City Hunter (TV series)

This article is about the live-action series. For the manga series, see City Hunter.
City Hunter

Promotional poster for City Hunter
Genre Action
Thriller
Romance
Based on City Hunter
by Tsukasa Hojo
Written by Hwang Eun-kyung
Choi Soo-jin
Directed by Jin Hyuk
Starring Lee Min-ho
Park Min-young
Lee Joon-hyuk
Kim Sang-joong
Hwang Sun-hee
Goo Ha-ra
Chun Ho-jin
Opening theme "It's Alright" by Yang Hwa-jin
Ending theme "Suddenly" by Kim bo-kyung
Country of origin South Korea
Original language(s) Korean
No. of episodes 20
Production
Producer(s) Kim Young-sup
Sebastian Dong-hun Lee
Location(s) Korea, Thailand
Running time Wednesdays and Thursday at 21:55 (KST)
Production company(s) SSD
Release
Original network Seoul Broadcasting System
Original release 25 May (2011-05-25) – 28 July 2011 (2011-07-28)
Chronology
Preceded by 49 Days
Followed by Protect the Boss
External links
Website
Korean name
Hangul 시티헌터
Revised Romanization Siti Heonteo
McCune–Reischauer Sit'i Hŏnt'ŏ

City Hunter (Hangul: 시티헌터) is a 2011 South Korean television drama series based on the Japanese manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Tsukasa Hojo,[1] starring Lee Min-ho, Park Min-young, Lee Joon-hyuk, Kim Sang-joong, Kim Sang-ho, Hwang Sun-hee, Goo Ha-ra, Chun Ho-jin and Lee Kwang-soo. It premiered on May 25, 2011 on SBS and finished broadcasting on July 28, 2011.

Plot

In 1983, the South Korean president and his delegates are visiting Burma when a bomb planted by North Korean agents explodes, killing some high-ranking officials. This historical event is called the Rangoon bombing (also known as the Rangoon incident). To strike back, five South Korean officials plan a covert operation, codenamed "Operation Cleansweep," to enter North Korea and kill several top members of the North's high command. Lee Jin-pyo and Park Moo-yul, two Presidential Security Service bodyguards and best friends who were present at the bombing, organize a 21-man team for the mission. However, as the team wreaks havoc in Pyongyang, the five officials abort the plan to avoid an international crisis if the mission is discovered. Their major concern is that the United States will withdraw its nuclear protection if the mission is made public, in light of Seoul's official declaration that it will not retaliate.

The operation is successful, but as the troops swim out from Nampo to an ROK Navy submarine assigned for their extraction, snipers aboard the submarine open fire on them. An already injured Park sacrifices his life to save Lee. Lee swims back to shore and returns to South Korea, where he finds out that the assault team's service and personal records have been erased.

Promising to avenge his fallen comrades, Jin-pyo kidnaps Moo-yul's infant son, and names him Lee Yoon-sung. He flees to the Golden Triangle to raise the child as his own and trains the boy intensively in combat. Following an attack on a village they are living in, Jin-pyo confesses his long-term plan for revenge to a teenaged Yoon-sung.

Seven years later, after successfully finishing his education and attaining a doctorate in the United States at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yoon-sung returns to South Korea to fulfill his adoptive father's plan for revenge. He enters the Blue House as an IT expert under the National Communication Network Team. He is warned by Jin-pyo not to trust anyone and never fall in love, as doing so will put the people around him in danger.

While working at the Blue House, Lee meets bodyguard Kim Na-na. Eventually Na-na participates in his revenge plan, as they discover that they have the same goal in mind. Problems occur as Jin-pyo's revenge plot unfolds, especially when Lee defies his surrogate father at several occasions as they try to identify and kill the officials, known as the "Council of Five."

Each member of the Council have achieved significant wealth and political influence since 1983, and are engaged in various levels of corruption. Jin-pyo and Yoon-sung's conflict stems primarily from Jin-pyo's wish to murder each official, and Yoon-sung's wish to teach them a lesson and expose their corruption without killing them. As Yoon-sung exposes the officials' corruption, the citizens of Korea sense an unseen force of justice that they dub "City Hunter."

Cast

The show's titular character, codenamed "City Hunter," Yoon-sung's ultimate goal is to avenge his father's killers. Using the identity of a Korean-American teenager, who is later revealed to have died several years before, he assumes a double life by graduating from MIT with a doctorate degree and lands a job at South Korea's presidential palace. The job would lead to him to cross paths with presidential bodyguard Kim Na-na, with whom he falls in love.

