| Native Name: |
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| Director: | Kim Won-seok | ||||
| Country: | South Korea | ||||
| Language: | Korean | ||||
| Num Seasons: | 1 | ||||
| Num Episodes: | 16 | ||||
| List Episodes: | Signal (South Korean TV series)#Episodes | ||||
| Editor: | Kim Na-young | ||||
| Camera: | Single camera | ||||
| Runtime: | 64–88 minutes | ||||
| Network: | tvN |
Signal is a South Korean television series written by Kim Eun-hee, directed by Kim Won-seok, and starring Lee Je-hoon, Kim Hye-soo, and Cho Jin-woong. Based on the 2000 film Frequency in premise and inspired by real-life criminal incidents in Korea,[1] including the Hwaseong serial murders.[2] [3] The first season aired on tvN from January 22 to March 12, 2016, every Friday and Saturday at 20:30 (KST).[4] [5] [6] In March 2024, a second season was confirmed in production.[7]
The series received widespread acclaim from audiences and critics alike for its story and performances. It is also one of the highest-rated Korean dramas in cable television history with a peak audience viewership of 12.544%.
In present-day 2015, criminal profiler Park Hae-young (Lee Je-hoon) finds a mysterious discarded walkie talkie; inexplicably, the person at the other end, Detective Jae-han (Cho Jin-woong), is from the past, and addresses him familiarly, even though Hae-young has never met him. Hae-young is able to solve a 15-year-old kidnapping and murder case involving a former classmate from his childhood with Jae-han's help. The success of this case triggers the formation of a cold case team, led by Detective Cha Soo-hyun (Kim Hye-soo), who has been searching for Jae-han, her long-lost mentor and unrequited love, for the past 15 years.
With Jae-han's help from the 1990s, Hae-young solves other cold cases that have remained unsolved for years and is drawn into the mystery surrounding Jae-han's disappearance in the year 2000. As they try to fix the past and catch the criminals, unintended consequences follow in the present.
The jaded and hotheaded criminal profiler who finds the walkie-talkie by chance, and uses his connection with Jae-han to solve cold cases.
The first female police officer in the Special Task Force, she becomes the leader of the Seoul cold case squad. She has been searching for Jae-han, her mentor and unrequited love, for 15 years, believing him to be dead.
The socially inept but virtuous and quick-tempered detective from the past who establishes a rapport with Park through the walkie-talkie. His timeline during his communication with Park spans from 1989 to 2000.
The corrupt police superintendent.
The section chief and supervisor of the Seoul cold case squad who acts as Bum-joo's lackey but appears morally gray.
A police officer who joins the Seoul cold case squad and often serves as comic relief.
A colonel.
A forensic scientist and member of the Seoul cold case squad, often seen with Detective Kim.
A junior officer that cleans up the Seoul cold case squad's work area and admires them.
Hae-young's older brother who was convicted in the high school gang rape case and died by suicide after being released.
A detective.
| Signal OST | |
| Type: | Soundtrack |
| Artist: | Various Artists |
| Released: | March 15, 2016 |
| Genre: | Pop, K-pop, soundtrack |
| Producer: | CJ E&M |
Upon its premiere, the series attracted attention for weaving actual cases into its plot and attained high ratings.[11] [12] With its finale rating of 12.54%, it is one of the highest rated Korean dramas in cable television history.[13] [14] It received praise for its solid acting, tightly-constructed plot and detailed and sophisticated direction; and enjoyed success internationally in China and Japan.[15] [16] [17]
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.
| Original broadcast date | Title | Average audience share | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGB Nielsen[18] | TNmS[19] | |||||
| Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | ||||
| 1 | January 22, 2016 | You're Doomed | 6.4% | |||
| 2 | January 23, 2016 | We Still Have a Chance | 6.926% | 7.343% | ||
| 3 | January 29, 2016 | We Can Prevent the Killings | 8.239% | 8.910% | 8.5% | |
| 4 | January 30, 2016 | We Found the Killer | 7.666% | 8.601% | 7.5% | |
| 5 | February 5, 2016 | Changing the Past Alters the Present | 7.789% | 7.568% | 7.6% | |
| 6 | February 6, 2016 | Catch Him By All Means | 7.077% | 6.710% | 7.3% | |
| 7 | February 12, 2016 | We Must Dig Deeper | 8.612% | 8.454% | 9.0% | |
| 8 | February 13, 2016 | How Are Yoy Alive? | 7.784% | 7.913% | 8.6% | |
| 9 | February 19, 2016 | Hongwon Dong Case | 7.803% | 7.672% | 8.4% | |
| 10 | February 20, 2016 | Someone Has to Stop the Bad Guys | 9.195% | 8.945% | 8.7% | |
| 11 | February 26, 2016 | The One Last Case | 10.456% | 11.915% | 8.8% | |
| 12 | February 27, 2016 | The Case Was Manipulated | 10.065% | 10.865% | 9.2% | |
| 13 | March 4, 2016 | The Real Assailant | 9.667% | 8.918% | 9.7% | |
| 14 | March 5, 2016 | Not Now, But Maybe in the Past | 11.120% | 12.155% | 10.6% | |
| 15 | March 11, 2016 | Is It Really You? | 10.772% | 12.145% | 9.8% | |
| 16 | March 12, 2016 | If You Don't Give Up | ||||
| Average | ||||||
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Drama | Signal | ||
| Best Director | Kim Won-seok | ||||
| Best Actor | Cho Jin-woong | ||||
| Best Actress | Kim Hye-soo | ||||
| Best Screenplay | Kim Eun-hee | ||||
| 5th APAN Star Awards | Best Screenwriter | ||||
| Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Cho Jin-woong | ||||
| Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Kim Hye-soo | ||||
| 9th Korea Drama Awards | Best Drama | Signal | |||
| Best Production Director | Kim Won-seok | ||||
| Best Screenplay | Kim Eun-hee | ||||
| tvN10 Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang), Actor | Cho Jin-woong | [20] | ||
| Best Actor | |||||
| Lee Je-hoon | |||||
| Best Actress | Kim Hye-soo | ||||
| PD's Choice Award | Lee Je-hoon | ||||
| Scene Stealer Actor | Jang Hyun-sung | ||||
| Best Content Award, Drama | Signal | ||||
| 1st Asia Artist Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang) | Cho Jin-woong | |||
| Kim Hye-soo | |||||
| Best Celebrity Award, Actor | Lee Je-hoon | ||||
| 18th Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best OST | Jang Beom-jun | |||
| Korea Content Awards | Presidential Commendation Award | Kim Eun-hee | |||
| 2017 | Brand of the Year Awards | Drama Writer of the Year |