South Korea · Film · 2025
The First Ride
Binge Brief
- Showbox released it in South Korean cinemas on 29 October 2025; it runs 116 minutes.
- The Korea Media Rating Board classed The First Ride 12+ (12세 이상관람가).
- Filming began on 21 March 2025 and wrapped on 11 June 2025.
- It opened at No. 1 with 82,687 admissions on its first day and held the top spot for six days running.
- By 30 November 2025 it had sold about 739,000 tickets and grossed about US$4.6 million in Korea, according to KOFIC figures.
- Between 7 and 21 November 2025 it opened in eight more Asian markets, starting with Indonesia and Mongolia and ending with Vietnam.
Synopsis
The First Ride (퍼스트 라이드) is a 2025 Korean comedy written and directed by Nam Dae-joong. The First Ride movie follows four childhood friends, Tae-jung (Kang Ha-neul), Do-jin (Kim Young-kwang), Yeon-min (Cha Eun-woo) and Geum-bok (Kang Young-seok), who planned a trip abroad in their last year of high school and missed the flight.
About ten years on, Do-jin talks the others into finally taking that trip. Tae-jung has become the high achiever of the group. He works as an aide at the National Assembly, wants a political career of his own and has to be back in Seoul for a party convention. Geum-bok has turned to religion, and Do-jin is looking for something new to aim at. Ok-sim (Han Sun-hwa), whose feelings for Tae-jung have gone unreturned for years, joins them. The destination is Thailand, and they land in Pattaya in the middle of Songkran, the water festival.
The first ride Cha Eun-woo fans came for is his turn as Ahn Yeon-min, sold in the marketing simply as the handsome one. Yeon-min is quiet and keeps to himself, turns silly around his friends, and wants to play as a DJ at a world music festival. He also tells the story: much of the film runs on his voice-over, and Cha said in an October 2025 Q&A with Money Today that the amount of narration felt like a lot at first but that he liked watching the group from that outside position. It is his first lead in a feature film, and he chose it, he said in the same Q&A, because he enjoys comedy and found the script fun.
Very little goes to plan once they arrive. Their local driver, Tai Park (Ko Kyu-pil), punches Tae-jung after a traffic incident and drives off, and a night out ends up filmed and posted online. For an aspiring politician that is the worst kind of publicity, and Tae-jung turns on the rest of the group while Do-jin behaves more and more erratically as the days go on. Choi Gwi-hwa, Yoon Kyung-ho and Kang Ji-young of KARA appear in smaller parts, Kang as a bartender called Sylvia.
Nam had made Love Reset (30 Days) with Kang Ha-neul in 2023. The First Ride reviews in the Korean press put the laughs down mostly to wordplay. The Fact's critic called them gentle rather than loud and wrote that Cha's face does a lot of the comic work even when the timing is not his; the same review and Ilgan Sports both noted that the second half moves away from gags toward a sadder story about the friends themselves.
The First Ride cast
Filming locations
The Thailand scenes were shot in Thailand. Kang Ha-neul told Ilgan Sports in October 2025 that the shoot was the first time he had spent a month abroad, and that living overseas turned out not to suit him. Nam Dae-joong told the same paper that his one rule for the Thailand shoot was not to leave viewers with a bad image of the country. None of the press coverage read for this page names the towns or venues used, so no location list is given here.
Themes and messages
At the October 2025 press screening Nam Dae-joong said the point of the film was to live now instead of saving good things for later, and the whole plot hangs on a plan the friends kept postponing. Showbox's character trailer introduced the five travellers as the perfect one, the slow one, the handsome one, the odd one and the shameless one, friends of 24 years. Ilgan Sports read the film the same way the director framed it: a story about valuing time with close friends while you still have it.
Interesting facts
- A lead missing from his own press day. Cha Eun-woo was doing his military service and could not attend the press screening at CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall on 22 October 2025. Kang Ha-neul told reporters the cast would promote the film for him and wondered aloud whether he would get to see it on leave.
- Narration recorded after the shoot. Nam Dae-joong said at the same screening that Cha's enlistment put the narration on a tight schedule, but that it was still recorded after filming had finished (TenAsia, 22 October 2025).
- Older than Love Reset. Nam said the project was planned before 30 Days (Love Reset) and was pushed back because COVID-19 restrictions made shooting impossible.
- Ahead before opening. Two days before release it had 70,572 advance tickets and a 32% share of reservations, according to Ilgan Sports (27 October 2025).
- The streak it ended. Its first day at No. 1 pushed the Japanese anime Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc off the top of the Korean chart after three weeks (SBS Star, 30 October 2025).
Real-life loves on set
No relationship between members of The First Ride cast has been confirmed by the actors or their agencies.
Soundtrack
| Track | Artist |
|---|---|
| The First Ride, theme song | Kang Ha-neul, Kim Young-kwang, Kang Young-seok and Han Sun-hwa, 15 Oct 2025 |
Frequently asked questions
Who is in the cast of The First Ride?
The cast of The First Ride is led by Kang Ha-neul as Tae-jung, Kim Young-kwang as Do-jin, Cha Eun-woo as Yeon-min, Kang Young-seok as Geum-bok and Han Sun-hwa as Ok-sim. Ko Kyu-pil, Choi Gwi-hwa, Yoon Kyung-ho and Kang Ji-young make guest appearances.
Where to watch The First Ride Korean movie?
The First Ride Korean movie was a cinema release: Showbox opened it in South Korea, and partner distributors took it to Indonesia, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam in November 2025. Streaming and rental options differ by country; the where-to-watch list on this page comes from TMDB's provider data.
Is The First Ride kdrama or movie?
The First Ride is a movie, not a K-drama series. It was made for cinemas and plays as one 116-minute story with no episodes.
What is The First Ride release date?
The First Ride opened in South Korean cinemas on Wednesday 29 October 2025, a Culture Day, when Korean cinemas sell discounted tickets.
Who does Cha Eun-woo play in The First Ride?
Cha Eun-woo plays Ahn Yeon-min, the quiet member of the group who dreams of DJing at a world music festival and narrates the film. It is his first lead role in a feature film.
Who directed The First Ride?
Nam Dae-joong wrote and directed The First Ride. Brain Shower produced it with TH Story, and Showbox distributed it.
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