# The Great Flood (film)
**The Great Flood** (대홍수) is a 2025 South Korean science-fiction disaster thriller directed by Kim Byung-woo, in which an artificial intelligence researcher and her young son struggle to survive in a flooded apartment building in Seoul on the last day of Earth. It stars [Kim Da-mi](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-da-mi) and [Park Hae-soo](https://www.edgepedia.org/park-hae-soo) and was released on Netflix on December 19, 2025.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-great-flood-release-date-news)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Korean title | 대홍수[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYF0MxHVAR0) |
| Written/directed by | Kim Byung-woo, director of *The Terror Live*[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-great-flood-release-date-news) |
| Starring | Kim Da-mi as Gu An-na, Park Hae-soo as Son Hee-jo, Kwon Eun-seong as Shin Za-in, Jeon Hye-jin as Im Hyeon-mo[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-great-flood-release-date-news) |
| Release | Premiered at the 30th Busan International Film Festival in September 2025; on Netflix December 19, 2025[3](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251216006500315) |
| Runtime / rating | 1 hour 49 minutes; TV-MA[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-great-flood-release-date-news) |
| Production | Produced by Hwansang Studio Seoul, presented by Netflix[4](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-great-flood-streams-december-19) |
| Netflix performance | Finished #5 in the all-time film top 10 after a 91-day run[5](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/the-great-flood-final-top-10-position/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and cast
The film is set in Seoul in the near future, where a massive tsunami that is part of a worldwide [extinction event](https://www.edgepedia.org/extinction-event) floods the city. An-na (Kim Da-mi), a researcher and single mother, tries to escape upward through her high-rise with her young son Za-in (Kwon Eun-seong) as water pours through the windows of their third-story apartment. She is separated from her son and rescued by Hee-jo (Park Hae-soo), a curt and mysterious member of a security team whose motives may not be altruistic; the fates of all three come to rest in An-na's hands.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-great-flood-release-date-news) Jeon Hye-jin plays Im Hyeon-mo.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-great-flood-release-date-news)
Netflix's marketing framed the film as a sci-fi disaster blockbuster about people holding onto the last shred of hope for humanity while trapped in a flooded apartment building on the last day of Earth.[4](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-great-flood-streams-december-19) The teaser trailer, released on September 16, 2025, shows An-na's ordinary morning shattered by a record-breaking flood and hints at a rocket bound for space and unknown golden fragments.[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErWfGyLp5h8)
## The science-fiction turn
Although it opens as a disaster film, The Great Flood is not a straightforward survival story. The Busan International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere, describes it as a dystopian time-loop drama that uses a disaster scenario to probe the depths of the human heart.[7](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=82725&page=1&pyear=2025&sec=418) Netflix's own listing tags the film as dystopian, imaginative, and a time loop.[8](https://www.netflix.com/title/81579978) An-na is revealed to be a second-ranking science officer on an indispensable research project, and the film becomes, in one account, a different beast entirely, possibly something quite insidious.[9](https://www.arabamericantoday.net/pdfs/160.pdf) Korean commentary likewise reads the disaster surface as a wrapper for an emotional science-fiction core, noting details such as Hee-jo's sense of déjà vu at first meeting and the son's complaint that he is always six years old.[10](https://v.daum.net/v/tflo970Hpn)
Director Kim Byung-woo said the title carries ambiguous meanings that viewers will reflect on once the film ends, and that the film intertwines the disaster and science-fiction genres.[11](https://www.cineplay.co.kr/en-us/articles/23858) In a Yonhap interview he described the film as exploring the origin of love.[3](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251216006500315)
## Release and reception
The film premiered in the Korean Cinema Today section of the 30th Busan International Film Festival in September 2025 before streaming on Netflix on December 19, 2025.[3](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251216006500315) It premiered at the Busan International Film Festival on September 18, 2025, but did not have a South Korean commercial theatrical release or surpass 1 million admissions.[12](https://www.esellernews.kr/?id=37) • [4](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-great-flood-streams-december-19)
**Audience response was sharply divided.** The film drew largely lukewarm reactions in Korea, with more than 60 percent of its [Naver](https://www.edgepedia.org/naver) ratings in the one- to two-point range, and commenters complained of a confused narrative.[13](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/how-the-great-flood-climbed-netflixs-charts-despite-negative-reviews/12105046) A Hindustan Times roundup of early social-media reactions likewise reported an audience divided, with viewers complaining of a confused narrative.[14](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/others/the-great-flood-twitter-review-korean-netflix-sci-fi-film-has-audience-divided-viewers-complain-of-confused-narrative-101766293073670.html) Rotten Tomatoes' critics' summary called it a half-baked science-fiction thriller whose unexpected plot twists are not fully satisfying, though one reviewer wrote that realizing a third of the way through that this was not the usual disaster movie was where it became much more interesting.[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_great_flood_2025) Tom's Guide praised the emotional connection Kim Byung-woo builds in the first half but found the third act confusing and convoluted, with CGI impressive in some sequences and noticeably weak in others.[16](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/netflixs-new-disaster-thriller-movie-is-now-streaming-and-i-didnt-expect-the-bizarre-sci-fi-twist) A Metacritic-listed review took the opposite view of the title's meaning, arguing that destruction is portrayed as mournful rather than spectacular and that the title works more as metaphor than event.[17](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-great-flood-2025/)
## Viewership
Despite the negative domestic reviews, the film performed strongly on Netflix. It wrapped up a 91-day run at #5 in the platform's all-time top 10 for films, finishing just behind the 2025 action movie *Exterritorial* at 91.7 million views and ahead of the 2023 film *[Nowhere](https://www.edgepedia.org/nowhere-2023-film)* at 85.7 million views. What's on Netflix noted that breaking into English-dominated markets is difficult for international features, but that The Great Flood crossed over and held its own.[5](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/the-great-flood-final-top-10-position/) The official trailer on Netflix's YouTube channel drew about 3.9 million views after its December 3, 2025 release, following about 4.9 million views for the September teaser.[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYF0MxHVAR0) • [6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErWfGyLp5h8)
## References
1. [The Great Flood: Cast, Plot, Where to Stream the Korean Disaster Movie, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-great-flood-release-date-news)
2. [The Great Flood | Official Trailer | Netflix, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYF0MxHVAR0)
3. [Netflix sci-fi film 'The Great Flood' explores origin of love: director, Yonhap News Agency](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20251216006500315)
4. ['The Great Flood' Teaser Trailer Previews A Gripping Struggle for Survival, About Netflix](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-great-flood-streams-december-19)
5. [Sci-Fi Thriller 'The Great Flood' Wraps Up 91-Day Netflix Run: #5 In All-Time Top 10, What's on Netflix](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/the-great-flood-final-top-10-position/)
6. [The Great Flood | Official Teaser | Netflix, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErWfGyLp5h8)
7. [Busan International Film Festival archive: The Great Flood world premiere](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=82725&page=1&pyear=2025&sec=418)
8. [The Great Flood, Netflix Official Site](https://www.netflix.com/title/81579978)
9. [سينما CINEMA, Arab American Today](https://www.arabamericantoday.net/pdfs/160.pdf)
10. [재난영화인 줄 알았던 '대홍수', 영화의 진짜 메시지, Daum](https://v.daum.net/v/tflo970Hpn)
11. [Kim Da-mi X Park Hae-soo X Kwon Eun-sung X Director Kim Byung-woo, Movie 'The Great Flood' Production Report Completed!, Cineplay](https://www.cineplay.co.kr/en-us/articles/23858)
12. [대홍수, 경기소상공인뉴스](https://www.esellernews.kr/?id=37)
13. [How 'The Great Flood' climbed Netflix's charts despite negative reviews, Korea JoongAng Daily](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/how-the-great-flood-climbed-netflixs-charts-despite-negative-reviews/12105046)
14. [The Great Flood Twitter review: Korean Netflix sci-fi film has audience divided, viewers complain of confused narrative, Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/others/the-great-flood-twitter-review-korean-netflix-sci-fi-film-has-audience-divided-viewers-complain-of-confused-narrative-101766293073670.html)
15. [The Great Flood (2025), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_great_flood_2025)
16. [Netflix's new disaster thriller movie is now streaming, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/netflixs-new-disaster-thriller-movie-is-now-streaming-and-i-didnt-expect-the-bizarre-sci-fi-twist)
17. [The Great Flood Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-great-flood-2025/)
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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 › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 2020s › Science fiction films of the 2020s › Titles symbols to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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