Memorist

Not to be confused with Memoirist.
Memorist
Promotional poster
Hangul
메모리스트
Genre
Created byStudio Dragon (tvN)
Based onMemorist
by Jae Hoo
Written by
  • Ahn Do-ha
  • Hwang Ha-na
Directed by
Starring
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes16
Production
Executive producerSo Jae Hyeon
Running time60 minutes
Production companyStudio 605
Original release
NetworktvN
ReleaseMarch 11 (2020-03-11) –
April 30, 2020 (2020-04-30)

Memorist (Korean: 메모리스트; RR: Memoriseuteu) is a 2020 South Korean television series starring Yoo Seung-ho, Lee Se-young, and Jo Sung-ha. Based on the 2016–2018 Daum webtoon of the same name by Jae Hoo, it aired on tvN from March 11 to April 30, 2020.[1]

Synopsis

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With the power to read people's memories, Dong Baek solves crimes as a detective in the police force. When a string of serial murders happen, Dong Baek teams up with talented criminal profiler Han Sun-mi to stop the killer and prevent further deaths. However, as they pursue the killer, the truth about their individual troubled pasts begins to unravel, and the murders quickly become far more convoluted than anything they had foreseen.[2]

Cast

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Main

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A police officer and detective who is very passionate about catching criminals. He has the supernatural ability to read a person's memories by touching their skin. As a child, he was found wandering at Dongbaek Station with no memories of his past, except for a vague recollection of witnessing a woman, presumably his mother, being murdered.
The youngest superintendent of Special Investigation Headquarters. She was originally a lawyer but later on became a police officer to find the truth about her father's murder that occurred 20 years ago. Her father was a leader of the Labour Union, but betrayed the workers he was supposed to protect, leading to a mass layoff.
  • Jo Sung-ha as Lee Shin-woong, head of the entire police department. He is responsible for covering up the murder and rape that happened 20 years ago. He is arrested in the end for corruption.

Supporting

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People around Dong Baek

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Dong Baek's senior at work and also the trio's captain. He frequently complains that Dong Baek's recklessness will cause him hair loss, but continuously tries his best to help Dong Baek while also caring about him a lot.
An honest reporter at TVC News. She was forced by her superiors to write fake news about Dong Baek
Dong Baek's partner and assistant. He cares a lot about Dong Baek, and tries his best to help the latter.

Special Investigation Headquarters

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  • Kim Yoon-hee as Jung Mi-ja
A criminal profiler that gathers intelligence about the serial murder case under Superintendent Han Sun-mi.
  • Im Se-joo as Lee Seul-bi
A criminal profiler that gathers intelligence about the serial murder case under Superintendent Han Sun-mi.
  • Jung Ha-joon as Hwang Bong-gook
A law student that become a detective. He specializes in hacking computer systems. He has a crush on Han Sun-mi, who was his lecturer from his student days, and is very loyal to her.

Metropolitan Police

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  • Son Kwang-up as Byun Young-soo
  • Kim Seo-kyung as Im Chil-gyu
  • Moon Jung-gi as Kwon Woon-jang
  • Oh Chi-woon as Min Sung-han
  • Park Eung-su as Jang Ki-dae

Jin Jae Gyu's family

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  • Jo Han-chul as Jin Jae-gyu
    • Choi Seung-yoon as young Jin Jae-gyu
    • Seo Eun-yool as child Jin Jae-gyu
The illegitimate child of a conglomerate chairman and a shaman, Jin Jae-gyu has lived a hellish life after his shaman mother died from poisoning. He was possessed by the spirit his mother served, and obtained the power to predict the future. He was a serial vigilante murderer named The Executioner, who killed people that got away with their wrongdoings, and is suspected to be The Eraser. He is also the one who killed Han Sun-Mi's father for what he did to the workers.
  • Lee So-yoon as Shim Sang-ha
Jin Jae-gyu's stepdaughter, whom he loves most. As a child, she ran away from home after her mother committed suicide along with her lover, as she believed they were murdered by her stepfather.
  • Kang Hyun-jung as Shim Hyo-sook
Jin Jae-gyu's wife and Sang-ha's mother. She only married Jae-gyu to take the money he inherited. She planned on killing him and leaving her daughter behind, before running away with his money and her lover, Sang-ha's biological father.
  • Lee Whee-Hyang as Hwang Pil-Seon
She is Jin Jae-gyu's stepsister, a devilish woman that would do anything to protect her family's reputation. She covered up her son's crime from 20 years ago and got rid of everyone involved. She is arrested in the end.
Hwang Pil-seon's only son, a former assemblyman and highly influential politician. He is the head of the gangs that raped and killed the girl named Song-A, the daughter of the chief of the fire department and Song Ju-ran's best friend. He is arrested in the end for his crimes, but commits suicide in prison out of shame.
  • Kim Young-mi as Eun Soo-kyung
Bang Joo-seok's wife. She is abducted by The Eraser while being 7 months pregnant.

