Signal (South Korean TV series)

Signal (Korean: 시그널; RR: Sigeuneol) is a 2016 South Korean fantasy police procedural television series starring Lee Je-hoon, Kim Hye-soo and Cho Jin-woong. It premiered on tvN on January 22, 2016. A total of 16 episodes aired on Fridays and Saturdays at 20:30 KST, with the final episode airing on March 12, 2016.[2][3][4] The series was inspired by real-life criminal incidents in Korea,[5] including the Hwaseong serial murders.[6][7]

This article is about the South Korean TV series. For for the Japanese remake, see Signal (Japanese TV series).
Signal
Promotional poster
Hangul시그널
Genre
Created by
  • Choi Jin-hee
  • Park Ji-young
Written byKim Eun-hee
Directed byKim Won-seok
Starring
Opening theme"I Will Forget You" by Jung Cha-sik
Ending theme
  • "The One Who Will Leave" by INKII
  • "The Road" by Kim Yoon-ah
Composer(s)
  • Kim Joon-seok
  • Park Sung-il
Country of originSouth Korea
Original language(s)Korean
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes16
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Lee Chan-ho
  • Lee Sang-baek
Producer(s)
  • Lee Jae-moon
  • Park Eun-kyung
Cinematography
  • Choi Sang-mook
  • Lee Joo-young
Editor(s)Kim Na-young
Camera setupSingle camera
Running time80 minutes
Production company(s)AStory
DistributortvN
Release
Original networktvN
Picture format1080i (HDTV)
Audio formatDolby Digital
Original releaseJanuary 22 (2016-01-22) –
March 12, 2016 (2016-03-12)
Chronology
Followed bySignal 2 (2020)[1]
Related shows
  • Signal (2018)
  • Unknown Number (2019)
External links
Website
Signal at AStory Co., Ltd.

The series received widespread acclaim from audience and critics alike for its story and performances. Also, it is the tenth highest-rated Korean drama in cable television history with a peak audience viewership of 12.54%.

A Japanese remake starring Kentaro Sakaguchi aired from April 10 to June 12, 2018 on Fuji TV.[8][9]

It has been reported that a second season of the Korean drama was in the works.[10][11]

Synopsis

A mysterious walkie talkie allows a detective in the year 1989 to communicate with a cold case profiler from 2015; with the power of fore and hindsight the two not only solve crimes but prevent them from ever taking place.

A criminal profiler Park Hae Young (Lee Je-hoon), solves a kidnapping case that ended up with a falsely accused who apparently disappeared after the crime, with a mysterious walkie-talkie he picks up. The success of this case triggers the formation of a long-term cold case team, led by Detective Cha Soo-Hyun (Kim Hye-soo), who has been searching her long-lost mentor Lee Jae-Han (Cho Jin-woong), for the past 15 years. With the help of Detective Lee Jae-Han, the person at the other end of the walkie-talkie, Park Hae-young solves many other cold cases that have remained unsolved for years, while helping Lee Jae-Han help solve some cases in the past. However, grave unintended sequences follow. Within the limited capabilities of the supernatural element, the three detectives put up a fight against time to solve crimes and save themselves from the unprecedented events that occur due to their actions.

Cast

Main
  • Lee Je-hoon as Park Hae-young,[12] the profiler who finds the walkie-talkie by accident, and uses it to solve cold cases.
  • Kim Hye-soo as Cha Soo-hyun,[13] once a timid rookie and the first woman police officer in the department, she leads the "Long Term Cold Case team"
  • Cho Jin-woong as Lee Jae-han,[14] the somewhat clumsy and socially inept but incorruptible police officer from the past who establishes a rapport with Park.

Supporting

Police officers

Extended
  • Kim Hyun-bin as young Park Hae-young
  • Kang Chan-hee as Park Sun-woo
  • Lee Moon-soo as Lee Jae-han's father
  • Seo Ju-hee as Cha Soo-hyun's mother
  • Lim Hwa-young as Cha Soo-hyun's younger sister
  • Lee Jin-kwon as Supporting

Special appearances
  • Oh Yeon-ah as Yoon Soo-ah (ep. 1-2)
  • Lee Young-eun as Kim Yoon-jung (ep. 1-2)
  • Lee Si-a as Kim Won-kyung (ep. 2-4)
  • Kim Jung-young as Won-kyung's aunt (ep. 2-4)
  • Kim Ki-cheon as Lee Chun-goo (ep. 3-4)
  • Lee Dong-ha as Han Se-kyu (ep. 5-8)
  • Jung Suk-yong as Oh Kyung-tae (ep. 5-7)
  • Park Si-eun as Oh Eun-ji (ep. 5-6)
  • Choi Woo-ri as Shin Yeo-jin (ep. 5-6)
  • Yoo Ha-bok as Shin Dong-hoon (ep. 5-7)
  • Son Hyun-joo as Jang Young-chul (ep. 7, 11, 14, 16)
  • Lee Na-ra as Shin Da-hye (ep. 7-8)
  • Lee Sang-yeob as Kim Jin-woo (ep. 9-11)
  • Lee Chae-kyung as Jin-woo's mother (ep. 10)
  • Seo Eun-ah as Yoo Seung-yeon (ep. 10-11)
  • Shin Yi-joon as Kang Hye-seung (young / ep. 11-14)
  • Kim Woo-suk as Lee Dong-jin (ep. 12-14)
  • Hwang Seung-eon as Han Do-yeon (ep. 13)
  • Jeon Su-ji as Kang Hye-seung (adult / ep. 13-14)
  • Seo Ji-hoon as Jang Tae-jin (ep. 14)
  • Kang Chan-hee as Park Sun Woo

    Original soundtrack
    Signal OST
    Soundtrack album by
    Various Artists
    Released15 March 2016
    GenrePop, K-pop, soundtrack
    ProducerCJ E&M
    Disc 1:
    No.TitleArtistLength
    1."회상" (Reminisce)Jang Beom-june (Busker Busker)4:27
    2."떠나야할 그사람" (The One Who Will Leave)INKII4:06
    3."나는 너를" (I Will Forget You)Jung Cha-sik4:24
    4."길" (The Road)Kim Yoon-ah4:27
    5."행복한 사람" (Happy Person)Jo Dong-hee3:34
    6."꽃잎" (A Petal)Leesa3:16
    7."꽃이 피면" (As Flower Blooms)Lee Seung-yeol3:38
    Disc 2:
    No.TitleArtistLength
    1."Detective Lee Jae-han" (형사 이재한)Various Artists 
    2."For Those Who Left Behind" (남겨진 이들을 위해)Various Artists 
    3."Young Park Hae Young" (소년 박해영)Various Artists 
    4."Conclusive Evidence" (결정적 증거)Various Artists 
    5."Heartfelt Desire" (절실한 염원)Various Artists 
    6."Send The Signal Desperately" (간절함이 보내온 신호)Various Artists 
    7."New Clue" (새로운 단서)Various Artists 
    8."Past Can Be Changed" (과거는 바뀔 수 있습니다)Various Artists 
    9."Jae Han's Reason" (재한의 추리)Various Artists 
    10."Pain That Can't Be Heal" (치유되지 않는 아픔)Various Artists 
    11."Footsteps of Nostalgia" (그리움의 발자취)Various Artists 
    12."Profiling" (프로파일링)Various Artists 
    13."형기대의 하루"Various Artists 
    14."Tracking" (추적)Various Artists 
    15."Don't Give Up" (포기하지마)Various Artists 
    16."Crime Scene" (범행현장)Various Artists 
    17."A Series of Labyrinthine" (미궁의 연속)Various Artists 
    18."Real Culprit" (진범)Various Artists 
    19."Run Too, Today" (오늘도 달린다)Various Artists 
    20."Only I Didn't Know" (혼자만 모른다)Various Artists 
    21."Long-term Unsolved Case" (장기미제사건)Various Artists 
    22."The Truth Revealed" (드러나는 진실)Various Artists 
    23."Cool Air" (서늘한 공기)Various Artists 
    24."Plot" (음모)Various Artists 
    25."Suggestion" (암시)Various Artists 

    Reception

    Upon its premiere, the series attracted attention for weaving actual cases into its plot and attained high ratings.[15][16] With its finale rating of 12.54%, it is one of the highest rated Korean dramas in cable television history.[17][18] It received praise for its solid acting, tightly-constructed plot and detailed and sophisticated direction; and enjoyed success internationally in China and Japan.[19][20][21]

    The drama went on to win several awards from different award-giving bodies, including Best Drama, Best Screenplay for Kim Eun-hee, and Best Actress for Kim Hye-soo at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards, as well as another Best Actress award for Kim and the Daesang (Grand Prize for Television) for Cho Jin-woong at the tvN10 Awards. Cho also won the Daesang at the 1st Asia Artist Awards for his performance.

