Tunnel (2017)

OCN is well-known for its dark/mysterious/psychological/detective/thriller dramas. Indeed the dramas telecast in this particular channel are always more or less enthralling. Once seated with an episode, a viewer (mainly who love this sort of genre) would finish all the episodes in rapid succession leaving himself/herself unkempt at the end.

Yes, it happened to me after I finished Tunnel in one sitting for two days. After the last and final episode I just couldn't see myself in the mirror. Well that doesn't necessarily mean this drama is a perfection or a masterpiece. Despite having number of flaws and loopholes, it could live up to my expectations.

Although practically the concept of time traveling is superfluous and unrealistic but the integration of both past and present to solve the crime is riveting yet not extraordinary. As a viewer I appreciate the way the writers managed to maintain a cliff-hanger per episode and how one by one a particular mystery unraveled. Any sort of art/literature/entertainment can be preposterous but to make it credulous to the viewers is where the makers can show their creativity. All the credit goes to the scriptwriters who managed it pretty nicely.

In the beginning, few episodes have individual crime story which were solved meticulously by the detective team, however, the main story was there and gradually each puzzle pieces were weaved in a single thread. Though all the bits and pieces were scattered initially but the story maintained coherence till the end. Much confusion was not created with the time traveling factor. The whole drama is like a web of riddle solved rigorously. Overall the story writing was commendable but during episodes 12-16 it became excessive. For instance, if we squeeze too much lemon juice in our rice rather than giving a slight sour flavor, the whole rice would turn bitter in taste. This is what happened with Tunnel during these episodes. The flow was fascinating but due to excessive twists and turns for finding the main culprit, it kind of lost the ultimate thrilling essence in the middle part in my opinion.

One interesting thing is, they tried to depict prisoner's dilemma (a concept of game theory in economics) in a theft case but did not show it vividly. I can remember clearly this whole concept was portrayed exquisitely in the drama named "I Hear Your Voice".

On another note, indignation is inevitable upon any murderers or in general any wrong doers, nonetheless it made me ponder upon a particular thing. That is, giving a child a healthy and fine environment to grow up is extremely crucial. It is true that all the heinous murders took over negligible issues but when the culprit was a little boy from then on he had nurtured grave darkness inside him. From his early childhood the unsound experiences he gathered, later triggered him to exploit himself in a psychotic manner towards gaining aberrant pleasure. It all comes down to the upbringing, nurturing and giving a child a loving environment. Compassion can change a person at a tender age.

Moreover, I appreciate the depiction of the female character, Professor Shin Jae Yi. For goodness sake, they refrained for at least once by not showing a sassy, unintelligent and screaming woman. Shin Jae Yi is stoic but a smart, competent and educated woman who came up with brilliant clues regarding solving the cases. Loved the tough at the same time sweet bromance of Gwang Ho and Sun Jae. Love the comradeship among the fellow colleagues. As I always say Korean writers are best at portraying human relationship and emotion among each other. Hats off to the writers for that. All the casts more or less shown good acting skill though not phenomenal.

Necessary to mention that the last episode is utterly heart wrenching and is beautifully wrapped up. Especially visiting every victim's home and paying respect to each of their family was wonderfully done. This little message "Saving Life is important" is laudable.

On the other hand, background score is reasonable with the situation and I could find only one OST named Circle of Life by Kim Dong Uk. It's soft rock which gets slightly heavy at the end sounds superb.

In conclusion, this drama has the characteristics to put a viewer at the edge of their sit but comes with few flaws. If the errors and flaws can be overlooked, it's pretty interesting. I felt like I have completed reading a thriller novel. For a crime drama genre lover, I don't think it would be a bad choice for giving it a shot.

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Ok going to be honest, it wasn’t going to be such a high rating but by the time the subtitle credits started rolling I was literally in tears I know there will be comparisons to shows like I Remember You but the similarities are very little tbh because this was a completely different show. So, I'm going to rate and review as fairly as possible because it was emotional but what I didn’t like is that the emotional thing should not have come so late. Also, In Remember You you feel the two male leads relationship it's the best feature but for me Park and Kim's relationship was lacking in that you see them suddenly being nice to each other because of a plot point rather than it actually developing. They never once actually had a proper conversation with each other, there was no depth and it's true for a lot of interactions in the show. I have a huge crush on Yoon Hyun Min so that scene where he catches the killer for the first time in the woods and goes completely NUTS I can safely say that was some of the most intense scenes I've ever witnessed. Same goes for both the female leads, especially Professor Shin she had me in tears no joke I mean, I was BLOWN away by her acting chops!!!! If she's not receiving awards for this performance something is really wrong with this world. Now, onto the things that didn't work for me. I'm sad to say I'm a huge Choi fan, ok, if anyone bad mouthed him I'd feel bad but dude, um, this is not his best work. I'm sorry. he's talented, we all have bad days, not judging but with all those incredibly subtle actors surrounding him he came off as over acting, and he was fine in the last two episodes but again it was nothing exceptional. It's primarily the reason I can't rate this show any higher. Overall, I Remember You has a deep, poetic feel to it, or White Christmas, they're very mature and deep and this one was a bit of a hit and miss where the script was concerned. Mystery, plot wise, look I basically saw it all coming, all the twists. The most mysterious part for me was to see what happens after the killer gets caught and I was definitely intrigued till the end. I'm happy with the way they went. The funniest and most adorable bits were the way Park tries to keep Kim away from Shin after its revealed who they are lol and of course still enjoyed the bromance and the male leads banter.

