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Signal (시그널; Sigeuneol) is a 2016 South Korean 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. The series was inspired by real-life criminal incidents in Korea, including the Hwaseong serial murders.
The series received widespread acclaim from audience and critics alike for its story and performances. It also became one of the highest rated dramas in Korean cable television history with a peak audience share of 12.54%.
A Japanese remake starring Kentaro Sakaguchi aired from April 10 to June 12, 2018 on Fuji TV.
Synopsis[]
The past and the present collide through a powerful walkie-talkie. Park Hae Young (Lee Je Hoon) is a police lieutenant who is an expert criminal profiler. Hae Young went into police work despite his deep-rooted mistrust of cops stemming from a traumatic event from his childhood. When he was young, his friend Yoon Jung was kidnapped and later found dead. Hae Young saw a woman pick up Yoon Jung from school on the day that she went missing, but the police would not believe Hae Young and stated that a man took her. The case remains unsolved to this day. Now working at the same police station where Hae Young tried to get the cops to believe him as a child, Hae Young walks out of the station one day and hears someone talking to him. He searches around and finds a walkie-talkie with the voice of police detective Lee Jae Han (Cho Jin Woong) talking to him. But Jae Han is from decades into the past, and he is investigating the murder of Hae Young's friend Yoon Jung. Cha Soo Hyun (Kim Hye Soo) was a rookie during Jae Han's time and is now an experienced police detective. Can this unexpected trio help each other solve cold cases from the past by communicating through the walkie-talkie?[1]
Cast[]
- Lee Je Hoon as Park Hae Yeong
- Kim Hyun Bin as Young Park Hae Yeong
- Ahn Eun Ho as Young Park Hae Yeong
- A cold case profiler who is quick-witted. He finds the walkie-talkie by accident, but is amazed to know that he is indeed talking to the past through it. He uses it to the best of his ability to solve cold cases. He is a part of the "Long Term Cold Case Team".
- Kim Hye Soo as Cha Soo Hyun
- A courageous police officer and detective, who has come a long way from a timid rookie officer. She leads the "Long Term Cold Case Team".
- Cho Jin Woong as Lee Jae Han
- A detective and police officer who believes criminals should be punished, no matter how influential they are. He chooses morality over money. Though he has never seen Park Hae-Young, they share a warm bond.
- Kim Won Hae as Kim Gye Cheol
- Lee Yoo Joon as Jeong Heon Gi, a forensic investigator
- Jang Hyun Sung as Kim Beom Joo, a police chief
- Jung Hae Kyun as Ahn Chi Soo
- Jung Han Bi as Oh Yoon Seo
- Kim Min Kyu as Hwang Ui Kyung, an auxiliary policeman
- Chani as Park Seon Woo, Hae Yeong's brother
- Lee Moon Soo as Lee Jae Han's father
- Son Hyun Joo as Congressman Jung Young Chul
- Cha Soo Min as Soo Hyeong's younger sister
- Oh Yeon Ah as Nurse Yoon Soo Ah (Ep.1-2)
- Lee Young Eun as Kim Yoon Jung (Ep. 1-2)
- Song Yoo Hyun as Nurse Kang Se Yeong (Ep.1-2)
- Seo Jung Joon as Seo Hyeong Joon, a prime suspect in the kidnapping case (Ep.1-2)
- Lee Shi Ah as Kim Won Kyeong, Jae Han's crush (Ep.2-4)
- Kim Ki Cheon as Lee Chan Goo, a bus driver (Ep.2-4)
- Lee Gi Seob as Lee Jin Hyeong, Chan Goo's son (Ep.2-4)
- Jung Suk Yong as Oh Gyeong Tae, Eun Ji's father (Ep.5-7)
- Park Shi Eun as Oh Eun Ji, Gyeong Tae's daughter (Ep.5-7)
- Yoo Ha Bok as Shin Dong Hoon, Yeo Jin's father (Ep.5-7)
- Choi Woo Ri as Shin Yeo Jin, a bridge collapse survivor (Ep. 5-7)
- Kang Ji Won as Teenage Shin Yeo Jin
- Lee Dong Ha as Lawyer Han Se Gyu, a witness of the bridge incident (Ep.6-8)
- Lee Na Ra as Shin Da Hye, a holder of the stolen necklace (Ep.7-8)
