Director: Ahn Gooc-jin
A newsroom stumbles onto something far bigger than a story in this 2024 South Korean crime drama about digital manipulation and the people who profit from it.
What is Troll Factory about?
Reporter Im Sang-jin sets out to cover a seemingly niche subject: the shadowy 'comment army' networks accused of steering online public opinion for hire. What starts as a routine investigation into astroturfed forums and coordinated posting campaigns pulls Sang-jin into contact with an operation far larger and more entrenched than anticipated. As the reporting deepens, the line between exposing the manipulation and being consumed by it starts to blur, and the people behind the comment factory prove willing to protect their business by any means available. The film builds its tension less through action than through the slow reveal of how thoroughly digital opinion can be engineered, and how difficult that engineering is to prove once it is underway.
Cast & crew
Son Suk-ku anchors the film as the reporter chasing the story, with Kim Sung-cheol, Kim Dong-hwi, and Hong Kyung filling out a supporting cast that includes Lee Sun-hee, Cha Young-ju, Kim So-min, and Kim Jun-han. Director Ahn Gooc-jin frames the investigation with a procedural eye, keeping the focus on how information networks actually function rather than on stylized thriller beats.
Context & significance
Troll Factory arrived in 2024 as part of a wave of Korean crime dramas examining how online platforms can be weaponized, drawing on real reporting about paid comment manipulation that has periodically surfaced in South Korean media. At 109 minutes, it keeps its scope tight, following one journalist's escalating exposure rather than sprawling across an entire industry. The film carries an IMDb rating of 5.9, reflecting a title that trades broad crowd appeal for a more clinical, issue-driven approach to its crime-drama premise.
Where & how to watch
Troll Factory streams on K-Time with Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles available, so viewers can follow the reporter's investigation in Farsi from start to finish. The film's page is free to browse without an account; watching it requires logging in with a K-Time account, part of a Farsi-language streaming experience built for Persian-speaking audiences.