sung; written by Jeon Woo-sung, Choi Byeong-yun, and Kwak Jae-min; starring Jin Sun-kyu, Jeon Jong-seo, and Chang Ryul[5](https://www.tving.com/contents/P001641335) |
| Filming method | One-take continuous shots, from five to fifteen minutes each, following the technique of the original short film[6](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/money-lies-and-not-a-likeable-soul-can-be-found-in-dystopian-series-bargain/11848415) |
| Canneseries | Best Screenplay at the 6th Cannes International Series Festival, April 19, 2023; first Korean drama to win a trophy there[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20230420/korean-dystopian-thriller-bargain-wins-best-screenplay-at-canneseries) |
| Critical scores | Metacritic Metascore 82 ("Universal Acclaim") from 7 critics; 100% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 13 reviews[7](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/bargain/) • [8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/bargain/s01) |
| International release | Licensed by Paramount Global Content Distribution outside Korea, Japan, and Taiwan; streaming on Paramount+[9](https://www.prensario.net/CJ-ENM-triumphs-at-2023-Cannes-International-Series-Festival-with-emBargainem-and-emIslandem-41316.note.aspx) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The story begins with a transaction. No Hyung-soo (Jin Sun-kyu) visits a motel room outside Seoul to pay Park Joo-young ([Jeon Jong-seo](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeon-jong-seo)) for sex, but the meeting is a trap: the girl is a front for an organ-trafficking operation that drugs its victims and auctions their organs to black-market bidders, with Joo-young conducting the auction.[6](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/money-lies-and-not-a-likeable-soul-can-be-found-in-dystopian-series-bargain/11848415) • [10](https://www.avforums.com/reviews/bargain-paramount-tv-show-review.21216/) A sudden earthquake strikes mid-auction, collapsing the building and cutting everyone inside off from the outside world.[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20230420/korean-dystopian-thriller-bargain-wins-best-screenplay-at-canneseries)
The trapped characters include organ traffickers, desperate auction bidders, a shady medical staff, and the men the prostitutes lured in. A third principal character, Ko Keuk-ryul ([Chang Ryul](https://www.edgepedia.org/chang-ryul)), is a buyer who needs a kidney to save his bedridden father.[11](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2023/10/05/korea-jeon-woo-sung-bargain-interview/2031696352527/) • [6](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/money-lies-and-not-a-likeable-soul-can-be-found-in-dystopian-series-bargain/11848415) Alliances form, but trust does not come naturally to any of them, and the series presents no character the audience is meant to like.[11](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2023/10/05/korea-jeon-woo-sung-bargain-interview/2031696352527/) • [12](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/oct/05/netflix-bargain-review-this-wild-korean-drama-is-even-more-clever-and-complex-than-squid-game)
## From short film to series
Lee Chung-hyun's 2015 short film follows a schoolgirl and a man bargaining over her services as a prostitute, with the twist that she is luring him to the motel to steal and sell his organs.[13](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20221110/interview-bargain-director-expands-short-film-into-disaster-series) Among the short's honors were a jury prize from the 33rd Busan International Short Film Festival, a best film award from the 2016 15th Mise-en-scene Short Film Festival, and a best short film prize at the 11th Korean Film Festival in Paris in 2017.[1](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20220224/director-lee-chung-hyuns-short-film-bargain-to-be-remade-into-tv-series)
The idea for the expanded series came from the CEO of Climax Studio, a Seoul-based production company, and the studio gave the director the concept of the motel collapsing before development began.[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/bargain-writers-surprised-by-international-reactions/10764440) • [14](https://www.nme.com/features/tv-interviews/bargain-craziest-k-drama-paramount-plus-3505167) The series keeps the short film's storyline as its opening and develops what happens after its ending, expanding the setting from one floor and one location to the whole building.[13](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20221110/interview-bargain-director-expands-short-film-into-disaster-series) • [11](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2023/10/05/korea-jeon-woo-sung-bargain-interview/2031696352527/) In adapting the short film, director Jeon had to maintain the original storyline while introducing the sudden earthquake.[15](https://www.dexerto.com/tv-movies/bargain-director-explains-k-drama-nail-biting-one-take-style-2340359/)
