Gap-dong (Korean갑동이; RRGapdongi) is a 2014 South Korean television series starring Yoon Sang-hyun, Kim Min-jung, Sung Dong-il, Kim Ji-won and Lee Joon. It aired on cable channel tvN from April 11 to June 14, 2014 on Fridays and Saturdays at 20:40 (KST) for 20 episodes.[1]

Gap-dong
GenreCrime
Thriller
Drama
Mystery
Action
Written byKwon Eum-mi
Directed byJo Soo-won
StarringYoon Sang-hyun
Kim Min-jung
Sung Dong-il
Kim Ji-won
Lee Joon
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes20
Production
Executive producersBae Jong-byung
Kim Hee-yeol
ProducersKang Hee-jun
Lee Young-ok
Production locationKorea
Running time60 minutes
Production companyPan Entertainment
Original release
NetworktvN
ReleaseApril 11 (2014-04-11) –
June 21, 2014 (2014-06-21)

The series is based on the real-life Hwaseong serial murders.

Synopsis

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In 1986, the (fictional) city of Iltan in Gyeonggi Province: A young girl gets brutally murdered by an unknown person on a dark night. As the city is gripped by a succession of serial killings, a total of nine murders within a twelve-kilometer radius since 1993, the police conclude that a man they've nicknamed "Gap-dong" is behind the crimes. Detective Yang Cheol-gon is convinced that the actual killer is Ha Il-sik, a resident of the town who is intellectually challenged. His attempt to arrest the suspect fails as Ha commits suicide to prove his innocence. His death inspires his son Moo-yeom to become a police officer to clear his father's name and restore his honor.

Seventeen years later, Moo-yeom is a police detective who spends his career chasing dead ends and helping juvenile delinquents. After the statute of limitations on the case expires, Moo-yeom becomes resigned to the belief that Gap-dong is dead. But then a series of incidents occur in the town that bear an eerie resemblance to Gap-dong's crimes. Cheol-gon, now a well-decorated officer, has recently transferred back to Iltan, and to his dismay, Moo-yeom joins his investigation team to catch Gap-dong once and for all.

Cast

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Main

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  • Yoon Sang-hyun as Ha Moo-yeom, a detective in Iltan Police Department's violent crimes unit. He vows to avenge his wrongly accused father.[2]
  • Kim Min-jung as Maria Oh, a psychiatrist with a mysterious double life and a suspicious curiosity for all things Gap-dong.
  • Sung Dong-il as Yang Cheol-gon, a police inspector at the time of the original murders, and is now a well-decorated officer. Upon receiving his latest promotion, he surprises his superiors by requesting to be assigned back to Iltan, because he wants to end his career by capturing Gap-dong. Still convinced that Moo-yeom's father was the killer, he is extremely prejudiced against Moo-yeom, which makes for a combative working relationship. He also hiding grief of his daughter's death.
  • Kim Ji-won as Ma Ji-wool, a 17-year-old high school student and webtoon artist with the pen name "Matilda". Ji-wool becomes pivotal to the case when her webtoon titled The Beast's Path ends up foretelling the crimes. When she becomes the killer's next target, it also serves as a set of clues to find him.
  • Lee Joon as Ryu Tae-oh, an inmate of a prison psychiatric hospital, who becomes a barista after his release. With a genius IQ of 150, his excellent and detailed memory may prove valuable to cracking the case, but he also happens to have the disposition to be a dangerous psychopath, and considers Gap-dong his god and hero.[3][4][5][6]

Supporting

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  • Jung In-gi as Cha Do-hyeok, the police section chief. He was in fact, the true culprit of the "Gap Dong" serial murders. He was sentenced to death nearing the end of the series
  • Kang Nam-gil as Han Sang-hoon, a profiler
  • Jang Gwang as Jinjo, a monk
  • Choo Soo-hyun as Oh Young-ae
  • Lee Seung-ho as Kim Shin-yong
  • Yoo Eun-ho as Yang Seon-joo, Cheol-gon's daughter
  • Min Sung-wook as Nam Ki-ri
  • Jung Won-joong as Park Joong-goo
  • Jang Hee-soo as Kim Young-mi, Maria's mother
  • Yoon Kyun-sang as the youngest detective
  • Seo Cho-won as Supporting
  • Hong In-young as Hong Sung-hee, a reporter
  • Seo Joo-hee as Ji Hwa-ja, Ji-wool's mother
  • Jo Ji-hwan as Lee Hyung-nyeon, Moo-yeom's partner and wife

Ratings

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In this table, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Ep. Original broadcast date Average audience share
AGB Nielsen
Nationwide
1 April 11, 2014 1.51%
2 April 12, 2014 1.98%
3 April 25, 2014 1.37%
4 April 26, 2014 1.64%
5 May 2, 2014 1.77%
6 May 3, 2014 1.76%
7 May 9, 2014 1.81%
8 May 10, 2014 2.32%
9 May 16, 2014 1.72%
10 May 17, 2014 2.00%
11 May 23, 2014 1.89%
12 May 24, 2014 2.08%
13 May 30, 2014 1.68%
14 May 31, 2014 1.91%
15 June 6, 2014 2.32%
16 June 7, 2014 2.23%
17 June 13, 2014 1.85%
18 June 14, 2014 2.17%
19 June 20, 2014 2.07%
20 June 21, 2014 2.13%
Average 1.91%
  • This drama airs 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).

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Recipient Result
2014 7th Korea Drama Awards Best New Actor Lee Joon Nominated

International broadcast

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  • It aired in Thailand on Workpoint TV beginning March 9, 2015.[7]
  • In Hong Kong, Macau, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, the drama began airing on tvN Asia with a variety of subtitles on 2016.

References

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  1. ^ Kim, Hee-eun (11 April 2014). "Drama based on murders familiar". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  2. ^ "Yoon Sang Hyun Gets Intense for Upcoming tvN Drama Gapdong". Soompi. 9 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
  3. ^ Bae, Sun-young (4 February 2014). "MBLAQ Lee Joon to Turn into Barista in New Drama". TenAsia. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
  4. ^ Kim, Hee-eun (20 March 2014). "Lee Joon joins new thriller". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  5. ^ Hong, Grace Danbi (11 April 2014). "Lee Joon Says MBLAQ Members Liked that He Was a Psychopath in Gapdong". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  6. ^ Jeon, Ah-ram (28 June 2014). "Interview: Lee Joon Shares on Acting as a Psychopath in Gapdong". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  7. ^ "Gap Dong กั๊บดง ถอดรหัสฆ่า / GabDong – ซีรีย์เกาหลี". korea.tlcthai.com. 2 September 2015. Thai: ภาษาไทย
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