When Friendship Lasts Forever.
The story might be slow and goes little by little, however everything was executed right and nothing left unsolved. The slow-burn yet proper pacing reminds me of Flower of Evil and Beyond Evil. This kdrama definitely belongs up there with them.Props to the writer for the amazing story. Like the title "Connection", everything that happened in this series are all connected. From the start all the way to the end. Everything is tied to the past of their friendship, connected again in present time.
I can't stop get amazed by Ji Sung's acting thorough the series. His acting is always excellent and overly done in a perfect manner. I recommend watching him in The Devil Judge, it has similar story (Thriller - Mystery - Revenge) to this kdrama - only faster and wilder.
Not only Ji Sung's, everyone's acting were also great and has their own distinct appearance. Especially the ones who casually appears from episode to episode, no generic or bland acting from them, everyone serves their characters right.
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This review may contain spoilers
The real protagonist of Connection ⚠️ (Spoiler Analysis) ⚠️
⚠️ This review contains major spoilers for the ending.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Between the Lines
igiam’s reflections on drama, character and hidden meaning
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💚 Just a personal interpretation after finishing the drama. I’d love to hear what others think.
After finishing this drama, one thought stayed with me: what if the real protagonist of the story is not Jang Jae Gyeong?
Of course, the narrative follows him, and Ji Sung delivers a powerful performance as a detective struggling with addiction, guilt, and the search for the truth. However, if we look at the structure of the story more closely, another character quietly stands at the center of everything.
Park Jun Seo.
Even though he dies early in the story, every major event revolves around him. He is the one who gathers everyone again. He is the one who forces the past to resurface. And he is the one who sets the entire chain of consequences in motion.
In a way, Jae Gyeong becomes the person who carries out Jun Seo’s final will.
What makes Jun Seo such a tragic character is that, despite everything he did, he never completely abandoned the things that once mattered to him.
The password 0617, which is his wife’s birthday, shows that he still carried those feelings in his heart. It also explains why the revelation hurts Choi Ji Yeon so deeply: she believed he had completely turned his back on their life together.
Then there is 0724 – “Friendship Day.”
This memory represents the moment when their friendship was still genuine, before power, greed, and fear corrupted it. While the others chased success and protected their secrets, Jun Seo held on to that memory.
By calling everyone back to the place where everything began, Jun Seo was not simply seeking revenge. He was forcing them to confront the truth they had buried for twenty years.
That is why the title Connection feels so meaningful.
What they once had was friendship.
What they ended up with was only a connection built on secrets, guilt, and shared crimes.
In the end, Jae Gyeong solves the case.
But the story itself belongs to Jun Seo.
And perhaps Jun Seo’s final wish was simple:
for someone to remember the moment when their friendship was still real.
🎯 Friendship didn’t destroy them. Greed, fear, and secrets did.
🤓 Do you also think Jun Seo was the real protagonist, or do you see the story differently?
— igiam | Observing Stories Between the Lines
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Great series
Ji Sung can do no wrong in my eyes. Everything he touches turns to gold. First class crime actor. I loved him in The Devil Judge and Kill me heal me. My all time favourites and this is just as good. He doesnt look his age.. He still looks early thirtys. Plenty of eye candy..The story was well written so a shout out to the directors scriptwriters and production staff for giving us, the viewers a story worth watching. The cast actors and actresses who went above and beyond and bought the story to life. A great binge watch. Thankyou for this little gem.. ❤️ x
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it’s nice with suspense but could be more triller
Korean drama titles - intro are interesting and this one you will understand after watching few episodes which is actually amazing. you will be able to guess a top layer story. if you are good guessing person.coming to story amazing start and it will make you continue but after few episodes I can’t say it’s slow but same thrilling experience will become a bit low. you will get involved with characters and that’s nice. worth watching mainly because of the main characters. if you are a person who is into thriller suspense, then you will enjoy it. main lead character acting is really amazing, and of course, you will not be disappointed with his acting for sure.
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very tight story and some good acting
An ace detective on a drug task force is forcibly administered drugs in the line of duty. While investigating the murder of an old classmate, the detective must negotiate his past relationships with the suspects involved, all while dealing with his new, dangerous addiction.The story is believable and played out logically. Every characters are interconnected with others and such, is a bit complex storyline of which I enjoy. I dont usually go with too simple story line.
Ji Sung’s acting was truly incredible. These is a 3 dramas where he stars and each one is masterfully acted.
This role was different and he has done an outstanding job.I felt in some scenes he was no longer acting, he lived this character.