Na-na was forced to take care of herself at an early age after her mother was killed in a drunk driving accident and her father became comatose. Her exceptional skills in martial arts eventually earns her an assignment with the Presidential Security Service. During her time as a bodyguard, she falls in love with Lee Yoon-sung and eventually discovers his real identity.

An intelligent prosecutor, Kim Young-joo possesses a strong sense of justice, even against the corrupt politicians of South Korea. He is a son of one of the members of the "Council of Five." He is a constant rival of City Hunter by working towards the same goals under legal cover, and tries to figure out his identity at the same time. Young-joo dies trying to arrest Chun Jae-man in the penultimate episode.

Operation Clean Sweep's sole survivor, Lee spends the mediate years in the Golden Triangle as a drug lord. Full of anger, he wants to kill all of the people who ordered his team dead. He pretends to be a Korean-American investor and uses Lee Yoon-sung as his agent of vengeance. He is killed by the Presidential Security Service in the final episode after failing to kill President Choi. Lee and the rest of the Clean Sweep strike team are eventually honored in Seoul National Cemetery.

A problem gambler but a very good cook whom Lee Yoon-sung saves from thugs in Thailand and later becomes his close friend. Over the course of the series, Bae and Lee become partners under Lee Jin-pyo's scheme – and also racks up huge debts buying stuff from the home-shopping network. However, it is revealed that Bae witnessed the accident that resulted in Kim Na-na's woes and was hiding in Thailand by the start of the series after being paid off by the culprit – Kim Jong-shik, a member of the Council of Five – to change his story. Bae decides to start a new life in the United States with Kyung-hee by the end of the series.

A veterinarian by trade, Sae-hee is Young-joo's ex-wife and a good friend to the other characters. She is the first of Lee Yoon-sung's accomplices to learn of him secretly being the City Hunter.

One of President Choi's two children, Da-hye is smitten with Lee Yoon-sung early in the series by asking him to be her tutor. Her status of being the president's daughter does not win her any friends at school and even creates a public scandal when she attacks a group of girls who criticize her father's governance within earshot. She decides not to go to college (because of her poor grades) and is forced to find a job while switching her infatuations over to Kim Young-joo.

The incumbent president of South Korea at the start of the series, Choi was one of the five men involved in planning the 1983 operation and promised the unit he will help get them home. He was later out-voted in the decision to abort the operation and forced to live with the guilt for 28 years. He is the only member of the group who knows that Lee Jin-pyo survived the debacle, yet does nothing to stop him despite knowing that the former bodyguard's ultimate goal is to kill him and the other officials. It is later revealed that the president is Lee Yoon-sung's real father, who sired him with Lee Kyung-hee. He is depicted in the series as an idealist who believes the end is worth the means, which results in his impeachment by the National Assembly after he bribed a number of deputies to help pass an important education reform bill.

Extended cast

Lee Yoon-sung's father, who dies protecting Jin-pyo in the first episode. It is revealed that he is not Yoon-sung's real father, and was merely protecting Lee Kyung-hee after her affair with Choi Eung-chan ends. Park and Lee Jin-pyo's names are at the top of a memorial slab honoring the Clean Sweep team.

Lee Yoon-sung's mother, who went on to lead a solitary life running a small eatery after Yoon-sung was kidnapped as an infant. She had become pregnant with Choi Eung-chan's child, but when she decided to keep the baby, her life and the baby's was threatened by Chun Jae-man. She contracts leukemia later in the series, but starts to recover after Yoon-sung donates bone marrow to her. Kyung-hee travels to the United States with Shik-joong to start a new life in the final episode.

The head of the Blue House's National Communications Network team.

Kim Na-na's other female colleague in the PSS, who is assigned to look after Choi Da-hye.

Yoon-sung's colleague in the National Communications Network team who is visibly interested in Eun-ah. The couple are engaged at the end of the series.

A former police officer, Kim is tapped by Jin-pyo for the revenge project upon learning that his own brother was part of the 1983 operation. He was sacked from the force for breaking into the National Intelligence Service's files and trying to find out what happened to his brother.

A senator, Kyung-wan is the City Hunter's first target among the Council of Five, who also pocketed certain children's welfare funds. He is imprisoned for the crime, but is implied to have died at Jin-pyo's hands in Episode 9.

A businessman running a chaebol (a chemical company and hospital is seen in the series as part of it), Jae-man participated in planning the North Korea mission. He is the most corrupt and ruthless member of the Council of Five. He later burns a book containing all covert operations in 1983 that were supposed to be declassified in 2030. It is revealed that the book he burned was just a copy and Jin-pyo acquired the original document, but not before Jae-man does a little historical revisionism by saying that the operation took place because the team tried to defect to the North with some state secrets. His corruption case is also depicted as one that no government prosecutor wants to handle, as those who do take it on are often harassed into quitting. Chun dies at Jin-pyo's hands in the final episode.

