Squad 38[2][3] (Korean38사기동대) is a South Korean television series starring Ma Dong-seok, Seo In-guk and Choi Soo-young.[4][5][6] It aired on cable network OCN on Fridays and Saturdays at 23:00 (KST) for 16 episodes from June 17, 2016 to August 6, 2016.

Squad 38
Promotional poster
Also known asTax Team 38[1]
Hangul
38사기동대
Literal meaningFraud Task Force 38
Revised Romanization38 Sagidongdae
Genre
Based onCharacter from InfinityOne Comics Entertainment Inc.
Written byHan Jeong-hoon [ko]
Directed byHan Dong-hwa
Starring
ComposerKim Tae-seong
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes16
Production
Executive producers
ProducerHwang Joon-hyuk
Running time65 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkOCN
ReleaseJune 17 (2016-06-17) –
August 6, 2016 (2016-08-06)

Synopsis

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The story is about civil servant Baek Sung-il and his team who collect taxes from habitual tax evaders as well as delinquent taxpayers in cooperation with the fraudster Yang Jeong-do.[7]

Origin of title

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Squad 38 is motivated and received advice from "38 Tax Collection Division" (aka 38기동대: Task force 38) in Seoul Metropolitan Government.

The number 38 is derived from Article 38 of Constitution of South Korea, which stipulates the duty to pay taxes:[8]

모든 국민은 법률이 정하는 바에 의하여 납세의 의무를 진다.
All citizens shall have the duty to pay taxes under the conditions as prescribed by Act.

The Korean title "사기동대 (sagidongdae)" is the combination of the words 사기 (sagi: fraud) and 기동대 (gidongdae: task force). In the logo of this series, letter of 사기 is written in blue and underlined to emphasize.

The motto of the drama, "끝까지 사기쳐서 반드시 징수한다" (Swindle to the end, must be collected.) is parody of, the motto of 38 Tax Collection Division, "끝까지 추적하여 반드시 징수한다" (Trace to the end, must be collected.)

Cast

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Main cast

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  • Ma Dong-seok as Baek Sung-il/Park Woong-cheol – manager of Tax Collection Bureau's section 3[9]
  • Seo In-guk as Yang Jeong-do – professional swindler
  • Choi Soo-young as Cheon Sung-hee – Tax Collection Bureau's officer

Supporting cast

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38 Revenue Collection Unit

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Seowon Town Hall

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  • Ahn Nae-sang as Cheon Gap-soo – mayor of Seowon
  • Jo Woo-jin as Ahn Tae-wook – director of Tax Collection Bureau
  • Kim Byung-choon [ko] as Kang Noh-seung – manager of Tax Collection Bureau's section 1
  • Lee Hak-joo [ko] as Ahn Chang-ho – young employee of Tax Collection Bureau
  • Kim Joo-hun as Investigator Park – investigator of Tax Collection Bureau's section 3
  • Jung Do-won as Investigator Kim – investigator of Tax Collection Bureau's section 3

Extended cast

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Others

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Cameo appearances

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Production

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The series' main cast lineup was unveiled on March 3, 2016.[8]

The first script reading was held on March 19, 2016 at the CJ E&M Centre in Sangam-dong, Seoul, South Korea.[12]

Ratings

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Average TV viewership ratings
Ep. Original broadcast date Average audience share
Nielsen Korea[13] TNmS[14]
Nationwide Seoul Nationwide
1 June 17, 2016 1.577% 2.147% 1.0%
2 June 18, 2016 1.920% 1.524% 1.4%
3 June 24, 2016 2.251% 2.454% 1.9%
4 June 25, 2016 3.338% 3.193% 2.9%
5 July 1, 2016 1.867% 1.738% 1.9%
6 July 2, 2016 3.088% 3.008% 3.2%
7 July 8, 2016 3.185% 3.185% 2.9%
8 July 9, 2016 4.063% 4.027% 3.3%
9 July 15, 2016 3.383% 2.818% 3.3%
10 July 16, 2016 3.955% 3.783% 3.9%
11 July 22, 2016 3.578% 3.409% 3.4%[15]
12 July 23, 2016 4.468% 4.903% 4.4%
13 July 29, 2016 3.794% 3.488% 3.8%
14 July 30, 2016 4.386% 4.122% 4.8%
15 August 5, 2016 4.099% 4.134% 5.0%
16 August 6, 2016 4.559% 4.024% 6.7%
Average 3.344% 3.247% 3.363%
Special August 12, 2016 N/A
  • In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
  • This series aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).

