Through the Darkness (TV series)

Through the Darkness^[7] (Korean: 악의 마음을 읽는 자들 – Those who read the hearts of evil) is a 2022 South Korean television series starring Kim Nam-gil, Jin Seon-kyu and Kim So-jin.^[8] It is based on the 2018 non-fiction book of the same title co-written by Korea's first criminal profiler Kwon Il-yong [ko] and journalist-turned-author Ko Na-mu, which highlights Kwon's field experiences.^[1][9][10] It aired on SBS TV from 14 January to 12 March 2022, every Friday and Saturday at 22:00 (KST).^[11]

Through the Darkness
Promotional poster
Also known as	Those Who Read Hearts of Evil
Hangul	악의 마음을 읽는 자들
Literal meaning	Those Who Read the Minds of Evil[1]
Revised Romanization	Ag-ui Maeum-eul Ilgneun Jadeul
Genre	Crime[1] Thriller[1]
Created by	Studio S[2] Wavve (production investment)[3]
Based on	Those Who Read the Minds of Evil by Kwon Il-yong and Ko Na-mu[1]
Developed by	Lee Seul-gi[4] Kim Mi-joo[4]
Written by	Seol Yi-na[4]
Directed by	Park Bo-ram[4]
Starring	Kim Nam-gil Jin Seon-kyu Kim So-jin
Music by	Gaemi
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	12[5]
Production
Executive producer	Park Young-soo
Producers	Han Jeong-hwan Kim Si-hwan Park Ki-yeol
Production company	Studio S[6]
Original release
Network	SBS TV
Release	14 January (2022-01-14) – 12 March 2022 (2022-03-12)

Synopsis

Set during the early days of implementation of criminal behavior analysis in the South Korean law enforcement, the series is about a very first criminal profiler who struggles to determine the behavioural patterns of serial killers while trying to prove to society that criminal behavior analysis is the future of criminal investigation.^[6]

Cast

Main

• Kim Nam-gil as Song Ha-young, profiler of the Criminal Behavior Analysis team at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's (SMPA) Scientific Investigation division.^[8]
  • Lee Chun-moo as young Song Ha-young^[12]
• Jin Seon-kyu as Gook Young-soo, leader of the Criminal Behavior Analysis team.^[8]
• Kim So-jin as Yoon Tae-goo, team leader of the Mobile Investigation Unit at SMPA.^[6]

Supporting

Criminal Behavior Analysis team

• Ryeoun as Jung Woo-joo, the person who provides information and analyzes various incident data. He later joins Ha-young and Young-soo's team.^[13][14]

Mobile Investigation Unit

• Lee Dae-yeon as Baek Jun-sik, head of SMPA's Criminal division.^[15]
• Kim Won-hae as Heo Gil-pyo, head of SMPA's Mobile Investigation Unit.^[16]
• Jeong Soon-won as Nam Il-young, the youngest member of Mobile Investigation Unit who respects and follows Tae-goo unconditionally.^[17]

Others

• Kim Hyun as Hwa-yeon's mother^[18]
• Gong Sung-ha as Choi Yoon-ji, a journalist from online media Fact Today.^[19]
• Kim Hye-ok as Park Young-shin, Ha-young's mother.^[20]

Extended

• Go Geon-han as Yang Yong-cheol, a man who claimed to be the "Red Hat" murderer.^[21][22]
• Seo Dong-gap as Kim Bong-sik, the first commander of the squadron.^[23]
• Hong Woo-jin as Oh In-tak, a forensic officer in SMPA's forensic team and is a junior of Young-soo.^[24]
• Oh Seung-hoon as Jo Kang-moo, a serial killer.^[25]
• Oh Hee-joon as Kang Yoo-min
• Han Joon-woo as Goo Young-chun, a psychopathic serial killer.^[26]
• Kim Jung-hee as Nam Ki-tae, a psychopathic serial killer.^[26]
• Na Cheol as Woo Ho-seong, a psychotic serial killer.^[27]

Special appearances

• Jung Man-sik as Park Dae-woong, crime squad leader.^[28][29][30]
• Hwang Jung-min as the key witness of a crime.^[31]
• Oh Kyung-ju as Bang Ki-hoon, a suspect who was investigated for killing his own girlfriend.^[32]
• Ha Do-kwon as Shin Ki-ho, the director of the online media Fact Today.^[33]

Release

It was initially reported that the series was likely to be aired in October 2021.^[9] However, it was later confirmed in November that it would premiere on 14 January 2022.^[11]

