A Dirty Carnival

Byung-doo Zo In-sung is a small-time gangster in his late twenties who cannot scrape together the money to save his family from eviction. Under pressure, he quietly subverts his boss, Sang-chul Yoon Je-moon, and takes a job directly from President Hwang Cheon Ho-jin to eliminate Attorney Park Kwon Tae-won, a public prosecutor who has been a thorn in the side of the power structure. On completing the hit, Byung-doo not only secures the money he hoped for but also earns President Hwang’s respect and a place at his side. The two vow to keep the murderous act secret to keep the organization safe from exposure.

Meanwhile, Byung-doo is drawn back into the orbit of his past when he reconnects with his elementary school friend, Min-ho [Namkoong Min], now a movie director wrestling with authenticity. Min-ho’s gangster film project keeps getting shut down by higher-ups for feeling fake, so he decides to interview Byung-doo—who he sees as “a real gangster”—to inject life into his script. As their reunion unfolds, Min-ho also reunites Byung-doo with his high school love, Hyun-joo [Lee Bo-young], and Byung-doo finds a spark of feeling that he struggles to reconcile with the violence that defines his life. The pair’s renewed connection adds a fragile tenderness to a world of coercion and danger, making Byung-doo’s choices feel all the more precarious.

The murder of Attorney Park does not go unnoticed by Sang-chul, who feels his hold on power slipping as Byung-doo’s subversion grows bolder. He arranges a counterstrike against Byung-doo, yet Byung-doo learns of the plan and acts first, stabbing Sang-chul to death to safeguard his own position and the precarious balance of the gang’s inner hierarchy. The killings eat away at Byung-doo emotionally, and his increasingly brutal actions begin to alienate Hyun-joo, pushing her away even as Min-ho tries to anchor him with friendship and honesty.

As the truth of Byung-doo’s violent past surfaces, Min-ho becomes a dangerous witness to the consequences of living inside a crime family. Byung-doo opens up about his darkest deeds, including the hit on Attorney Park and the murder of his former boss, Sang-chul, admitting the heavy psychological burden that comes with each act of loyalty turned betrayal. When Min-ho goes to the police, the threat is no longer theoretical, and the mob’s web tightens around him. The attempt to arrest Byung-doo ends in failure, and Byung-doo resolves that the only way out is to silence Min-ho and flee the country—an escape that seems almost possible given the popularity of Min-ho’s film.

The plan to kill Min-ho unfolds at an after-party for the director’s film. Min-ho narrowly escapes outside, only to be collared by Byung-doo’s underlings who were supposed to drive him to a remote location. A brutal ambush follows, and Byung-doo, though outnumbered, fights his way free but is betrayed by the very men who were meant to protect him. The group’s treachery is led by Jong-soo [Jin Goo], Byung-doo’s former right-hand man and the lone participant in the Parker hit who stands at the center of the betrayal.

The action shifts to a tense meeting between President Hwang and Min-ho. Min-ho appears alive and well despite the peril he faced, and President Hwang discusses future movie ideas, stressing that fiction should stay fictional—“a fiction should remain a fiction”—a line that echoes the moral ambiguity surrounding Byung-doo’s world. Soon after, Jong-soo joins the gathering, stepping into Byung-doo’s old role and signaling a continuation of the power play that defined the gangster’s path.

In the film’s closing cadence, Byung-doo reframes his final guidance to Min-ho as a cautionary, almost fatherly farewell. He visits Min-ho on the movie set one last time and offers a parting encouragement, reminding him to “Make something with a real gangster spirit.” The closing image reinforces the loop of loyalty, violence, and ambition that threads through the lives of those drawn into this dangerous underworld, leaving a stark impression of a circle that may never break.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 16:44