LayarHijau – Korean drama The Scarecrow has been drawing attention not only for its dark thriller atmosphere and Park Hae-soo’s intense performance, but also because the story is inspired by a real-life criminal case that once shocked South Korea.
In a recent interview, Park Hae-soo revealed that the serial murder case featured in the drama was inspired by the real-life Lee Chun-jae murders in Hwaseong, which took place from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.
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“Because the drama is based on a true story, I had to think not only about expressing the characters and the situations they endured, but also whether I could truly understand Kang Tae-joo’s past trauma and his life 30 years later. I thought about it a lot,” Park Hae-soo shared.
The Scarecrow follows the investigation of a serial murder case in the fictional city of Gangseong in 1988. Park Hae-soo plays detective Kang Tae-joo, a police officer determined to uncover the truth while dealing with his own emotional scars.
Although the drama uses fictional settings and characters, the case itself is said to be inspired by the infamous Hwaseong serial murders, one of the most notorious criminal cases in South Korean history. The murders remained unsolved for many years, turning the case into a national trauma.
Park Hae-soo admitted that he and the other cast members felt emotionally overwhelmed from the moment they first read the script because the story felt disturbingly real.
“When we first read the script, it was terrifying. We felt that we shouldn’t just pretend while portraying these characters. We had to approach them as real human beings,” he said.
The actor also explained that he had to deeply immerse himself in the character’s pain and trauma throughout filming.
“There were so many layers of emotion. I had to act through immense pain, hurt others, and endure that pain myself. As an actor, I was scared and tense, but I also felt challenged,” he explained.
The real-life perpetrator was later identified as Lee Chun-jae, who confessed to multiple murders of women in Hwaseong and nearby areas. The case left deep scars on South Korean society and is often described as one of the darkest crimes in the country’s modern history.
Because of its huge impact, the Hwaseong murders have inspired several Korean crime films and dramas over the years. One of the most famous examples is Bong Joon-ho’s acclaimed film Memories of Murder.
During the interview, Park Hae-soo also described The Scarecrow as one of the biggest turning points in his acting career.
“Meeting Kang Tae-joo was a turning point in my life as an actor. I don’t know if I’ll ever meet a character like him again in the future,” he said.
Still, it is important to note that The Scarecrow is not a direct adaptation of the Lee Chun-jae case. Kang Tae-joo, the investigation, and many of the drama’s conflicts were created specifically for the story. The series mainly draws inspiration from the social fear and emotional trauma surrounding the real-life tragedy.
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