Original soundtracks

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OST Part 1

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No.TitleArtistLength
1."Run (뛰어)"Sunyoul, Jinhoo, Bit-to2:39
2."Run (뛰어)" (Inst.) 2:39
Total length:5:18

OST Part 2

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No.TitleArtistLength
1."Cool"Key, Doyoung3:25
2."Cool" (Inst.) 3:25
Total length:6:50

International broadcast

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The broadcasting rights to the series were sold to 11 countries, China, Cambodia, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand.[16][17]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2016 5th APAN Star Awards Best Supporting Actor Ma Dong-seok Nominated
11th Asian TV Drama Conference Special Award, Actor Seo In-guk Won [18]
Special Award, Director Han Dong-hwa Won
2017 11th Cable TV Broadcasting Awards [ko] Cable Star Award – Style Icon Kim Joo-ri Won [19][20]

References

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  1. ^ "Tax Team 38 [Title in the URL]". OCN. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  2. ^ Squad 38 [2차 예고] 핡..섹시해..! 사기꾼 서인국 마성의 보이스피싱! 160618 EP.1. YouTube (in Korean). OCN. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  3. ^ "Squad 38 (2016)". CJ E&M. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  4. ^ Jung Ah-ran (March 3, 2016). "서인국·수영·마동석, OCN '38 사기동대' 주연". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  5. ^ Jang Eun-kyung (March 3, 2016). 마동석·서인국·최수영, '38 사기동대' 출연…공무원과 사기꾼이 만났다. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  6. ^ Kim Hyang-mi (June 22, 2016). '38사기동대' 어디까지 진짜일까…서울시 38세금징수과장에게 듣는다. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  7. ^ the official homepage of taxteam38
  8. ^ a b Han, Hye-ri (2016-03-03). "마동석·서인국·최수영, '38 사기동대' 캐스팅 확정". Hankyung Entertainment (in Korean).
  9. ^ Seo Byung-gi (June 23, 2016). 마동석, 38사기동대의 팔방미인…못하는 게 없네. The Korea Herald (in Korean). Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  10. ^ Park Hyun-min (June 9, 2016). "'38 사기동대' PD "이선빈, 서인국 돕는 '꽃뱀' 활약"". OSEN (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  11. ^ Kim Soo-kyung (June 18, 2016). "'38사기동대' 이선빈, 서인국 뺨 때렸다…숨겨진 사연에 궁금증 UP". TenAsia (in Korean). Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  12. ^ Kwak, Kyung-min (2016-03-23). "'38 사기동대', 대본 리딩 현장 공개..서인국-마동석 브로맨스 폭발". Hankyung Entertainment (in Korean).
  13. ^ "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  14. ^ "TNmS Ratings on Naver". Naver (in Korean). Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  15. ^ Hwang Ji-young (July 24, 2016). "'38사기동대' 마동석X서인국, 브로맨스 타고 시청률 날고". Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  16. ^ "Cable series 'Squad 38' sold to 10 countries". Yonhap News Agency. July 22, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  17. ^ Lee Jin-a (July 22, 2016). "Ten countries buy Korean drama '38 Revenue Collection Unit'". The Korea Times. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  18. ^ Son Ji-hyoung (November 22, 2016). "Seo In-guk wins award at Asian TV Drama Conference". Kpop Herald. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  19. ^ Yoo Ji-hye (March 10, 2017). [케이블방송대상] '도깨비' 4관왕 영예..유지태는 베스트연기자상. OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  20. ^ Kang Hee-jeong (March 10, 2017). 역시 '도깨비', 2017케이블방송대상 드라마 대상 '4관왕 쾌거'. News1 Korea (in Korean). Retrieved March 29, 2017.
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