Kdrama Review – Tunnel

00. Quick Thoughts

So I just finished Another Oh Hae Young and I wanted something fun, light and engaging. Tunnel wasn’t fun nor light but I have no regrets whatsoever! 

From all the years I have been watching shows, I can only count how many I have watched centered on time travel. It’s a concept that I don’t gravitate towards because I have a hard time keeping up with facts and the timeline. It’s something I don’t enjoy as much as crime, mystery and political dramas. This is the sole reason why I didn’t watch Nine in its entirety although I heard good things about it. But then Signal happened.

Signal became my standard for time travel dramas because:

1. Comfortable re-watch.
2. It’s what it’s suppose to be.
3. A well written time travel story.

So why did Signal became an exemption to the rule? Everything about that drama was praise-worthy. The whole concept of time and how the past affects the present – was instantaneous. That’s what I like. The cast was splendid and helped me find new talent to stalk. That drama was the exact package of a memorable drama. I love it so much that I have watched it 3x now.

After Signal, came Tunnel. Tunnel is actually a blind watch – I knew nothing about it and the time traveling hit me hard the moment it happened. First thought was “I am going to regret this.” I was constantly repeating “please be good” as the show progressed but it ended up blowing me away.

01. A Dive Into

Tunnel follows Detective Park Kwang Ho, a gritty and dedicated investigator from the 1980s who’s hot on the trail of a ruthless serial killer. During a chase through a dark tunnel, Kwang Ho suddenly finds himself propelled 30 years into the future, in 2017.

Disoriented but determined, he realizes that the killings he pursued in his time have continued. Kwang Ho joins forces with present-day Detective Kim Sun Jae and criminal psychology professor Shin Jae Yi to solve the mystery, close the case, and hopefully find a way back to his time. The drama weaves together intense crime-solving, time-travel mysteries, and compelling character growth as the trio digs deep into past and present events, unearthing shocking connections along the way.

02. Meet the Characters

Choi Jin Hyuk – Park Kwang Ho

A bold and persistent detective from the 1980s, Kwang Ho is known for his brash personality and relentless pursuit of justice. Despite being thrown into a future he doesn’t understand, his instincts and dedication to catching killers remain sharp.

Yoon Hyun Min – Kim Sun Jae

An aloof and sharp present-day detective, Sun Jae is highly skilled but emotionally distant, haunted by a painful past. His approach to cases is analytical and methodical, making him a great complement to Kwang Ho’s gut-driven style.

Lee Yoo Young – Shin Jae Yi

A psychology professor and profiler with a mysterious connection to the serial case, Jae Yi is reserved and intellectual, with a knack for understanding criminal minds.

Kim Min Sang – Mok Jin Woo

A calm and seemingly unassuming medical examiner, Dr. Mok has a subtle but disturbing presence.

Park Kwang Ho

He’s your typical cop lead. A charismatic, smart, and sassy detective who loves his job and lives to fight crime. As the lead investigator in a case for serial killing, Kwang Ho’s determined to catch the a**hole. But with no leads and no witnesses, he’s in a bind. He went through the whole nine yards to catch the bastard but nothing helped. Then came a chance, a chance that will change his life. He went from catching a suspect in the tunnel to time and unfamiliar ground. Due to this event, he impersonates another police officer in hopes of figuring a way back to his time.

PKH is portrayed by Choi Jin Hyuk – a familiar face having acted in numerous dramas. I’m not really a fan of his but he did a fantastic job. He’s perfect for the role because I don’t see a badass type of cop for PKH. He’s snarky and quick but has this aura to not mess with him. Tough enough to be afraid off but not dark like Oh Goo-Tak in Bad Guys.

Yoon Hyun Min

Bread!? Bread!!!! That’s the first thought that came into mind. Haha. For anyone who doesn’t get the joke, you should watch him in I Live Alone – EP 213.

I always encounter a character like him – bruised by experience, a**hole by choice. Haha. You got to love them. Although the characterization is overdone, the actor 100% delivered. His brusqueness might rub you the wrong way but not enough to leave a bitter taste.

This is the first drama of his that I watched so I don’t really have any opinion on his acting other than he did a good job. I was entertained and he did great but not enough appeal to sustain the interest. I do hope he gets a lot of offers because it feels like he has more to give.

Shin Jae Yi

I love how stoic her face is. She embodies her character beautifully. She looks so cold hearted and the way she acts gives a lasting impression. Jae Yi is straightforward, unmoving, and strong-willed. I love how she is never shy in rough situations or cutesy. Of all the characters, she’s the most intriguing through and through. She knows what needs to be done and she does it. There’s no doubt that Jae Yi is intelligent and I love the dynamic she adds to the crime solving aspect of the story.

The moment I saw her on screen I knew I needed to watch her other stuff. Would love to see this actress in a different role, a bubbly character. I am tickled by the idea of how effective she can be in contrasting roles. She has a killer poker face and she does badass strikingly but I don’t want her to be miscast.

There are more side characters but I don’t want to share every detail. All I can say is that the characters are solid – whether they are in the 80s timeline or the future.

03. Plot Points & Popcorn Moments

I prepared my mind (and my notepad) to start this series because I didn’t know how this will do. I was open to the idea that I will end up like a confused duck and will need to re-watch parts of it to catch up. Surprisingly, my initial watch was OK. The story didn’t create any confusing detail whatsoever. It was straightfoward yet it didn’t fail to shock me at the right moment. The twist(s) in this show is the bomb! Kuddos to the production team for doing their best!

It didn’t go the Signal or Nine route wherein one timeline immediately gets affected. We’re shown parts of the past and the present separately but the story was seamless. The flow of the story didn’t feel disjointed at all. The fact that I finished this without any major complaints shows how thought out this series was. Would have wanted more exploration of the 80s storyline with the wife though.

The Good, The Bad, The Itty Gritty

Okay, enough gushing. Let’s go deeper and talk about the entirety of Tunnel. Starting with what’s so good about it that I highly recommend the show.

What’s Good?

Love the fact they didn’t waste an episode with a character going around trying to grasp his reality. He time traveled, how that happened he didn’t know but he caught on fast. If this was other dramas, they would capitalize on that fact and stretch it as far as they could. Sometimes as ridiculous as they could.

Series as a whole. This is one of those dramas that stand out. I love how complex the story is but it’s not complicated for the viewers like me. The execution was what this production did the best together with having an awesome cast.

I sometimes wonder why these dramas don’t get shown on public channels. Or don’t get those extensions that most romcom get. Not really complaining though since cable deserves all the love they’re getting. So far OCN hasn’t disappointed me yet and hopefully continues doing so.

Dr. Mok is the resident medical examiner in the series. He’s very smart and calm – nothing about him stands out other than his slight curiosity about the serial killings. 

He came off as innocent as any psychopathic character. Actually, the idea of having 2 serial killers didn’t even cross my mind. This is one reason why I love this drama. It wasn’t predictable – facts will hit you once they show up. On my re-watch, I definitely saw those little hints to suggest this. I had a chuckle at the fact that they were so minimal everyone can miss it. Well, it’s either I’m too absent-minded or this was a very well-written and executed drama.

After getting to know Dr. Mok more, it really validated the fact that he was a “good” psychopath. The fact that he actually made suggestions to propose the possibility of a second killer is so egotistic. At the end of the day, his arrogance is what got him. Like so many serial killers out there, he was no exemption. Self-centered and foolishly confident. But got to admit that he did play a good game making a fool at everyone involved.

Transitions & Flashback. I admire the fact that they didn’t do anything quirky with the time shifts. The shifts were very subtle. It was less in your face yet you know what it is.

Small hints, maximum impact.

Additional brownie points for fewer flashbacks too. I don’t have any issues with flashbacks because done well they become an integral part of the story.  Less repetition = more time for the important stuff. Flashbacks do help but some shows go crazy with them. So crazy that it becomes annoying because I feel dumb. Have faith in your viewers because we do remember the details and we’ll eventually figure it out. 

Side cases. I enjoyed the parallels in the story and how they were also important pieces of the bigger puzzle. There was no wasted time in this drama because everything mattered. 

Pacing. It didn’t felt rushed anywhere. They also took extra effort in dropping hints and details at exact moments – nothing felt weird or anything. 

Tae Hee + Min Ha Team. Besides PKH and JSS, the second team detectives shone the most. They were simply adorable. PKH and KSJ’s relationship does get better but in terms of bromance, they’re not quite there yet. Not sure what it was but I didn’t feel any chemistry with them. Maybe this was intentional, maybe not. If you’re looking for a solid bromance, the side duo delivers. Not Reaper + Goblin level but Min Ha and Tae Hee are funny when they appear on screen.

Uh Ohhhhh ~

Inconsistency with Dr. Mok – I brushed the inconsistency on my initial watch. I had this nagging feeling that something was off but couldn’t pinpoint it. When I re-watched this EP, I’m convinced that there were plot holes in the delivery of his story.

I repeated this particular scene numerous times because I’m sure I heard ahjussi (mister). >.< Even the subtitles confirm this.

I think this contradicts the whole timeline. He should be a teenager at this point. My confusion was confirmed in EP 12. As much as I wanted to, I just couldn’t shake this one-off.

Killers signature. The first time I saw those dots I thought it’s stamped/tattooed because of how “perfect” they looked. Then I saw the fountain pen, the geek in me thought immediately how weird it was because usually ink feathers. It didn’t make sense. I thought atleast it should smudge. But there’s no feathering or anything in the dots. 

You see, some fountain pen ink feather like cray cray on paper. And when I write or touch the tip of the nib, it goes bezerk on skin. With this in mind, I was curious about one thing: What type of ink did he use? Haha!

I did some experiment just to satisfy my curiosity . . .

Some drawing pens did a good job but some also feathered. If they opted for tattooed marks, I wouldn’t have objected. Unoriginal yet more plausible. They wanted to add the fountain pen detail to the story but the idea didn’t fully stick for me.

Some drawing pens did a good job but some also feathered. If they opted for tattooed marks, I wouldn’t have objected. Unoriginal yet more plausible. They wanted to add the fountain pen detail to the story but the idea didn’t fully stick for me.

Granted that this experiment didn’t include fountain pen inks but since most fountain pen inks are water-based it would definitely react on skin like these.

Those Itty Bitty details

Art of blur! Still can’t comprehend how they sensor cigarette and knives in these type of series. I understand why they do it but everyone knows! Someday they’ll realize how ridiculous blurring is when it’s so obvious.

Yeon Sook. I wanted to see how his married life got affected by his time travels. It wasn’t really explored much. Yeon Sook is such a charming lady but didn’t see much of her because our drama is mainly centered on the future. Bummer!

Romance. The idea of a Sun Jae/Jae Yi romance is nice and all but there was nothing to explore. If it was me, I would forgo the romance or hint of it. They didn’t go all-in on the idea, mostly sexual tension. I don’t have any major objections but wished they eliminated this completely. For me, the crime and time travel was enough. Because the romance doesn’t do anything extraordinary other than filler.

04. Setting the Mood

The drama builds a gripping atmosphere, blending crime investigation with suspenseful time-travel elements. The pacing is dynamic, skipping unnecessary tropes and keeping viewers on edge as clues unfold. Tunnel strikes a perfect balance between intense investigative scenes and emotional arcs, immersing the viewer in Kwang Ho’s determination. Though the series is dark and tense, the cast’s chemistry adds warmth and levity to the story, lightening the mood without detracting from the gravity of the crimes.

05. Is This My Cup of Ramyun?

What I liked~

Not my faves~

06. Weekend Binge or Weeknight Dud?

Recommendable? Heck yeah! This was one hell of a drama. It had everything that I wanted in a crime/mystery story. A badass team, good production, gripping story, and a gratifying ending.

Although it’s not the perfect drama (well nothing is) the overall feel of the series is satisfying.

If you love crime-centered drama, I highly suggest checking this series out. Not only is the story engaging, but you’ll also enjoy it because of the top-notch acting.

There’s no doubt that this is one of the best drama I watched this year!