# The Murky Stream (탁류)
**The Murky Stream** (탁류; revised romanization *Takryu*) is a 2025 South Korean historical action drama series produced as a Disney+ original, directed by Choo Chang-min and written by Chun Sung-il. Set in lawless late Joseon along the Gyeonggang River, the former name of today's Han River, it follows three people whose fates converge at the river's docks: Jang Si-yul, a gangster hiding his past; Choi Eun, a principled merchant; and Jung Chun, an official determined to fight corruption.[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Murky_Stream) • [2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20250923/historical-series-murky-stream-explores-corruption-ambition-in-joseon-era) It is the first historical drama produced as a Disney+ original series.[3](https://www.biff.kr/pop/20250903/Ticket-Catalogue.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 탁류 (*Takryu*), original series written by Chun Sung-il[4](https://kwavesandbeyond.com/the-murky-stream-review/) • [15](https://news.sbs.co.kr/english/article.do?news_id=N1008229466) |
| Network / run | Disney+; 9 episodes, September 26 to October 17, 2025, released three episodes at premiere then two weekly on Fridays[1](https://asianwiki.com/The_Murky_Stream) • [2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20250923/historical-series-murky-stream-explores-corruption-ambition-in-joseon-era) |
| Director / writer | Choo Chang-min (film *Masquerade*), his first series; writer Chun Sung-il (*The Slave Hunters*, *All of Us Are Dead*), returning to historical drama after 14 years[5](https://www.mk.co.kr/en/culture/11446166) • [6](https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/culture/rowoon-shin-ye-eun-star-in-disney-first-korean-period-k-drama-the-murky-stream-interview) |
| Main cast | Rowoon as Jang Si-yul, Shin Ye-eun as Choi Eun, Park Seo-ham as Jung Chun, Park Ji-hwan as Mu-deok, Choi Gwi-hwa as Lee Dol-gae[7](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/81603/the-murky-stream) |
| Setting | Mapo Naru on the Gyeonggang (present-day Han River), the Joseon-era trade hub where the country's money and goods converged, in the lead-up to the Japanese invasions[8](https://kavenyou.com/the-murky-stream-director-qna/) • [9](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-10-28/entertainment/television/Directors-The-Murky-Stream-emphasizes-realism-humanlevel-stakes-amid-feudal-tensions/2425395) |
| Reception | IMDb 7.4/10 from about 1.3K votes; number one on Disney+'s Korean TV chart and top 10 across Asia[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31472425/ratings) • [9](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-10-28/entertainment/television/Directors-The-Murky-Stream-emphasizes-realism-humanlevel-stakes-amid-feudal-tensions/2425395) |
| Availability | Streaming on Disney+ and Hulu in the United States; TV-MA; episodes run about 51 minutes[11](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-murky-stream) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and characters
The drama is set in a Joseon where the once-clear Gyeonggang River has turned into a murky stream, a image the series uses to mirror a lawless state. All of Joseon's money and goods pass through the river, and the story centers on the walpae, the dockside gangs and ordinary people who lived outside the aristocracy.[12](https://dramalist.net/drama/328/The-Murky-Stream) • [2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20250923/historical-series-murky-stream-explores-corruption-ambition-in-joseon-era)
**Three leads.** Rowoon, a former member of the K-pop group SF9, plays Jang Si-yul, a lone wolf at the Mapo Ferry dock who buries his past to survive as a gangster; the actor described him as a man who "hides his past, lacks a true home and cannot even fully claim his name."[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20250923/historical-series-murky-stream-explores-corruption-ambition-in-joseon-era) [Shin Ye-eun](https://www.edgepedia.org/shin-ye-eun), known for Netflix's *The Glory*, plays Choi Eun, the intelligent youngest daughter of a powerful merchant guild who leads a commercial group and dreams of becoming the country's greatest merchant.[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20250923/historical-series-murky-stream-explores-corruption-ambition-in-joseon-era) • [13](https://www.disneyplus.com/en-cz/browse/entity-d986ede5-6409-4400-9e39-7362ab8af0f5) Park Seo-ham, who starred in *Semantic Error* (2022), plays Jung Chun, a principled officer battling corruption around the river, a role for which he trained extensively in sword fighting.[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20250923/historical-series-murky-stream-explores-corruption-ambition-in-joseon-era)
The supporting cast includes Park Ji-hwan, known for *The Roundup* film series, as Mu-deok, a faded gang boss who flatters and schemes to survive while feeling guilt for his wrongs, a figure the director called deeply human; Choi Gwi-hwa as Lee Dol-gae; and Jeon Bae-soo.[7](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/81603/the-murky-stream) • [9](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-10-28/entertainment/television/Directors-The-Murky-Stream-emphasizes-realism-humanlevel-stakes-amid-feudal-tensions/2425395) • [4](https://kwavesandbeyond.com/the-murky-stream-review/)
## Production
Director Choo Chang-min, whose film *Masquerade* is among the most acclaimed Korean historical films of its decade, made his first series and his first OTT production with *The Murky Stream*. He said he chose the project because, unlike historical dramas focused on kings or nobles, it told a story of the lower class, the river thugs living by the Han River.[6](https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/culture/rowoon-shin-ye-eun-star-in-disney-first-korean-period-k-drama-the-murky-stream-interview) • [14](https://www.cineplay.co.kr/en-us/articles/21040)
