Korean Drama - The Manipulated

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The Manipulated is a 2025 South Korean action thriller drama, written by Oh Sang Ho and directed by Park Shin Woo and Kim Chang Ju.

The series aired on Disney+ November 5 - December 3, 2025, it has 12 episodes.

Main Cast:

Ji Chang Wook as Park Jae Jung

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Doh Kyung Soo as An Yo Han

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Kim Jong Soo as No Yong Sik

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Jo Yoon Su as No Eun Bi

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Lee Kwang Soo as Baek Do Kyoung

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Supporting Cast:

Yang Dong Geun as Yeo Deok Su

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Kim Jae Chul as Yang Chul Hwan

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Eum Moon Suk as Do Gang Jae

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Lee Jae Kyoon as Koo Ji Yong

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Lee Seo Hwan as Park Han Hee

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Lee Sung Woo as Hwang Il Guk

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Ahn Ji Ho as Park Tae Jin

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Kwon Da Ham as Woo Jung

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Kim Jung Heon as Jung Soo

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Lee Suk Hyeong as Dae Hoon

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Pyo Ye Jin as Song Su Ji

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Kim Joong Hee as Kim Sang Rak

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Jeong In Ji as Nanny

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Bae Na Ra as Woo Min Hyung

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Lee Hyun Jin as Chung Ri

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Han Ji Hyo as Lee Sun Ah

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Do Yun Jin as Han Byeol

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The series is based on the film Fabricate City, which Oh Sang Ho co-wrote and starred Ji Chang Wook.

Tae Joong is an ordinary man living an ordinary type of life. But, his life changes.

One day, he unjustly gets involved in a heinous crime and he is sent to prison.

Tae Joong discovers that everything was planned by Yohan and he carries out revenge on Yohan.

Disney+ Singapore

I decided to watch this on a whim because I was familiar with a few of the cast members and I was blown away by a few of them as I wasn't used to them acting as the characters they were playing.

The show itself was really good, it didn't take me long to finish watching it as I was hooked. I will admit that I did nearly stop watching during the first few episodes, as they were really difficult to watch, but I'm glad I pushed through and continued because it did really have me on the edge of my seat and wanting to continue at the end of each episode.

I absolutely loved Ji Chang Wook as Park Jae Jung, I know he's known for his roles, especially when it comes to action, but for me, he was on another level in this drama. From the first to last episode, I felt all his emotions, but watching him in those first few episodes, while difficult and traumatising to watch, he really did an amazing job.

I thought Doh Kyung Soo was amazing as An Yo Han, I joked that I now know why the rest of EXO are scared of him, because he plays crazy extremely well. He even scared and creeped me out.

I really liked Kim Jong Soo as No Yong Sik, I really loved the friendship between Jae Jung and Yong Sik, and there were times I was scared what would happen to him and how it would affect Jae Jung.

I thought Jo Yoon Su did a really great job as No Eun Bi. I initially didn't like her as she seemed to push the people closest to her away, but the more we got to know her, we knew why she acted the way she did.

Lee Kwang Soo was amazing as Baek Do Kyoung, he's the typical character that comes from money and power, which means he believes he can do anything and get away with it, even committing murder. Even as he loses power, he still believes he can get away with his crimes.

I thought Yang Dong Geun was amazing as Yeo Deok Su, I didn't even realise that he played the son in season 2 of Squid Game. It really shows how he can pull off any role and character.

I really liked Kim Jae Chul as Yang Chul Hwan, for me, he was the character that gave me hope for Jae Jung throughout the show. It was sometime hit or miss on whether he would believe Jae Jung, but he also seemed to lean on trusting what he said.

I was surprised to see Bae Na Ra as Woo Min Hyung as I'd not long finished Would You Marry Me, in which he also appears in. While the characters I've seen him play have been of similar roles. Woo Min Hyung is definitely the best I've seen so far as like Yo Han, he's on the crazy side and seems to revel in cleaning up messes and being a hitman for hire.

I highly recommend this drama, I'll just say to be prepared for the first few episodes and push through them. Once you get past that initial trauma, you'll be on the edge of your seat even more.

The casting is amazing as is the story, even if it seems a little far-fetched at times. It's also scary to think there are probably people like this in real life.

Have you watched The Manipulated?

Were you a fan of the cast?

Did you enjoy the plot?

Let me know in the comments below.

See you soon!

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Drama's Watched in 2025

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I definitely watched more drama's in 2025 than I did the previous year, but I did notice that they were mostly Korean. I watched a total of 9 drama's and looking back most of them were on the darker side of entertainment.

So here are the drama's I watched in 2025.

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First we have Love Next Door.

Love Next Door is a 2024 South Korean romantic comedy drama, written by Shin Ha Eun and directed by Yoo Je Won.

The series aired on tvN from August 17, to October 6, 2024, with the series also available to stream on Netflix.

The series has 16 episodes.

The series stars Jung Hae In, Jung So Min, Kim Ji Eun and Yoon Ji On.

I loved this drama and definitely recommend it, I've loved all the drama's I've watched starring Jung So Min, she's definitely one of my favourite actresses. This is a drama that touches on sensitive subjects and has you falling for the whole cast. It really had me feeling all the emotions possible.

