They live among us, hiding in plain sight and only visible to people of their choosing. Many times we hear of them from the news or from neighbors when something goes horribly wrong. Sometimes it is bloody and messy, while other times it looks like a normal accident—a fall from the roof while fixing the tiles or falling asleep in the bathtub after a tiring day.
Only a few people know the truth, though.
The truth about the monsters. |  |
South Korea is a country almost always described as very safe and sound. When travel bloggers and vloggers share news about their stories from South Korea, they usually say that they felt very safe, and as a fellow tourist who visited this country, I have to agree: I felt very safe. But no matter how safe the country we are visiting is, there is always a small percentage of something going south. While South Korea is truly an overall safe country, it does have a history of brutal serial murders, sex trafficking, corruption, and even drug use.
While many think that South Korean crime TV series and movies are created only for entertainment, it’s not the first time they've adapted real cases on the screen for a broad audience to see.
In this article, we are going to look at fictitious killers from a South Korean crime TV series that left a big impact on the viewers. |
VIGILANTE |   | At first glance, he is a nice student at the police academy, but on the other side, he is a vigilante who craves to uphold justice and fight for true peace. When making this article, I truly contemplated whether I should add this character in or not, but in the end, I have decided to do so. Just because something is very complicated to process doesn’t mean we should ignore it.
Some say our Vigilante is a bad person, while others say he is a good person.
In the end, it is truly up to the values and morals of the person watching to judge which one it is. I truly like how even the TV series itself doesn’t take a direct stance on this matter, and people within the series also can’t decide who Vigilante truly is.
If you like stories with dark heroes who act as saviors of humanity, be sure to check out the TV series Vigilante. |
It happens everywhere.
We often think that people working in the police force should be the ones upholding justice and thus leading a proper life, but oftentimes that is not the case. Vigilante may be a fictitious story, but in the end, it does have a speck of truth in it. Not only in South Korea, but all around the world, there are people in the police force who either use their power for bad purposes or are part of illegal organizations, oftentimes even helping out big mafia bosses.
Being part of the police doesn’t automatically mean that someone is good-hearted and wants to uphold justice. |
JANG JUN WOO |   | Evil hiding in plain sight—that’s how we could describe the character of Jang Jun Woo from the famous crime TV series Vincenzo.
At first glance, he looks goofy, somewhat clumsy and even funny, but inside, he is master of planning and each of his move is designed to bring him success in his grand plan.
The true beauty of this series in my opinion truly lies in the main characters and the “big fight” between the good and the evil. Just like with Vigilante, we do not have morally white main character, but we see the saying, “fight evil with evil” in action, which is the true hidden charm of this whole series.
While our main hero, Vincenzo has his cards on the table, the true villain is hiding under his mask. |
The story of Vincenzo talks about various aspects of illegal things happening around us without our knowledge, but I think this series mostly highlights the corruption and other illicit activities of business owners that are worse than simple tax fraud. Once again, South Korea isn’t special in this field, and a lot of other countries can “pride” themselves in the illegal activities of big companies. One might think that businessmen simply focus on business and how to gain a bigger profit, but no. Sometimes those rich businessmen hire people to get rid of people by any means. |
SEO MOON JO |   | Seo Moon Jo is a beautiful angel who has fallen from its throne and tasted the blood on its tongue. This could be the description of the famous serial killer from the South Korean series Strangers From Hell.
Charismatic, handsome, smart, and most importantly, a pathological liar. Not once have I stumbled on comments both praising and hating this character, because truly, the actor portraying this character did an outstanding job.
Many times with crime series, we often find ourselves thinking about the motivation for some heinous crimes, and often we get the explanation that the villains were hurt in their childhood or something traumatic happened to them, but Seo Moon Jo is different.
Seo Moon Jo is pure evil.
To avoid saying possible big spoilers, I can only say that this TV series truly opened my eyes and left me in shock because it is very raw and it is not sugarcoating anything. |
Psychopathy is a mental health condition characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egoistic traits masked by superficial charm and the outward presence of apparent normalcy (1).
While this definition is absolutely true and the TV series shows the true potential of a born psychopath, the reality is that not all diagnosed psychopaths choose to be serial killers. If proper management is present from a very young age, there is a possibility of managing this condition. Even though the percentage is rather small, we cannot disregard the small percentage as well.
