Hae-Young (Lee Je-Hoon) works as a criminal profiler and is also a police lieutenant. Even though he is a cop, he doesn't trust cops due to his own past experience. Back in 2000, when Hae-Young was in elementary school, his classmate Yoon-Jung was kidnapped and later found dead. Hae-Young saw a woman taking Yoon-Jung from school that day, but the police announced that the suspect was a man. Hae-Young even went to the police station and told the police officers that he saw the kidnapper and she was a woman. The police officers though didn't pay attention to him. The killer was never caught and her case remains unsolved to this day.
Hae-Young meets a reporter at a cafe to reveal bombshells about a celebrity scandal. Meanwhile, veteran detective Soo-Hyun (Kim Hye-Soo) is at the cafe staking out the meeting, unaware that Hae-Young is a cop. She arrests Hae-Young for stalking celebrities. While leaving the police station (the same police station he went to as a kid), Hae-Young hears someone talking to him. He looks around to find a walkie-talkie. The man who is talking to Hae-Young is Detective Jae-Han (Cho Jin-Woong). The detective though is from the year 2000 and he is investigating the disappearance of Hae-Young's elementary school classmate. Hae-Young and Detective Jae-Han begin to communicate via the walkie-talkie.
This is such an excellent show, that I would highly recommend anyone who is into murder, mystery and thrillers to watch it. No wonder, it becomes one of the highest rated dramas in Korean cable television history with a peak audience share of 12.54%. It received praises for its solid acting, tightly-constructed plot and detailed and sophisticated direction.
Loved the show and especially Cho Jin-woong who put in a solid performance as the male lead, losing the lady he loved and also his own life, just because of his pursuit for justice. The emotions he portrayed in his role, had me tearing as I can feel his pain and his loss. To be honest, I didn't know who he was, before the show " Signal" but now I can see, why he is known as one of Korea's best actors, because he truly deliver an exceptional and flawless performance. You just have to watch the show, to get what I meant.
Cho Jin Woong,as a male detective, is so different from the "genius" male leads that we are so used to - he is simple, pure, idealistic, persistent, relentless and vulnerable, that you can't help screaming "don't do it!" at the TV screen at times, or quietly praying that nothing will happen or secretly rooting for him, in your heart for the things he did and did not do. There is a surge of emotions for him, as the one and only uncorrupted detective in the whole police force, where he is faced with different obstacles along the way to unraving the deadly plot.
The plot is complex, yet kept one rooted at the edge of your seat with every episode. Most of the cases are based on real crimes - one of it, being the famous Hwaseong Serial Murders which remained unsolved till today. Several films and television shows are based on these murders, such as Signal and Tunnel. As much as I enjoyed watching Tunnel, I would still recommend one to watch Signal if you can only watch one show. Signal would always be a winner in my heart. It is really that good.
You can purchase the video here, the books here, the audio OST here and the DVD set here. I would love to hear if you like the show!
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