Others

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Yoo Soon-nam's daughter
A corrupt prosecutor that tries his best to arrest and stop Dong Baek at all costs under the order of the higher-ups.
  • Kim Nak-kyun as Detective
  • Cha Soon-bae as Im Joong-yeon[8]
  • Jo Seok-hyun as Northern Prosecutor
  • Kim Ji-in as Yoon Ye-rim
She is abducted on her way home by a serial murderer.
  • Choi Seo-ryung as Kim Seo-kyung
  • Lee Young-jin as Seo Hee-soo/Sung Ju-ran (ep. 12-16)
Bang Joon-seok's personal maid and an accomplice of his wife's abductor. It is revealed that she is Sung Ju-ho's older sister who possesses the same memory-reading power as him, but she also possesses the ability to erase people's memories. She is the serial killer known as the Eraser.

Special appearances

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  • Ha Do-kwon as gang member (Ep. 1)
  • Park Jin-woo as Detective (Ep. 1)
  • Kim Ki-doo as Detective Yoon-young (Ep. 1)
  • Choi Hee (Ep. 1)
  • Jo Yi-haeng as Shin Mi-young's husband (Ep. 16)

Production

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The first script reading took place on December 2, 2019.[9]

The drama serves as a reunion between Yoo Seung-ho and Lee Se-young who previously worked together on the MBC drama Missing You (2012–13).[10]

Original soundtrack

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Memorist OST
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
Released2020
GenreSoundtrack
Language
LabelStone Music Entertainment

Part 1

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Released on April 2, 2020 (2020-04-02)
No.TitleLyricsMusicArtistLength
1."Til the End"NoddedNoddedLee Seung-yeol3:22
2."Til the End" (Inst.) Nodded 3:22
Total length:6:44

Part 2

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Released on April 16, 2020 (2020-04-16)
No.TitleLyricsMusicArtistLength
1."Memorist"Kim Sang-wooKim Sang-wooheadliner3:19
2."Memorist" (Inst.) Kim Sang-woo 3:19
Total length:6:38
Disc 2:
No.TitleArtistLength
1."The End of the Story"Joo In Ro3:57
2."Nation-certified Detective"Joo In Ro2:17
3."Clue in the Memory"Goo Bon Choon3:22
4."Suspect"Shin Yoo Jin2:36
5."Chaser"Kim Jong Wan3:46
6."Deep Scar"Yoo So Hyun3:30
7."Special Investigation Headquarter"Kim Jeong Wan2:26
8."Load of Grief"Park Hye Min2:47
9."Executor's Murder Notice"Song Hye Bin2:22
10."Chaser looking for the eyes under feet"Kang Min Goo3:58
11."Black Ambition"Jo Han Na2:25
12."Double-edged Sword"Goo Bon Choon4:46
13."Sad Song"Kim Jong Wan4:52
14."Red Herring"Kang Min Goo2:27
15."Meticulous Intelligence Investigation"Jo Han Na3:23
16."Unsolved Murder Case"Goo Bon Choon4:49
17."Kid of Darkness"Kim Jong Wan4:16
18."The Name of Prophecy"Yoo So Hyun3:34
19."Joint Operation"Park Hye Min2:25
20."Link point it scattered cases"Song Hye Bin3:27
21."Dongbaek Trio"Park Hye Min2:15
22."Secret Cooperation"Joo In Ro2:10
23."Fruit of the poisonous tree"Kang Min Goo3:37
24."Victim's Tears"Shin Yoo Jin4:11
25."Profiler"Shin Yoo Jin2:42
26."Bloody Baptism"Joo In Ro3:38
27."Host of Chaos"Joo In Ro2:23
28."Convicter"Yoo So Hyun3:56
29."Hammer Killer"Goo Bon Choon4:30
30."Covered Truth"Jo Han Na2:27
31."Supernatural Investigation"Song Hye Bin3:24
32."Two Way Pursuit"Joo In Ro3:04
33."Questionable Start"Yoo So Hyun2:09
34."Dongbaek Marking"Jo Han Na2:33
35."Same bed, Different dreams"Seo Ye Rin3:08
36."Memory Scan"Joo In Ro3:49
Total length:1:40:57