- Kim Hyun Sung as Kim Min Jung, Shin Da Hye's fiance (Ep.7-8)
- Lee Sang Yeob as Kim Jin Woo, a serial killer (Ep.9-11)
- Kim Yoon Hee as Yoon Sang Mi, Hongyuan-dong incident's first victim (Ep.9-11)
- Seo Eun Ah as Yoo Seung Yeon, a girl who liked Jin Woo (Ep. 9-11)
- Jeon Soo Ji as Kang Hye Seung (Ep.11-16)
- Shin Yi Joon as Young Kang Hye Seung (Ep.11-16)
- Seo Ji Hoon as Jang Tae Jin, a rape case perpetrator (Ep.11-16)
- Kim Woo Seok as Lee Dong Jin, a rape case perpetrator (Ep.11-16)
- Hwang Tae Kwang as Kim Jung Je
- Joo Myung Chul as Kim Seong Beom, a loan shark
- Shin Moon Sung as a detective
- Yang Dae Hyuk as Hong Won Seo, a detective
- Kim Jung Young as Kim Won Kyeong's aunt
- Yang Eun Yong as Sin Jeong Hye
- Jung Jong Woo as a detective from the Investigation Team
- Hyeon Jik as Go Jin Woo
- Jang Nam Boo as police squad detective Kang
- Jin Woo Jin as Jang Gi Joo
- Im Jae Geun as Oh Yoon So's assistant
Soundtrack[]
Main Article: Signal OST
Episodes[]
In this table, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
| Episode | Aired | Average audience share | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGB Nielsen | TNmS | |||
| National rating in % | Seoul rating in % | National rating in % | ||
| Episode 01 | January 22, 2016 | 5.415 | 5.960 | 6.4 |
| Episode 02 | January 23, 2016 | 6.926 | 7.343 | 6.1 |
| Episode 03 | January 29, 2016 | 8.239 | 8.910 | 8.5 |
| Episode 04 | January 30, 2016 | 7.666 | 8.601 | 7.5 |
| Episode 05 | February 5, 2016 | 7.789 | 7.568 | 7.6 |
| Episode 06 | February 6, 2016 | 7.077 | 6.710 | 7.3 |
| Episode 07 | February 12, 2016 | 8.612 | 8.454 | 9.0 |
| Episode 08 | February 13, 2016 | 7.784 | 7.913 | 8.6 |
| Episode 09 | February 19, 2016 | 7.803 | 7.672 | 8.4 |
| Episode 10 | February 20, 2016 | 9.195 | 8.945 | 8.7 |
| Episode 11 | February 26, 2016 | 10.456 | 11.915 | 8.8 |
| Episode 12 | February 27, 2016 | 10.065 | 10.865 | 9.2 |
| Episode 13 | March 4, 2016 | 9.667 | 8.918 | 9.7 |
| Episode 14 | March 5, 2016 | 11.120 | 12.155 | 10.6 |
| Episode 15 | March 11, 2016 | 10.772 | 12.145 | 9.8 |
| Episode 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).
International broadcast[]
- Philippines: Cine Mo! - July 2 - September 3, 2017; Asianovela Channel - February 4, 2019 - present
- Streaming on Netflix (India) as of October 2019
- Streaming on Netflix (US) as of October 2019
Reception[]
Upon its premiere, the series attracted attention for weaving actual cases into its plot and attained high ratings. With its finale rating of 12.54%, it is one of the highest rated Korean dramas in cable television history. It received praise for its solid acting, tightly-constructed plot and detailed and sophisticated direction; and enjoyed success internationally in China and Japan.
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.
Awards and nominations[]
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| Best Actor | Nominated | |||
| Lee Je Hoon | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress | Kim Hye Soo | Won | ||
| 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 |
Related Drama[]
- Japan: Signal: Choki Mikaiketsu Jiken Sosahan (remake), Signal: Choki Mikaiketsu Jiken Sosahan Chain Story (side story), Signal: The Movie (movie remake)
- China: Unknown Number (remake)
Trivia[]
- This drama took over the timeslot previously occupied by "Reply 1988" and was followed by "Memory" on March 18, 2016.[2]
- The criminal case depicted in the drama series is inspired by a true incident that occurred in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea over the course of six years (1986 - 1991). 10 women were raped and murdered within a 2km radius ranging from a 71-year-old grandmother to a 13-year-old schoolgirl.[2]
Gallery[]
