The Chaser (TV series)

The Chaser
Promotional poster
Hangul	추적자
Genre	Action Thriller Procedural
Created by	SBS TV
Written by	Park Kyung-soo
Directed by	Jo Nam-kook Jin Hyuk Jo Young-kwang
Creative director	Lee Jung-heum
Starring	Son Hyun-joo Kim Sang-joong
Composer	Park Se-joon
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	16 + 2 specials
Production
Executive producer	Lee Hyun-jin
Producers	Kyung Min-Suk Lee Sung-hoon Park Sun-jae
Cinematography	Kim Dae-kwon Jung Ki-Hyun
Editor	Bang Soo-yun
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	60 min
Production companies	The Chaser SPC Kim Jong-hak Production
Original release
Network	SBS TV
Release	28 May (2012-05-28) – 15 July 2012 (2012-07-15)

Korean name
Hangul	추적자
Hanja	追跡者
Revised Romanization	Chujeokja
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'ujŏkcha

The Chaser (Korean: 추적자; RR: Chujeokja) is a 2012 South Korean television drama series about a grieving father out for revenge against corrupt officials.^[1]

Despite no hype or big stars, the thriller gave a strong performance in the ratings, ending its run at 22.1% (number one in its timeslot). Its rise in popularity was based on the tightly written and well-structured storyline, solid direction, and cast members' acting skills.^[2][3]

Plot

The series tells the story of Detective Baek Hong-suk, a happily married family man whose life is shattered when his 15-year-old daughter is killed in a car accident, causing his wife to go into a state of shock, eventually killing herself and leaving Hong-suk a widower. He later discovers his daughter's death was the result of a conspiracy led by politician Kang Dong-yoon, to secure his political future as a presidential candidate. Hong-suk goes from loving, doting father and cop to harrowed man hellbent on revenge, as Kang continues to rise in power. With the help of Kang's sister-in-law, a reporter, Hong-suk takes revenge against the man who ruined his life.

Cast

Main

• Son Hyun-joo as Detective Baek Hong-suk
• Kim Sang-joong as Presidential candidate Kang Dong-yoon

Supporting

• Go Joon-hee as Reporter Seo Ji-won
• Kim Sung-ryung as Seo Ji-soo
• Ryu Seung-soo as Choi Jung-woo
• Park Hyo-joo as Detective Jo
• Kang Shin-il as Squad Chief Detective Hwang
• Lee Yong-woo as PK Joon
• Jang Shin-young as Shin Hye-ra
• Lee Hye-in as Baek Soo-jung (Hong-suk's and Mi-yeon's daughter)
• Kim Do-yeon as Song Mi-yeon
• Jo Jae-yoon as Park Yong-sik
• Choi Joon-young as Yoon Chang-min
• Lee Re as Yoon Chang-min's daughter
• Park Geun-hyung as Company president Seo
• Jeon No-min as Seo Young-wook
• Nam Da-reum as Kang Min-sung
• Jeon Gook-hwan as Jang Byung-ho
• Song Jae-ho as Yoo Tae-jin
• Ryohei Otani as Bae Sang-moo
• Kim Min-ha as Hyo-jin

Special appearance

• Lee Jung-gil as Jo Dong-soo
• Jung Soo-in as Choi's secretary
• Jo Young-jin as Kim Chang-jae

Original soundtracks

The Chaser OST Album
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	10 July 2012
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	23:01
Language	Korean
Label	Sony Music (소니뮤직)

The Chaser OST

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Saying "I Love You" (Acoustic Ver.)" (사랑한다는 이 말 (Acoustic Ver.))	The One	4:30
2.	"Lily" (나리꽃)	Lee Hye-in	5:40
3.	"A Dream (Drama Ver.)" (꿈 (Drama Ver.))	The One	3:46
4.	"Good Person" (좋은 사람)	Ivy	4:15
5.	"Saying "I Love You"" (사랑한다는 이 말)	The One	4:31
6.	"Callus" (굳은살)	Kim Bum-soo	4:08
7.	"A Dream" (꿈)	The One	3:30
8.	"The Chaser (Opening Title)"	Various Artists	1:58
9.	"Father's Original Story" (아버지 (Original Story))	Various Artists	3:11
10.	"Black Box"	Various Artists	2:17
11.	"The Truth is Far Away" (진실은 멀어진다)	Various Artists	2:03
12.	"Lily Guitar Story" (나리꽃 Guitar Story)	Various Artists	1:54
13.	"Wait for Kang Dong-yoon" (기다려라 강동윤)	Various Artists	3:33
14.	"Devil's Tears (Father's Sad Trumpet Story)" (악마의 눈물 (아버지 Sad Trumpet Story))	Various Artists	2:15
15.	"I Run" (나는 달린다)	Various Artists	1:46
16.	"Jin-soo (Father's Guitar Story)" (지수야 (아버지 Guitar Story))	Various Artists	1:42
17.	"I'm Sorry" (미안합니다)	Various Artists	3:32
18.	"Counterstrike"	Various Artists	1:42
19.	"Hong Seok-Yi's Dream" (홍석이의 꿈)	Various Artists	2:54
20.	"In Front of a Corpse" (주검앞에서)	Various Artists	3:00
21.	"The Beginning of Revenge" (복수의 시작)	Various Artists	1:37
22.	"The Dreams of the Poor" (가난한 자들의 꿈)	Various Artists	2:22
23.	"A Lonely Fight" (외로운 싸움)	Various Artists	1:47
24.	"The Chairman (Father's Waltz Story)" (The Chairman (아버지 Waltz Story))	Various Artists	3:08
Total length:			23:01

The Chaser OST Special
Soundtrack album by Heo Gong (허공)
Released	17 July 2012
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	7:04
Language	Korean
Label	Sony Music (소니뮤직)

The Chaser OST Special

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"How Can I Forget You?" (어찌 너를 잊어요)	Heo Gong (허공)	3:32
2.	"How Can I Forget You? (Inst.)" (어찌 너를 잊어요 (Inst.))		3:32
Total length:			07:04

Ratings

• In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
• NR denotes that the drama did not rank in the top 20 daily programs on that date.

Episode #	Original broadcast date	Average audience share
		TNmS Ratings[4]		AGB Nielsen[5]
		Nationwide	Seoul National Capital Area	Nationwide	Seoul National Capital Area
1	28 May 2012	10.0%	12.6%	9.3% (13th)	10.3% (8th)
2	29 May 2012	10.9%	13.5%	9.9% (9th)	11.0% (6th)
3	4 June 2012	11.6%	14.7%	9.2% (16th)	9.7% (11th)
4	5 June 2012	11.5%	14.1%	9.8% (9th)	10.3% (9th)
5	11 June 2012	13.2%	16.5%	10.6% (7th)	10.7% (7th)
6	12 June 2012	12.5%	15.1%	11.1% (5th)	11.9% (4th)
7	18 June 2012	13.2%	14.5%	11.5% (5th)	12.4% (4th)
8	19 June 2012	13.2%	14.1%	13.3% (4th)	14.2% (4th)
9	25 June 2012	13.6%	16.3%	12.4% (4th)	13.1% (4th)
10	26 June 2012	13.8%	15.8%	13.2% (4th)	14.2% (4th)
11	2 July 2012	14.0%	15.9%	13.1% (4th)	13.9% (4th)
12	3 July 2012	15.3%	16.2%	13.5% (4th)	14.3% (4th)
13	9 July 2012	20.0%	22.4%	17.9% (3rd)	19.7% (3rd)
14	10 July 2012	23.1%	26.7%	20.7% (3rd)	22.3% (2nd)
15	16 July 2012	22.1%	26.6%	20.4% (3rd)	21.5% (1st)
16	17 July 2012	25.1%	28.3%	22.6% (2nd)	23.8% (1st)
Average		15.2%	17.7%	13.7%	14.6%

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2012	5th Korea Drama Awards	Best Drama	The Chaser	Nominated
		Top Excellence Award, Actor	Son Hyun-joo	Nominated
			Kim Sang-joong	Won
		Excellence Award, Actress	Jang Shin-young	Nominated
	1st K-Drama Star Awards[6]	Grand Prize (Daesang)	Son Hyun-joo	Won
		Top Excellence Award, Actor	Kim Sang-joong	Nominated
	25th Grimae Awards	Excellence Award in Visuals	Jung Ki-hyun, Kim Dae-kwon	Won
	20th Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards	Popularity Award, Drama category	Go Joon-hee	Won
	SBS Drama Awards	Grand Prize (Daesang)	Son Hyun-joo	Won
		Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Son Hyun-joo	Nominated
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Kim Sang-joong	Won
		Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries	Kim Sung-ryung	Won
		Special Acting Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Ryu Seung-soo	Nominated
			Jo Jae-yoon	Nominated
		Special Acting Award, Actress in a Miniseries	Jang Shin-young	Won
			Kim Do-yeon	Nominated
		Producers' Award	Park Geun-hyung	Won
		Top 10 Stars	Son Hyun-joo	Won
		New Star Award	Park Hyo-joo	Won
			Go Joon-hee	Won
	24th Korean PD Awards	Best Drama	The Chaser	Won
2013	49th Baeksang Arts Awards[7][8]	Best Drama	The Chaser	Won
		Best Actor (TV)	Son Hyun-joo	Won
		Best Director (TV)	Jo Nam-kook	Nominated
		Best Screenplay (TV)	Park Kyung-soo	Won
	40th Korea Broadcasting Awards	Best Mid-length Drama	The Chaser	Won
		Best Actor	Son Hyun-joo	Won
		Best Screenwriter	Park Kyung-soo	Won
	7th Seoul International Drama Awards[9]	Silver Bird Prize (Runner-up, Best Series Drama)	The Chaser	Won

International broadcast

It aired in Japan on cable channel KNTV from 20 September – 8 November 2013,^[10] and was re-aired on cable channel BS-Fuji.^[11]

It aired in Thailand on Workpoint TV in midyear 2015.^[12]

References

1. Kim, Hyo-eun (20 June 2012). "Searching for the killer takes its toll off the set". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
2. Lee, In-kyung (16 June 2012). "Top Two Male Dramas Take Over TV". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
3. Hong, Lucia (18 July 2012). "THE CHASER ends Mon-Tues primetime race at No. 1". 10Asia. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
4. "TNMS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNMS Ratings (in Korean). Retrieved 28 May 2012.
5. "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Retrieved 28 May 2012.
6. "'K드라마어워즈' 대상 손현주 "박근형 선생님께 이 상 보여드릴 것"". TV Report (in Korean). 8 December 2012. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
7. Hicap, Jonathan M. (5 April 2013). "49th Baeksang Arts Awards nominees revealed". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
8. Yim, Seung-hye (10 May 2013). "Ryu Seung-ryong gets top Paeksang Award". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
9. Lee, Hye-ji (6 September 2013). "Israeli Series Prisoners of War 2 Grabs Top Prize at Seoul Drama Awards". 10Asia. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
10. "Ｋｎｔｖ ドラマ 追跡者(チェイサー)". Archived from the original on 22 July 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
11. "＜韓国ドラマ＞『追跡者〔チェイサー〕』 - オフィシャルサイト - Bsフジ".
12. "เรื่องย่อละคร The Chaser โหด/ดิบ/ไล่ล่า". truelife (in Thai). 13 September 2015.

External links

• The Chaser official SBS website (in Korean)
• The Chaser at HanCinema
• The Chaser at IMDb