The drama starts out a bit slowly, but when things start 'connecting', the suspense is enhanced and the drama gets more action scenes and more mysterious as well.
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This show is addicting! Once you start watching, you can't stop!
Loved it! The storyline to this so unique and different from what I’ve seen before. There were a few moments where the show felt a little slow paced but overall was very good! I loved the main character and couldn't wait to see him succeed and felt so bad for what all he was going through. Some of the twists were predictable to me but not to where it made unenjoyable.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Drugs and friendship
A drug enforcement officer is captured and drugged to the point of becoming addicted to this new substance. Upon his release, he tries to discover who did it and what ties him to the death of his old friend, who apparently committed suicide.His investigation will lead him to relive situations dating back to 20 years earlier, when a serious incident had led him to separate from his friend and to never forgive him in the years to come.
A reporter who was their coursemate and who, along with him, is the beneficiary of his insurance policy, will help him and she will stay next him.
Why, with a wife and closer "friends", did he leave this large sum to these two?
A tangled story of drugs, murders, betrayals but also of friendship.
I think Ji Sung acted masterfully, as in other series like The devil judge, Doctor John or Defendant.
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Addicting!
I will always love a crime kdrama, and this is no exception. I was especially looking forward to this one since I loved Ji Sung's performance in the Devil Judge, and he did not disappoint! Connection told such a compelling story of interwoven unsolved cases, and I was HOOKED! If you like crime dramas at all, you have to give this one a shot.Jang Jaegyeong works in the (very successful) narcotics unit. Him, along with reporter Oh Yoonjin, begin investigating a new drug that has been spreading called lemon mulberry, which gives the user great focus and concentration at the cost of live-threatening withdrawals and quick-building tolerance. Basically, it's the perfect recipe for maximum addiction. At the same time, an old friend of Jaegyong's named Junseo tries to reconcile with him over events from high school that ruined their friendship. After another pleading attempt, Junseo continues to get nowhere with Jaegyeong. One night, Jaegyeong is kidnapped and drugged with lemon mulberry with no memory of what happened; around the same time, Junseo's body is found at a construction site and is tentatively considered suicide. Jaegyeong begins simultaneously investigating the potential murder of Junseo and the rise and spread of lemon mulberry, and starts connecting the cases together.
This show was genuinely so much fun to watch, especially if you pay close attention. While there are a lot of characters you need to know, all of them play such interesting roles in these murder and drug cases. Plus, as a viewer, you can try to start piecing together everything yourself alongside the detectives, which I always love. I find I have a hard time getting into shows when the viewer knows a lot more than the characters, but this was the perfect balance of trying to lead the viewer to make conclusions with small pieces of evidence while also making sure the detectives are competent and are putting things together. I also felt like the twists in the plot were built in perfectly - no twists that didn't make any sense just for shock value, but the way things came together was still unexpected. Truly, this was a really well thought out crime drama that keeps you wanting more episodes!
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Migth be good idea to watch if you like the actors
The mistery and how we don't understand most of what is happening in all the episodes cativates me. The romantic triangle was unnecessary and very very lame. Won Jong Soo despite being rich and anyone can't stand him, he also don't have any trace of personality, typical support role character wich isn't better desenvolved.The narrative sometimes is very predictible and cliché, especially in the moments at the end of the history. The mistery and the investigation on episode 10 and after was very tedious to me. I expect so much more and was so frustating receive anything. The plot of the lead characters and how it ends for them was so annoying.
I like to watch mostly part. I swear. I love Ji Sung acting and the journalist and their friend and how they make a good dinamic. The investigation when comes from the Jae Gyeong is interesting and easily exciting, but the script really don't make the work for the carismatic actors easy to make all the drama worthy.
Considering the historical of the characters Ji Sung do, i will just say that the way Jang Jae Gyeong look to his partner detective is kinda gay hehe
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This review may contain spoilers
Here's why connection is more than just a cop story
I don't follow the mydramalist rating, so here's my rating system to help navigate my review better.Plot: 1/1, Emotional impact: 0.5/1, enjoyment: 1/1, dialogues: 1/1, dynamics: 1/1, originality: 1/1, expectation: 1/1, acting: 1/1, ending: 0.5/1, recommend value: 1/1
Overall, Connection is 9/10 now let's get into the review!
The drama follows a familiar set-up, a police officer searching for the truth, but ‘connection’ stand out by placing our lead in the narcotics department and then turning the tables on him. His descent into drug addiction not only significantly raises the stakes but also adds a layer of irony because now it isn't just about the case or his dead friend. It's about survival.
