“The Great Flood” A New Korean Film That Implies Science in Disasters

 “The Great Flood” is a South Korean sci-fi disaster film directed by Kim Byung-woo and co-written by Han Ji-su. It will be released on Netflix starting December 19, 2025, after premiering at the Busan International Film Festival on September 18, 2025. The story revolves around a massive flood that hits Earth. The main character, Anna (Kim Da-mi), an artificial intelligence (AI) researcher, and her son are trapped in a nearly submerged apartment. Hee-Jo (Park Hae-soo), a member of the security team, attempts to rescue Anna and her son, while it is revealed that there is a major mission related to the “future of humanity” behind this rescue effort.

🔬Relation to Science Material

This film touches on various scientific concepts and contemporary issues that can be used as learning material. Here are some points it can highlight:

Science Material	Explanation based on the film	Educational Opportunities
Climate change & extreme weather cycles	The film depicts global flooding as a result of extreme rainfall and rising sea levels in densely populated countries. This is highly relevant to studies of the greenhouse effect, global warming, and extreme weather patterns resulting from global warming.	It can be used in learning about the impacts of global warming, adaptation to natural disaster mitigation, and the importance of actions to reduce CO₂ emissions.
Hydrology and flood dynamics	How water rises into buildings, infiltration into normally dry spaces, water pressure on structures.	Physics (fluid pressure), geography (surface currents, drainage), and civil engineering (building resistance to flooding).
Artificial intelligence (AI)	Anna's character is an AI researcher. The film could explore how AI is used in disaster prediction, evacuation coordination, or weather monitoring systems.	It can be used as a case study of how AI & modern technology can help with disaster mitigation, risk mapping, early warning systems.
Psychology & human emergency response	This film shows how humans react in extreme situations: fear, moral decisions (e.g., saving yourself vs saving others), and solidarity.	It can be studied in the context of disaster psychology, ethics, social studies, and even in science classes related to the impact of the environment on society.

🌍Relevance to Global Issues

• Climate change: The phenomenon of massive flooding like in movies is becoming more common in the real world—storms, extreme rainfall, rising sea levels. This film brings these issues into a dramatic yet awareness-raising context.
• Resilience and risk mitigation: How communities and infrastructure can be prepared for natural disasters, including drainage systems, mapping flood-prone areas, and coordinating emergency responses. The film illustrates the consequences if mitigation is not carried out adequately.
• Technology as part of the solution: Since the main character is an AI researcher, this opens up the possibility that the film could explore technology (weather sensors, computer modeling, predictive AI, data-driven evacuation, etc.) as part of how to deal with climate change and natural disasters.

📚Potential Use for Education

• Class discussion: Teachers can show a trailer or film clip, then invite students to discuss the scientific aspects involved: is such a global flood possible? What factors might cause it? How might mitigation work?
• Small research project: For example, students can research case studies of major floods in Indonesia or other places, comparing them with scenarios in films: rainfall, drainage systems, geographical conditions, city planning.
• Interdisciplinary: This film can be used in science classes (focusing on natural science and its impact), social classes, sustainable development, even moral/ethical education about sacrifice and humanity.