June 10, 2017 (2017-06-10) – October 4, 2020 (2020-10-04)
Stranger (Korean: 비밀의 숲) is a South Korean crime thriller drama television series. Produced by Signal Entertainment and IOK Media, it was created by Studio Dragon writer Lee Soo-yeon and broadcast on tvN from June 10, 2017. The series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on August 15, 2020.
The series was a hit with both domestic and international viewers,[1] and received favorable reviews for its tight plot, gripping sequences and strong performances.[2][3] It was featured on New York Times list of Best TV Shows of 2017,[4] and won several awards including the Grand Prize for television at the Baeksang Arts Awards.[5]
Synopsis
In the first season, Hwang Si-mok (Cho Seung-woo) is an exemplary prosecutor who suffers from hypersensitivity to certain sound frequencies. After undergoing corrective surgery, he lost his sense of empathy and lacks social skills. While investigating a murder, he meets Police Lieutenant Han Yeo-jin (Bae Doona), who assists his efforts to solve the case. As they begin to unravel the mystery behind the murder, they find that their efforts are continually being obstructed by participants in a major corruption conspiracy between the Prosecutors' Office and a private chaebol (conglomerate).
In the second season, set two years later, a dispute arises between the Prosecutors' Office and the National Police Agency, with the former wanting control over all investigative proceedings while the latter seeks autonomous authority to conduct investigations. In the midst of their respective agencies' conflict, Hwang Si-mok and Han Yeo-jin team up to conduct their own independent investigation of a concealed case.[6]
The entire series was written by Lee Soo-yeon who was inspired by the Korean adage "We cannot rule those who want nothing" to create the character of Si-mok.[7] Ahn Gil-ho directed the majority of the first season with the assistance of Yoo Je-won, while Park Hyun-seok took over the filming duties for the second season.[8] Unlike usual South Korean dramas, the series was developed as a potential multi-seasonal program, with most of the filming have already been pre-produced prior to its broadcast.[9][10]
Casting
In January 2017, Cho Seung-woo and Bae Doona were offered the lead roles. The same month Shin Hye-sun was added to the cast.[11] It was the first television drama Cho Seung-woo had accepted since God's Gift - 14 Days in 2014, after venturing into musical theatre for seven years.[12] For the second season, cast members Cho Seung-woo, Bae Doona, Lee Joon-hyuk and Yoon Se-ah, were all confirmed to reprise their roles. Jeon Hye-jin and Choi Moo-sung were also confirmed to join the lead cast in January 2020.[6]
Filming
Filming of the first season began in April 2017, preceded by the first script reading with the cast at the CJ E&M Center in Seoul.[12] Script reading for the second season took place in January 2020.[6]
An accompanying soundtrack compilation to Stranger was released by Mog Communications and Kakao M on September 13, 2017, in South Korea.[13] It was later reissued by Universal Music Group in overseas markets on May 11, 2018.[14] A three-disc album, the latter two discs features music composed by Kim Jun-seok and Jung Se-rin for the program.[15][16] Ten songs were released from the soundtrack as singles in numbered parts from June to July 2017: "끝도없이 (Ad Infinitum)" by Richard Parkers, "먼지 (Dust)" Everlua, "소나기 (Downpour)" by Oohyo, "괴물처럼 (Monster Like)" by Tei, "웃어요 (Smile)" by Han Hee Jung & Sorae, the titular track "비밀의 숲 (Stranger)" by Yoon Do-hyun, "사랑할 것 처럼 (As if to Love)" by Kim Kookheon of Myteen, "물결 (A Billow)" by Yein of Lovelyz, "굿바이 잘가요 (Goodbye)"/"Back in Time" by Peter Han, and "묻는다 (Ask)" by Jung Won-bo of NeighBro & Jun Sang-geun.[17] Of these, the songs "소나기 (Downpour)" and "사랑할 것 처럼 (As if to Love)" have managed to enter the South Korean Gaon BGM Music Chart at numbers 80 and 79, respectively.[18][19]
The pilot episode of Stranger aired on June 10, 2017, on tvN, replacing Chicago Typewriter. Netflix secured the worldwide streaming rights for the series for US$200,000 per episode, except in Korea and China, and released them in simultaneous broadcast with tvN as a Netflix original program. The Korea Times reported that Bae Doona, who had previously appeared in the Netflix original series Sense8, proved to be crucial in the purchase of the drama.[20] tvN affiliate tvN Asia also aired the program in selected Asian markets beginning on June 16, 2018.[21] A second season was commissioned by tvN, set to be released with Netflix on the same day.[22] It premiered on August 15, 2020, replacing It's Okay to Not Be Okay.[10][23]
Reception
Critical response
In an article by columnist Dena Daw for Screen Rant, Stranger was described as a "domestic and international success".[24] Though ratings-wise, the program was not a "smash hit", pundits and audiences praised it as a "league of its own".[7] Korean culture critic Ha Jae-geun described the character as a "fantasy that was borne out of a time of distrust".[7] In her review for The Korea Times, columnist Park Jin-hai commended the writing as "finely intertwined", and wrote that audiences gave a strong response to this "drama for thinking people".[7]The New York Times listed the series in tenth place as their The Best TV Shows of 2017.[25]
