# Save Me (South Korean TV series)

Save Me (Korean: 구해줘; RR: Guhaejwo) is a 2017 South Korean television series starring Ok Taec-yeon, Seo Yea-ji, Jo Sung-ha, and Woo Do-hwan. Serving as the first television series from the acclaimed series, Signal producer Lee Jae-moon's company Hidden Sequence, it aired on OCN from August 5 to September 24, 2017 for 16 episodes. This drama series is based on the popular Daum webcomic Out of the World (세상 밖으로) by Jo Geum-san.

## Synopsis

Im Sang-mi and her family move from Seoul to the suburb of Muji County, after her father's business fails.
The religious cult Goseonwon has most of the county in its grasp, with a large number of followers. The cult disguises itself as a peaceful church but dark secrets, torture, violence and murder lurk underneath; with even mischievously darker intentions that deceive their most devoted followers.
Sang-mi's twin brother Sang-jin, who has had a limp since birth, is mercilessly bullied and assaulted at school. Because he can take such abuse no longer, he commits suicide by jumping off the school building. This tears Sang-mi's family apart. Sang Mi's mother soon loses her sanity, causing Sang Mi's hatred for the religious cult who she blames for her mother's poor condition.
Taking advantage of their fragile state, the cult's leader lures her parents into Goseonwon. Despite Sang-Mi's repeated objections to something wrong with the cult, her father is fully brainwashed. With him in the clutches of the cult and her mother mentally unstable, Sang-mi is trapped and unable to escape.
Three years later, her classmate Han Sang-hwan, the son of the county chief who is now a law student, and his two friends Jung-hoon and Man-hee have a chance encounter with Sang-mi. She whispers to them, "Save me." Sang-hwan, determined to right the wrongs of his past, grows determined to save her and expose the cult to the county. He is joined by his third friend and convicted criminal Dong-chul, and both Jung-hoon and Man-hee in his mission, unaware that the cult is just the tip of the iceberg. Using their abilities, the characters try to outwit each other in the tug of war over Sang-mi.

## Cast
### Main

* Ok Taec-yeon as Han Sang-hwan
    The only son of a corrupt politician, who tries to save Sang-mi from the cult. Having power and wealth, he uses it to break into the cult but finds a darker secret lurking inside it.
* Seo Yea-ji as Im Sang-mi
    A new girl whose family moved from Seoul to Daegu after her father's business went bankrupt. Her twin brother Sang-jin committed suicide, and the incident causes her mother to go crazy. Her father started to get deeply involved in a cult as he was obscured by the vision of getting his family on the Boat of Salvation to reunite with his deceased son. She desperately tried to escape the hell for three years, until she met again with Han Sang-hwan and his gang, silently pleading for him to save her.
* Jo Sung-ha as Baek Jung-ki
    The charismatic leader of the cult, whose kind demeanor and caring attitude is shadowed by violent and manipulative behavior. He is called the Spiritual Father.
* Woo Do-hwan as Suk Dong-chul
    The friend of Sang-hwan, who has the most fighting skills out of the whole group. He was incarcerated for three years after Sang-hwan refused to testify for an accident he was involved in, and their relationship had become strained since ever. However, after his release from jail, he decided to mend their relationship and started to work together to save Sang-mi. He breaks into the cult to save Sang-mi, disguised as a son of a rich businessman.

### Supporting
#### Hillbilly Quartet

* Lee David as Woo Jung-hoon
    The best friend of Sang-hwan and Dong-chul, who's in debt and becomes a streamer.
* Ha Hwa-jung [ko] as Choi Man-hee
    The smart friend of Sang-hwan and Dong-chul, who is soft and caring. He helps them out multiple times using his deductive abilities and selfless nature.

#### Sang-mi's family

* Jung Hae-Gyoon [ko] as Im Joo-ho
    Sang-mi's father. After the demise of his son, he joined the cult as he strongly believed that his family will be reunited on the Ship of Salvation.
* Yoon Yoo-sun as Kim Bo-eun,
    Sang-mi's mother. She became mentally unstable after Sang-jin's death, and was locked in a sanitarium owned by the cult. She was used as a tool to threaten Sang-mi to give up on her attempt to escape.
* Jang Yoo-sang as Im Sang-jin
    Sang-mi's twin brother who had been limping since his birth. He suffered from depression and anxiety as a result of getting bullied by his friends due to his disability. He eventually decided to commit suicide by jumping off the roof of their school.

#### People at Goosunwon

* Park Ji-young as Kang Eun-shil
    A member of Goosunwon, who stays loyal to Jung-ki, but secretly vies to take control of Goonsunwon.
* Jo Jae-yoon as Jo Wan-tae
    The second in command at Goosunwon, who is extremely loyal to Jung-ki and takes advantage of the rich.
* Son Sang-kyung [ko] as Jo Wan-deok
    The burly bodyguard of Jung-ki and Wan-tae's brother, whose obese stature gives him immense strength.

#### People in Muji

* Son Byung-ho as Han Yong-min
    The father of Sang-hwan and the governor of Muji. He's corrupt and uses the cult as an advantage point to stay in power.
* Choi Moon-soo [ko] as Chae Min-hwa
    Mother of Sang-hwan.
* Jang Hyuk-jin as Lee Kang-soo
    A gang member and former cop.
* Kim Kwang-kyu as Woo Choon-kil
    A cop who has ties with the cult, and later joins it.
* Go Jun as Cha Joon-goo
    A thug without a gang, who gets involved in the cult and later rises to the ranks of "Holy Gatekeeper", alongside Dong-chul.
* Kang Kyung-hun as Lee Ji-hee
    The aide of Han Yong-min, with whom she has an affair.
* Choi Hyuk-joo [ko] as Madame Tudari
    Secretary of Jang-ki.
* Park Soo-yeon [ko] as Choi Kyung-hye
    Woo Choon-kil's cop partner, who wants to save people but is unable to do so.
* Jeon Yeo-been as Hong So-rin
    An undercover journalist in Guweonson, later becoming the right-hand of Sang-mi.
* Lee Jae-joon as Dae-shik
    Son of a cult member, member of a gang and co-worker of Dong-chul.
* Yoon Jong-suk [ko] as Lee Byung-suk

#### Extended

* Lee Joon-gyu as Chil-goo
* Jung Jae-kwang as Lee Eun-sung
* Lee In-cheol [ko] as Elderly Man
* Hong Sung-deok [ko] as Dong-chul's father
* Son Young-soon [ko] as Dong-chul's grandmother
* Jung Joon-won as Jung-goo
* Kim Jung-pal [ko] as Lee Byung-seok's father
* Min Kyung-ok as Jung-goo's grandmother
* Ahn Min-young as Devotee
* Noh Eun-jung as Devotee
* Jong Seok as Iljin 1
* Lee Seung-hyub as Iljin 2
* Jang Won as Iljin 3
* Nam Hyun-jung as Iljin 4
* Jung Kang-hee as Gochujang
* Son Byung-wook as Pil-soo
* Yoo Yeon as Homeroom teacher
* Kim Ha-yeon as Devotee
* Kim Jin-hee as Devotee
* Im Ho-joon as Devotee
* Jwa Chae-won as Devotee
* Kim Doo-eun as Devotee
* Lee Seol-goo [ko] as Shaman
* Lee Tae-hyung as Lee Jin-seok
* Jung Jae-kwang as Eun-sung
* Cha Joon as Bu-jjang
* Lee Jung-heon [ko] as Police Chief
* Kim Seo-hwi as Yu-ra, Eun-shil's daughter
* Park Jung-min as Section Chief Park
* Jung Ki-seob [ko] as Senior Reporter
* Jang Se-ah as Hospital Nurse
* Kim Se-on [ko] as Hwa-ran
* Han Tae-il [ko]
* Kook Ji-yong [ko]
* Ahn Se-ho [ko]
* Kwon Oh-jin [ko]
* Jung Myung-joon [ko]

### Special appearances

* Jung Hee-tae as homeless man
* Son Jong-hak [ko] as Cheon Jae-soon

## Second season

OCN confirmed that Save Me would return for a second season, this time based on the 2013 animated film The Fake. Save Me 2 premiered on May 8, 2019.

## Ratings

* In this table, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
* N/A denotes that the rating is not known.
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | Average audience share | Average audience share |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | AGB Nielsen | AGB Nielsen | TNmS |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide |
| 1 | August 5, 2017 | 1.059% | — | 1.8% |
| 2 | August 6, 2017 | 1.741% | 1.690% | 1.4% |
| 3 | August 12, 2017 | 1.284% | — | 1.2% |
| 4 | August 13, 2017 | 1.689% | 1.805% | 1.8% |
| 5 | August 19, 2017 | 1.779% | 1.904% | 1.1% |
| 6 | August 20, 2017 | 2.275% | 2.525% | 1.7% |
| 7 | August 26, 2017 | 2.251% | 2.802% | 1.6% |
| 8 | August 27, 2017 | 2.960% | 3.286% | 2.4% |
| 9 | September 2, 2017 | 2.433% | 2.730% | 1.4% |
| 10 | September 3, 2017 | 3.028% | 3.192% | 1.7% |
| 11 | September 9, 2017 | 2.646% | 2.966% | 2.2% |
| 12 | September 10, 2017 | 2.879% | 2.940% | 2.9% |
| 13 | September 16, 2017 | 2.549% | 2.897% | 2.0% |
| 14 | September 17, 2017 | 3.001% | 2.825% | 2.8% |
| 15 | September 23, 2017 | 3.244% | 3.846% | 2.5% |
| 16 | September 24, 2017 | 4.797% | 4.639% | 4.5% |
| Average | Average | 2.476% | 2.861% | 2.1% |
* This drama airs on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
| 2018 | 54th Baeksang Arts Awards | Best New Actor | Woo Do-hwan | Nominated | |