The Manipulated, Disney+’s newest Korean action drama, stars Ji Changwook as a wrongly convicted man seeking revenge, with Doh Kyungsoo in his first villain role as An Yohan.

Taejoong (Ji Changwook) is driven and compassionate, a model citizen working to achieve his dreams. Surrounded by friends and family, his life seems perfect until his kindness leads to his downfall. Arrested for the rape and murder of a woman he has never met, Taejoong loses everything as he is sentenced to life in prison. A shell of his former self, his days pass in a daze until a new inmate with a similar story reveals someone is framing the innocent. Fueled by grief and rage, Taejoong vows to find those responsible and make them pay.

Delve deeper into the world of The Manipulated and uncover the secrets behind its suspense in our exclusive Q&A with Director Park Sinwoo!

Q. Can you tell us about The Manipulated and your vision for directing the series?

A: Taejoong, a man who once lived an ordinary life, is framed for a heinous crime and imprisoned, losing everything. He later discovers it was all orchestrated by someone and decides to take revenge. While this may seem like a heavy story about vengeance, as a director, my goal was to create a series that isn’t overly dark, but rather, something that’s gripping and dynamic, keeping viewers engaged.

Q. Can you tell us about Park Taejoong and what your focus was when creating this character?

A: While Taejoong is the most realistic character in the series, his purity and kindness is so rare that he feels almost like a unicorn. He makes you wonder, “do people like that actually exist in real life?” But Ji Changwook’s passion and energy enhanced the authenticity of the character, making him feel very real. Taejoong also undergoes significant changes both emotionally and physically. It was important to capture his journey of defeating villains and growing as a person, and I focused on making that process sufficiently compelling.

Q. Can you tell us about An Yohan and what your focus was when creating this character?

A: Yohan has everything, but mentally, due to his inherent limitations, he remains emotionally stunted like a child. He’s also psychopathic. He embodies pure evil, seeing everyone as if they were beneath him and treating them like his playthings. Yohan was created in collaboration with actor Doh Kyungsoo, with the aim to create a new type of villain. Villains are often associated with sharp and menacing features, but I wanted to use Kyungsoo’s innocent eyes, disarming smile, and captivating look to build a character that can effectively convey a sense of pure evil.

Q. What did you pay attention to in order to highlight the adversarial dynamic between Taejoong and Yohan?

A: To effectively portray the opposing nature of their relationship, I decided to portray Taejoong as someone driven to rock bottom by Yohan, while Yohan is portrayed as someone who enjoys toying with Taejoong from a higher position. For instance, Taejoong is often shown with his face pressed to the ground or forced to his knees, whereas Yohan is often depicted as looking down from a higher place to communicate and give orders.

Q. What was the focus when filming The Manipulated?

A: Because The Manipulated is a fast-paced action drama, we paid close attention to things like contrasts in lighting and editing with rapid cuts. I had many discussions with the director of photography to install numerous cameras to capture many different angles, ensuring that viewers feel as if they were in the middle of the action. The series is also structured in a way where each episode unfolds like a stage in its own right. This meant that the filming concepts had to be adjusted depending on the situation of each episode.

Q. What was the overall concept for the action scenes in The Manipulated?

A: For the action scenes and stunt sequences, the stunt coordinator and I set out to create scenes that would make viewers go, “How on earth was the scene filmed?” In particular, for the car racing or bike chase scenes, we used a wide range of cameras to create a sense of realism. From small action cams to drones, numerous cameras were used to capture these moments as vividly as possible. In terms of the action concepts for each character, Taejoong’s movements had to reflect the raw struggles of surviving violence in prison. Rather than polished choreography, we aimed to present action sequences that felt desperate and visceral, like throwing his whole body into a fight. In contrast, Yohan’s movements were designed with much more control—in a way that he eliminates his enemies in a single, restrained motion.

Q. What do you think are the highlights of the series that viewers should watch out for?

A: I hope that viewers will focus on the big showdown between Taejoong, whose entire life has been manipulated, and Yohan, the mastermind behind it all. Taejoong’s journey of growth and transformation is incredibly fascinating. Also, each stage introduces various captivating villains, which is definitely something viewers should look out for. For scenes like the car chase, we put a significant amount of effort into making sure that the viewers feel as if they were actually in the driver’s seat through the use of camera movements and editing.

Join Taejoong on his relentless journey for justice and uncover every shocking twist in The Manipulated, streaming exclusively on Disney+!