Suspicious Partner
2017 South Korean television series
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Suspicious Partner[4] (Korean: 수상한 파트너; RR: Susanghan pateuneo) is a 2017 South Korean television series starring Ji Chang-wook and Nam Ji-hyun, with Choi Tae-joon and Kwon Nara. It aired on Seoul Broadcasting System from May 10 to July 13, 2017, at 22:00 (KST) on Wednesdays and Thursdays for 20 episodes.[5][6]
Also known as
- Love in Trouble[1]
- Destiny Lovers
- Beware of This Woman
- Be Careful of This Woman
- Watch Out for This Woman
- Suspicious Romance
Hangul
수상한 파트너
RRSusanghan pateuneo
MRSusanghan p'at'ŭnŏ
| Suspicious Partner | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Also known as |
|
| Hangul | 수상한 파트너 |
| RR | Susanghan pateuneo |
| MR | Susanghan p'at'ŭnŏ |
| Genre | |
| Written by | Kwon Ki-young |
| Directed by | Park Sun-ho |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 20[a] |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Park Young-soo |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 30 mins[a] |
| Production company | The Story Works |
| Original release | |
| Network | SBS |
| Release | May 10 – July 13, 2017 |
While the show, during some weeks, managed to outperform its competitor in some categories, such as the 20-49 year old demographic, as well as streaming, popularity and brand reputation charts, it enjoyed modest viewership, while its competitor topped the ratings in its time slot.[7][8]
Synopsis
The series is about Noh Ji-wook (Ji Chang-wook), a prosecutor, and Eun Bong-hee (Nam Ji-hyun), a prosecutor trainee. When a murderer strikes, Bong-hee suddenly finds herself as a suspect, and Noh Ji-wook then changes jobs to become a private attorney due to circumstances. The two work together on the case, finding out how deeply connected they are by their past.[9]
Cast
Main
- Ji Chang-wook as Noh Ji-wook[10]
- Oh Han-gyeol and Son Sang-yeon as young Ji-wook
- A prosecutor in the Sunho District Prosecutors' Office who ends up switching professions to a private attorney in the aftermath of defending Eun Bong-hee. He was scarred by an event in his childhood involving his parents. He then went through a traumatic betrayal involving his former best friend and his ex girlfriend. Bong-hee falls for him, though he does not initially return her feelings. He eventually does and tries to pursue her, however he starts to be swayed again by the fact that Bong-hee's father could have been the arsonist who set the fire in which his parents died.
- Nam Ji-hyun as Eun Bong-hee
- Choi Myung-bin as young Bong-hee
- A prosecutor trainee at Ji-wook's office, later lawyer who was a Taekwondo athlete in her youth. One day, she becomes a murder suspect as her ex-boyfriend's dead body was found in her house in which she had no alibi, causing District Attorney Jang Moo-young to keep coming after her and blame her for his son's death. She eventually falls for Ji-wook after he defended her. He eventually pursues her as he realizes his feelings for her.
- Choi Tae-joon as Ji Eun-hyuk[11]
- Kwon Bin and Moon Woo-jin as young Eun-hyuk
- A lawyer, once best friends with Ji-wook, who is now despised by him because he had an affair with Yoo-jung.
- Kwon Nara as Cha Yoo-jung[12]
- Ryu Han-bi as young Yoo-jung
- A prosecutor, Noh Ji-wook's ex-girlfriend.
Supporting
People around Noh Ji-wook
- Lee Deok-hwa as Byun Young-hee
- Ji-wook's adoptive father, who was good friend of Jo-Wook’s father and is representative of a big law firm who later joins Ji-wook's newly opened firm.
- Nam Gi-ae as Hong Bok-ja
- Ji-wook's adoptive mom, who is a best friend of Ji-wook's mother and owns a pizza shop. She is also the archenemy of Bong-hee's mother.
- Jang Hyuk-jin as Bang Eun-ho
- Ji-wook's prosecution investigation officer-turned-lawyer's paralegal. He considers himself to be the 'hen mother' of the group.
- Jo Seung-yeon as Noh Young-suk
- Ji-wook's late father, who was also a prosecutor and died in fire.
- Jin Hee Kyung as Kim Mi Yun
- Ji-Wook's late mother, who died in fire
People around Eun Bong-hee
- Yoon Bok-in as Park Young-soon
- Bong-hee's mother who loves her daughter. She works at a massage parlor where she befriends Ji-wook's mom and later ends up working for Ji-wook's mom. The two are frequently indulge in semi-friendly banter.
- Lee Do-yeop as Eun Man-su
- Bong-hee's father who died while trying to save Ji-wook. He was earlier accused of murdering Ji-wook's parents until it was discovered that he was innocent.
- Hwang Chan-sung as Jang Hee-joon[13]
- Bong-hee's cheating ex-boyfriend. He died in Bong-hee's house which pointed her as the prime suspect.
People at the Training Center
- Kim Ye-won as Na Ji-hae[14]
- Bong-hee's classmate. She later becomes a prosecutor.
- Heo Joon-seok as Woo Hee-kyu
- Shim Eun-woo as Hong Cha-eun
Extended
- A victim who was accused of murder which has similar vibe to Bong-hee's case, but has a mysterious identity that lies in him. He was in fact a serial killer who had earlier, out of revenge, murdered five of the six gang-rapists (including the victim of a murder he was accused of and first appeared in the show for) of his high school crush Park So-young, who committed suicide after this incident. He was also the real culprit who murdered Jang Hee-joon; in fact, his real target was Bong-hee, who unknowingly witnessed him killing two of the rapists, but he ended up killing Hee-joon, who was at the wrong place at the wrong time when he tried to make amends with Bong-hee for cheating on her. Hyun-soo was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders he committed.
- Kim Hong-fa as Jang Moo-young
- Jang Hee-joon's father and the District Attorney of Sunho District. He believes in upholding the might of the prosecution even if it meant defaming common people, as shown when he falsely incriminated Bong-hee's father as the arsonist who caused the fire that killed Ji-wook's parents and also himself, releasing the gang-rapists of Park So-young after dismissing their rape charges on the bribery of the parents and forcing Ji-wook to indict and convict Bong-hee (who was actually innocent) for murdering his son. Upon discovering Hyun-soo's guilt of his son's murder, he tried to kill him unsuccessfully and this led to his downfall as he was dismissed from his post and arrested for attempted murder (and possibly his pre-existing corruption prior to his arrest).
- Jin Ju-hyung as Go Chan-ho
- A forensic investigator who went missing after being falsely incriminated for murder. He was actually one of the gang-rapists who raped Park So-young and was shown to be plagued with remorse (possibly) for the crime. He disappeared before he could meet up with Ji-wook to reveal something related to Hyun-soo, and was confirmed to be murdered by Hyun-soo when his body was discovered nearing the finale of the series. Four of his five accomplices - Lee Jae-ho, Yang Jin-woo, Kim Min-goo and Sung Jae-hyun - were earlier murdered by Hyun-soo while the final accomplice Min Young-hoon eventually surrendered and went to jail for the crime around the same time Hyun-soo was indicted the second time and finally sentenced.
- Park Gyu-young as Park So-young
- A girl from Jung Hyun-soo's past who committed suicide after a tragedy which traumatized her.
- Park Ji-a as Park Seong-eun
- Kim Kyung-jin as The guy who disturbed Bong-hee while drinking (Ep. 1)
- Choi Hong-il as Vice-chief of Prosecutor (Ep. 1–4)
- Kim Ki-nam as Prosecutor who works with Jung Moo-young (Ep. 8)
- Seo Jin-wook as Forensic expert who testified in court (Ep. 4)
- Jo Won-hee as Judge
- Choi Ji-hoo
- Lee Da-jin
- Jung Yeon
Special appearances
- Jang Won-young as Ji Ha-cheol, pervert (Ep. 1–2, 21)
- Hong Seok-cheon as Monk (Ep. 3)
- Park Sung-geun as Flasher (Ep. 4)
- Jo Jung-sik as News Anchor
- Lee Si-a as Lee Na-eun, stalking victim (Ep. 6)
- Ji Il-joo as Jeon Sung-ho, stalker (Ep. 6)
- Seo Dong-won as So Jung-ha (Ep. 21–22)
- Jo Ah-ra as So Jung-ha's girlfriend (Ep. 22)
- Kim Ye-jun as Kim Jae-hong (Ep. 32–33)
Production
The early working titles for the drama were Beware This Woman and Suspicious Romance.[16] The first script reading took place April 4, 2017 at SBS Ilsan Production Center in Tanhyun, South Korea.[17][18]
Both lead actors Ji Chang-wook and Nam Ji-hyun starred in Warrior Baek Dong-soo in 2011.