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I enjoy the drama a lot. the storyline was interesting enough to draws me in and make me stay till the end. wouldn't say it was unique and rather common and predictable but it was still a fun ride for me. the acting were really good, every cast really suits the characters. for me, the male character which I really love, really liven up the series. the way he adapt to the future was so funny at times. there were probably some flaws, especially during the investigation and the way it was lacking towards the end but I still enjoy it. I just wish they could somewhat explains more about the ending, but well not a big deal.

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Best Drama For Choi Jin Hyuk

The Korean Tunnell drama is a 2017 crime drama produced by the famous OCN criminal drama company , one of Korea's most beautiful and complex dramas that talks about a complex case . The writer will have a high hand in this drama style because the way the events happen and the events are all on the writer that's why I can say the writer Lee Eun Mi was the most unique , The actors in the drama were also unique in supporting roles for the main role , all of which made a unique drama come out of it and the audience was not bothered

My Rating : 8.5/10
Very Good Drama

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AMAZING DRAMA!!!!

First of all, I really dont know why the reviews is below 10 because for me this drama is one of the best kdrama's ever created. This Drama makes me watched for over 1 day only that's because how amazing it is for me. For me the Acting is Super duper Amazing all of it, I want to praise the casting director because all of the actor are so amazing whenever the scenes of park kwang ho and his daughter(prof. shin jae yi/park yeon ho) who is the same age as him it feels like a father and daughter for me not as lovers i dont have any percentage I feel about them as lovers. The Ending part for me is amazing.

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I did not expect to love this show so much. It’s true I sometimes chose not to watch the drama because the gore of corpse after corpse got too much for me. To start off with, this show is pretty standard, but it gets real good. It’s a smart show. The twists actually caught me off guard and I loved the relationships between the characters. It’s not a standard show at all.
It’s a show where all the characters go out of their way to be unfriendly. So when they are even mildly civil, it’s such a great improvement that the rest of the cast are shocked.

“You didn’t hang up. I thought you would.”

Kwang Ho
Choi Jin Hyuk as our hero is a good character to portray the rough and read 80s cop who has straight values.

Sun Jae
Sun Jae is the most hostile out of the lot of them but he gravitates towards Professor Shin because she is just as isolating as he is.

Professor Shin
Professor Shin is a quiet and dark individual who doesn’t have much to say unless it’s important. Then she spits it out and shuts up again.

“I thought I’d handle it well no matter what happens.”

The show demonstrates how despite her experience and dark nature, she is human and the actress portrays her quiet vulnerability with underlying strength.

Sung Shik
I found it very cute that the chief used to be Kwang Ho’s maknae and they resume that same relationship 30 years into the future despite Sung Shik obviously being older than Kwang Ho now in the present.

Yeon Sook
Kwang Ho’s wife is a dignified and composed cop’s wife. She is beautiful and gentle. The actress does a wonderful job of smiling at Choi Jin Hyuk like she is so freakin’ proud of him and thinks he’s the greatest thing alive.

The last couple of episodes really lose the plot with originally smart characters fumbling around just to fill the episodes. But the ending of the ending is filled with all the feelings. I loved it.

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Definitely not a 10/10 but still great

As I was finishing up the series last night, I thought I’d read what other people thought about the series and...well, I do agree with a lot of them. I just want to say I did see “Signal” first so this is definitely a bit of a downgrade except possibly for the acting.

The acting is amazing and the chemistry between the main characters is great. Choi’s emotions just pour out and it’s heart-wrenching especially by the end. It’s great just watching the actors and their characters interact and their relationships get stronger as time goes on and I love that.

The story. As a whole I liked it but it definitely suffers from pacing and a few plot holes. By the end I wasn’t as invested as I was with Signal, but at least Tunnel actually has a closed ending. Yes, I would have liked to see what the real future would have been like, but I’ll take the ending we got. Anyway the story was definitely enjoyable and most of the complaints I had have been brought up by other members here so I’ll spare who ever is willing to read this. A solid 7/10. If it cut down on beating around the bush, I’d gladly have given it at least an 8.

