City Hunter (TV series)

City Hunter
Promotional poster for City Hunter
Also known as	시티헌터
Genre	Romance Action Thriller
Format	Television series
Created by	Tsukasa Hojo
Written by	Hwang Eun Kyung Choi Soo Jin
Directed by	Jin Hyuk
Starring	Lee Min Ho Park Min Young Lee Joon Hyuk Hwang Sun Hee Goo Hara Lee Kwang Soo
Country of origin	South Korea
Language(s)	Korean
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	20
Production
Producer(s)	Kim Young Sup
Location(s)	Korea, Thailand
Running time	Wednesday & Thursday 21:55 (KST)
Broadcast
Original channel	SBS
Original run	25 May 2011 (2011-05-25) – 28 July 2011 (2011-07-28)
Chronology
Preceded by	49 Days
Followed by	Protect the Boss
External links
Official website

City Hunter (시티헌터) is a South Korean television drama series starring Lee Min Ho, Park Min Young, Lee Joon Hyuk, Hwang Sun Hee, Goo Hara and Lee Kwang Soo. It premiered on May 25, 2011 on SBS and finished broadcasting on July 28, 2011. The show reached number one in its time slot in Korea, reaching 18% ratings, as well as achieving popularity throughout Asia.^[1][2] The show's ending and immense popularity have led to calls for a second season, a rarity in Korean television dramas.^[3]

It is based on Japanese manga series, City Hunter, written and illustrated by Tsukasa Hojo.

After the end of the show in August 2011, costars Lee Min Ho and Park Min Young confirmed that they were dating.^[4]

Synopsis

The story starts in 1983. The South Korean president and his delegates are visiting Burma (now Myanmar) when a bomb planted by North Korea explodes, killing some high ranking officials. This historical event is called the Rangoon bombing (also known as the Rangoon incident). To strike back, five South Korean officials plan an underground operation to enter North Korea and kill North Korean agents. Unbeknownst to the South Korean president, Lee Jin-Pyo (Kim Sang Joong) and Park Moo-Yul (Park Sang Min) who work as bodyguards for the Chung Hwa Dae, organize a 21-men troop to execute the plan. However, as the operation os taking place, the five high-ranking officials changed their minds, aborting the plan in order to avoid an international crisis if the mission is discovered. Their major concern is that the United States might withdraw its nuclear protection if the mission is made public.

The operation is successful, but as the troops swim to the submarine which is supposed to take them back to South Korea, snipers from the submarine shoot and kill all the troop members, except Lee Jin-Pyo, while they are still in the water. An already injured Park Moo-Yul uses his body to shield Jin-Pyo, thus saving his life. As the only survivor of the ambush, Jin-Pyo swims back to shore and returns to South Korea, where he finds out that there are a total of five officials responsible for aborting the operation.

Vowing to avenge his fallen comrades, including his closest and best friend Park Moo Yul, he kidnaps Moo-Yul's son and flees to Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle, specifically the mountainous Burmese-Thai border. There, he raises the child as his own and trains the boy intensively in combat. Following an attack on the village, Jin-Pyo confesses to the child, Lee Yoon Sung (Lee Min Ho), about his long-term plan for revenge.

Seven years later, after successfully finishing his college years in the United States at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yoon-Sung returns to South Korea to fulfill his step-father's plan for revenge. He enters the Blue House (South Korean presidential palace) as an IT expert under the National Communication Network Team. He is warned by Jin-Pyo not to trust anyone and never to fall in love, as doing so will put the people around him in danger.

In Chung Hwa Dae, he meets bodyguard Kim Na-na (Park Min Young). The story of love and revenge begins. Eventually the bodyguard Kim Na-na, helps him to take revenge, as they discover that they have the same goal in mind. So both of them start working together but problems occur during their revenge plot.

A big shocking twist occurs as the truth unveils.

Cast

• Lee Min Ho as Lee Yoon Sung

He is the "City Hunter". His ultimate goal is to avenge his father's killers as the City Hunter. He used a dead Korean-American John Lee's identity,with this identity he gets his Doctoral degree at MIT, and to enter Korea's presidential palace. But while he was taking revenge, he falls in love with a presidential guard called Kim Nana. He tries to protect Nana from the many enemies hunting him down.

• Park Min Young as Kim Na Na

She is a judo master, being forced to fend for herself at an early age after one of her parents were killed in a drunk driving accident and the other is in a coma. She has to take many jobs in order to support herself. Her exceptional skills in martial arts allowed her to be chosen as one of the president's bodyguards. During her time as a bodyguard, she falls in love with Lee Yoon Sung.

• Lee Joon Hyuk as Kim Young Joo

An intelligent prosecutor, Kim Young Joo possesses a strong sense of justice, even against the corrupt politicians of South Korea. He was Jin Sae Hee's ex-husband as well as the son of one of the officials that ordered the slaughter. He is constant rival against the City Hunter

• Kim Sang Joong as Lee Jin Pyo

He was the only one to survive the slaughter 28 years ago. Full of anger, he wants to kill all of the people who ordered the execution. He pretended to be an investor from The America and started his revenge through his dead best friend's son, Lee Yoon Sung.

• Hwang Sun Hee as Jin Sae Hee

She was Kim Young Joo's Ex-Wife, a vet.

• Goo Hara as Choi Da Hye

The president's academically challenged daughter.

Extended cast

• Chun Ho Jin as Choi Eung Chan
• Kim Sang Ho as Bae Shik Joong
• Park Sang Min as Park Moo Yul
• Kim Mi Sook as Lee Kyung Hee
• Lee Seung Hyung as Song Young Duk
• Yang Jin Sung as Shin Eun Ah
• Lee Kwang Soo as Go Ki Joon
• Kim Byung Choon as Jang Woo Hyun
• Shin Young Jin as Kim Mi Ok
• Lee Hyo Jung as Lee Kyung Wan
• Choi Jung Woo as Chun Jae Man
• Choi Il Hwa as Kim Jong Shik
• Choi Sang Hoon as Seo Yong Hak

References

1. ^ http://www.soompi.com/news/city-hunter-teases-with-underwater-scenes-from-episode-18
2. ^ http://www.soompi.com/news/lee-min-ho-got-400000-more-chinese-fans-after-end-of-city-hunter
3. ^ "City Hunter' Couple Fall in Love Off-Camera". The Chosunilbo. 2011-8-24. http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/08/24/2011082400496.html. Retrieved 2011-09-16. 
4. ^ http://www.soompi.com/news/lee-min-ho-and-park-min-young-found-to-be-dating-for-a-month

External links

• SBS official website