Netflix has given its Korea–Japan crime thriller a date: "The Blue Road" lands on Nov. 20, 2026, pairing Son Suk-ku with Japanese actor Eita Nagayama as two detectives working the same body count from opposite sides of the sea.
What is 'The Blue Road' and when does it premiere?
"The Blue Road" is a Korea–Japan co-produced Netflix original crime thriller premiering worldwide on Nov. 20, 2026. Netflix announced the date on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, and The Korea Herald — the outlet reporting the announcement — gives Nov. 20 as the premiere date . Korean trade coverage of the same press release confirms the series will be available to viewers worldwide on launch day . Netflix's title page lists it as a 2026, TV-MA-rated thriller produced in South Korea and Japan, in Korean and Japanese .
Quick Answer: "The Blue Road" premieres on Netflix worldwide on Nov. 20, 2026. The TV-MA Korea–Japan co-production stars Son Suk-ku and Eita Nagayama as detectives in Seoul and Tokyo tracking one cross-border serial killer, directed by "D.P." creator Han Jun-hee.
The premise runs on a single unsettling symmetry. A mutilated body is found in Tokyo with a Korean phrase written in blood; soon after, a similarly disfigured corpse appears in Korea alongside a message in Japanese. As the pattern repeats, police in both countries stop treating the cases separately and begin working them as one serial killer operating across the border . Netflix's own festival logline calls it "an international crime thriller that follows two detectives as they track a series of gruesome cross-border murders, characterized by twisted bodies and mysterious dying messages" .
The series adapts "Pureungil" ("Blue Road"), a Korea–Japan co-produced comic written by Keishi Edogawa and illustrated by Kwon Ka-ya, published in 2002 by Haksan Publishing — which is why Netflix files the title under TV Shows Based on Comics as well as Korean, Crime and TV Thrillers. A date-announcement poster and teaser trailer dropped with the Oct. 2 announcement . Two practical details are still missing: Netflix has not disclosed the episode count or runtime, and both fields remain blank on secondary databases .
Who's in it: Son Suk-ku, Eita Nagayama and the rest of the cast
"The Blue Road" is led by Son Suk-ku and Eita Nagayama as two detectives working the same case from opposite sides of the Korea Strait. Son, known for "Big Bet" and "D.P.," plays a detective with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's mobile investigation unit, while Nagayama — recognizable from Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Monster" — plays Inose, a detective with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Investigation Division 1 . Romanization of Son's character name differs between outlets, so the safest read is to wait for the Nov. 20 drop.
For Nagayama, the series is a double first: his first Korean production and his first time acting opposite Son, according to Japanese coverage of the announcement . That matters structurally as much as it does for casting trivia — the show is produced across South Korea and Japan and plays in both Korean and Japanese, per Netflix's own title listing , so the two leads are not a cameo pairing but a split spine running the full length of the investigation.
The supporting line-up fills in the spaces the two police forces can't reach:
- Kim Shin-rock — a Zainichi Korean businessperson connected to the case, a role that sits exactly on the Korea–Japan seam the murders run along .
- Choi Sung-eun — a government agent pursuing the case from a different angle than either detective .
- Jung Jae-young — credited only as a mysterious man, with no further detail released .
Behind the camera is Han Jun-hee, who directed Netflix's "D.P." franchise and created the "Weak Hero Class" series — his feature debut "Coin Locker Girl" was selected for Cannes' Critics' Week in 2015 . The Korea Herald reports he works here with screenwriter Cho Yu-jin, whose credits include "One Win" and "Cassiopeia" ; Netflix's title page lists the creators as Han Jun-hee and "Cho Eu-gene," the same writer under a different romanization . If you track Korean crime drama by showrunner rather than by cast, that is the credit to watch: Han's "D.P." work is the closest reference point for how this one is likely to handle procedure and institutional pressure.
Netflix's own festival logline keeps the character descriptions deliberately thin, framing the series as
"an international crime thriller that follows two detectives as they track a series of gruesome cross-border murders, characterized by twisted bodies and mysterious dying messages" — Netflix, 31st Busan International Film Festival announcement (source: about.netflix.com, 2026-10)
Beyond that, the roles of Kim Shin-rock, Choi Sung-eun and Jung Jae-young have not been elaborated, and Netflix has released no character relationship chart .
The source comic: how 'Pureungil' became a Netflix thriller
"The Blue Road" is adapted from "Pureungil," a Korea–Japan co-produced comic written by Keishi Edogawa and illustrated by Kwon Ka-ya, published in 2002 by Haksan Publishing . Netflix's own title page files the series under "TV Shows Based on Comics" and credits the same source material . That makes the project a rare case of a cross-border comic from the early 2000s being brought back as a cross-border streaming series more than two decades later, with the Korean title "푸른길" retained and the Japanese release billed as "プルンギル －青の道－".
The adaptation keeps the original's structural hook rather than reinventing it. The premise that drives both comic and series is a killing in Tokyo — a mutilated body found with a Korean phrase written in blood — followed by a similarly disfigured corpse in Korea bearing a message in Japanese, which pushes police in both countries toward the conclusion that one serial killer is operating across the border (source: The Korea Herald, 2026-10). Director Han Jun-hee is handling the comic-to-series conversion with screenwriter Cho Yu-jin, per The Korea Herald; Netflix's title page lists the same writer under the romanization "Cho Eu-gene," which is worth noting if you are searching databases for her earlier credits .
Two practical details remain open. As of the Oct. 2, 2026 announcement, Netflix has not disclosed the episode count or the per-episode runtime, and both fields sit blank on secondary databases such as AsianWiki and on the Netflix title page . Nor has Netflix said how much of the 2002 comic's plot the series covers — whether it adapts the full arc or stops partway. Until the press materials are expanded, the comic is the only full version of the story available to read ahead of Nov. 20.
