A Bittersweet Life_
"When doing right goes very, very wrong."
Kim Sun-woo is an enforcer and manager for a hotel owned by a cold, calculative crime boss, Kang who assigns Sun-woo to a simple errand while he is away on a business trip; to shadow his young mistress, Hee-soo, for fear that she may be cheating on him with a younger man with the mandate that he must kill them both if he discovers their affair.
Updated Feb 16, 2026
WHERE TO WATCH
Prime Video
4 countries
Rakuten TV
FREE
2 countries
BFI Player
1 country
Shudder
1 country
A
ARROW
1 country
Joyn Plus
1 country
DROPTHE_ GOSSIP
Kim Jee-woon →
Year context
A Bittersweet Life was released 21 years ago in 2005.
A Bittersweet Life is a Action, Drama, Crime film with a runtime of 1h 59m.
CAST (20)
Lee Byung-hun
Sun-woo
Kim Yeong-cheol
Mr. Kang
Shin Min-a
Hee-soo
Kim Roi-ha
Moon-seok
Lee Ki-young
Oh Moo-seong
Hwang Jung-min
Mr. Baek
Eric Mun
Tae-goo
Oh Dal-su
Myeong-goo
Kim Hae-gon
Tae-woong
Kim Han
Se-yoon
Jin Goo
Min-gi
LH
Lee Hang-soo
Chairman Won
Oh Kwang-rok
Gangster
Jeon Kuk-hwan
Chairman Baek
Lee Seung-ho
Mr. Park
Kim Seung-o
Moo-seong's Subordinate
Lee Han-sol
Moo-seong's Subordinate
Vadym Domashchenko
Mikhail
S
Sonny
Filipino Gang
N
Nico
Filipino Gang
CREW
Director
Writer
BOX OFFICE
$7.6M
Revenue
STUDIOS (2)
Bom Film Productions
CJ Entertainment
DETAILS
Release
Status
Released
Runtime
119 min (1h 59m)
Language
Korean
Country
Rating
7.4/10 (964 votes)
Popularity
4
Box Office
$7,600,000
IMDB
Trailer
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is A Bittersweet Life about?
Kim Sun-woo is an enforcer and manager for a hotel owned by a cold, calculative crime boss, Kang who assigns Sun-woo to a simple errand while he is away on a business trip; to shadow his young mistress, Hee-soo, for fear that she may be cheating on him with a younger man with the mandate that he must kill them both if he discovers their affair.
How long is A Bittersweet Life?
A Bittersweet Life has a runtime of 119 minutes (1h 59m).
Who directed A Bittersweet Life?
A Bittersweet Life was directed by Kim Jee-woon.
Who stars in A Bittersweet Life?
The cast of A Bittersweet Life includes Lee Byung-hun, Kim Yeong-cheol, Shin Min-a, Kim Roi-ha, Lee Ki-young.
How much did A Bittersweet Life make at the box office?
A Bittersweet Life earned $7,600,000 worldwide at the box office.
What is the rating of A Bittersweet Life?
A Bittersweet Life has a rating of 7.4 out of 10 based on 964 votes on TMDB.
GENRES (3)
Action
Drama
Crime
KEYWORDS (5)
buried alive
handlanger
revenge
fugitive
extramarital affair