According to data published by Nielsen Korea, the pilot episode of the series was seen by 3.041% of total nationwide viewers, in metropolitan Seoul, it earned 3.2% rating, which made it the highest-rated program of the day among non-terrestrial channel programs.[29] The program achieved its highest rating on the first-season finale, earning 6.568% nationwide rating and a 7.622% rating within Seoul-based viewers.[30] On average, it was seen by 4.562% of total viewership.[31] On the TNmS rating system, the series premiered with a 3.2% rating and ended its first season with a 7.1% rating.[32] The last episode recorded noticeably a strong rating performances as it took the lead rating for the first time against hit variety show Hyori's Homestay that aired in same time slot and became the highest rated program of the day among non-terrestrial channel programs.[33][34]
Stranger : South Korea viewers per episode (millions)
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
^ abc"조승우X배두나 '비밀의 숲2' 대본연습 현장 최초 공개… 오는 8월 첫방" [Cho Seung-Woo x Bae Do-na and 'Secret Forest 2' script release for the first time, to be aired in August] (in Korean). South Korea: Naver. June 5, 2020. Archived from the original on July 12, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
^"'내그대' 유제원 감독, '비밀의 숲' B팀 투입" [[Exclusive] Director Yu Je-won, Team B of 'Secret Forest'] (in Korean). South Korea: Daum. April 13, 2017. Archived from the original on June 1, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
^"'명당' 조승우 "'비밀의 숲' 시즌 5까지 했으면... 흰머리 날때까지"" ['Feng Shui' actor Cho Seung-woo: "I want to do 'Secret Forest' until Season 5... Until I get gray hair."] (in Korean). South Korea: Naver. September 13, 2018. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
^ ab"'시카고 타자기' 후속 조승우-배두나 주연 '비밀의 숲', 대본리딩 현장 공개" ['Chicago Typewriter'-follow-up Cho Seung-woo/Bae Doo-na-starring 'Secret Forest', revealing script] (in Korean). South Korea: BreakNews Co., Ltd. April 12, 2017. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
^"비밀의 숲 OST" [Secret Forest (Original Soundtrack)] (in Korean). Spotify. 13 September 2017. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
^ ab"비밀의 숲 OST" [Secret Forest (Original Soundtrack)] (in Korean). South Korea: Melon. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
^Citations concerning the release of singles from the Stranger original television soundtrack:
"끝도없이" (Ad Infinitum): "비밀의 숲 (OST Part 1) - Single". Apple Music. June 10, 2017. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
"괴물처럼" (Monster Like): "비밀의 숲 (OST Part 4) - Single". Apple Music. July 1, 2017. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
"비밀의 숲" (Stranger): "비밀의 숲 (OST Part 6) - Single". Apple Music. July 15, 2017. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
"사랑할 것 처럼" (As if to Love): "비밀의 숲 (OST Part 7) - Single". Apple Music. July 18, 2017. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
"굿바이 잘가요" (A Billow): "비밀의 숲 (OST Part 8) - Single". Apple Music. July 18, 2017. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
"Goodbye"/"Back in Time": "비밀의 숲 (OST Part 9) - Single". Apple Music. July 24, 2017. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
^"2017년 25주차 BGM Chart" [Year 2017 - Week 25 - BGM Chart] (in Korean). South Korea: Gaon Music Chart. June 24, 2017. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
^"2017년 29주차 BGM Chart" [Year 2017 - Week 29 - BGM Chart] (in Korean). South Korea: Gaon Music Chart. July 22, 2017. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
^Robinson, Jacob (March 10, 2020). "K-Dramas Coming to Netflix in 2020". Posterity Information Technology Ltd. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
^"2017년 올해의 검색어" [Google Trends 2017: Most-searched terms of the year] (in Korean). South Korea. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
^"효리네 민박', '비밀의 숲' 종영에 기세 꺾여…시청률 반등할까" ['Hyo-Ri's Bed and Breakfast', 'The Forest of Secrets' ended the momentum… Will viewership rebound?]. Biz Enter (in Korean). July 31, 2017. Archived from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
^"[2018 백상예술대상 종합] tvN '비밀의 숲'·영화 '1987' 대상 영예+3·4관왕" [2018 Baeksang Arts Awards Overall tvN 'Secret Forest' · Movie '1987' Grand Prize + 3 · 4 Crown]. Osen (in Korean). May 4, 2018. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
^"제54회 백상예술대상, TV·영화 각 부문별 수상 후보자 공개" [The 54th Baeksang Arts Awards, winners of each category of TV and film]. JTBC (in Korean). April 6, 2018. Archived from the original on August 11, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
^[54회 백상] 조승우·김남주의 '독한 변신', 男女최우수 값진 결과물 얻다 [[54th Baeksang] Cho Seung-Woo and Kim Nam-Ju's 'Strong Transformation', Men's Women's Best Value] (in Korean). Naver. May 4, 2018. Archived from the original on May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
