# Night in Paradise (낙원의 밤)
**Night in Paradise** (낙원의 밤) is a 2020 South Korean crime film written and directed by Park Hoon-jung, in which a mobster who has lost his family and taken revenge hides out on [Jeju Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeju-island), where he meets a terminally ill woman.[1](https://zetawiki.com/wiki/%EB%82%99%EC%9B%90%EC%9D%98_%EB%B0%A4) • [2](https://www.nme.com/reviews/night-in-paradise-film-review-park-hoon-jung-2916809) It premiered out of competition at the 77th Venice International Film Festival on 3 September 2020 and was released worldwide on Netflix on 9 April 2021, skipping a Korean theatrical release during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3](https://www.hankyung.com/article/2021040645801) • [4](https://www.hankookilbo.com/news/article/A2021040710110005548)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | Park Hoon-jung, whose earlier credits include *New World* (2012), *The Witch: Part 1* (2018), and the screenplay of *I Saw the Devil*[1](https://zetawiki.com/wiki/%EB%82%99%EC%9B%90%EC%9D%98_%EB%B0%A4) • [5](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20210406043000005) |
| Release | Premiered 3 September 2020 at the 77th Venice International Film Festival (out of competition); streamed on Netflix from 9 April 2021 in 190 countries[3](https://www.hankyung.com/article/2021040645801) • [4](https://www.hankookilbo.com/news/article/A2021040710110005548) |
| Main cast | Uhm Tae-goo (Park Tae-gu), Jeon Yeo-been (Jae-yeon), Cha Seung-won (Director Ma Sang-gil), Lee Ki-young (Kuto), Park Ho-san (Yang Do-soo)[1](https://zetawiki.com/wiki/%EB%82%99%EC%9B%90%EC%9D%98_%EB%B0%A4) |
| Production | Goldmoon Film and Peppermint&Company; distributed by NEXT Entertainment World and Netflix; filmed 16 September to 15 December 2019[1](https://zetawiki.com/wiki/%EB%82%99%EC%9B%90%EC%9D%98_%EB%B0%A4) • [6](https://namu.moe/w/%EB%82%99%EC%9B%90%EC%9D%98%20%EB%B0%A4) |
| Technical details | 131 minutes; aspect ratio 2.39:1; music by Mowg; cinematography by Kim Young-ho; rated suitable only for adults in Korea[1](https://zetawiki.com/wiki/%EB%82%99%EC%9B%90%EC%9D%98_%EB%B0%A4) • [6](https://namu.moe/w/%EB%82%99%EC%9B%90%EC%9D%98%20%EB%B0%A4) |
| Reception | Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 68% from 19 reviews, audience score 75%; third most-watched Netflix film among Korean users in 2021[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_in_paradise) • [6](https://namu.moe/w/%EB%82%99%EC%9B%90%EC%9D%98%20%EB%B0%A4) |
## Spoilers
### Story
Tae-gu (Uhm Tae-goo) is a respected member of a Seoul gang led by Yang Do-soo (Park Ho-san). After he refuses an offer to switch allegiance to the rival Bukseong gang, his sister and niece are killed in a staged car accident. Believing the Bukseong group is behind their deaths, Tae-gu takes revenge, killing the gang's leader and his men in a sauna with a single knife.[2](https://www.nme.com/reviews/night-in-paradise-film-review-park-hoon-jung-2916809) • [8](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/4/13/night-in-paradise-review/)
His boss sends him to hide on Jeju Island for a week before a planned escape to Russia. There he stays with an arms dealer (Lee Ki-young) and meets the dealer's niece Jae-yeon ([Jeon Yeo-been](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeon-yeo-been)), who is terminally ill and faces what time she has left with detachment. The two initially clash, but as both suffer the repercussions of Tae-gu's revenge, their relationship thaws.[2](https://www.nme.com/reviews/night-in-paradise-film-review-park-hoon-jung-2916809) Meanwhile on the mainland, Yang's move into Bukseong territory fails, and he sells out his own gang, including Tae-gu, to Executive Ma ([Cha Seung-won](https://www.edgepedia.org/cha-seung-won)), the new de facto leader of the Bukseong gang, who hunts Tae-gu down.[8](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/4/13/night-in-paradise-review/) • [9](https://todayinmovies.com/movie/night-in-paradise)
## Style and direction
Night in Paradise was Park Hoon-jung's sixth feature film.[10](https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=97511) Korean critics described it as a departure from his representative work *New World* (2012): where that film focused on the inside of a criminal organization, this one centers on a protagonist cast out by his organization and adds lyricism to the gangster story.[5](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20210406043000005) The film pairs the postcard scenery of Jeju Island, a resort destination, with the world of cold-blooded gangsters, and its imagery is dominated by a cold blue color palette that Yonhap's critic read as carrying the chill of approaching death.[4](https://www.hankookilbo.com/news/article/A2021040710110005548) • [5](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20210406043000005)
The violence is staged with knives and steel pipes alongside guns, and reviewers noted both its weight and its extremity; the Harvard Crimson criticized scenes it considered overly barbaric, while Yonhap praised the brisk, emotionless action of the film's second half.[8](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/4/13/night-in-paradise-review/) • [5](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20210406043000005) Food scenes became a signature of the film's reception: Tae-gu and Jae-yeon bonding over mulhoe, a spicy raw fish soup, and a tense negotiation over [jajangmyeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/jajangmyeon) noodles were singled out by multiple critics.[8](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/4/13/night-in-paradise-review/) • [5](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20210406043000005)