Kim Young-joo's father and a former education minister, Jong-shik was one of the officials who plotted the North Korea mission and agreed to the subsequent cover-up. He also killed Kim Na-na's mother and gravely injured her father while drunk-driving, and pays off a witness (Bae Sik-joong) to say that Na-na's parents were at fault for the accident. He would become comatose later in the series as the City Hunter tries to take him down in light of an investigation over hiding around two billion won in college subsidies. He regains consciousness in the final episode to learn of his son's death.

A former defense minister and a prospective presidential contender, Yong-hak was an army general at the time of the 1983 operation and has often used his influence to have his three sons avoid the military's required three-year conscription. The City Hunter unmasks him for entering into deals to provide substandard combat boots and acquire defective fighters for the Air Force. As the truth behind Clean Sweep unravels, Yong-hak comes forward with what he knows and pins the president as the mastermind.

Reception

The series has received positive reviews[2] and was also a commercial success selling out advertisement space at a high price of $420,000 per episode.[3]

Lee Min-ho's role netted him the Special Drama Top Prize plum at the 2011 SBS Drama Awards,[4] as well as an endorser for the Hyundai Veloster in China.[5] He would later be recognized by the Seoul Prosecutor's Office as an "Honorable Prosecutor" in a ceremony on January 4, 2012.[6]

In between December 2011 and January 2012, the Asian-American Donor Program partnered with the Transplant Informers blog to run a special raffle for a full DVD boxed set of the series, as part of an awareness campaign for bone-marrow transplants. The promotion was held to recognize the show's authentic depiction of a bone-marrow transplant (when Yoon-sung had to donate some for his mother).[7]

Ratings

Episode # Original broadcast date Average audience share
TNmS Ratings[8] AGB Nielsen[9]
Nationwide Seoul National Capital Area Nationwide Seoul National Capital Area
1 25 May 2011 9.5% (9th) 11.8% (6th) 10.5% (6th) 11.0% (7th)
2 26 May 2011 10.0% (9th) 12.2% (7th) 11.1% (8th) 12.2% (7th)
3 1 June 2011 11.9% (4th) 13.6% (5th) 12.3% (5th) 13.0% (5th)
4 2 June 2011 12.6% (5th) 15.0% (4th) 12.8% (5th) 13.3% (5th)
5 8 June 2011 13.0% (4th) 15.7% (3rd) 13.7% (5th) 14.9% (4th)
6 9 June 2011 13.2% (4th) 15.4% (2nd) 14.2% (4th) 14.8% (4th)
7 15 June 2011 13.6% (3rd) 16.7% (2nd) 13.7% (5th) 14.0% (5th)
8 16 June 2011 12.7% (4th) 14.2% (2nd) 13.8% (4th) 13.8% (5th)
9 22 June 2011 13.8% (4th) 15.2% (3rd) 13.4% (5th) 13.4% (6th)
10 23 June 2011 14.4% (4th) 16.4% (3rd) 14.6% (4th) 15.4% (5th)
11 29 June 2011 17.4% (3rd) 19.5% (1st) 18.4% (1st) 19.4% (1st)
12 30 June 2011 18.3% (2nd) 20.5% (1st) 18.8% (1st) 19.1% (1st)
13 6 July 2011 18.5% (1st) 20.5% (1st) 18.7% (1st) 19.8% (2nd)
14 7 July 2011 18.3% (2nd) 20.6% (1st) 19.6% (1st) 19.8% (1st)
15 13 July 2011 17.4% (3rd) 19.6% (1st) 19.9% (1st) 20.5% (1st)
16 14 July 2011 17.5% (3rd) 18.8% (1st) 19.2% (1st) 19.8% (1st)
17 20 July 2011 17.9% (2nd) 19.6% (1st) 18.8% (1st) 19.7% (1st)
18 21 July 2011 18.6% (1st) 20.3% (1st) 19.3% (1st) 19.3% (1st)
19 27 July 2011 17.2% (3rd) 18.7% (1st) 18.8% (3rd) 19.0% (3rd)
20 28 July 2011 19.1% (3rd) 20.6% (1st) 18.0% (1st) 20.0% (1st)
Average 15.2% 17.2% 16.0% 16.6%

