‘If Wishes Could Kill’: When every desire demands a life

What if getting everything you ever wanted meant paying with your life?

Netflix dives into the darker side of youth narratives with If Wishes Could Kill, its first Korean YA horror offering, which debuted worldwide on 24 April.

At the center of the story is Girigo, an enigmatic app that fulfills any wish. But nothing comes free — it claims something far more precious: the user’s life.

Taking place in Seorin High School, the series follows Yoo Se Ah, Lim Na Ri, Kim Geon Woo, Kang Ha Joon and Choi Hyeong Wook as they find themselves trapped in a terrifying spiral once their desires start materializing. What begins as harmless curiosity quickly escalates into fear when a 24-hour countdown to death appears, triggering a string of strange and chilling occurrences.

Helmed by director Park Youn Seo, known for Kingdom Season 2 and Moving, the show leans into psychological terror and haunting imagery. It also incorporates elements of Korean shamanistic traditions, where rituals performed by mudang — or shamans — are believed to offer protection and spiritual purification.

Despite earning an R rating due to its graphic violence, the series has surged in popularity through strong word of mouth, reaching number one in Korea and third worldwide based on streaming analytics platform FlixPatrol.

If Wishes Could Kill is now streaming on Netflix.