Original soundtrack

Part 1

Released on 15 January 2022^[34][35]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Lullaby" (스윗해)	Midnight	Midnight	Nerd Connection	3:36
2.	"Lullaby" (스윗해; Inst.)		Midnight		3:36
Total length:					7:12

Part 2

Released on 29 January 2022^[36][37]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Can't Run Away"	Gaemi Lee Jun-hwa	Gaemi Lee Jun-hwa	Hong Isaac	3:05
2.	"Can't Run Away" (Inst.)		Gaemi Lee Jun-hwa		3:05
Total length:					6:10

Part 3

Released on 5 March 2022^[38][39]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Bloom and Fall Alone" (홀로 피고 진 꽃)	Kwon Bin-ki	Kwon Bin-ki	Kim So-yeon	3:27
2.	"Bloom and Fall Alone" (홀로 피고 진 꽃; Inst.)		Kwon Bin-ki		3:27
Total length:					6:54

Part 4

Released on 12 March 2022^[40][41]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"The Leopard of Killimanjaro" (킬리만자로의 표범)	Yang In-ja	Kim Hee-gap	4Men	4:21
2.	"The Leopard of Killimanjaro" (킬리만자로의 표범; Inst.)		Kim Hee-gap		4:21
Total length:					8:42

Viewership

Season		Episode number												Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
	1	1.210	1.398	1.533	1.726	1.442	1.388	1.508	1.056	1.610	1.251	1.411	1.426	1.413

Through the Darkness : South Korea viewers per episode (millions)

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.^[42]

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share
		Nielsen Korea[43]		TNmS[44]
		Nationwide	Seoul	Nationwide
1	14 January 2022	6.2% (14th)	6.4%	5.2% (14th)
2	15 January 2022	7.5% (7th)	8.1% (5th)	5.2% (17th)
3	21 January 2022	7.9% (9th)	8.6% (9th)	5.6% (12th)
4	22 January 2022	8.2% (5th)	8.6% (2nd)	6.2% (6th)
5	28 January 2022	7.5% (10th)	8.6% (6th)	6.0% (9th)
6	29 January 2022	6.9% (9th)	7.8% (6th)	5.1% (16th)
7	25 February 2022[a]	7.4% (8th)	8.0% (5th)	6.6% (11th)
8	26 February 2022	5.0% (19th)	5.1% (17th)	4.9% (18th)
9	4 March 2022	8.3% (3rd)	8.9% (3rd)	6.8% (10th)
10	5 March 2022	6.0% (12th)	6.2% (11th)	4.6% (17th)
11	11 March 2022	7.3% (7th)	7.9% (6th)	6.3% (11th)
12	12 March 2022	7.0% (8th)	7.6% (5th)	5.9% (11th)
Average		7.1%	7.7%	5.7%
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref.
APAN Star Awards	2022	Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Kim Nam-gil	Nominated	[46]
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Jin Seon-kyu	Won	[47]
Asian Television Awards	2022	Best Picture Award	Through the Darkness	Won	[48]
		Best Drama Series		Nominated	[49]
Baeksang Arts Awards	2022	Best Actor – Television	Kim Nam-gil	Nominated	[50]
Blue Dragon Series Awards	2022	Best Actor		Nominated	[51]
		Best Drama	Through the Darkness	Nominated
Korea Drama Awards	2022	Grand Prize (Daesang)	Kim Nam-gil	Nominated	[52]
		Excellence Award, Actor	Jin Seon-kyu	Nominated	[53]
New York Festivals: TV & Film Awards	2023	Entertainment Program – Crime Drama	Through the Darkness	Finalist	[54][55]
SBS Drama Awards	2022	Grand Prize (Daesang)	Kim Nam-gil	Won	[56]
		Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Genre/Fantasy Drama	Jin Seon-kyu	Won
		Best New Actor	Ryeoun	Won
		Best New Actress	Gong Sung-ha	Won
		Director's Award	Kim Nam-gil	Nominated	[57]
		Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Genre/Fantasy Drama		Nominated	[58]
		Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries Genre/Fantasy Drama	Kim So-jin	Nominated	[59]
		Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries Genre/Fantasy Drama	Kim Won-hae	Nominated	[60]
		Best Supporting Team	Through the Darkness[b]	Nominated	[61]
Seoul International Drama Awards	2022	Best Actor	Kim Nam-gil	Nominated	[62]

Note

1. The series was suspended for three weeks due to the broadcast of 2022 Winter Olympics.^[45]
2. Kim So-jin, Kim Nam-gil, Jin Seon-kyu, Ryeoun, Kim Won-hae, Jung Se-woon and Lee Dae-yeon