Where to see it first: The Blue Road at Busan International Film Festival 2026
Selected episodes of "The Blue Road" get a theatrical world premiere in the On Screen section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival, which runs Oct. 6–15, 2026 at the Busan Cinema Center . That is roughly six weeks before the Nov. 20 Netflix drop, which makes Busan the only place to see any of the series on a cinema screen before it streams. On Screen is BIFF's dedicated showcase for episodic work, and attendance requires a festival ticket rather than a Netflix subscription .
The section is unusually small this year. On Screen carries only three titles in 2026 — Disney+'s "The Remarried Empress" (directed by Jo Soo-won), Netflix's "Dead-End Job" (Kim Da-min) and "The Blue Road" — down from six the year before . BIFF deputy executive director Park Ga-eon attributed the drop to the section's eligibility rule.
An invited series must be releasable domestically within six months to a year, which narrowed the pool of eligible titles this year — Park Ga-eon, deputy executive director, Busan International Film Festival (source: Variety, 2026-10)
| On Screen 2026 title | Platform | Director |
|---|---|---|
| The Blue Road | Netflix | Han Jun-hee |
| Dead-End Job | Netflix | Kim Da-min |
| The Remarried Empress | Disney+ | Jo Soo-won |
Director Han Jun-hee, Son Suk-ku, Eita Nagayama and Kim Shin-rock are slated to attend the Busan screening, per Korean trade coverage of the Netflix announcement . For fans already planning an October trip, that is a Korea-and-Japan cast on the same stage — Nagayama's first Korean production — and the kind of appearance that does not repeat once a series is streaming .
"The Blue Road" is also one of five Netflix titles at BIFF 2026, alongside "Possible Love" and "Ray Gunn" in Icons, "Dead-End Job" in On Screen and "In Waves" in World Cinema — a slate the company has tied to its 10th anniversary in Korea . Full programme and ticketing details are published by the festival; see Netflix's BIFF 2026 announcement and the 31st BIFF line-up for the confirmed sections, and The Korea Herald for the premiere date.
Fan itinerary: pairing The Blue Road's Seoul-Tokyo setting with a Seoul stop
If you are in Seoul around the Nov. 20 premiere , the closest thing to a themed stop is K-STAR ROAD in Cheongdam-dong — a roughly 700m stretch of street near Galleria Department Store lined with figures representing 16 K-pop groups (video: wander planet) . Treat it as a short detour, not a destination: the walk takes under half an hour, and nothing on it is tied to the series itself. Netflix has not announced filming-location tours or any promotional pop-up for the title, so there is no official set-visit route to follow.
What Cheongdam-dong does offer is proximity. SM Entertainment's white Celebrity Center building sits on the same street, which is why the stretch functions as a standard add-on for fans already tracking Korean screen and music culture rather than a stop you would plan a day around (video: wander planet) . Pair it with whatever else is on your Gangnam list and you have spent an afternoon, not a day.
The more useful piece of planning is timing. Episodes screen theatrically in the On Screen section at the 31st Busan International Film Festival, Oct. 6–15, 2026, at the Busan Cinema Center — six weeks before the Nov. 20 worldwide drop, per Korean trade coverage of the same Netflix release . So: Busan in October if you want it first and in a cinema, Seoul in November if you want it at home with the Cheongdam walk as a side trip. Episode count and runtime are still undisclosed , so leave the viewing block open.
Frequently asked questions
When does 'The Blue Road' premiere on Netflix?
Netflix announced on Oct. 2, 2026 that "The Blue Road" premieres Nov. 20, 2026 . The Nov. 20 date comes from The Korea Herald's report of that announcement. Korean trade coverage of the same Netflix release confirms it will be available to viewers worldwide starting that day .
Who stars in 'The Blue Road'?
Son Suk-ku ("Big Bet," "D.P.") and Eita Nagayama ("Monster") lead as detectives on opposite sides of the case — Son with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's mobile investigation unit, Nagayama as Inose of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Investigation Division 1 . Supporting roles go to Kim Shin-rock as a Zainichi Korean businessperson, Choi Sung-eun as a government agent, and Jung Jae-young as a mysterious man . Japanese coverage notes it is Nagayama's first Korean production.
Is 'The Blue Road' based on a true story or a comic?
It is a comic adaptation, not a true story. The source is the Korea–Japan co-produced comic "Pureungil" / "Blue Road," written by Keishi Edogawa and illustrated by Kwon Ka-ya, published in 2002 by Haksan Publishing . Netflix's title page files the series under TV Shows Based on Comics, alongside Korean, Crime and TV Thrillers categories, and lists it as a 2026 TV-MA production made across South Korea and Japan in Korean and Japanese.
Can I watch 'The Blue Road' before its Netflix release?
Yes, in a cinema and only in Busan. Selected episodes get a theatrical world premiere in the On Screen section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival, which runs Oct. 6–15, 2026 at the Busan Cinema Center . On Screen carries three titles this year, down from six last year . Director Han Jun-hee, Son Suk-ku, Nagayama and Kim Shin-rock are slated to attend.
How many episodes does 'The Blue Road' have?
Netflix has not disclosed the episode count or per-episode runtime as of the Oct. 2, 2026 date announcement, and the fields remain blank on both the official title page and secondary databases such as AsianWiki . Assume nothing about a weekly-versus-batch rollout until Netflix says more; the only confirmed timing is the Nov. 20 premiere.
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This article was written using information collected and analyzed by NAMANE's in-house K-pop research AI engine. We use AI technology to bring you faster, broader coverage, and in the process some details may occasionally differ from the latest facts. For important information such as dates, venues, and prices, please double-check with official sources.