## Release and reception
The film was the only Korean film invited to the 77th Venice International Film Festival, where it screened in the out-of-competition section. Its premiere screening sold out despite social distancing measures, and foreign outlets including Quinlan and Cinematographe praised its action and its look into the characters' interior lives.[3](https://www.hankyung.com/article/2021040645801) • [11](https://news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2020090910118287792) Jeon Yeo-been received particular notice, with praise at Venice as a "2020 Best Final Girl".[3](https://www.hankyung.com/article/2021040645801)
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic the film skipped Korean cinemas and went straight to Netflix on 9 April 2021, a path the Korea Herald-adjacent trade press and Korean critics read as a sign of the pandemic era for Korean film.[4](https://www.hankookilbo.com/news/article/A2021040710110005548) • [12](https://www.starnewskorea.com/movie/2021/04/12/2021041210371944910) It reached the top 10 in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia according to Jeon Yeo-been in an interview, and traded the number one and two positions on Netflix's Korean top 10 with the series *Vincenzo*; it finished 2021 as the third most-watched Netflix film among Korean users.[13](https://www.ajunews.com/view/20210429155653264) • [6](https://namu.moe/w/%EB%82%99%EC%9B%90%EC%9D%98%20%EB%B0%A4)
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 68% Tomatometer from 19 reviews and a 75% audience score; the aggregate IMDb rating is 6.8 out of 10.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_in_paradise) • [9](https://todayinmovies.com/movie/night-in-paradise) Critics were divided along a consistent line. The Guardian's Leslie Felperin gave three of five stars, finding the pacing leisurely but the handling of the gunplay inventive and the leads charming; IndieWire graded it C+, and [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter) called it indulgently long despite good plotting and exciting action.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_in_paradise) Korean reviews similarly split between praise for the actors' presence, particularly Uhm Tae-goo's terse gangster and Cha Seung-won's principled Executive Ma, and criticism that the characters' inner lives stayed schematic.[4](https://www.hankookilbo.com/news/article/A2021040710110005548) • [10](https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=97511)
## Legacy
The film has settled into a Netflix-era cult standing among Korean noir fans. Retrospective coverage describes its footprint as resting on Jeon Yeo-been's breakout performance, which drew viewers who later discovered her in *Vincenzo* back to this film, and on its signature dissonance of beautiful Jeju Island as the backdrop for ugly business, with the mulhoe scene as the moment fans most often cite.[14](https://sightlines.media/film/606523/night-in-paradise-2020/reception) It is frequently raised as an "underrated, actually" pick in gangster-film discussions, though not placed in the canon of *New World* or *I Saw the Devil*.[14](https://sightlines.media/film/606523/night-in-paradise-2020/reception)
## References
1. [낙원의 밤, 제타위키](https://zetawiki.com/wiki/%EB%82%99%EC%9B%90%EC%9D%98_%EB%B0%A4)
2. ['Night In Paradise' review: blood and bullets rain down in Korean gang noir, NME](https://www.nme.com/reviews/night-in-paradise-film-review-park-hoon-jung-2916809)
3. [제주 해질녘 풍경 속 감성 누아르의 진수, 한국경제](https://www.hankyung.com/article/2021040645801)
4. [익숙하면서도 다르다... 장르적 재미 충실한 조폭영화 '낙원의 밤', 한국일보](https://www.hankookilbo.com/news/article/A2021040710110005548)
5. [서늘한 푸른빛 감성 누아르…영화 '낙원의 밤', 연합뉴스](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20210406043000005)
6. [낙원의 밤, 나무위키](https://namu.moe/w/%EB%82%99%EC%9B%90%EC%9D%98%20%EB%B0%A4)
7. [Night in Paradise, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/night_in_paradise)
8. ['Night in Paradise' Review: A Gangster Film that Relies Too Much on Shock Value, The Harvard Crimson](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2021/4/13/night-in-paradise-review/)
9. [Night in Paradise, Today in Movies](https://todayinmovies.com/movie/night-in-paradise)
10. [[HOME CINEMA] '낙원의 밤', 내성적인 누아르영화란, Cine21](https://cine21.com/news/view/?mag_id=97511)
11. ["한계 벗어난 액션"…'낙원의 밤', 베니스영화제 상영 후 외신 극찬, 머니투데이](https://news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2020090910118287792)
12. [[리뷰] '낙원의 밤' 느리고 아프고 강렬한 박훈정의 실낙원, 스타뉴스](https://www.starnewskorea.com/movie/2021/04/12/2021041210371944910)
13. ["'무변광대'한 배우가 되고 싶다" 전여빈 인터뷰, 아주경제](https://www.ajunews.com/view/20210429155653264)
14. [Night in Paradise (2020): reception, legacy & influences, Sightlines](https://sightlines.media/film/606523/night-in-paradise-2020/reception)
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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 › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2020–2022 films › Released 2020 to 2021*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license