Original soundtrack
| Suspicious Partner OST Album | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Released | 2017 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Language | Korean, English |
| Label | SBS Contents Hub Vlending Co., Ltd. |
Part 1
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Why You?" (너는 왜) |
|
| Seenroot | 03:36 |
| 2. | "Why You?" (Inst.) |
| 03:36 | ||
| Total length: | 07:02 | ||||
Part 2
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "How Do I Say It?" (어떻게 말할까) |
|
| O.WHEN | 04:27 |
| 2. | "How Do I Say It?" (Inst.) |
| 04:27 | ||
| Total length: | 08:54 | ||||
Part 3
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Same Day" (똑같은 날) |
|
| Ra.D | 04:01 |
| 2. | "The Same Day" (Inst.) |
| 04:01 | ||
| Total length: | 08:02 | ||||
Part 4
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artists | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "How About You" (어떨까 넌) |
| 1601 | Cheeze | 04:47 |
| 2. | "How About You" (Inst.) |
Part 5
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Eye Contact" (눈맞춤 (Acoustic Ver.)) |
|
| Kim E-Z (Ggot Jam Project) | 03:30 |
| 2. | "Eye Contact" (Full Ver.) |
|
| Kim E-Z (Ggot Jam Project) | 03:46 |
| 3. | "Eye Contact" (Acoustic Ver. (Inst.)) |
| 03:30 | ||
| 4. | "Eye Contact" (Full Ver. (Inst.)) |
| 03:46 | ||
| Total length: | 14:32 | ||||
Part 6
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Breathing All Day" (숨쉬는 모든 날) |
|
| Bumkey | 04:26 |
| 2. | "Breathing All Day" (Inst.) |
| 04:26 | ||
| Total length: | 08:52 | ||||
Part 7
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I've Got a Feeling" (정이 들어버렸어) |
|
| Kihyun (Monsta X) | 04:52 |
| 2. | "I've Got a Feeling" (Inst.) |
| 04:52 | ||
| Total length: | 09:44 | ||||
Part 8
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Memory Of That Day" (그날의 기억) |
|
| Kim Jong-wan (Nell) | 03:36 |
| 2. | "The Memory Of That Day" (Inst.) |
| 03:36 | ||
| Total length: | 07:12 | ||||
Part 9
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Silly Love" |
|
| Yoo Ha-jung | 03:47 |
| 2. | "Silly Love" (Inst.) |
| 03:47 | ||
| Total length: | 07:34 | ||||
Part 10
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "101 Reasons Why I Like You" (네가 좋은 백 한가지 이유) |
|
| Ji Chang-wook | 03:43 |
| 2. | "101 Reasons Why I Like You" (Inst.) |
| 03:43 | ||
| Total length: | 07:26 | ||||
Chart performance
Ratings
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Title | Average audience share | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nielsen Korea[21] | TNmS[22] | |||||
| Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | Seoul | |||
| 1 | May 10, 2017 | Hope for the Future | 6.3% (17th) | 6.5% (14th) | 6.1% (19th) | 7.4% (14th) |
| 2 | 6.8% (13th) | 6.9% (12th) | 6.8% (15th) | 8.2% (8th) | ||
| 3 | May 11, 2017 | Take It | 6.1% (NR) | 5.8% (NR) | 6.3% (NR) | 7.0% (NR) |
| 4 | 7.2% (18th) | 7.7% (14th) | 7.0% (NR) | 7.9% (18th) | ||
| 5 | May 17, 2017 | Restraining Order | 6.6% (NR) | 6.8% (NR) | 6.9% (NR) | 8.5% (12th) |
| 6 | 8.0% (13th) | 8.5% (9th) | 7.4% (18th) | 8.2% (15th) | ||
| 7 | May 18, 2017 | Reunion and Reunion | 6.8% (19th) | 6.9% (18th) | 6.0% (NR) | 6.6% (20th) |
| 8 | 7.4% (14th) | 7.8% (12th) | 6.4% (NR) | |||
| 9 | May 24, 2017 | Humanity Becomes Hostage | 6.8% (20th) | 7.2% (18th) | 6.5% (NR) | 6.9% (NR) |
| 10 | 8.3% (11th) | 8.7% (10th) | 7.4% (17th) | 8.2% (14th) | ||
| 11 | May 25, 2017 | The Beginning That Hasn't Begun | 7.1% (17th) | 7.9% (13th) | 6.1% (NR) | 6.8% (NR) |
