# Bargain (2022)

> Strangers with hidden agendas are trapped together in a remote motel after an earthquake and must bargain for their survival.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/120710

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 6
- Episode runtime: 36 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, thriller
- Created by: Jeon Woo-sung
- Network: TVING
- Cast: Jeon Jong-seo, Jin Sun-kyu, Chang Ryul, Park Hyoung-soo, Shin Jae-whi, Lee Zoo-young, Oh Min-ae, Kang Gil-woo
- TMDB rating: 6.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23149640/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: tense, paranoid, claustrophobic, harrowing, propulsive

## What critics say

Reception is mixed, with audiences finding the high-tension survival premise engaging but the story uneven.

## Synopsis

Bargain (2022) is a South Korean survival thriller limited series created by Jeon Woo-sung for TVING. Strangers arriving at a remote motel, each carrying ulterior motives and a plan to bargain, find their intentions upended when an earthquake traps them inside the building. Park Ju-young (Jeon Jong-seo) sits at the center of a volatile group that includes Roh Hyung-su (Jin Sun-kyu) and Ko Geuk-ryeol (Chang Ryul), and the story pivots on whether anyone can be trusted while rubble, shortages and mounting suspicion close in. Each episode is built from tense confrontations, uneasy alliances and sudden betrayals as the group tries to escape. The six-episode run keeps a brisk, real-time pace across one continuous story, with the motel as a claustrophobic stage. Its tone is tense and paranoid, with grim moral choices and visceral violence shadowing every decision. Fans of Squid Game and Snowpiercer, who enjoy desperate characters pushed to their limits in confined spaces, will find resonance here. Set in present-day South Korea, the series sits within the country's crime thriller tradition and rewards viewers who want a compact, unrelenting ride.

## Shows like Bargain

- [The 8 Show (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/118772)
- [Squid Game (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/79002)
- [As You Stood By (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/178907)
- [The Affair Was Just the Beginning (2026)](https://ember.film/tv/1105147)
- [The Silent Sea (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/81638)
- [The Frog (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/139371)
- [Gyeongseong Creature (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/111696)
- [Sweet Home (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/81550)
- [Parasyte: The Grey (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/130717)
- [A Bloody Lucky Day (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/139719)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt