# The Manipulated > Source: https://hallyu.wiki/en/wiki/the-manipulated/ > Based on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manipulated (CC BY-SA 4.0) > Category: TV dramas > Last edited: 2026-09-23T12:23:36Z > Hallyu Wiki hub: The Manipulated: 2.9K Wikipedia views in 7 foreign languages this week (+5%), led by English · 1 explainer. The Manipulated (Korean: 조각도시) is a 2025 South Korean revenge action crime thriller television series written by Oh Sang-ho, directed by Park Shin-woo and Kim Chang-ju, and starring Ji Chang-w The Manipulated (Korean: 조각도시) is a 2025 South Korean revenge action crime thriller television series written by Oh Sang-ho, directed by Park Shin-woo and Kim Chang-ju, and starring Ji Chang-wook, Doh Kyung-soo, Kim Jong-soo, Jo Yoon-su, and Lee Kwang-soo. It is based on the film Fabricated City, which Oh Sang-ho co-wrote. The Manipulated ([Korean](https://hallyu.wiki/en/wiki/korean-language/): 조각도시) is a 2025 South Korean [revenge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenge_drama) [action](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_film) [crime thriller](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_thriller) television series written by Oh Sang-ho, directed by Park Shin-woo and Kim Chang-ju, and starring [Ji Chang-wook](https://hallyu.wiki/en/wiki/ji-chang-wook/), [Doh Kyung-soo](https://hallyu.wiki/en/wiki/doh-kyung-soo/), [Kim Jong-soo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-soo_%28actor%29), [Jo Yoon-su](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Yoon-su), and [Lee Kwang-soo](https://hallyu.wiki/en/wiki/lee-kwang-soo/). It is based on the film [Fabricated City](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabricated_City), which Oh Sang-ho co-wrote. It depicts the story of an ordinary man whose life is abruptly shattered for being wrongly accused of a major crime, but returns to pursue a bloody vengeance after discovering it was a fabrication. The series premiered with 4 episodes on [Disney+](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney%2B) as a [Hulu original series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hulu_original_programming) on November 5, 2025, as the [Star](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_%28Disney%2B%29) content hub was replaced by [Hulu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulu) on October 8, 2025. ## 1. Synopsis It follows an ordinary man, Park Tae-jung, whose life takes a drastic turn when he is wrongfully accused of a heinous crime and sent to prison. After discovering that everything was orchestrated by An Yo-han, he sets out on a path of revenge. ## 2. Cast and characters ### 2.1. Main - [Ji Chang-wook](https://hallyu.wiki/en/wiki/ji-chang-wook/) as Park Tae-jung A man who lived an ordinary life but was falsely accused of committing a heinous crime, and was sentenced to life. - [Doh Kyung-soo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.O._%28entertainer%29) as An Yo-han The CEO of an exclusive security service who is linked to the incident that led to Tae-jung's imprisonment. - [Kim Jong-soo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-soo_%28actor%29) as No Yong-sik Tae-jung's benefactor in prison. - [Jo Yoon-su](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Yoon-su) as No Eun-bi Yong-sik's daughter. - [Lee Kwang-soo](https://hallyu.wiki/en/wiki/lee-kwang-soo/) as Baek Do-kyoung Yo-han's VIP client. ### 2.2. Supporting #### 2.2.1. Guan Prison - [Yang Dong-geun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Dong-geun) as Yeo Deok-su The most influential person in Guan Prison. - Kim Jae-chul as Yang Chul-hwan A prison officer of Guan Prison. - [Eum Moon-suk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eum_Moon-suk) as Do Gang-jae A fellow inmate in Guan Prison, and the fierce rival of Deok-su. - Lee Jae-kyoon as Koo Ji-yong Tae-jung's cellmate in Guan Prison. - [Lee Seo-hwan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Seo-hwan) as Park Han-hee The warden of Guan Prison. #### 2.2.2. Others - [Kim Joong-hee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Joong-hee) as Kim Sang-rak A public defender of Kim Sang-rak Law Office. - [Ahn Ji-ho](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahn_Ji-ho_%28actor%29) as Park Tae-jin Tae-jung's younger brother. - Kwon Da-ham as Woo-jong Tae-jung's friend. - [Kim Jung-heon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jung-heon) as Jung-soo Tae-jung's friend. - Lee Suk-hyeong as Dae-hoon Tae-jung's friend. - Han Ji-hyo as Lee Sun-ah Eun-bi's roommate. - Son Jong-hak as Baek Sang-man Do-kyoung's father and a sitting member of the National Assembly. - [Lim Hwa-young](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lim_Hwa-young) as So Hyun-jung The boss of a hair salon, and the next manipulated target of Yo-han. - Lee Sung-woo as Hwang Il-guk A corrupt detective of the Seoul Junggu Police Station. - Lee Hyun-jin as Ching Li A Chinese killer working for Yo-han. - Kim Min as Yoo Seon-gyu Do-kyoung's partner. - Do Hyun-jin as Han-byeol Eun-bi's friend in Busan. ### 2.3. Special appearances - [Pyo Ye-jin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyo_Ye-jin) as Song Su-ji Tae-jung's girlfriend. - Lee Jong-hyun as a sports car driver - Lee Jae-won as a prosecutor - [Bae Na-ra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bae_Na-ra) as Woo Min-hyung A killer working for Yo-han. - Jeong In-gi as Yo-han's nanny - Park Mi-hyun as Do-kyoung's mother ## 3. Production ### 3.1. Development The series was developed by the film division of [CJENM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CJ_ENM_Entertainment_Division), which also produced it with [Studio Dragon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Dragon) and Simplex Films with a production budget of 35 billion won. It was written by Oh Sang-ho , who also wrote the series [Taxi Driver](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxi_Driver_%28South_Korean_TV_series%29). In November 2024, [Disney+](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney%2B) announced official English name for the series. ### 3.2. Casting On November 13, 2023, [Ji Chang-wook](https://hallyu.wiki/en/wiki/ji-chang-wook/) and [Doh Kyung-soo](https://hallyu.wiki/en/wiki/doh-kyung-soo/) were confirmed to be cast in the roles of the main characters. [Jo Yoon-su](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Yoon-su) announced her casting in series in September 2024. In October 2024, news outlets revealed that [Pyo Ye-jin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyo_Ye-jin) was cast as Ji Chang-wook's love interest. In November same year, [Lee Kwang-soo](https://hallyu.wiki/en/wiki/lee-kwang-soo/)'s agency King Kong by Starship confirmed his appearance in series as Baek Do-kyung. ## 4. Release The Manipulated was released with 4 episodes on November 5, 2025, on Disney+ under the [Hulu on Disney+](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulu) label. Subsequently, 2 episodes per week would be released on every Wednesday, with the final 2 episodes on December 3. ## 5. Reception The Manipulated achieved strong viewership, ranking first in South Korea for two consecutive weeks and placed within the worldwide Top 4 as of 17 November, according to FlixPatrol. It also topped KinoLights’ [OTT](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-the-top_media_service) Trend Rankings for the second week of November. The related film [Fabricated City](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabricated_City) similarly experienced a resurgence, rising to No. 2 on several OTT platforms. It also recorded 1.14 million participants on [Naver](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naver) Open Talk, the highest engagement among entertainment programs.