## One-take filming
The series was shot in continuous one-take sequences lasting from five to fifteen minutes, a format Jeon adopted because the original short film was notable for its single-take shot.[6](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/money-lies-and-not-a-likeable-soul-can-be-found-in-dystopian-series-bargain/11848415) • [16](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20221017007200315) The method demanded theatrical preparation: the production rehearsed for about three days and then filmed for one day, with every camera movement, lighting change, and character entrance planned in advance.[17](https://digitalchosun.dizzo.com/m/article.amp.html?contid=2022111680235) • [6](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/money-lies-and-not-a-likeable-soul-can-be-found-in-dystopian-series-bargain/11848415) A mistake near the end of a long take forced the entire scene to be reset. Jin Sun-kyu, who speaks almost non-stop through much of the series, memorized his lines as if for a stage play so that a single error would not cost the crew another full take.[6](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/money-lies-and-not-a-likeable-soul-can-be-found-in-dystopian-series-bargain/11848415)
Jeon said he added dark comedy so that audiences would not tire during the long takes, and that the hardest production challenge was water: the crew built a life-sized pool on set for the flooded, ruined-building scenes.[11](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2023/10/05/korea-jeon-woo-sung-bargain-interview/2031696352527/)
## Themes and reception
Jeon has described the series as being about money and lies, with the motel building serving as a metaphor for capitalism and the earthquake functioning as a punishment for characters who are all villains.[13](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20221110/interview-bargain-director-expands-short-film-into-disaster-series) The screenwriters said the earthquake is metaphorically a punishment and a simile for the pitfalls of modern capitalism, and that they wanted to show the dark sides of Korean society.[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/bargain-writers-surprised-by-international-reactions/10764440) Academic commentary has read the series in the same register: one study of Korean OTT dramas places Bargain among works that use disaster narratives to reflect an era in which survival has become the only goal,[18](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART003026783) and another analyzes its explicit violence as depicting a society where violence is encouraged by capital logic.[19](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/mobile/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART002960947)
Critically, the series scored 82 on Metacritic based on 7 reviews and holds a 100% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 13 reviews, whose critics consensus calls it "a cuttingly original series."[7](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/bargain/) • [8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/bargain/s01) Reviewers frequently compared it to *Squid Game* as another Korean satire of capitalism; *The Guardian* called it more clever and complex than that show, and awarded the series four stars out of five.[12](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/oct/05/netflix-bargain-review-this-wild-korean-drama-is-even-more-clever-and-complex-than-squid-game) • [20](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/oct/08/the-week-in-tv-boiling-point-partygate-beckham-bargain-review) In Korea, the series recorded the highest unique-visitor counts during its release week among all TVING originals, though the platform did not disclose figures.[13](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20221110/interview-bargain-director-expands-short-film-into-disaster-series)
## Awards and international release
At the sixth Canneseries, held in Cannes from April 14 to 19, 2023, *Bargain* competed against nine other series in the feature-length competition and won the Best Screenplay prize for its three co-writers, Jeon Woo-sung, Choi Byeong-yun, and Kwak Jae-min, on April 19.[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20230420/korean-dystopian-thriller-bargain-wins-best-screenplay-at-canneseries) • [21](https://ecran-total.fr/2023/04/20/le-palmares-de-canneseries-2023/) It was the first Korean drama to win a trophy at the festival.[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20230420/korean-dystopian-thriller-bargain-wins-best-screenplay-at-canneseries) The series also received the Critics' Choice Award at the Serien Camp Festival in Cologne.[22](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/w6fL2yHSh_qLKQynUeMLpkiLI_j1EZhF/)