Every characters feel sketchy, each with their own hidden agendas. While it is awfully obvious who the killer is, the story is rather concerned with why the murder happened.
The lead's addiction is central to the story. Hes constantly battling withdrawal, hiding his secret and forcing himself to power through the case. That tension keeps you hooked, always waiting for the moment everyone discovers his secret.
That all being said, the ending didn't land. It felt abrupt and undercooked, cutting off the emotional payoff just when it shouldve hit the hardest.
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Amigos para siempre means you always will be my friend
No se cual es mejor concepto de amistad , unos que supuestamente son amigos pero en verdad se clavan puñales por la espalda u otros que después de un incidente ajeno a ellos causa el traslado de uno de ellos y así dejan de hablarse. Vamos arriba la amistad así te digo.Jun Seo quería volver a los viejos días y salvar a su hija y lo que obtuvo es ser camello , ver morir a su hija, como su mujer le engañaba y morir él, eso sí con un funeral lleno de "amigos".Kwon Yul puedes dejar de hacer papeles de fiscales, es que ¿acaso eres Woo Seok y su amor por coger personajes que se mueren?.Por cierto me gusta como llevan el personaje y me imaginaba que iba a morir, lo habían dejado todo tan complicado describiéndolo como alguien tan meticuloso (aunque la periodista consigue varias veces grabarle ) que no tenía sentido que encontrasen algo para incriminarlo. Eso no quita que me hubiera gustado verle pudrirse en la cárcel.
Tanto Sang Wi como Yoon Ho me recuerdan a dos adolescentes desesperados por entrar en el grupo de los guais que hacen lo que sea sobretodo el último , cuando nunca les han importado y donde sinceramente hubiese sido mejor que no se hubieran metido.
La esposa no me gusta que la traten ponerla de buena al final. Por cierto no entiendo cómo acepta hacer la autopsia si tenía un lío con Tae Jin.
Jong Soo y Chi Hyeon no se que tienen un bromance muy raro, este último se nota que es gay y que haría cualquier cosa por el primero y se deja querer porque sabe que va a conseguir lo que sea gracias a él.
Me hubiera gustado que se hubiesen centrado más en lo de las drogas y la CEO Yoon (me gustaba ese personaje) que lo que pasó hace 20 años , por cierto no entiendo porque van a matar al otro sinceramente (Me refiero al chaval que mató el Jong Soo).
No se cree nadie que en una unidad de narcóticos de la policía, nadie se pispe que el capitán es un drogadicto.
Como jurista , no puedo omitir como toda la serie y como todo el caso se ha construido en base de pruebas ilegales propias de la doctrina del árbol de los frutos envenenados. Escuchas ilegales, un capitán bajo la influencia de sustancias .... Flipo a su vez con la carta blanca que le dejaban al fiscal.
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This review may contain spoilers
Tbh I would’ve rated it a bit higher but idk the ending got a bit overdoneActing: 100/10
Process: 6/10
Makjang: 8/10
Past stuff: 2/10
The drama was good, the first two eps and then 10-14 were really great
But that middle 7eps were ;/ and that’s what stopped me from rating it higher
The side murders, the side drug stuff, the long chase of whodunit for them to so easily confess like a chitchat ruined the mood
The ending with the dad being the mastermind was ;/
Like all those adult dudes did such a mess, just for the dad to come in and say he was the one cuz those “kids” were ruining his plans
I was glad and worried they’d say insurance guy was the real killer :D
And it’s so sad, dr, his 3 good friends, and the villains who used him, he was a tool that was punch around and left alone, even by his wife
So it kinda didn’t make sense for me, too makjang….
Sure jisung didn’t wanna hear him out, but he was only kicked out of school, again growing pains, but that dude, became a drug dealer to heal his daughter, after rich villain ruining his kids insurance, then inferiority complex dude goes and make him a drug dealer and his “closest friend who was jealous of this dude choosing 3 other friends and not included him”, makes those drugs and blames the 3 for not being around
Like why didn’t insurance guy help more? He didn’t have a problem making a life insurance that benefits others, but couldn’t help the daughter?
And the dude couldn’t reach out, not to apologize but to say how hard his life was? That’s sad….
And the password… that was cruel.. T_T but for them to be happy over the money was also sad… like that’s the money that the dude sold his soul for, couldn’t get the second half of the password, which was his wife’s bday, and the second being his friendship day with those 3 that abandoned him T_T
He really just wanted to heal his kid, like T_T
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