# My Name Is Loh Kiwan
**My Name Is Loh Kiwan** (로기완; revised romanization *Lohkiwan*) is a 2024 South Korean drama film written and directed by Kim Hee-jin, starring [Song Joong-ki](https://www.edgepedia.org/song-joong-ki) and Choi Sung-eun, and distributed worldwide by Netflix[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=My_Name_is_Loh_Kiwan). It follows Loh Ki-wan, a North Korean defector who arrives penniless in Brussels and fights to obtain refugee status, where he meets Marie, a former competitive shooter who has lost her will to live[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=My_Name_is_Loh_Kiwan). The film is adapted from Cho Hae-jin's novel *I Met Loh Kiwan* (로기완을 만났다)[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20240307/interview-song-joong-ki-explores-depth-of-guilt-in-my-name-is-loh-kiwan).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | March 1, 2024, worldwide on Netflix[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=My_Name_is_Loh_Kiwan) |
| Director and writer | Kim Hee-jin, her feature directorial debut[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-release-date-news) |
| Runtime and rating | 133 minutes; TV-MA on Netflix[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=My_Name_is_Loh_Kiwan) • [3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-release-date-news) |
| Source novel | *I Met Loh Kiwan* by Cho Hae-jin; sources date it to 2011, 2013, or 2019[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20240307/interview-song-joong-ki-explores-depth-of-guilt-in-my-name-is-loh-kiwan) • [3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-release-date-news) • [4](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-movie-124205) |
| Lead cast | Song Joong-ki as Loh Ki-wan; Choi Sung-eun as Lee Marie[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-release-date-news) |
| Awards | Lee Sang-hee won Best Supporting Actress at the 2024 Baeksang Arts Awards and Blue Dragon Film Awards[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26672512/awards/) |
| Reception | 57% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (7 reviews) and 83% on the audience Popcornmeter[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_name_is_loh_kiwan) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Loh Ki-wan (Song Joong-ki) is a thirtysomething North Korean defector who fled in 2019 with his mother. They reach China, where defectors are harshly criminalized; when police come looking for him, he is brutally separated from his mother. He escapes to Brussels, a place wholly unfamiliar to him, where he becomes homeless and struggles to stay warm through the Belgian winter. His resolve to fulfill his mother's dying wish, to find a safe place where he can live on his own terms, carries him through[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-release-date-news).
His only hope of staying is to receive refugee status from the Belgian government, which he fights to obtain[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=My_Name_is_Loh_Kiwan). European Union asylum officials demand proof that he is truly from [North Korea](https://www.edgepedia.org/north-korea) and not a Chinese-Korean seeking to exploit the refugee system[7](https://www.ltikorea.or.kr/upload/dataevent/20241007105755356143.pdf). Without money, a home, or the legal right to work, his situation grows increasingly desperate[8](https://reason.com/2024/06/07/my-name-is-loh-kiwan/).
In Brussels he meets Marie (Choi Sung-eun), a Korean who has received Belgian citizenship and was once a competitive shooter[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=My_Name_is_Loh_Kiwan). Unlike Kiwan, who came to Belgium to live a new life, Marie has no reason to live; she is entangled with people who force her to compete in underground shooting competitions[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=My_Name_is_Loh_Kiwan) • [9](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/my-name-is-loh-kiwan). As the two battle their demons amid immense hardship, they forge a bond and a more hopeful future together[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-release-date-news).
## Cast
- Song Joong-ki (*Reborn Rich*, *Vincenzo*) as Loh Kiwan, a North Korean defector[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-release-date-news)
- Choi Sung-eun (*[The Sound of Magic](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-sound-of-magic)*) as Lee Marie, a former athlete[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-release-date-news)
- Cho Han-cheul (*[Gyeongseong Creature](https://www.edgepedia.org/gyeongseong-creature)*, *Reborn Rich*) as Lee Youn-sung, Marie's father[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-release-date-news)
- Lee Sang-hee (*[Daily Dose of Sunshine](https://www.edgepedia.org/daily-dose-of-sunshine)*) as Kim Seon-ju, a Korean immigrant[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-release-date-news)
- Seo Hyun-woo (*Decision to Leave*) as Ri Eun-cheol, Loh Kiwan's uncle[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-release-date-news)
- Kim Sung-ryung as Ok-hee, Kiwan's mother[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=My_Name_is_Loh_Kiwan) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_name_is_loh_kiwan)
## Production and adaptation
Kim Hee-jin initially joined the project as the screenwriter and was later given the opportunity to direct it; she said she wrote the piece with Song Joong-ki in mind from the script's inception[10](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/films/20240228/song-joong-ki-describes-journey-of-healing-hope-in-my-name-is-loh-kiwan). The film was produced by Yong Film and HighZium Studio[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_name_is_loh_kiwan).
