Korea’s fascination with time-loop dramas reflects deeper societal malaise

Chae Byung-gun

The author is the acting editor-in-chief at the JoongAng Ilbo.

Korea has entered an era of obsession with the “regression” genre. It feels like only yesterday that the drama “Reborn Rich” (2022) dominated headlines, but stories of protagonists dying, traveling back in time and rewriting their destinies now permeate every corner of Korean pop culture. The webtoon “Solo Leveling” (2016) has recorded a staggering 14 billion views globally, and another hit, “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint” (2018), recently made its big-screen debut. Since the success of “Reborn Rich,” time-loop narratives have expanded through television and film with titles like “Again My Life” (2022), “Marry My Husband” (2024) and “Lovely Runner” (2024) gaining momentum.

Time-loop stories are not new, and some may dismiss their current popularity as a fad. But cultural critics are taking this trend seriously. Pop culture critic Kim Gyo-seok notes that “regression narratives are the defining characteristic of Korean webtoons and web novels,” adding that they now represent a dominant formula for mainstream success. Critic Jung Duk-hyun observes that “the time-loop premise, which began in web-based content, has expanded into drama and film to the extent that it has become a genre of its own.”

Popular culture often acts as a mirror, revealing the underlying desires and anxieties of society. The popularity of regression stories speaks to a growing sense of escapism in Korean society — what might be called a national fixation with “What if I had...?” or “If only I hadn’t...” It is a sign of accumulated regret, collective melancholy and deepening uncertainty about the future.

While speculative history is nothing new — many Koreans have indulged in "what if" fantasies like “What if Goguryeo [37 B.C. to A.D. 668] had unified the Three Kingdoms?” — today’s regression narratives are far more explicit. They imagine traveling 10 years into the past, buying Bitcoin and altering one’s fate. It is no longer just wishful thinking; it is a fantasy of overturning reality and achieving vengeance or success through second chances.

Cultural experts point out that regression stories took off first among young readers of webtoons and web novels. For youth disillusioned by the rigidity of the real world, these stories offer the fantasy of being reborn — armed with knowledge from a past life — and effortlessly overturning their current fate. In these stories, the protagonists may have suffered in one life, but upon revival, they possess future insights that make them masters of business, romance, revenge and wealth.

Jung Duk-hyun explains, “In the past, characters like Kkachi from ‘The Terrifying Foreign Baseball Team’ (1986) succeeded through grueling hardship. But today’s young generation lacks belief in that kind of meritocratic success.” He attributes the regression boom to the sense of hopelessness many young people feel. Drama critic Gong Hee-jung echoes this view, saying, “You rarely see ‘rags to riches’ dramas like those in the 1990s any more. Regression stories reflect a societal consensus that such upward mobility is no longer possible.”

Indeed, there was once a time in Korea when it felt possible to rise from humble beginnings. A generation willingly sacrificed to break the cycle of poverty and ignorance, believing their children would have a better future. Some two decades ago, a diplomat returning to Seoul after serving in Southeast Asia remarked at a welcome dinner, “People there don’t expect their children to live better than they do — and they accept it without resistance.” At the time, many Koreans found this unthinkable. But today, pessimism about a “future worse than the present” is no longer rare. The belief that Korea may already be past its prime has become common.

The popularity of regression stories is a cultural signal of this growing disillusionment and mistrust in the future. It reminds us of the urgent need to address core challenges. For society to thrive, it must continue creating jobs for younger generations and ensure that failure is not a permanent condition. Korea must build a system that allows people to succeed through effort and reinvention, not reincarnation.

That means prioritizing youth employment and startup support, even if it requires deferring other values. But opportunity alone is not enough. Courage and sustained motivation are equally essential. Platitudes like “It’s not your fault” mean little if they don’t inspire people to try again. True comfort comes when that encouragement helps someone reengage with reality.

It’s no coincidence that regression stories begin with death. While no one can restart life in the literal sense, the desire to reset one’s reality requires near-death determination. Embedded in these narratives is a powerful aphorism: To live again, one must be willing to risk everything. Perhaps the hidden message of Korea’s regression genre is an ancient one — “sa-jeuk-saeng,” the idea that those who are willing to die can truly live.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.