Genie, Make a Wish: A magical series that has sparked controversy
How are you all? Today we will talk about the K-drama “Genie, Make a Wish”! This new K-drama from Netflix has created a stir as soon as it was released. It may seem harsh to us, international and Bangladeshi viewers, who are deeply involved in Islamic culture. But let’s try to explain it simply – what kind of series is it, why so much negative hype, and from your point of view, is the series funny or bad? I have watched the whole thing, I will share my experience with this series with you.
Story Plot
I will first briefly discuss the story of magic, love, and a troublesome genie who is named Iblis in this series. The series is a fantasy romantic comedy. The main character is Ka-young (played by Bei Suzy), an emotionally lax girl who doesn’t understand any joy in life. She unknowingly frees an ancient genie – Iblis (played by Kim Woo-bin), who has been imprisoned inside a lamp for thousands of years. Iblis (the genie) has to grant three wishes, but he has a deal of his own with God that he will prove humans are unworthy. The story progresses through wish fulfillment, with a twist of love, and ends with a satisfying ending.
In terms of creativity, it mixes Disney’s genie-like fun, Hollywood’s love story, and a bit of Islamic mythology. I’m saying watch the fantasy series without keeping Islamic mythology in mind.
Visuals
The visuals are great – the South Korean village scene, the magical effects, and the soundtrack (especially Suzy’s song “A Night Full of You”) set the mood. Kim Woo-bin’s acting is brilliant, and his mischievous Jin look is hilarious. Suzy’s character is also deep – he’s a psychopath, but he changes with the love of the villagers. The local tone comes through here: village life, family bonding, which gives us a feel of a Bengali village.
I touched on the negative side at the beginning of the article, that it is disrespectful to Islam, and there have been calls for a boycott, and NetFlix has already lost millions of dollars on it.
Feature
The series was released on October 3, 2025. Muslim viewers immediately disagreed with Islamic mythology after watching the series. Why? Because the name of the genie is “Iblis” – in Islam, it is the name of Satan, who refused to prostrate to Adam and went to hell. Let me tell you another aspect: in Islam, Iblis is said to be the leader of the angels, but in the series he is shown as a charming, romantic genie, who is drawn to a love story with the heroine. This seemed to be an insult to religious beliefs to many. BoycottGenieMakeAWish is trending on social media, people are saying “It copied the concept of Islam and romanticized it, it is disrespectful!” I also agree, it is really disrespectful. As a result of this incident, the ratings on international net review sites have also fallen – 6.1 on IMDb, the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is very low, many gave it 0.5/5.
In Bangladeshi or Muslim communities like ours, it is more sensitive. We know Satan as evil, making him the hero of a love story? It is like making Jesus the villain in a Christian series.
Many are saying this among Korean creators. For example, (Kim Eun-suk, who wrote ‘The Glory’) may not have done research, or may not have understood the weight of Islam in Korean culture. As a result, boycott calls are being made, and Netflix has not yet given any statement.
On the other hand, some people on social media are saying this is review bombing, but no – this is a real concern.
On Reddit, one person said, “Ignore the negative comments, the story is fresh!” But another said, “Why take from Islam? They could have just used their own mythology. This is being discussed worldwide.
Among all the negatives, positive discussion is important. Keeping the creativity and acting in mind and keeping the controversy aside, I would say the story is interesting. Every episode has a creative twist to fulfill wishes – sometimes funny, sometimes heartwarming. The local flavor of the village people (like the bonding of the neighborhood) feels like our Bengali village. The ending? Wow, satisfying – but I won’t give spoilers. The OSTs touch the heart, and the chemistry (Suzy-Wubin) is fire. Many who have seen it say “The love angle is good, but it would have been perfect if the name had been changed.” Which could have been better.
The pacing is a bit slow in the middle, the flashbacks are long and the biggest one – cultural sensitivity.
Korean writers often take foreign cultures, because they write whatever fantasy comes to mind, but I would say that if you don’t do research, it’s natural. This is a reminder for viewers like us: check everything before watching.
Why watch it, or skip it?
If you don’t mind controversy, and love fantasy rom-coms, then watch it – this is one of the top K-dramas of 2025. But as a Muslim or if you are sensitive, join the boycott. It’s not just about entertainment, it’s about respect for culture. I watched it, but I was upset – there is creativity, but I was also heartbroken. It could have been better if it had not just been about Islamic issues in the story. I feel like Raita has confused the whole thing by taking the history of Islam from somewhere else.
Rating
5/10 (minus for controversy, plus for acting)
In a word, good but the Islamic aspect has hurt the heart. What do you want? Will you watch it or skip it? Tell us in the comments!
Stay with us on FameFeed and watch the review
–Habibur Rahman, Filmmaker
