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| (OSEN) |
The bone-chilling episodes of tvN’s crime drama “Signal,” makes viewers wonder whether the crimes depicted in the episodes are real.
They are actually based on real crimes that have taken place in the past.
For instance, the first episode of “Signal,” opened with an episode that centered on child kidnapping.
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| (MBC) |
The methods and motives of the kidnappers in the episode are based on an incident that happened in 1997 called the “Park Chorong Bitnari Kidnapping-Murder Case.” It gained national attention back then for the child’s long and unique name, after whom the case was named.
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| (MBC) |
Park’s kidnapped had requested ransom for the child’s life, then proceeded to murder Park in cold blood. The shocking aspect of the crime was that the kidnapper turned out to be a woman who was 8 months pregnant. The crime left the nation in shock and mourning for Park’s death.
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| (OSEN) |
The South Gyeonggi province case featured in the second episode of the series is based on one of the most famous serial killings in Korean history, the “Hwaseong Serial Murders.” The incident was shocking enough to spawn several fictional works based on the actual case such the famous 2003 flick, “Memories of Murder”--featuring actor Song Kang-ho.
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| (Sidus HQ) |
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A series of rape and murder cases occurred sporadically over a period of five years starting from 1986. The killer -- who remains unidentified -- raped and murdered at least 10 different victims. Due to the lack of technology in crime investigation in South Korea at the time, this has become a cold case and the killer remains uncaught.
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| (Youtube) |
In another episode of “Signal,” a rape case occurs in Inju, a fictional city in the drama. However, the case is based on what happened in Miryang in 2004, known as the “Miryang Gang Rape Case.” Several middle-school and high-school girls were gang raped by at least 41 male students and the victims were blamed instead. However, the parents of the offenders said that the victims’ behavior had caused the crime. The drama “Signal” focuses on the pain of the rape victims and sheds light on how the offenders received light sentences despite their crime.
By Jung Min-kyung (mkj1105@heraldcorp.com)