The source novel's publication year is reported differently across sources: The Korea Times calls it a 2011 short novel[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20240307/interview-song-joong-ki-explores-depth-of-guilt-in-my-name-is-loh-kiwan), Netflix Tudum says 2013[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-release-date-news), and Gadgets 360 says 2019[4](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-movie-124205).
The adaptation departs from the novel in Marie's characterization: the film introduces Marie as a Belgian with Korean immigrant parents, once an accomplished shooter, whereas the novel's narrative follows a different structure[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20240307/interview-song-joong-ki-explores-depth-of-guilt-in-my-name-is-loh-kiwan). The story is fictional, not based on a true event[3](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-release-date-news).
## Themes and performances
Song Joong-ki described the film as a story of healing, saying his character embarks on the journey to Belgium with the last glimmer of hope in his life[10](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/films/20240228/song-joong-ki-describes-journey-of-healing-hope-in-my-name-is-loh-kiwan). In his interpretation, Loh is driven primarily by guilt; he asked the director to include a line in which Loh, discussing his mother's death, asks "Am I a person who deserves to be happy?"[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20240307/interview-song-joong-ki-explores-depth-of-guilt-in-my-name-is-loh-kiwan). Song had declined the same script seven years earlier, finding the character's emotions unconvincing, and accepted it after rereading it five years later[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20240307/interview-song-joong-ki-explores-depth-of-guilt-in-my-name-is-loh-kiwan).
Critics were divided on the balance between the refugee storyline and the romance. James Marsh of the *South China Morning Post* gave 2 of 5 stars, writing that director Kim seems overly eager to sidestep Kiwan's legal minefield in favor of a schmaltzy romance[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_name_is_loh_kiwan). Rhian Daly of *NME* called both lead performances phenomenal and the film a heart-wrenching watch whose devastation comes from its characters' enforced resilience[11](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-review-a-devastating-battle-with-survival-3596305). An India Today review praised Song's and Choi's portrayals and the film's refusal to underplay its protagonist's struggles[12](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-review-song-joong-ki-film-is-what-dunki-could-not-be-2510448-2024-03-04).
## Reception and awards
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 57% Tomatometer from 7 critics and an 83% Popcornmeter audience score from over 100 ratings[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_name_is_loh_kiwan). At the 2024 award season, Lee Sang-hee won Best Supporting Actress at both the Baeksang Arts Awards and the Blue Dragon Film Awards[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26672512/awards/).
## References
1. [My Name is Loh Kiwan, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=My_Name_is_Loh_Kiwan)
2. [Song Joong-ki explores depth of guilt in 'My Name is Loh Kiwan', The Korea Times](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20240307/interview-song-joong-ki-explores-depth-of-guilt-in-my-name-is-loh-kiwan)
3. [My Name Is Loh Kiwan: Release Date, Story, and Cast of the Song Joong-ki Film, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-release-date-news)
4. [My Name Is Loh Kiwan Movie (2024), Gadgets 360](https://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-movie-124205)
5. [My Name Is Loh Kiwan (2024) - Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26672512/awards/)
6. [My Name Is Loh Kiwan, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_name_is_loh_kiwan)
7. [2024 Diaspora Literature & Culture Event seminar proceedings, Literature Translation Institute of Korea](https://www.ltikorea.or.kr/upload/dataevent/20241007105755356143.pdf)
8. [Review: This Netflix Drama Depicts North Korean Refugees' Tribulations, Reason](https://reason.com/2024/06/07/my-name-is-loh-kiwan/)
9. [My Name Is Loh Kiwan - Parents' Guide & Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/my-name-is-loh-kiwan)
10. [Song Joong-ki describes journey of healing, hope in 'My Name Is Loh Kiwan', The Korea Times](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/films/20240228/song-joong-ki-describes-journey-of-healing-hope-in-my-name-is-loh-kiwan)
11. ['My Name is Loh Kiwan' review: a devastating battle with survival, NME](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-review-a-devastating-battle-with-survival-3596305)
12. ['My Name is Loh Kiwan' Review, India Today](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/reviews/story/my-name-is-loh-kiwan-review-song-joong-ki-film-is-what-dunki-could-not-be-2510448-2024-03-04)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2023 and 2024 › Titles H to N*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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