Wanted

Title: 원티드 | Wontideu Wanted
Genre: Crime | Suspense
Episodes: 16
Broadcast Network: SBS
Broadcast Period: June 22 to August 18, 2016

Synopsis:

Jung Hye-In is a known actress, wife of Song Jung-Ho, who’s a top executive of UCN TV Station, and the mother of Song Hyun-Woo. During a press conference she declared she wanted to retire from show business, however, this didn’t sit well with her calculated husband and another entity in the lurk who kidnapped her son after the wrapped up of the supposed last drama she will be in. She was forced to go back to work doing a real live show that was entitled “Wanted” wherein its goal is to fulfil the instructions of the kidnapper for 10 days in order for her to get back her son. Against her will she needs to do everything in her power to save her son by solving the cases put on her by kidnapper and with the help of the Cha Seung-In, a honest and intense detective, she might be able to do just that especially that everyone around her is suspect to the kidnapping.

Characters:

• Kim Ah-Joong as Jung Hye-In
• Ji Hyun-Woo as Cha Seung-In
• Uhm Tae-Woong as Shin Dong-Wook
• Park Hae-Joon as Song Jeong-Ho
• Lee Moon-Sik as Choi Joon-Goo
• Park Hyo-Joo as Yeon Woo-Shin/li>
• Jun Hyo-Seong as Park Bo-Yeon
• Shin Jae-Ha as Lee Young-Gwan
• Kim Sun-Young as Oh Mi-Ok
• Kim Byeong-Ok as Jung Jung-Ki
• Ji Hyun-Joon as Park Young-Sik
• Jo Ji-Hwan as Yoo Dong-Joon
• Bae Yoo-Ram as Kwon Kyung-Hoon
• Bae Yoo-Ram as Kwon Kyung-Hoon
• Park Ho-San as Ham Tae-Seop
• Park Min-Soo as Song Hyun-Woo
• Shim Eun-Woo as Lee Ji-Eun – BJ
• Jung Wook as Kim Woo-Jin
• Kim Ye-Joon as Kim Han-Sol
• Son Jong-Hak as Ha Dong-Min
• Han Min (ko) as Kim Sang-Mi
• Park Sang-Wook as Jo Nam-cheol
• Choo Gyo-Jin as Im Hyung-Soon
• Ahn Soo-Bin as Kim Yang-Hee
• Seo Hyun-Cheol as Kim Sang-Sik
• Lee Jae-Gyun as Na Soo-Hyun
• Park Sung-Geun as Go Hyung-Joon
• Jin Hyun-Kwang as Moon Sung-Hyuk
• Jang Joon-Ho as Lee Yong-Hwan
• Choi Hong-Il as Lee Tae-Gyun
• Han Ga-Rim as Kim So-Hyun
• Baek Seung-Hyeon as Choi Pil-Gyu
• Lee Jae-Woo as Ham Tae-Young
• Ri Min as Kim Hong-Joon
• Jung Hyun-Seok as Broadcasting PD
• Lee Chang as Talk Show “Kiss and Talk” PD
• Kim Sung-Kyung as Talk Show “Kiss and Talk” MC
• Joo Woo-Jae as Talk Show “Kiss and Talk” cast
• Hwang Young-Hee as Internet Entertainment Show “Star Live” Editor-in-Chief
• Yeo Woon-Bok as Debate Program’s Police Panelist
• Go In-Beom as Cha Seung-In’s Father
• Shin Young-Jin as Forensic Pathologist
• Kang Chan-Yang as Nurse
• Choi Yoo-Ri as Na Young-Hyun
• Oh Hee-Joon as Pierrot
• Kim Min-Sang as Kaepko
• Kang Heon as Convenience Store’s Customer
• Song Young-Gyu
• Kim Jeong-Hak
• Son Seon-Geun as Police Hall Deputy
• Kang Dong-Yeop as Kim Sang-Oh
• Sung Min-Soo as Kang Young-Min
• Jung Dong-Gyu

My Review:

This K-Drama is ambitious in delivering its social relevance of how, we, as people, do have responsibilities with each other. It’s message was done clearly and realistically. I must congratulate the production of this K-Drama because it raises a lot of awareness of who we are and what we can be as people. I have always believed that generally people are not really born good but born selfish. We make decisions to survive and do things, first and foremost, what’s in our own best interest. That being said, we develop as species to learn how to care for each other, may it be brought by religion or basic conscience that we are also, I think, born with. Thus, it allows us to make decisions that’s not in our nature of being selfish but being for others. Our limitations as human and knowledge that we are not going to live forever no matter what we do, enables us to crave to be good people, thus, more than a few of us do become one. These are the philosophical thoughts that came to my mind while watching this K-Drama. Though, I much rather forget realities of life but I can appreciate a project that intends not only to entertain but to provide learnings that are applicable to our own lives.

So, What do I Like About this K-Drama?

(1) This K-Drama has a very intricate plot, thus, it doesn’t get boring especially with great actors providing us the right emotions and the wisely use of flashbacks so we can connect the dots according to the story. It truly helps when flashbacks are used not to fill the time but to really reach out to its audience to fully understand the story. This is most helpful for non-koreans like me who can hardly remember all the korean names let alone be able to really follow the mystery of the plot while it unfolds.

(2) Its depiction of reality and what justice we can really get in this world is very uncanny. Some times when we are harmed, we have to choose which way to go when we are seeking justice for the damaged that it had and still will costs us. Although, truly difficult and depending on the support system one has in one’s life, the best revenge is truly living well. I know because I’ve lived it. So, one cannot really correct a wrong by doing something wrong as well. On this aspect, this K-Drama has successfully shown this message.

(3) There’s another issue that this K-Drama has tackled and truly admired for doing so. That is, even if we are selfish people, we have to realized that we cannot live only for ourselves. That evil does triumph when good people do nothing. However, it is indeed difficult to do especially when we endanger our own love ones by doing so. Thus, the ending of this K-Drama is so befitting and didn’t waste time to drive that message home.

(4) I salute the great talent of Kim Ah-Joong, Ji Hyun-Woo, Uhm Tae-Woong and, most especially, Lee Moon-Sik. Lee Moon-Sik certainly had been successful in portraying the character, Choi Joon-Goo, in my eyes. What a performance particularly in the ending. You can feel his pain, understand his plight and even at the back recesses of your mind, cannot blame him for the decisions he made.

(5) The length of the K-Drama is just right with no minute wasted to reveal the mystery of the story, although, it may lack a certain luster that I found in Missing Noir, but, it is still a K-Drama that’s great to watch.

What I do Not Like About this K-Drama?

There’s not much I can comment that’s not good on this K-Drama but there are a little bit of police procedures handling a crime area that I feel still needs to be improved and realistic human physical limitations lacking such the possibility of dislocating one’s shoulders when one is trying to stop another person from falling in a building after jumping with the intent to die. But, they are too small to really matter, I just wish sometimes that since the production already intends to deliver a realistic drama, then, small details like this sometimes matter to make it even more believable.

Would I recommend this K-Drama? Yes

My Rating to this Drama
( See My Rating System: ) 5/5 Stars

OST:
01. Broken – Lydia Lee
02. To You – Ha Dong-Kyun
03. Shadow – Yezi & Jung Chae-Yeon
04. Don’t Leave Me – Hoon J