General Information

• International Title: Through the Darkness aka Those Who Read Hearts of Evil
• Original Title: 악의 마음을 읽는 자들 (romanization: Akmae maeumeul ilgneun jadeul)
• Genre: Crime, thriller
• No. of Episode: 12
• Airing Date: 2022.01.14 ~ 2022.03.12
• Airing Slot: Friday – Saturday 22:00 KST
• Broadcasting Channel: SBS
• International Distributor: TBA
• Starring: Kim Nam Gil, Jin Seon Kyu, Kim So Jin
• Director: Park Bo Ram
• Screenwriter: Seol I Na based on Kwon Il Yong’s web novel ‘Those Who Read Hearts of Evil’
• Highest Rating: 8.3% Nationwide (Nielsen Korea)
• Awards: TBA

Synopsis

‘Through the Darkness’ tells the story of a profiler Song Ha Young (Kim Nam Gil) who had to fiercely look into the minds of the evilest souls. Set during a time when South Korea lives in horror due to the increasing number of serial murders, the country’s first profiler began dangerous conversations with serial killers.

Cast

Character: Song Ha Young (Analysis of Criminal Behaviors criminal profiler at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency)
Portrayed by: Kim Nam Gil
Kim Nam Gil’s notable works: The Great Queen Seondeok (2009), The Pirate (2014), Live Up to Your Name (2017), Memoir of a Murderer (2017), The Fiery Priest (2019)

Character: Kook Young Soo (Analysis of Criminal Behaviors team leader at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency)
Portrayed by: Jin Seon Kyu
Jin Seon Kyu’s notable works: The Outlaws (2017), Extreme Job (2019), Space Sweepers (2021)

Character: Yoon Tae Goo (Mobile Investigation Unit team leader at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency)
Portrayed by: Kim So Jin
Kim So Jin’s notable works: The King (2017), Another Child (2019), The Man Standing Next (2020), Mogadishu (2021)

Extended Cast

Ryeo Woon as Jung Woo Joo
Jung Soon Won as Nam Il Young
Lee Dae Yeon as Baek Jun Sik
Kim Won Hae as Heo Gil Pyo
Gong Seong Ha as Reporter Choi Yoon Ji
Kim Hye Ok as Park Young Shin (Ha Young’s mother)
Go Geon Han as Yang Yong Cheol
Seo Dong Gap as Kim Bong Sik
Hong Woo Jin as Oh In Tak
Oh Seung Hoon as Jo Kang Moo
Oh Hee Joon as Kang Yoo Min
Han Joon Woo as Go Young Choon
Kim Jung Hee as Nam Gi Tae
Na Cheol as Woo Ho Seong
Lee Ha Neui as Reporter Lee Moo Sik

Cameo & Special Appearance

Jung Man Shik as Park Dae Woong
Oh Kyung Ju as witness
Hwang Jung Min (1969) as Supermarket owner
Ha Do Kwon as Shin Gi Ho

Character Relationship Chart

Criminal Behavior Analysis Team led by Kook Young Soo (Jin Seon Kyu) and Mobile Investigation Unit led by Yoon Tae Goo (Kim So Jin) at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency work together in a serial murder case. A profiler Song Ha Young (Kim Nam Gil) holds a key role in the effort to capture the murderer who has been terrorizing the citizen of Seoul.

Original Soundtrack

‘Lullaby’ by Nerd Connection
‘Can’t Run Away’ by Hong Isaac
‘Bloom and Fall Alone’ by Kim So Yeon
‘The Leopard of Killimanjaro’ by 4Men

Trailer Videos

Awards & Nominations

TBA

Trivia

• The drama was originally set to air after ‘Lover of the Red Sky‘, but the broadcast was postponed to January 2022.
• The drama was supposed to air on Monday-Saturday airing slot.
• The Line-up cast was confirmed on June 22th, 2021.
• ‘Through the Darkness’ marks Kim Nam Gil‘s comeback drama in 2 years and Kim So Jin’s comeback drama in 6 years.
• It is based on a web novel by South Korea’s first criminal profiler Kwon Il Yong’s ‘Those Who Read Hearts of Evil’.
• The two male leads Kim Nam Gil and Jin Seon Kyu made a cameo appearance on the previous weekend drama ‘One the Woman‘.
• The series halted the airing for 3 weeks from January 29 and scheduled to return on February 25 due to Beijing Olympics.