Internationally, the series is licensed by Paramount Global Content Distribution outside Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, and premiered across [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) territories in 2023; it is also available for purchase on Prime Video and Apple TV.[9](https://www.prensario.net/CJ-ENM-triumphs-at-2023-Cannes-International-Series-Festival-with-emBargainem-and-emIslandem-41316.note.aspx) • [23](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/bargain) The writers noted that foreign viewers and reviewers reacted in ways Korean audiences had not, asking whether Koreans really care so much about money, questions one writer wondered reflected a kind of [Orientalism](https://www.edgepedia.org/orientalism).[4](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/bargain-writers-surprised-by-international-reactions/10764440)
## References
1. [Director Lee Chung-hyun's short film, 'Bargain,' to be remade into TV series, The Korea Times (Feb 24, 2022)](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20220224/director-lee-chung-hyuns-short-film-bargain-to-be-remade-into-tv-series)
2. [Korean dystopian thriller 'Bargain' wins best screenplay at Canneseries, The Korea Times (Apr 20, 2023)](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20230420/korean-dystopian-thriller-bargain-wins-best-screenplay-at-canneseries)
3. [Bargain details, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/bargain/details/)
4. ['Bargain' writers surprised by international reactions, The Korea JoongAng Daily (May 7, 2023)](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/bargain-writers-surprised-by-international-reactions/10764440)
5. [몸값 1화, TVING](https://www.tving.com/contents/P001641335)
6. [Money, lies and not a likeable soul can be found in dystopian series 'Bargain', The Korea JoongAng Daily (2022)](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/money-lies-and-not-a-likeable-soul-can-be-found-in-dystopian-series-bargain/11848415)
7. [Bargain Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/bargain/)
8. [Bargain: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/bargain/s01)
9. [CJ ENM triumphs at 2023 Cannes International Series Festival with Bargain and Island, Prensario (Apr 21, 2023)](https://www.prensario.net/CJ-ENM-triumphs-at-2023-Cannes-International-Series-Festival-with-emBargainem-and-emIslandem-41316.note.aspx)
10. [Bargain (Paramount+) TV Show Review, AVForums (2023)](https://www.avforums.com/reviews/bargain-paramount-tv-show-review.21216/)
11. [Jeon Woo-sung: Dark comedy 'Bargain' imagines villains in natural disaster, UPI (Oct 5, 2023)](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2023/10/05/korea-jeon-woo-sung-bargain-interview/2031696352527/)
12. [Bargain review – this addictive Korean drama is more clever and complex than Squid Game, The Guardian (Oct 5, 2023)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/oct/05/netflix-bargain-review-this-wild-korean-drama-is-even-more-clever-and-complex-than-squid-game)
13. [INTERVIEW 'Bargain' director expands short film into disaster series, The Korea Times (Nov 10, 2022)](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20221110/interview-bargain-director-expands-short-film-into-disaster-series)
14. [Bargain: inside the craziest K-drama of the year, NME (2023)](https://www.nme.com/features/tv-interviews/bargain-craziest-k-drama-paramount-plus-3505167)
15. [Bargain director explains K-drama's nail-biting one-take style, Dexerto (2023)](https://www.dexerto.com/tv-movies/bargain-director-explains-k-drama-nail-biting-one-take-style-2340359/)
16. [Tving series 'Bargain' features one-take scenes to ratchet up thriller's tension, Yonhap News Agency (Oct 17, 2022)](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20221017007200315)
17. [전종서 인터뷰, 디지틀조선일보 (Nov 2022)](https://digitalchosun.dizzo.com/m/article.amp.html?contid=2022111680235)
18. [백소연 (2023). K-OTT드라마, 재난과 생존주의의 문제―드라마 <몸값>을 중심으로, 한국극예술연구 no. 80](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART003026783)
19. [이다운 (2023). 한국 드라마의 폭력 재현 양상 연구 - TVING 오리지널 <몸값>을 중심으로, 문화와융합 vol. 45, no. 5](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/mobile/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART002960947)
20. [The week in TV: Boiling Point; Partygate; Beckham; Bargain – review, The Guardian (Oct 8, 2023)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/oct/08/the-week-in-tv-boiling-point-partygate-beckham-bargain-review)
21. [Le Palmarès de Canneseries 2023, Écran total (Apr 20, 2023)](https://ecran-total.fr/2023/04/20/le-palmares-de-canneseries-2023/)
22. [Watch Bargain Accolades, Paramount+](https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/w6fL2yHSh_qLKQynUeMLpkiLI_j1EZhF/)
23. [Bargain - watch tv show streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/bargain)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Korean contemporary drama › Thriller, crime, and mystery series › Crime and mystery thrillers*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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