# Connection (TV series)

Connection (Korean: 커넥션) is a 2024 South Korean psychological crime police procedural thriller television series written by Lee Hyun, co-directed by Kim Moon-gyo and Kwon Da-som, and starring Ji Sung, Jeon Mi-do, Kwon Yul, and Kim Kyung-nam. It aired on SBS TV from May 24, to July 6, 2024, every Friday and Saturday at 22:00 (KST). It is also available for streaming on Wavve and Coupang Play in South Korea, on Vidio in Indonesia, and on Kocowa and Viki in selected regions.

## Synopsis

It is about the story of an ace detective from the narcotics team who, after being forcibly addicted to drugs by someone, uses the death of his friend as a clue to uncover the story of their 20-year-old altered friendship and the connection between them.

## Cast and characters
### Main

* Ji Sung as Jang Jae-gyeong
** Cho Han-gyeol [ko] as young Jang Jae-gyeong
    A detective of Narcotics Team at Anhyeon Police Station, who is respected by his juniors and trusted by his seniors within the police force.
* Jeon Mi-do as Oh Yoon-jin
** Kim Min-ju as young Oh Yoon-jin
    A social affairs reporter of the Anhyeon Economic Daily, who is assertive and outspoken.
* Kwon Yul as Park Tae-jin
** Baek Jae-woo as young Park Tae-jin
    A prosecutor at Anhyeon District Office who was known as a child prodigy with a brilliant mind and gets entangled in a case involving his high school classmates Jae-gyeong and Yoon-jin.
* Kim Kyung-nam as Won Jong-soo
** Park Si-yun as young Won Jong-soo
    A second generation chaebol who holds some sort of power through a friendship that has continued since his school days. He is Keumhyung Group's successor and has tense confrontation with high school classmate Jae-gyeong.

### Supporting

* Jeong Soon-won as Heo Joo-song
** Jo Min-gu as young Heo Joo-song
    CEO of Two Star Holdings, an insurance company, who is talkative and weak-hearted and is in love to Yoon-jin.
* Jung Yoo-min as Choi Ji-yeon
    A mysterious person who not only finds herself alone due to the sudden death of her husband Jun-seo, but also discovers that she is not the beneficiary of 5 billion won in insurance money.
* Yoon Na-moo as Park Jun-seo
** Lee Hyun-so as young Park Jun-seo
    President of Pil O Real Estate who was a close friend of Jae-gyeong when they were in high school.
* Moon Sung-keun as Won Chang-ho
    Chairman of the Keumhyung Group and Jong-soo's father.
* Cha Yup [ko] as Oh Chi-hyun
** Choi Min-suk as young Oh Chi-hyun
    A fighter from Anhyeon City High School and values loyalty more than life. He is Jong-soo's chief secretary.
* Lee Gang-wook [ko] as Jeong Yoon-ho
** Kim Je-hun as young Jeong Yoon-ho
    A taxi driver who is part of the 'Inner Circle' led by Jong-soo and Si-jung's husband.
* Park Geun-rok [ko] as Jeong Sang-eui
** Bae Jun-hyung as young Jeong Sang-eui
    A researcher at Keumhyung Pharmaceutical.
* Yoon Sa-bong as Jung Yeon-joo
    Captain of Narcotics Team at Anhyeon Police Station.
* Jung Jae-kwang as Kim Chang-soo
    A detective of Narcotics Team at Anhyeon Police Station and Jae-gyeong trusted right-hand man.
* Park Jung-pyo as Yoo Kyung-hwan
    A detective of Violent Crimes Team at Anhyeon Police Station and has an antagonistic relationship with Yeon-joo.
* Yoo Hee-je [ko] as Gong Jin-wook
    A mystery person who is related to Jae-gyeong's drug addiction.
* Baek Ji-won as CEO Yoon
    A member of a drug gang who deals and distributes the Lemon Mulberry pills in Anhyeon City.

### Others

* Seo Yi-ra as Oh Soo-hyun
    The youngest detective of Narcotics Team at Anhyeon Police Station under Jae-gyeong.
* Lee Sang-jun as Kim Woo-sung
    A junior reporter at Anhyeon Economic Daily who is Yoon-jin's junior.
* Ryu Hye-rin as Kang Si-jung
    Yoon-ho's wife and an Anhyeon City High School alumni.
* Han Hyeon-jun as Min Hyun-woo
    A high school student who helps Jun-seo in delivering pharmaceutical drugs.
* Kim Min-sik as Park In-soo
    A detective of Violent Crimes Team at Anhyeon Police Station.
* Byun Hyo-joon as Min Jung-guk
    A detective of Violent Crimes Team at Anhyeon Police Station.
* Oh Il-young as Lee Myung-guk
    A senior researcher at Keumhyung Pharmaceutical.
* Park Chan-woo [ko] as No Gyu-min
** Ahn Do-gyu as teen No Gyu-min
    A taxi driver who is Chae Kyung-tae's friend in high school days.

### Special appearances

* Jang Hyuk-jin as Hwang Hong-suk
* Lee Chang-hun [ko] as a corporate PR staff

## Production
### Development

Director Kim Mun-kyo, who worked on Trolley (2023), and writer Lee Hyun, who worked on Diary of a Prosecutor (2019), are in charge of the directing and writing of the series. Studio S, Soul Pictures, and Good Harvest managed the production.

### Casting

Ji Sung and Jeon Mi-do were confirmed to star for the series. This is their first time working together on a project. It is also Ji's comeback on SBS since Doctor John in 2019 and it was Jeon's first lead drama in a terrestrial channel since debuting as an actor in 2006.

## Release

Connection was announced to air on SBS TV in the first half of 2024. A special teaser of the series was released on December 29, 2023. SBS' production team confirmed that the series would air on May 24, 2024, every Friday and Saturday at 22:00 (KST). It is also available to stream on Wavve, Coupang Play, Kocowa and Vidio.

## Viewership

| Season | Season | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Episode number | Average |
| Season | Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Average |
| | 1 | 1.038 | 1.090 | 1.288 | 1.432 | 1.507 | 1.665 | 1.619 | 1.649 | 1.650 | 2.039 | 1.735 | 1.952 | 1.859 | 2.560 | 1.649 |
Average TV viewership ratings :
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea) | Average audience share (Nielsen Korea) |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Nationwide | Seoul |
| 1 | May 24, 2024 | 5.7% (7th) | 6.1% (3rd) |
| 2 | May 25, 2024 | 6.1% (2nd) | 7.0% (2nd) |
| 3 | May 31, 2024 | 7.0% (4th) | 6.7% (3rd) |
| 4 | June 1, 2024 | 7.9% (2nd) | 8.2% (2nd) |
| 5 | June 7, 2024 | 8.5% (2nd) | 8.5% (1st) |
| 6 | June 8, 2024 | 9.4% (2nd) | 10.0% (2nd) |
| 7 | June 14, 2024 | 9.4% (2nd) | 9.8% (1st) |
| 8 | June 15, 2024 | 9.1% (2nd) | 9.5% (2nd) |
| 9 | June 21, 2024 | 9.1% (2nd) | 8.9% (2nd) |
| 10 | June 22, 2024 | 11.1% (2nd) | 11.4% (2nd) |
| 11 | June 28, 2024 | 9.7% (2nd) | 10.4% (1st) |
| 12 | June 29, 2024 | 10.6% (2nd) | 11.2% (2nd) |
| 13 | July 5, 2024 | 11.0% (2nd) | 11.7% (1st) |
| 14 | July 6, 2024 | 14.2% (2nd) | 14.8% (2nd) |
| Average | Average | 9.2% | 9.6% |
| In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. ||||