"The Manipulated" follows Tae-jung (Ji Chang-wook), an ordinary man who’s wrongly swept into a brutal crime and sent to prison―only to learn the whole thing was orchestrated by Yohan (D.O.). Powered by a high-stakes revenge arc, relentless pacing and visceral survival action, the series has won praise at home and abroad for its addictive storytelling.
On the 10th, the team behind "The Manipulated" unveiled Oh’s full Q&A.
Ji Chang-wook previously led the feature "Fabricated City" as Kwon Yoo, and now anchors Disney+’s "The Manipulated" as Tae-jung. After watching Ji shoulder both roles, Oh couldn’t help but gush.
“Watching Ji Chang-wook on screen, you feel what he feels―when he cries, you ache; when he rages, you’re on edge; when he smiles, you light up,” Oh said. “'The Manipulated' asks a lot emotionally from its lead, and Ji’s performance is so commanding it feels like he’s a genre unto himself.”
D.O., meanwhile, stunned viewers with his first full-on villain turn as Yohan. “The brightest gem in 'The Manipulated' might just be D.O.’s Yohan,” Oh added. “It’s a character that could easily slip into cliche, but Do brings a singular rhythm and inner life, creating a villain we haven’t seen before. That’s entirely his power.”
With Ji blazing toward vengeance, D.O. unveiling a chilling new side, and an energizing ensemble that includes Kim Jong-su, Jo Yoon-su and Lee Kwang-soo―plus Oh’s muscular storytelling from the "Taxi Driver" franchise―"The Manipulated" delivers a lean, propulsive genre ride. All 12 episodes are now streaming on Disney+.
Below is the full Q&A with writer Oh Sang-ho.
Q. "The Manipulated" has been embraced both domestically and internationally. How do you feel about the response?
We had many difficult, dangerous sequences to pull off, so I was relieved just to finish safely and finally share it with viewers. To receive this much love on top of that is a joy and an honor. Thank you to everyone who chose "The Manipulated".
Q. You worked on the film "Fabricated City" and now the series "The Manipulated". With the shift from film to series, what did you focus on? What are the projects’ overlaps and biggest differences?
The overarching framework is the same: Tae-jung, who’s been falsely accused, seeks revenge on Yohan, the man who shattered his life. What’s changed is the media climate. Viewers today don’t just accept news at face value―they first sort what’s real and what’s fake. If "Fabricated City" centered on systemic manipulation, "The Manipulated"s Yohan inserts himself into that sorting process, isolating an individual and cutting him off from the community. In a world where institutions can’t perfectly sift truth from an avalanche of lies, a character like Yohan emerges. I put a lot of thought into designing him.
Q. How did the finished show compare to the script? Any scene that especially honored the script―or any character who felt even richer on screen?
If I had to pick one, the Episode 6 street-racing set piece was incredibly hard to execute in Korea, yet the result exceeded what was on the page. I’m grateful to director Park Shin-woo, to Ji Chang-wook, D.O., Lee Kwang-soo―who threw themselves into it―and to every cast and crew member on set.
Q. Even amid splashy action and revenge, the character chemistry pops. Any pairings or dynamics that stood out thanks to the actors?
It’s hard to single one out―everyone’s commitment really showed.
Q. Ji Chang-wook played Kwon Yoo in "Fabricated City" and now Tae-jung in this Disney+ series. You said, “Ji Chang-wook is a genre.” What was it like seeing his Tae-jung after Kwon Yoo?
When you watch Ji Chang-wook, you ride every beat with him―his sorrow, his fury, his joy. "The Manipulated" demands a huge emotional range from its lead, and he delivers so fully that he feels like a genre in himself.
Q. Yohan became a hot topic as D.O.’s first villain. How did you conceive the character, and how did D.O.’s casting shape him? What did you think of his performance?
I truly think the show’s brightest gem is D.O. as Yohan. It’s a role that could have felt familiar, but he infused it with his own cadence and emotional logic to create a villain we haven’t seen before. That’s all D.O..
Q. Reactions were fiery week to week. Each episode flirted with a different genre flavor―what was the organizing idea behind that?
It’s one revenge story, but I wanted each installment to feel like a different kind of crime entertainment. That constant modulation created unexpected challenges in performance and direction, but the team realized it beautifully.
Q. The endings each week hit hard and kept viewers hooked. What mattered most as you built those final beats, and how did you decide the cliffhanger points?
I mapped the changing distance―physical and emotional―between Tae-jung and Yohan in stages. At first, Tae-jung charges ahead blindly. Then, not yet knowing who Yohan is, he’s far from him even when Yohan is right beside him. Even when he knows it’s a trap, he has no choice but to chase the “real culprit” Yohan points to. And finally, as he truly closes in on Yohan, I tried to end each episode on the peak of Tae-jung’s evolving feelings in that journey.
Q. Viewers were fascinated by Yohan and the nanny’s backstory. There are multiple theories about her fate. What was your intention there?
The nanny is someone who inevitably shaped the Yohan we see now. She blinded herself for him and still called it love―so how would she process Yohan’s death? If there’s more story to tell, I imagine she’d be at the center of it.
Q. Tae-jung barrels toward revenge, but his final choice isn’t Yohan’s death. What does that decision mean? What message did you want to leave with the ending?
Tae-jung wants revenge on the man who ruined him and to reclaim the pieces of his life. But when the moment arrives, he realizes killing Yohan won’t magically restore what was shattered. And you may have noticed―Tae-jung never once actually kills anyone. He’s carried the desire, but he never crosses that line. That’s who Park Tae-jung is in "The Manipulated".
Q. The epilogue shows a dark room and the sense that someone’s still watching, even after Tae-jung’s happy day. What did you want to suggest there?
Who’s sitting there? The nanny? Yohan? Someone else entirely? I’d like the story not to end, but to keep living on in viewers’ minds.
[Photos: SBS Entertainment News DB, Disney+]
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)