    Ratings

    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[22] TNmS[23]
    Nationwide Seoul Nationwide
    1 January 22, 2016 5.415% 5.960% 6.4%
    2 January 23, 2016 6.926% 7.343% 6.1%
    3 January 29, 2016 8.239% 8.910% 8.5%
    4 January 30, 2016 7.666% 8.601% 7.5%
    5 February 5, 2016 7.789% 7.568% 7.6%
    6 February 6, 2016 7.077% 6.710% 7.3%
    7 February 12, 2016 8.612% 8.454% 9.0%
    8 February 13, 2016 7.784% 7.913% 8.6%
    9 February 19, 2016 7.803% 7.672% 8.4%
    10 February 20, 2016 9.195% 8.945% 8.7%
    11 February 26, 2016 10.456% 11.915% 8.8%
    12 February 27, 2016 10.065% 10.865% 9.2%
    13 March 4, 2016 9.667% 8.918% 9.7%
    14 March 5, 2016 11.120% 12.155% 10.6%
    15 March 11, 2016 10.772% 12.145% 9.8%
    16 March 12, 2016 12.544% 13.541% 12.8%
    Average 8.821% 9.226% 8.7%
    • 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
    Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
    2016 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards Best Drama Signal Won
    Best Director Kim Won-seok Nominated
    Best Actor Cho Jin-woong Nominated
    Best Actress Kim Hye-soo Won
    Best Screenplay Kim Eun-hee Won
    5th APAN Star Awards Best Screenwriter Won
    Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Cho Jin-woong Won
    Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries Kim Hye-soo Nominated
    9th Korea Drama Awards Best Drama Signal Nominated
    Best Production Director Kim Won-seok Nominated
    Best Screenplay Kim Eun-hee Nominated
    tvN10 Awards Grand Prize (Daesang), Actor Cho Jin-woong Won [24]
    Best Actor Nominated
    Lee Je-hoon Nominated
    Best Actress Kim Hye-soo Won [24]
    PD's Choice Award Lee Je-hoon Won
    Scene Stealer Actor Jang Hyun-sung Nominated
    Best Content Award, Drama Signal Won
    1st Asia Artist Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) Cho Jin-woong Won
    Kim Hye-soo Nominated
    Best Celebrity Award, Actor Lee Je-hoon Nominated
    18th Mnet Asian Music Awards Best OST Jang Beom-jun Nominated
    Korea Content Awards Presidential Commendation Award Kim Eun-hee Won
    2017 Brand of the Year Awards Drama Writer of the Year Won

    Remakes
    Main article: Signal (Japanese TV series)
    • The series was re-made as a Japanese drama on 2018.
    • On October 23, 2019, Unknown Number, a Chinese remake of Signal, started airing on Tencent Video.

    See also

    International broadcast
    • Philippines: Cine Mo! - July 2 to September 3, 2017 and Asianovela Channel - February 4, 2019 to present.
    • Streaming on Netflix (India) as of October, 2019.
    • Streaming on Netflix (US) as of October, 2019.

    References
    1. ""Signal" and "Prison Playbook" to Come Back as Multi-Season Dramas". HanCinema. August 13, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
    2. Radwa Ashraf (9 December 2015). ""Signal": a paranormal cop drama debuts in 2016". The Asian. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
    3. "New tvN thriller to pick up where 'Reply 1988' left off". Yonhap News Agency. 14 January 2016.
    4. "Signal drama plot and cast update". The AsiaN.
    5. Jung, Min-kyung (2016-03-07). "Crimes in 'Signal' based on real Korean cases". The Korea Herald.
    6. '시그널' 김혜수·이제훈, 화성연쇄살인사건 맡았다. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 23 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
    7. "Unsolved cases that 'Signal' could crack". The Korea Times. 18 February 2016.
    8. "[단독] '시그널' 日 리메이크 확정, 사카구치 켄타로 출연". YTN. February 2018.
    9. "坂口健太郎、ドラマ初主演で警察官に！過去と現在が交差…未解決事件に挑む". Cinema Today.
    10. Kim, Kim Min-ji. "[N1★초점] '시그널'부터 '비밀의 숲'까지, 웰메이드 장르물의 귀환" (in Korean). News1. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
    11. Lee, Jeong-Hyun (Lisa). "'시그널'·'슬기로운'…기다렸던 묵직한 시즌제가 온다" (in Korean). Yonhap News. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
    12. Lee, Mina (August 20, 2015). "이제훈, tvN 드라마 '시그널' 출연". Oh My Star News (in Korean). Retrieved August 27, 2019.
    13. Hwang, Joo-won (September 21, 2015). "김혜수·조진웅·이제훈 tvN 드라마 '시그널' 출연 확정". Interview 365 (in Korean). Retrieved August 27, 2019.
    14. Park, So-hyun (September 21, 2015). "'시그널' 김혜수, 그 우아한 도전에 거는 기대". Xports News (in Korean). Retrieved August 27, 2019.
    15. "TV drama 'Signal' enjoying high viewer ratings". The Korea Herald. 29 February 2016.
    16. "'Signal' sets another ratings record". The Korea Times. 28 February 2016.
    17. "'Signal' lures record TV audience". Korea Times. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
    18. "Drama 'Signal' concludes with double-digit viewership". The Korea Times. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
    19. "'Signal' tells Korea's true crime tales". Korea JoongAng Daily. 18 February 2016.
    20. "Korean drama 'Signal' sees critical success in China". The Korea Times. 2016-06-17.
    21. "'Signal' to begin airing in Japan next month". The Korea Herald. 2017-05-10.
    22. "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
    23. "TNmS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNmS Ratings (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 28, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
    24. "'Reply 1988' chosen as tvN's top drama". Yonhap News Agency. 10 October 2016.
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