# Nocturnal (2025 film)
**Nocturnal** (Korean title 브로큰, romanized as *Broken*) is a 2025 South Korean crime drama directed and written by Kim Jin-hwang, starring [Ha Jung-woo](https://www.edgepedia.org/ha-jung-woo) as a reformed gangster investigating his younger brother's death, which turns out to have been eerily predicted in a bestselling novel. It was released in South Korean theaters on February 5, 2025, runs 99 minutes, and is rated 15 in Korea.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20216476) • [2](https://asianwiki.com/Nocturnal_%28Korean_Movie%29)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Korean title | 브로큰 (Broken); English title Nocturnal[2](https://asianwiki.com/Nocturnal_%28Korean_Movie%29) |
| Director and writer | Kim Jin-hwang, previously known for the 2015 crime thriller *The Boys Who Cried Wolf*[3](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20250124011100315) |
| Release | February 5, 2025, South Korea; 99 minutes; rating 15[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20216476) |
| Lead cast | Ha Jung-woo (Bae Min-tae), Kim Nam-gil (Kang Ho-ryeong), Yoo Da-in (Moon-young)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20216476) |
| Production | Eulji Creative and SANAI Pictures; distributed by Barunson E&A[2](https://asianwiki.com/Nocturnal_%28Korean_Movie%29) • [4](https://lsf.go.id/en/film/nocturnal/1404) |
| Filming | January 21 to April 8, 2021; released about four years after shooting wrapped[5](https://magazine.kofic.or.kr/webzine/web/2615/pdsView.do) • [6](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/20250106/ha-jung-woo-kim-nam-gil-star-in-gritty-thriller-nocturnal) |
| Box office | 818 screens; 197,949 admissions; total gross $1,347,165 (as of September 14, 2026)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20216476) |
| Festival | Glasgow Film Festival (2025), the only South Korean film screened there[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20216476) • [4](https://lsf.go.id/en/film/nocturnal/1404) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Bae Min-tae (Ha Jung-woo) was once a notorious gangster and now lives a peaceful retired life. He discovers the bloody corpse of his only next of kin, his younger brother Seok-tae (Park Jong-hwan). On the day of the killing, Moon-young (Yoo Da-in), the spouse of his brother and an employee at a singing bar, disappears and is then treated as the chief suspect.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20216476) • [3](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20250124011100315)
While searching for clues, Min-tae uncovers a suspicious last phone call between Moon-young and a mysterious novelist, Kang Ho-ryeong ([Kim Nam-gil](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-nam-gil)), and learns that his brother's death is eerily detailed in Ho-ryeong's bestselling novel *Nocturnal Trip* (야행).[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20216476) • [4](https://lsf.go.id/en/film/nocturnal/1404) Min-tae and Ho-ryeong, both following the same traces, clash as they search for Moon-young, while Min-tae's seemingly deceitful former crime syndicate and the police pursue him in turn.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20216476) • [7](https://www.soompi.com/article/1714845wpp/watch-ha-jung-woo-sets-out-to-uncover-the-truth-behind-his-brothers-death-in-teasers-for-upcoming-film-nocturnal) The film's Korean tagline plays on this premise: "My brother's death was written in the novel first."[7](https://www.soompi.com/article/1714845wpp/watch-ha-jung-woo-sets-out-to-uncover-the-truth-behind-his-brothers-death-in-teasers-for-upcoming-film-nocturnal)
The brother's own life darkens the backstory: he is revealed to be a serious drug addict and domestic abuser whose violence escalated to the point that his young daughter was removed from the home for her safety.[3](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20250124011100315)
## Production and release delay
The film was shot in 2021, with principal photography running from January 21 to April 8, 2021 according to the Korean Film Council's production status board.[5](https://magazine.kofic.or.kr/webzine/web/2615/pdsView.do) It reached theaters about four years later. Director Kim Jin-hwang attributed the delay to an extended post-production period: "We didn't change the overall structure in editing, but we worked to increase the density and completeness," he said at the January 6, 2025 press conference in Seoul.[6](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/20250106/ha-jung-woo-kim-nam-gil-star-in-gritty-thriller-nocturnal) Korean media had long referred to the project by its earlier working title *Yahaeng* (야행, the novel's name) and counted it among the country's "shelf" films awaiting release.[8](https://v.daum.net/v/20250105220810539)
Ha Jung-woo described the finished film as having "the raw and volatile intensity of gasoline," and said he was drawn to the project after watching Kim's *The Boys Who Cried Wolf*.[6](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/20250106/ha-jung-woo-kim-nam-gil-star-in-gritty-thriller-nocturnal) For Kim Nam-gil, the role of bestselling author Ho-ryeong was his first film since *A Man of Reason* (2023), and his second lead pairing with Ha after *The Closet* (2020).[4](https://lsf.go.id/en/film/nocturnal/1404) • [6](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/20250106/ha-jung-woo-kim-nam-gil-star-in-gritty-thriller-nocturnal)
## Reception and box office
The film opened on 818 screens in South Korea and recorded 197,949 total admissions with a gross of $1,347,165 as of September 14, 2026, according to the Korean Film Council's database.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20216476)
At the Glasgow Film Festival in 2025, Nocturnal was the only South Korean film screened, and festival director Allison Gardner praised its performances and plot twists.[4](https://lsf.go.id/en/film/nocturnal/1404) Critical response was mixed. A Yonhap review by Woo Jae-yeon acknowledged that the mysterious circumstances of Seok-tae's death create tension in the early stages, but concluded that the film "is a gritty crime noir drenched in blood and violence, but ultimately offers little justification for its excesses," and found the climactic confrontation underwhelming.[3](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20250124011100315)
## Home media
Nocturnal is available on Netflix with Korean original audio and English and Korean subtitles, listed as a 2025 thriller starring Ha Jung-woo, Kim Nam-gil, and Yoo Da-in.[9](https://www.netflix.com/kr-en/title/82048688)
## References
1. [NOCTURNAL (2025), KOFIC Korean Film Council database](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20216476)
2. [Nocturnal (Korean Movie), AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/Nocturnal_%28Korean_Movie%29)
3. [(Movie Review) 'Nocturnal' revels in violence, with no narrative purpose, Yonhap News Agency (January 24, 2025)](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20250124011100315)
4. [Nocturnal, Indonesian Film Censorship Institution (LSF) film guide](https://lsf.go.id/en/film/nocturnal/1404)
5. [한국영화 제작 현황, 2025년 2월, KOFIC 웹진](https://magazine.kofic.or.kr/webzine/web/2615/pdsView.do)
6. [Ha Jung-woo stars in gritty thriller 'Nocturnal', The Korea Times (January 6, 2025)](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/20250106/ha-jung-woo-kim-nam-gil-star-in-gritty-thriller-nocturnal)
7. [Watch: Ha Jung Woo Sets Out To Uncover The Truth Behind His Brother's Death In Teasers For Upcoming Film "Nocturnal", Soompi (January 8, 2025)](https://www.soompi.com/article/1714845wpp/watch-ha-jung-woo-sets-out-to-uncover-the-truth-behind-his-brothers-death-in-teasers-for-upcoming-film-nocturnal)
8. [창고영화 '야행'이 '브로큰'으로, Herald Economy via Daum (January 5, 2025)](https://v.daum.net/v/20250105220810539)
9. [Nocturnal, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/kr-en/title/82048688)
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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) › 2025–2026 films › Crime, heist, and gangster films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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