Viewership

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Memorist : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)
SeasonEpisode numberAverage
12345678910111213141516
1806681870824840887852695552784632648575717558942741
Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.[11]
Average TV viewership ratings
Ep. Original broadcast date Title Average audience share
(Nielsen Korea)[12]
Nationwide Seoul
1 March 11, 2020 Claw Hammer
(장도리) 		3.272% 3.811%
2 March 12, 2020 The Red Pig
(붉은 돼지) 		2.762% 3.098%
3 March 18, 2020 Baptized in Blood
(피의 세례) 		3.434% 4.052%
4 March 19, 2020 Double-Edged Sword
(양날의 검) 		3.175% 3.624%
5 March 25, 2020 Prayer for Protection
(수호기도) 		3.198% 3.491%
6 March 26, 2020 The Second Man
(세컨드 맨) 		3.287% 3.489%
7 April 1, 2020 Memory Eraser
(기억 지우개) 		2.851% 2.847%
8 April 2, 2020 The Red Herring
(붉은 청어) 		2.693% 2.772%
9 April 8, 2020 The Pupil Under One's Foot
(발 믣의 눈동자) 		2.259% 2.267%
10 April 9, 2020 Trauma Trigger
(트라우마 방아쇠) 		2.894% 3.408%
11 April 15, 2020 A Deep Wound
(깊은 흉터) 		2.384% 2.393%
12 April 16, 2020 The Child of Darkness
(어둠의 아이) 		2.809% 3.291%
13 April 22, 2020 The Name of the Prophecy
(예언의 이름) 		2.199% 2.273%
14 April 23, 2020 Two Layers of Evil
(두 겹의 악) 		2.701% 2.403%
15 April 29, 2020 Flesh and Blood
(피 붙이) 		2.160% 2.195%
16 April 30, 2020 The Power of Memories
(기억의 힘) 		3.293% 3.408%
Average 2.836% 3.051%
  • In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
  • This drama aired 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).

References

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  1. ^ Kim, Na-kyung (February 20, 2020). '메모리스트' 유승호X이세영, 온도차 다른 매력 발산…캐릭터 포스터 공개. The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  2. ^ Kim, Na-kyung (February 16, 2020). '메모리스트' 초능력 형사 유승호X프로파일러 이세영, 파격 변신 예고. The Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  3. ^ Hwang, So-young (January 9, 2020). "Yoo Seung-ho to become national police officer in new drama "Memorist"". JTBC Plus. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  4. ^ Moon, Ji-yeon (November 21, 2019). [단독] '열일' 이세영, 유승호와 재회..내년 기대작 '메모리스트' 주인공. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  5. ^ "Jun Hyo-seong Joins Yoo Seung-ho and Lee Se-young in "Memorist"". HanCinema. December 2, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  6. ^ "Yoon Ji-on of "Be Melodramatic" Joins Yoo Seung-ho in "Memorist"". HanCinema. February 6, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  7. ^ "Yoo Gun-woo Joins Yoo Seung-ho and Lee Se-young in "Memorist"". HanCinema. January 21, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  8. ^ "Cha Soon-bae to Star in TvN's "Memorist"". HanCinema. February 19, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  9. ^ Kim, Sung-hyun (January 9, 2020). "tvN '메모리스트', 유승호·이세영·고창석 등 라인업 확정". YTN (in Korean). Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  10. ^ "Will Lee Se-young and Yoo Seung-ho Reunite in "Memorist"?". HanCinema. November 21, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  11. ^ "Nielsen Korea". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  12. ^ "Nielsen Korea". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Retrieved March 11, 2020.
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