International broadcast

Before the series aired the broadcast rights were exported to several countries such as the U.S., Hong Kong, Thailand, Romania and Vietnam. At the time other countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Bulgaria, the Philippines, and Kazakhstan were also actively seeking to acquire the dramas broadcast rights.[10] In the United States the drama was made available for streaming with English subtitles on Hulu.[11]

Releases

Video

There have been multiple video releases:

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of "City Hunter" was released in seven parts.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2011 4th Korea Drama Awards Best Director Jin Hyuk Nominated
Best Actor Lee Min-ho Won
Best Actress Park Min-young Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Kim Sang-ho Nominated
Hallyu Star Award Lee Min-ho Won
Best New Actress Hwang Sun-hee Nominated
5th Mnet 20's Choice Awards Hot Male Drama Star Lee Min-ho Nominated
SBS Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama Special Lee Min-ho Won
Excellence Award, Actor in a Drama Special Lee Joon-hyuk Nominated
Excellence Award, Actress in a Drama Special Park Min-young Nominated
Special Acting Award, Actor in a Drama Special Kim Sang-joong Nominated
Chun Ho-jin Nominated
New Star Award Goo Ha-ra Won
Top 10 Stars Lee Min-ho Won
Popularity Award Won
Park Min-young Nominated
Best Couple Award Lee Min-ho & Park Min-young Nominated
2012 48th Baeksang Arts Awards Popularity Award, Actor (TV) Lee Min-ho Nominated
Popularity Award, Actress (TV) Park Min-young Nominated
Goo Ha-ra Nominated
7th Seoul International Drama Awards Outstanding Korean Drama City Hunter Nominated
Outstanding Korean Actor Lee Min-ho Nominated
Popularity Award Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "시티헌터 – Daum 영화" (in Korean). Movie.daum.net. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  2. ↑ http://www.yesasia.com/us/city-hunter-2011-dvd-7-disc-english-subtitled-end-sbs-tv-drama-us/1025643540-0-0-0-en/info.html
  3. ↑ http://www.hancinema.net/sold-out-guy-lee-min-ho--30645.html
  4. ↑ "2011 SBS Drama Awards : Winners List @ HanCinema :: The Korean Movie and Drama Database". Hancinema.net. 2011-12-31. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  5. ↑ "Lee Min-ho chosen to model for Hyundai 'Veloster' in China @ HanCinema :: The Korean Movie and Drama Database". Hancinema.net. 2011-09-20. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  6. ↑ 이민호, 대한민국 검찰 울린 '폭풍매너' 화제 : 네이트 뉴스 (in Korean). News.nate.com. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  7. ↑ "City Hunter makes bone marrow donation badass: Kdrama Series Sweepstakes #1". TransplantInformers. 2012-01-30. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  8. ↑ "TNMS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNMS Ratings (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2013-11-28. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  9. ↑ "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2013-12-26. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  10. ↑ "SBS "City Hunter" Already Sold to Multiple Countries Including Hulu". Soompi. 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  11. ↑ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-05-25/korean-city-hunter-show-licensed-for-u.s-hulu-streaming
  12. ↑ http://www.pinoythinking.com/2012/01/city-hunterlee-min-ho-on-abs-cbn-this.html
  13. ↑ http://bidakapamilya.blogspot.com/2012/06/lee-min-hos-city-hunter-returns-this.html
  14. ↑ ""City Hunter" Air on Japanese Fuji TV on February 6". KpopStarz. 2012-01-31. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  15. ↑ "'City Hunter' and 'Personal Taste' to Air in Japan: Lee Min Ho vs. Lee Min Ho?". Mwave.interest.me. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  16. ↑ "Lee Mi-ho still wanted in Japan @ HanCinema :: The Korean Movie and Drama Database". Hancinema.net. 2012-05-16. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  17. ↑ "Lee Min Ho's "City Hunter" Fascinates Japan". Soompi. 2012-05-16. Retrieved 2013-09-08.
  18. ↑ http://www.kntv.co.jp/prog/detail/?p=21928
  19. ↑ http://www.8tv.com.my/schedule/comingsoon/City_Hunter_Best_Of_The_East.html
  20. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cyjNP8RB-o
  21. ↑ https://twitter.com/StroopsMINOZ/status/220356928935690243
  22. ↑ http://www.indosiar.com/sinopsis/city-hunter_93169.html
  23. ↑ http://www.gongnetworks.com/programme-city-hunter-135.php
  24. ↑ "ละคร City Hunter : ซิตี้ฮันเตอร์". siamzone.com (in Thai). 2 September 2015.
  25. ↑ http://www.itn.lk/category/current-dramas/city-hunter/
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