Popular roles seem to come in waves. Many of the best characters in any drama season will have the same profession, whether they are prosecutors or doctors or time travelers.
In 2014 some of the best roles may be detectives. Lee Seung Gi and Cha Seung Won have already signed on to play detectives in "You're Surrounded."
Now Yoon Sang Hyun, fresh from his success as a police officer-turned-defense attorney in "I Hear Your Voice," may also be picking up a badge.
He is considering the role of detective Ha Moo Yeom in a new tvN drama titled "Gapdongee."
The drama is based on the 1980s serial killing of ten women that took place in the rural city of Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province. It was believed that the killer was a man in his 20s but little more was known of him. Almost two million police officers were involved in the hunt for the killer and more than 20,000 suspects were considered. Even so the case was never solved.
The real killer in this case was never found and escaped the statute of limitations, which expired in 2006. Before serving as the basis for this dram, the true-life case also inspired the film "Memories of Murder.
In the drama, the police get another chance to solve the crime because the killer returns after 20 years to commit another round of crimes.
That means Ha Moo Yeom, who became a detective just to nab the serial murderer, has a new chance to catch the criminal and put him away.
Sung Dong Il, who appeared in "Reply 1994," will play the police department head who was a detective at the time of the original murders. He and Ha Moo Yeom have a lot of history that dates back to the original case.
Solving the case, which previously defied two million police officers, may be up to the two of them.
Yoon Sang Hyun has been successful in a variety of comic roles, including that of the chauffer in "My Fair Lady" and the has-been Hallyu star Oska in "Secret Garden." The drama "I Hear Your Voice" offered him a chance to try his hand at a few serious scenes, although that drama had its comic moments too. Playing Ha Moo Yeom in "Gapdongee" may be his grittiest darkest role yet.
Jo Soo Won, who directed "Cheomdamdong Alice" and "Swallow The Sun" will direct "Gapdongee." Kwom Eum Mi, who wrote "Royal Family" and "General Hospital 2," will write the screenplay.
The drama will replace "I Need Romance 3" in April.