**Sets and filming.** With few historical visual references for a Joseon ferry landing apart from a handful of drawings, the production design was, in Choo's words, almost like designing an imaginary space for a science fiction series. Once location scouting nationwide was done, the crew erected the ferry landing set on a Nakdong River tributary in Sangju; in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang, the production additionally created a man-made 50-meter (164-foot) water channel plus a 99,000-square-meter (24.5-acre) exterior set outfitted with market alleys, a dock beside the river, government offices, and warehouses for merchants. Choo rejected shooting indoors with CGI in favor of outdoor sets by the water for authenticity.[8](https://kavenyou.com/the-murky-stream-director-qna/) • [9](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-10-28/entertainment/television/Directors-The-Murky-Stream-emphasizes-realism-humanlevel-stakes-amid-feudal-tensions/2425395) Filming took eight to nine months, longer than the typical three to four months for a feature film, and every actor underwent what Choo called a "personality test" before casting.[9](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-10-28/entertainment/television/Directors-The-Murky-Stream-emphasizes-realism-humanlevel-stakes-amid-feudal-tensions/2425395)
For the leads, the project marked personal milestones: Rowoon called it his last project before his military enlistment, while Park Seo-ham took it as his first after discharge.[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20250923/historical-series-murky-stream-explores-corruption-ambition-in-joseon-era) Rowoon's transformation was deliberate; before makeup, the director told him, "I want to take away your greatest weapon, which is your coolness," and the actor appeared with a scruffy beard, disheveled hair, and ragged clothing.[14](https://www.cineplay.co.kr/en-us/articles/21040)
## Release and reception
The series premiered on Disney+ on September 26, 2025 with its first three episodes, followed by two episodes weekly, and concluded with its ninth episode on October 17, 2025.[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20250923/historical-series-murky-stream-explores-corruption-ambition-in-joseon-era) • [7](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/81603/the-murky-stream) It was invited to the Busan International Film Festival.[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20250923/historical-series-murky-stream-explores-corruption-ambition-in-joseon-era)
**Audience and critical response.** On IMDb the series holds a 7.4/10 rating from about 1.3K votes, with individual episode ratings between 7.7 and 9.2.[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31472425/ratings) It ranked in the top 10 of Disney+'s TV show category on FlixPatrol for two consecutive days after release, holding the number one spot in Korea, and entered the top 10 across Asia.[5](https://www.mk.co.kr/en/culture/11446166) • [9](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-10-28/entertainment/television/Directors-The-Murky-Stream-emphasizes-realism-humanlevel-stakes-amid-feudal-tensions/2425395) The domestic OTT search engine Kinolights gave it 3.4 out of 5 stars, and Rowoon and Shin Ye-eun ranked in the top 10 for overall cast buzz on the K-content analytics platform FUNdex.[5](https://www.mk.co.kr/en/culture/11446166)
Reviewers praised the acting transformations of Rowoon and Shin Ye-eun and the scene-stealing supporting performances of Park Ji-hwan and Choi Gwi-hwa, while some criticism targeted pacing relative to the setup and the perceived limits of Disney+'s domestic reach in Korea.[5](https://www.mk.co.kr/en/culture/11446166) Choo left the door open to a sequel, saying that although none was planned, "if audiences love it, there's room for the story to grow."[2](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20250923/historical-series-murky-stream-explores-corruption-ambition-in-joseon-era)
## References
1. [The Murky Stream, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/The_Murky_Stream)
2. [Historical series 'Murky Stream' explores corruption, ambition in Joseon era, The Korea Times](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/shows-dramas/20250923/historical-series-murky-stream-explores-corruption-ambition-in-joseon-era)
3. [The Murky Stream, Busan International Film Festival Ticket Catalogue](https://www.biff.kr/pop/20250903/Ticket-Catalogue.pdf)
4. [The Murky Stream Review: Gritty Beginning to Betrayals, Burdens, and the Price of Honour in Mapo's Dark Waters, K-waves and Beyond](https://kwavesandbeyond.com/the-murky-stream-review/)
5. ["A Hundred Times More Entertaining Than 'The Slave Hunters'... Rowoon Surpasses Jang Hyuk in 'The Murky Stream' [Multi-Review]", Maeil Business Newspaper (MK)](https://www.mk.co.kr/en/culture/11446166)
6. [Rowoon & Shin Ye-eun Star in Disney+'s First Korean Period Drama, 'The Murky Stream', L'Officiel Singapore](https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/culture/rowoon-shin-ye-eun-star-in-disney-first-korean-period-k-drama-the-murky-stream-interview)
7. [The Murky Stream, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/81603/the-murky-stream)
8. [[Director Interview] Director Choo Changmin on Survival, Bandits And Rowoon's Intense Commitment, KAvenyou](https://kavenyou.com/the-murky-stream-director-qna/)
9. ['The Murky Stream' emphasizes realism, human-level stakes amid feudal tensions, director says, Korea JoongAng Daily](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-10-28/entertainment/television/Directors-The-Murky-Stream-emphasizes-realism-humanlevel-stakes-amid-feudal-tensions/2425395)
10. [The Murky Stream (TV Series 2025) – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31472425/ratings)
11. [The Murky Stream – streaming tv show online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-murky-stream)
12. [The Murky Stream, DramaList](https://dramalist.net/drama/328/The-Murky-Stream)
13. [Watch The Murky Stream | Full episodes | Disney+](https://www.disneyplus.com/en-cz/browse/entity-d986ede5-6409-4400-9e39-7362ab8af0f5)
14. [Director Choo Chang-min Shines a Light on the Stories of the Lower Class with His First OTT Series 'The Murky Stream', Cineplay](https://www.cineplay.co.kr/en-us/articles/21040)
15. [Rowoon·Shin Ye-eun·Park Seo-ham Go Dark in Disney+'s First Historical K-Drama 'The Murky Stream,' Premiering September 26](https://news.sbs.co.kr/english/article.do?news_id=N1008229466)
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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 historical drama (sageuk)*
*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*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license