| 12 | 7.8% (14th) | 8.5% (11th) | 6.5% (NR) | 6.6% (20th) | ||
| 13 | May 31, 2017 | Alibi | 7.5% (16th) | 8.2% (13th) | 6.9% (18th) | 7.7% (15th) |
| 14 | 9.3% (8th) | 10.0% (8th) | 7.9% (15th) | 9.0% (10th) | ||
| 15 | June 1, 2017 | Untruthful Truth Game | 8.4% (13th) | 8.6% (11th) | 7.2% (17th) | 8.3% (14th) |
| 16 | 9.3% (11th) | 9.6% (8th) | 7.8% (16th) | 8.9% (12th) | ||
| 17 | June 7, 2017 | Eun Bong-hee's Prime | 8.4% (13th) | 9.1% (10th) | 7.3% (17th) | 7.5% (13th) |
| 18 | 9.8% (8th) | 10.2% (7th) | 7.7% (NR) | 8.1% (NR) | ||
| 19 | June 8, 2017 | Truth vs. Secret | 8.0% (12th) | 8.5% (10th) | 7.3% (17th) | 7.3% (16th) |
| 20 | 9.6% (9th) | 10.2% (8th) | 8.3% (11th) | 8.4% (10th) | ||
| 21 | June 14, 2017 | In This Limited World | 7.7% (14th) | 8.3% (9th) | 7.0% (NR) | 8.2% (13th) |
| 22 | 9.1% (7th) | 9.8% (6th) | 7.8% (16th) | 8.7% (9th) | ||
| 23 | June 15, 2017 | 48 Hours Later | 7.8% (14th) | 8.2% (10th) | 6.9% (19th) | 7.6% (13th) |
| 24 | 9.4% (7th) | 9.8% (6th) | 7.6% (16th) | 8.1% (10th) | ||
| 25 | June 21, 2017 | Attributable Reasons | 9.0% (9th) | 10.3% (8th) | 6.6% (20th) | 6.7% (16th) |
| 26 | 10.5% (7th) | 11.7% (5th) | 7.8% (15th) | 8.5% (9th) | ||
| 27 | June 22, 2017 | The Memory of That Day | 8.4% (11th) | 8.8% (10th) | 7.5% (16th) | 7.9% (13th) |
| 28 | 9.7% (8th) | 10.4% (8th) | 8.0% (15th) | 8.1% (12th) | ||
| 29 | June 28, 2017 | Postponement | 6.7% (17th) | 7.2% (13th) | 6.1% (NR) | 7.9% (13th) |
| 30 | 8.6% (9th) | 9.5% (7th) | 6.7% (17th) | 8.0% (10th) | ||
| 31 | June 29, 2017 | The Discovery of a Memory | 7.7% (14th) | 8.4% (9th) | 6.3% (NR) | 7.3% (14th) |
| 32 | 8.6% (10th) | 9.1% (8th) | 6.8% (17th) | 7.8% (11th) | ||
| 33 | July 5, 2017 | Testing the Waters | 7.2% (17th) | 7.8% (13th) | 6.9% (NR) | 7.5% (16th) |
| 34 | 9.2% (7th) | 9.8% (7th) | 7.2% (20th) | 7.4% (17th) | ||
| 35 | July 6, 2017 | Return | 8.0% (17th) | 8.5% (9th) | 7.3% (19th) | 8.8% (13th) |
| 36 | 9.2% (9th) | 9.9% (7th) | 7.9% (17th) | 9.4% (10th) | ||
| 37 | July 12, 2017 | In Court | 7.2% (16th) | 7.4% (15th) | 6.9% (20th) | 7.7% (19th) |
| 38 | 9.2% (8th) | 9.4% (7th) | 8.0% (17th) | 8.7% (13th) | ||
| 39 | July 13, 2017 | Return to the Daily Life | 8.5% (12th) | 9.0% (9th) | 8.6% (15th) | 9.5% (10th) |
| 40 | 9.5% (8th) | 10.2% (6th) | 8.7% (14th) | 8.9% (13th) | ||
| Average | 7.2% | 7.9% | 8.2% | 8.7% | ||
| ||||||
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Korea Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress (Drama) | Nam Ji-hyun | Nominated | |
| 25th SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Wednesday–Thursday Drama | Ji Chang-wook | Nominated | [23] | |
| Excellence Award, Actor in a Wednesday–Thursday Drama | Choi Tae-joon | Nominated | |||
| Excellence Award, Actress in a Wednesday–Thursday Drama | Nam Ji-hyun | Won | |||
| Best New Actress | Kwon Nara | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Kim Ye-won | Nominated | |||
| Best Couple Award | Ji Chang-wook and Nam Ji-hyun | Nominated |
Adaptation
Notes
- The series was originally packaged as twenty 60-minute episodes. In order to circumvent Korean laws that prevent commercial breaks in the middle of an episode, what would previously have been aired as single 60 minute episodes are now being repackaged as two 30 minute episodes, with two episodes being shown each night with a commercial break between the two.[2] This, following a fall in ratings and eventual 2-episode cut in the preceding drama serial Saimdang, Memoir of Colors.[3]