'Love and Leashes,' a BDSM-themed Korean romantic comedy, is sparking online conversations about consent

• "Love and Leashes" has been trending on Twitter for its treatment of gender roles and BDSM.
• According to streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol, the film has topped Netflix charts across Asia.

A BDSM-themed Korean romantic comedy likened to "Fifty Shades Of Grey" has soared to the top of the Netflix charts across Asia and is sparking online conversations about gender roles and different forms of sexual pleasure.

In the film "Love and Leashes", co-workers Ji-woo (played by Seohyun of girl group Girls' Generation) and Ji-hoo (played by Jun of boy band U-Kiss) enter into a relationship and begin exploring their fantasies surrounding BDSM — short for bondage-discipline, dominance-submission, and sadism-masochism.

Defying traditional gender roles in Korea, the show depicts Ji-woo as the dominant one in the relationship, while Ji-hoo takes on the submissive role.

In particular, viewers have praised the movie for driving home the importance of sexual consent.

Twitter user @GinangAbala said they "learned a lot about DomSub relationships" and called it a "revolutionary love story, which highlights consent above all else."

Twitter user @withsahyo expressed appreciation for how the film explored "every aspect of BDSM" while keeping the topic of consent as its central theme, writing, "Yes!! That's what people should more prioritize about before going into that kind of play!!"

One scene that exemplifies this sentiment involves Ji-woo calling out a man who assumes he can do "whatever he wants" with her in the bedroom because of her sexual preferences. "Just because I am a pervert doesn't give you the right to mistreat me," she tells him.

Meanwhile, Twitter user @deactivat8d said, "Immediately after I finished watching #LoveandLeashes I googled if it was directed by a woman. There was so much respect and consent that was approached with fun and sternness there's just nothing like it I've seen."

Fittingly, the film's director Park Hyun-jin told Korea JoongAng Daily earlier this month that she intended to "create a story that raises questions about society's stereotypes of women."

Some commenters also compared the film to the "Fifty Shades Of Grey" movie trilogy.

For example, Twitter user @KarpouzoZaxari said the Korean film "does a better job introducing people to the complexities of BDSM and making you understand how vital communication, consent, and information is than the most famous trilogy about BDSM ever did."

"Love and Leashes" is the latest South Korean Netflix production to become an international hit in recent months, following the mega successes of TV series like "Squid Game" and "All Of Us Are Dead."

Besides debuting at number one on Netflix's most-watched charts in South Korea, the film has also made it into the top 10 lists in Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Indonesia in recent days, according to streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol.