Tunnel (TV series)

Tunnel
Promotional poster
Genre	Thriller Crime
Created by	Studio Dragon Choi Jin-hee
Written by	Lee Eun-mi
Directed by	Shin Yong-hwi
Starring	Choi Jin-hyuk Yoon Hyun-min Lee Yoo-young
Opening theme	"The Leopard of Mt. Kilimanjaro" (킬리만자로의 표범) – Cho Yong-pil
Composer	Kim Joon-seok
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producers	Choi Kyung-sook Kim Jin-yi
Producers	Kim Sung-min Park Ji-young
Cinematography	Choi Sung-ho Yoo Hyuk-joon
Editor	Yoo Sung-yeop
Running time	65 minutes
Production company	The Unicorn
Original release
Network	OCN
Release	March 25 (2017-03-25) – May 21, 2017 (2017-05-21)

Tunnel (Korean: 터널; RR: Teoneol) is a 2017 South Korean television series starring Choi Jin-hyuk, Yoon Hyun-min and Lee Yoo-young.^[1][2] It replaced Voice and aired on cable network OCN on Saturdays and Sundays at 22:00 (KST) from March 25 to May 21, 2017 for 16 episodes.^[3] The series was inspired by the Hwaseong serial murders.^[4]

The series was a hit in China.^[5] It received a Thai remake in 2019,^[6] and an Indonesian remake was announced in 2020.^[7]

In 1986, Park Gwang-ho works as a successful detective in an enthusiastic manner. However, his life changes when he takes the lead in a serial homicide case and passes through a tunnel while chasing the "culprit". He time travels 30 years into the future (2016), where he meets a new partner, Kim Seon-jae, an eccentric elite detective that has a high ability in investigation. When the serial killer continues the "modus operandi" of his murders that happened 30 years ago, the detective duo work together with criminal psychologist, Professor Shin Jae-yi, to solve the unsolved murders and to catch the murderer.

• Choi Jin-hyuk as Park Gwang-ho^[8][9][10]

Hwayang police station's criminal sergeant detective who mysteriously disappears in 1986 and appears in 2016.

• Yoon Hyun-min as Kim Seon-jae^[11][12]
  • Kim Seul-woo as child Seon-jae (Ep. 16)

Hwayang police station's elite criminal lieutenant detective in 2016.

• Lee Yoo-young as Shin Jae-yi^[8][13][14]
  • Kim Se-hee as Park Yeon-ho (Jae-yi's name in the childhood)
  • Lee Da-kyung as teenage Jae-yi

Park Gwang-ho and Shin Yeon-sook's only daughter. University professor and criminal psychological counselor in 2016.

• Jo Hee-bong as Jeon Sung-sik^[15][16]
  • Kim Dong-young as young Jeon Sung-sik^[17]

Hwayang police station's criminal team 1 leader in 2016, previously a criminal corporal detective and the youngest of his team in 1986.

• Kim Byung-chul as criminal detective Kwak Tae-hee^[15][16]
• Kang Ki-young as criminal detective Song Min-ha^[18][19][16]

• Lee Si-a as Shin Yeon-sook^[20][21][16]

Park Gwang-ho's wife in 1986. She died in a car accident in 1991.

• Kim Min-sang [ko] as Mok Jin-woo^[16]
  • Choi Seung-hoon as child Jin-woo
  • No Tae-yeop [ko] as teenage Jin-woo (Ep. 12)

Hwayang University's Faculty of Medicine forensic doctor in 2016. He is the real culprit of the mysterious 1986 Hwayang serial killings.

• Yang Joo-ho [ko] as reporter Oh / Oh Ji-hoon^[22][15][16]

Reporter Oh who often searched for information at Hwayang police station in 1986; now a taxi driver in 2016 who wants to become a police officer named Oh Ji-hoon.

• Cha Hak-yeon as Park Gwang-ho^[23][16]

Criminal corporal police in 2016 with three years of experience, also named Park Gwang-ho but born in 1988. The youngest of team 1, but has been missing since the first day of transferring work, and gets entangled in an unexplained pursuit leading to his death.

• Nam Moon-cheol [ko] as leader Oh^[24][25]

Hwayang police station's criminal department leader in 1986.

• Moon Sook as Hong Hye-won

Psychologist and the president of Hwayang University in 2016.

• Yoo Ji-soo as Lee Nan-young, Kim Seon-jae's stepmother (Ep. 5, 7, 8)

• Heo Sung-tae as Jung Ho-young^[26][27]
  • Ham Sung-min as young Jung Ho-young
• N/A as Lee Jeong-sook

First victim, her corpse was discovered in a field.

• N/A as Kim Kyung-soon

High school student and the second victim, her corpse was discovered at Haein riverside.

• Han Yeo-wool [ko] as Hwang Choon-hee

Rose cafe's staff and the third victim. Her corpse was discovered at the reeds area near Sungyoo mountain.

• Seok Bo-bae as Seo Yi-soo

Kim Wan's wife and Kim Seon-jae's mother. She was the fourth victim who was killed on her way back home, on the bare ground near the military base.

• Kim Jeong-hak [ko] as Kim Wan

Seo Yi-soo's husband and Kim Seon-jae's father. He was a military officer in 1986.

• Kim Hye-yoon as young Kim Young-ja

The fifth victim but still alive at this time, changed her name to Kim Jeong-hye.

• N/A as Jin Seon-mi

The sixth victim who was killed in a tunnel, which is the beginning of Park Gwang-ho's disappearance after he meets the perpetrator again.

• Park Myung-shin [ko] as Lee Seon-ok
  • Shin Na-ae as Lee Seon-ok in 1986

Victim. Mental patient in 2016, previously a murder suspect in 1986 and captured in 1990 after three murders.

• Jo Shi-nae as Kim Jeong-hye

Victim of this case, previously named Kim Young-ja. (see the case above)

• Song Young-jae [ko] as Kim Tae-soo

Murder perpetrator. He had feelings for the victim, but it wasn't reciprocated because of his fake hand.

• Ryoo Tae-ho [ko] as Jang Young-cheol, victim's ex-husband
• Kim Choo-wol [ko] as hostess of Ho motel, where the victim had been staying.
• Choi Min-geum [ko] as Jang Young-cheol, motel owner
• Sung Hyun-mi as the owner of a restaurant where the victim often came to eat alone.

• Choi Won-hong as Yoon Dong-woo
• Choi Myung-bin as Yoon Soo-jeong, Dong-woo's younger sister
• Jeon Jae-hyung [ko] as Noh Young-jin

SAFE security company's former employee who was fired for theft, one of the robbers of the local houses protected by SAFE who was arrested at the scene, and who stabbed Dong-woo with the first knife.

• Jung Soon-won as Young-jin's co-robber, who was also arrested at the scene and who stabbed Dong-woo with a second knife.

• Jeon Jin-gi [ko] as Kim In-hwan (58-year-old)

Teacher and the perpetrator. His son, Kim Ji-hoon, was killed by Choi Hong-seok in the military enlistment.

• Hong Boo-hyang as Ji-hoon's mother
• Woo Hyun as Go Man-seok, 48-year-old rest stop owner
• Im Kang-sung as Ma Young-gil, 30-year-old professional baseball player
• Jin Yong-wook [ko] as Lee Dae-hwan, 27-year-old former prisoner and tow truck driver
• Lee Dong-jin [ko] as Hwang Do-kyung, 27-year-old and Ministry of Strategy and Finance's IT Officer's secretary

• Seo Eun-ah as Kim Mi-soo, perpetrator
• Jung Han-bi [ko] as Yoon Young-joo, victim
• Kim Min-kyung [ko] as victim Go Ah-ra's mother
• Yoo Jang-young [ko] as Mi-soo's ex-boyfriend

• Ahn Yong-joon as Kim Hee-joon, perpetrator
• Yoon Mi-hyang as Seon-Hwa, dressmaking shop's owner
• Park So-jeong [ko] as Sook-jin, shop owner opposite Seon-Hwa's shop, and Hee-joon's mother

• Lee Yong-nyeo [ko] as Yoo Ok-hee, Jung Ho-young's old mother (Ep. 9)

• Jung Seok-yong [ko] as Kim Jong-doo, forensic doctor of Hwayang Public Health Center in 1986 (Ep. 1)
• Oh Yoon-hong as Madam Jung, owner of Rose café located in front of the police station in 1986 (Ep. 1)
• Kwak In-joon [ko] as Hwayang police station chief in 1986 (Ep. 1)
• Jung Yi-rang [ko] as Lee Geum-soon (Ep. 3)
• Na Jae-geun [ko] as priest in the church when Jung Ho-young comes to confess after killing the seventh woman in 2016 (Ep. 4)
• Choi Il-hwa as Yoo Sung-jae, a pharmacist who loved Yeon-sook after Gwang-ho was believed to be dead in 1986 (Ep. 8)
• Park Jeong-hak [ko] as senior police officer (Ep. 9)
• Song Jae-ryong [ko] as Kim Kyung-tae (Ep. 12)
• Kim Ji-sung as Hwayang police station's criminal team 2's leader (Ep. 15)
• Seo Yoon-ah [ko] as Park Kwang-ho (born 1988)'s mother (Ep. 16)

In this table, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share
		AGB Nielsen[30]		TNmS
		Nationwide	Seoul	Nationwide
1	March 25, 2017	2.760%	2.900%	2.9%
2	March 26, 2017	3.131%	3.268%	3.2%
3	April 1, 2017	4.228%	4.689%	4.1%
4	April 2, 2017	3.555%	3.293%	4.3%
5	April 8, 2017	3.522%	3.733%	3.6%
6	April 9, 2017	4.042%	3.922%	3.3%
7	April 15, 2017	3.863%	3.951%	4.1%
8	April 16, 2017	5.179%	5.100%	4.9%
9	April 22, 2017	4.700%	4.942%	4.3%
10	April 23, 2017	5.413%[31]	5.536%	5.4%
11	April 29, 2017	4.921%	4.967%	4.4%
12	April 30, 2017	5.375%	5.480%	5.1%
13	May 13, 2017	5.491%	5.779%	4.9%
14	May 14, 2017	6.263%[32]	6.901%	4.9%
15	May 20, 2017	5.843%	6.510%	5.4%
16	May 21, 2017	6.490%	7.057%	6.0%
Average		4.674%	4.877%	4.4%

• 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).
• Due to South Korean presidential election on May 9, 2017, the episodes 13 and 14 were canceled to air on May 6 and 7.^[33] Those episodes were broadcast on May 13 and 14.^[34]

The series remade into Thai language with the same title in 2019

An Indonesian adaptation starring Donny Alamsyah and Hana Malasan, and directed by Ifa Isfansyah as one of the three directors assigned to direct different episodes. Tanya Yuson and Shanty Harmayn served as the showrunners, while Fourcolors Films produced the show.^[35]

• Official website (in Korean)
• Tunnel at IMDb
• Tunnel at HanCinema