It is also good to mention that the media oftentimes think that psychopaths and sociopaths are of the same "breed," but this is simply not true. Sociopathy, or, in the correct term, “anti-social personality disorder,” is actually a very common disorder that affects people with usually higher IQs and people in the fields of law, medicine, and even engineering. In other words, they are all around us. Once again, with proper management, these people could lead an absolutely normal life but still be “special” in their own way. |
LEE SUNG HOON | 
 | Duel is a thriller-action TV series with hints of sci-fi elements that captured the hearts of many people, but the true focus of this article is on the character of Lee Sung Hoon.
Sometimes, we change because of the circumstances, and the change can be positive or negative. Everything around us unknowingly shapes us into who we are. It isn’t only our parents who educate us, but also other people or places.
This TV series heavily focuses on who we can become if the circumstances are not good and we don’t see other ways out other than getting into illicit things, just like our main character, Sung Hoon.
Many would describe Sung Hoon as evil, smart, and deceptive, but on the other hand, I see immense suffering in his actions. I think he truly looks like a wounded animal that is lashing out at the ones that are trying to help.
I think the reason why Sung Hoon stands out on this list is because he is truly trying to become a good human but doesn’t know how to get there. |
Among all the reasons why people succumb to criminal actions, one reason stands out the most: upbringing. Sometimes, people truly don’t know better, and it might be because they were raised by already bad people—murderers, abusers, addicts, etc.
Because of this, all countries should focus more on social care, truly take each report seriously, and investigate the families, which do look suspicious. If proper steps are taken, the children can have a beautiful future and won’t need to express their childhood suffering by making others suffer with their own hands. |
FLYING DAGGER | 
 | The short Korean TV series Long Time No See might serve as a break-through for South Korean cinematography in the LGBT sphere, but it also focuses on a heavy topic within its quite short duration frame.
In the story, we follow two killers who work for big gangs. Sounds simple, right? Indeed, sometimes things are truly that simple. Sometimes, just like one of the main protagonists, Flying Dagger, we do get into bad stuff by making quick decisions, which will haunt us later in life. When making the decision, one might not see the consequences yet, but later on, they do appear.
Flying Dagger isn’t a bad man per se, but he truly has made bad decisions that were made due to one single thing: family.
Sometimes even good people have to transform into bad people in order to keep their close ones safe and sound. If no other opportunities arise, it is possible for humans to do a lot of things for money and family, even murder. |
Many times we find ourselves at the bottom, and we feel that there is no way out—that there is no bright light at the end of the tunnel to get us out of the darkness. I want to tell you that there is always a chance. The road to success may be very hard, and it might feel like an eternity until we reach our goal, but let’s not give up.
Money can be earned in the correct way.
Families can be protected by the correct people.
Let’s not make bad decisions because we simply feel that we have no other way out other than the criminal way. |
YOON JI WOO | 
 | Yoon Ji Woo is a woman who was forced to mature way too soon and under bad circumstances. Describing this character is truly very difficult because she isn’t black or white, but more of a gray character.
Driven by utmost hatred, this woman trains until her body breaks in order to get justice for her family, and we all know that love, even familial love, is sometimes a great driving force for doing bad things.
Smart, deceptive, great at combat, beautiful, but also a pained warrior with a clear goal in mind.
The TV series My Name truly makes you question what you would do if you were suddenly in the shoes of the main heroine. Would you succumb to your desire for revenge and get your hands bloody, or would you solve it with other steps, which would be more proper? |
Among other reasons why people succumb to illegal activities is revenge as well. There are many documentaries that give an in-depth look at prisoners and the reasons why they are serving their sentences. Many times, it’s because of revenge, most often gang revenge. Seldom do the prisoners say that they do not regret their actions. While in the moment it may have felt good, later on the consequences are often way too big.
Revenge is possible.
Revenge doesn’t have to include illegal activities.
Yes, violence may bring revenge closer, but at what cost?
Let’s punish the people who hurt us or others in a proper way. |
 | While dramaland often serves us fictional characters with fictional stories, they do depict reality to some degree. In this article, I have covered various killers, but all with different motives. From revenge to the need for money, or even pure psychopathy. Each character is unique, but the same in some aspects. So, what should we take from this? Well, maybe not all bad guys are the same? Or maybe we, as humans, can solve things without using guns and knives to make our point.
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