When Revenge Goes Too Far: How the Shocking K-Drama, “A Graceful Liar”, Has Left South Koreans in Rage
- Manar Aly
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
In a world already filled with real pain, is it time for K-Dramas to stop competing with the news and start healing the viewers again?
In 2026, the world is facing wars and more violence in real life. Many people hoped that Korean dramas would stay a safe place to relax and escape from problems. But instead, KBS2’s A Graceful Liar has become an example of a worrying new trend called the “Squid Game Effect", taken to a very dangerous level.
Korean dramas have always loved stories about revenge, and A Graceful Liar, which started on September 22, 2025, starring Lee Shi-a and Lee Il-hwa, began as a revenge story but later became a long, dark drama now close to 100 episodes, which created a special conversation among Korean viewers before the final episode on February 2026, and made many people in Korea feel angry and shocked.
What makes A Graceful Liar so disturbing is that it not only shows one “bad mother". It shows the slow destruction of a whole family. The mother wants power, the daughter wants revenge, and the father helps the chaos. No one is innocent, and no one is safe.
This “family war” has made many viewers feel tired and upset. By January 2026, the story went beyond business fights and became a story of kidnapping, fake papers, and cold betrayal, all happening inside the same family.
For people outside Korea, this story may look like extreme fiction. But for Koreans, it hurts something very deep in their culture. In Korea, the family is the last strong wall of society. When a drama shows parents destroying their own children for power, it feels like an attack on the main values of the country.
The writers send a frightening message in this drama. They show that the people closest to you can be the most dangerous. The home is no longer a safe place but has become a place of crime. The father, who should represent safety, takes part in the violence. Brothers, sisters, and close family members are used to hurting each other in the worst way.
Korean viewers in 2026 are also watching this differently because the world feels heavy right now. There is so much serious news about wars and problems, and this daily drama feels very shocking. For Koreans, the family is usually the safe place. Seeing a whole family destroyed in such an extreme way hits very close to home, especially because many people watch it during dinner time.
Voice of the Viewers: What Is Happening in the Comments?
The KBS YouTube channel became a place of conflict. Under every episode, comments were full of viewers who felt shocked but also could not stop watching the repeated cruelty of the story.
The anger is stronger because this drama is shown on KBS2, a public TV channel funded by citizens, and it is shown during dinner time. Families usually watch TV together at this hour. Many Koreans feel that the channel did not protect family-friendly programs and instead brought dark and violent ideas into the living room.
In a world where people see war news every day, Koreans are very sensitive to stories that say trust is a lie. They do not want to believe that even your own father can become your enemy.
This K-drama is not necessarily the most violent drama ever, but it hits people hard because of when and where it is shown. It shows how 2026 audiences love exciting and dramatic stories, but also want dramas that feel honest and not too cruel.
After the drama ended in February 2026, the conversation in Korea changed. This was no longer only about one bad drama. It became about an industry that believes it must be more violent than the news to get high ratings.
If the people we love are the ones who can hurt us the most, did the final episode still give hope for a happy ending?
Comments