I’m a sucker for time-travel shows and Mystery but I’ve binged two similar shows in a week and I’m getting fatigue so I think it’s time to watch something lighter before going for one more Fantasy/Crime drama.

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The end of the drama

Well, lets leave behind the fact that the drama was tedious in some parts because they want 16 episodes 1 hour each, just for 1 serial killer.
I didn't like the end. First, they caught the killer in the present so he had to catch him again in the past(at least he knew the way). Secondly, I was happy he made it to go back to his wife and child but what about the others? The rookie from the past didn't become chief? Kim Seon Jae did not become detective and did not meet Shin Jae Yi? I mean everything changed and he have no idea how. At least they could have shown everyone 30 years later and what they were doing. This would be the perfect end.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this drama but if the end of a movie or drama doesn't satisfy me....I mean that's what the whole thing was about. Dont screw it in the end!
The reason i put 8 as rating and not higher is because i don't think it deserves 8.7(current rating). If you wanna watch something simiral with fantasy then watch "He is phycometric"(maybe this will make you cry a little bit more but defenitely worth watching much more)

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I ranked Tunnel an overall 7/10 because there were a few things that bothered me about this drama.

I want to start this review by saying that the acting in this drama is really good! The entire major cast is talented and they brought a lot of emotion to their performances, no matter the situation. I actually teared up a few times because the performances were very intense, which I absolutely loved! I am fascinated with actors that are able to evoke such strong feelings through their interpretations. I really have nothing to say about the actors. They worked with what they had and did it splendidly.

Now the script & the story was clearly lacking. I won't give any spoilers but there are a lot of "huh?!" moments throughout this story that are brushed past and create unresolved gaps in the story. There are a lot of nonsensical moments on the detective's sides and how they handle things, the investigations that they do and how they should realistically come to realizations and breakthroughs in the cases. I really hoped for a more intelligent writing of the detective's actions.

The show is good and there are a few actually great episodes but most of them start after episode 7 (which remains my favorite of the entire drama!). The beginning is very slow and I honestly think most of the first episodes are wasted opportunities in building the proper suspense of the show and growing the "time travel" story, which severely lacked in my opinion. I have no idea why it was added. I didn't feel it added anything substantial to the plot and there are a lot of unanswered questions by the end of the show due to this element.

I realized who the real culprit was from very early on but that didn't deter me from enjoying the show. I was curious how it would progress and how the other characters would catch on. It seemed really obvious to me but then again there's very show dramas or shows of this kind that can really surprise me anymore in terms of twists and reveals.

Overall I had a good time watching this show and if you look past some things I can assure you can do so as well.

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Interesting premise destroyed by bad writing

Please ignore the MDL rating (8.6 at the time of writing in 2023)!

The very basic premise (time-traveling detective and serial killer) of this story is interesting. But the writers did a great job of destroying the potential. In two ways:
- All the characters are unbelievably stupid, except the murderers.
- The time traveling aspect is not used at all, it is rather a weird fact on the side.

To come back to the stupid characters: do you know those dramas where there is one lead character who always knows everything in advance and before everybody else, just by being super smart and of course they are also the best in every practical aspect? They can get annoying. Well, in this drama you get none of that :) Everybody is just so unbelievably stupid and incompetent it hurts. When a good detective's skills are 100, the average person's detective skills are maybe 10. All the detectives in this drama are a 1. And that's generous! No common sense at all. And they repeat their mistakes over and over again, and drag this very simple story out into 16 episodes. Some examples:
- When you want to catch a suspect, sneak up to them until you are 10 meters away, then shout at them, so they can run away from you without you being able to catch them.
- When you found out in which house a suspect is hiding, go to the house with 4 cars, all with full sirens! Then storm the house from the front without covering the back door.
- When you are a ML in a team of two and a great revelation comes to your mind, don't tell anyone and storm off angrily to get yourself in trouble.
- When you are a weak vulnerable FL, speak to a serial killer in code via TV and lure him into a dark forest where you wait for him all alone to be his next victim. Don't tell anyone of your police friends about it.

Then the time travel: time travel stories never fully make sense and that's fine. But here's a question for you: when you are a time traveling detective, would you try to catch a serial killer when he is young (in the past) or when he is old (in the future)? And as I said, the time traveling aspect is just there, it is not really relevant for the story, it just makes for some confusion and funny scenes. For a better use of time travel in a detective story, check out the K-drama Signal from 2016!

Ignore the bromance tag on this! It lasts two seconds, is super weak and can't save this train wreck.

I guess I should also say some positive things. The acting is generally quite good, except maybe the time traveling lead who has a limited set of faces. And the character development of the FL was a bit too much: for most of the drama she has the facial expression and emotional warmth of a stone and then suddenly in the end she meets a certain person and becomes normal quite instantly.

Ignore the rating and positive reviews and skip this one!

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