K-Drama: Makjang Drama - The New ‘It’ K-Drama Genre?

Escape of the 7 | 7인의 탈출 (2023)

SBS | Escape of the 7

It’s no secret that K-drama is one of the contributing factors to why K-culture is so popular. When most people think of K-dramas, they think of the most romantic plots and lines with handsome actors and beautiful actresses. Although this is true, and still is a very popular genre, there’s a new trending genre in K-drama called makjang (막장). Makjang dramas generally have dramatic plot twists, heightened feelings, and larger-than-life characters. They’re mostly about revenge with twisted birth riddles, secrets and unforeseen outcomes which sometimes means they can be stressful to watch. But they sure keep the viewers guessing until the very end which is why they usually have one of the highest ratings in Korea. 

SBS | Escape of the 7

There have been several popular makjang K-dramas in the past year that have received the spotlight with one of them being the new drama called Escape of the 7. This K-drama is already trending on TikTok for its twisted plot and the writer being the creator of the popular Penthouse K-drama series. So let’s talk about why Escape of the 7 is getting the hype despite it only airing 6 episodes so far!

SBS | Escape of the 7

So far the plot is about a girl named Bang Da-mi (Lael Jung) who lives happily with her adoptive parents but is taken away from them by her birth mother (Hwang Jung Eum), who claims she’s been looking for her long lost daughter for 15 years. This is the start of Da-mi’s sad fate as her birth mother is only using her to get money from Da-mi’s grandfather, one of the most successful and richest men in Korea. Throughout the episodes, you not only see that Da-mi’s birth mother is a two-faced evil woman but her grandfather’s partner is a gold digger and also after his money.

SBS | Escape of the 7

Not only that, her new best friend Han Mo-Nee (Lee Yu-bi) at her new school turns out to be the most cunning and evil girl who uses Da-mi as her body double when she gives birth at school. She tries to cover up the whole scenario by telling everyone that Da-mi is the one who gave birth. Rumours spread and the seven people in Da-mi’s new life who were against her and lead to her disappearance become the core focus of the entire drama series. 

SBS | Escape of the 7

What happens next to poor Da-ni, you ask? The seven people who lead to Da-mi’s disappearance represent each of the seven deadly sins; pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. Since her disappearance, the plot has been based on the revenge of the seven people who have led Da-mi to her fate. Every episode leaves you on edge with some of the recent episodes, even making viewers laugh. The plot and acting is almost comedic because of how dramatic and unrealistic it is 😂 But that’s the whole point of a makjang k-drama! I'm curious on how the revenge will play out on each character and how they’ll all fall. Click here if you want to watch the trailer to see if it’s something you'd want to binge-watch or watch the full series on Viki!