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Next we have The Frog.

The Frog is a 2024 South Korean mystery crime thriller series written by Son Ho Young and directed by Mo Wan Il.

The series was released on Netflix on August 23, 2024 and has 8 episodes.

The series stars Kim Yoon Seok, Yoon Kye Sang, Go Min Si and Lee Jung Eun.

I was sold on this as I wanted to see Go Min Si play a darker role and I loved it. The whole cast did an amazing job, the show kept me on the edge of my seat, but it did find the different timelines a little confusing at times.

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Next we have Weak Hero Class 1.

Weak Hero Class 1 is the first season of the South Korean coming-of-age action thriller drama Weak Hero.

The series was written by Yoo Soo Min and Kim Jin Seok, and directed by Yoo Soo Min and Park Dan Hee.

It's based on the webtoon Weak Hero by Seopass and Kim Jin Seok.

The drama was released November 18, 2022 and contains 8 episodes.

The series stars Park Ji Hoon, Choi Hyun Wook and Hong Kyung.

I actually confused this drama with Duty After School when I decided to give it a watch and I'm glad I did. I was hooked from the very first episode, I was lucky that when I watched it, I only had a few weeks to wait for the release of the 2nd season. While violent, I definitely recommend watching this one as it really keeps you wanting to carry on and wanting more. The cast did an amazing job bring it to life.

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Next we have Karma.

Karma is a 2025 South Korean crime thriller series written and directed by Lee Il Hyung.

It's based on the Kakao Webtoon Karma by Choi Hee Seon.

The series was released on Netflix on April 4, 2025 and contains 6 episodes.

The series stars Park Hae Soo, Shin Min A, Lee Hee Joon, Kim Sung Kyun, Lee Kwang Soo and Gong Seung Yeon.

This drama is really good, I loved that the more you got into the episodes, the more you saw how the characters were all connected. I really loved the little plot twist at the end, it really rounded it up perfectly with connecting everyone. I think the cast did a fantastic job and it really touched on some dark subjects.

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Next we have Weak Hero Class 2.

Weak Hero Class 2 is the 2nd season of the South Korean coming-of-age action thriller drama

Weak Hero.

The 2nd season was written and directed by Yoo Soo Min.

Like Weak Hero Class 1, it's based on the webtoon Weak Hero by Seopass and Kim Jin Seok.

Season 2 was released on Netflix April 25, 2025, and like season 1 has 8 episodes.

The series stars Park Ji Hoon, Ryeoun, Choi Min Young, Lee Min Jae, Yoo Su Bin, Bae Na Ra and Lee Jun Young.

Like with Weak Hero Class 1, I was hooked from the first episode, yet again the cast were amazing and the series kept me on the edge of my seat again. I think Weak Hero Class 2 added more violence to the series, but it was interesting to see how the new characters handled some situations we saw in the first season.

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Next we have Juvenile Justice.

Juvenile Justice is a 2022 South Korean legal drama written Kim Min Seok and directed by Hong Jong Chan.

It was released on Netflix on February 25, 2022 and contains 10 episodes.

The series stars Kim Hye Soo, Kim Mu Yeol, Lee Sung Min and Lee Jung Eun.

I loved this drama, the cast, the plot, all of it was on another level. If I remember correctly the crimes in the series were based on true crimes, which definitely makes this drama a whole lot darker than I originally thought.

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Next we have Trigger.

Trigger is a 2025 South Korean action thriller drama written and directed by Kwon Oh Seung.

It was released on Netflix on July 25, 2025 and contains 10 episodes.

The series stars Kim Nam Gil an Kim Young Kwang.

This drama really blew me away, I was hooked from the first episode. It's definitely a drama I recommend. The cast were spot on, even when there were people I'd not watched before.

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Next we have Alice in Borderland 3.

Alice in Borderland is a Japanese science fiction suspense thriller drama series based on the manga of the same name by Haro Aso.

The series is written by Yasuko Kuramitsu and Shinsuke Sato, with Shinsuke Sato also directing.

Season 3 was released on Netflix September 25, 2025 and contains 6 episodes.

The series stars Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya.

Season 3 is a mixture of a new story as well as adding elements from the spin-off manga Retry. While many weren't a fan of season 3, I really enjoyed it and I enjoyed meeting new characters. I was definitely rooting for the new faces along with our main leads.

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Lastly we have Glass Heart.

Glass Heart is a 2025 Japanese drama based on the novel Glass Heart by Mio Wakagi.

The series was written by Mari Okada and Tomoko Akutsu, and directed by Kohtaro Goto and Kensaku Kakimoto.

The series was released on Netflix on July 31st, with 10 episodes.

The series stars Takeru Satoh, Yu Miyazaki, Keita Machida and Jun Shison.

I was in love with this drama from start to finish, I loved the cast, the plot and especially the music. I couldn't stop watching it and really binged watched the series in a couple of days.

So there we have it, they were the 9 drama's I watched in 2025. I'm curious to see if I can beat the number of drama's watched in 2025, which I have already completed my first 2 drama's for 2026.

What drama's did you watch in 2025?

Let me know in the comments below.

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye