The Scarecrow (허수아비) Season 1 Review

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The Last Carefree Summer

1988. Quiet Kanson is shaken by a series of murders: a maniac has appeared in town, stalking lone women in the fields. A principled police officer vows to stop the monster, but to do so he will have to go against the system itself. And perhaps his own principles, because the high-profile case is being led by the only person he hates: an arrogant prosecutor with whom he shares a past...

Heartfelt, gripping, and at the same time reflective, “Scarecrow” is a classic Korean series at its best. It has everything: vivid characters with complicated relationships, a tangible nostalgia for the past, and a tightly wound mystery - even though we know from the very beginning: the police failed. And this is no coincidence: the story of fictional Kanson is partially based on the tragedy in real-life Hwangseong that same year, (about which there is an excellent 2003 film “Memories of Murder” with an unforgettable ending), but noticeably changes the real events to make them the backdrop for a political detective story and family drama with a modern-minded protagonist at its center. So this is not a TV remake with a true-crime spirit at all, but a completely independent story.

 

 

It begins with an interrogation scene in the spirit of “The Silence of the Lambs”, where in 2019 an aging, unsuccessful detective finally meets the psychopath whose face we never get to see, and they begin an intellectual game, probing each other for confessions. A maniac sentenced to life has plenty of time, and the retired detective is in no hurry either, - so the story of events from thirty years ago will be rich and deep.

“Scarecrow” tries to understand how it came to be that people whose very job was to prevent or at least solve such crimes were instead busy with completely different things: suppressing student protests, extracting confessions from innocent people, and awarding each other medals while the real killer was walking free. Who is to blame for a system of abuse of power working so flawlessly that even the most honest loner cannot cope with it?

The graying detective has an unpleasant answer:

“We were both Scarecrows. You… and me. All of us.”

The series paints a picture of a small community falling apart, when one tragedy leads to another, the lives of ordinary people are ruined by misunderstanding and cruelty, and in the end justice never comes. An innocent person will end up in prison, the criminal will be free, the hero will break, the villain will understand nothing.

“I dreamed of that summer of 88… a summer that never existed. Where we were all happy…”

“Scarecrow” is not quite a detective story, but rather a family drama, with a great deal of attention paid to the complicated relationships between the characters. The dynamic between the police officer Tae Joo and prosecutor Si Yeon is especially interesting: at first they cannot stand each other, then they try to grow closer, - but again and again things go wrong, because they have different goals and values. In the world of the ambitious son of a respected politician, the ends justify the means, while for the passionate detective, justice and common sense matter more than career advancement. Which, of course, clashes with how most of his colleagues understand their work.

 

 

All of this is acted, as usual, at the highest level. The casting is careful, the actors fit their types, but some characters pleasantly surprise with their depth (like the unpleasant chairman — the prosecutor’s father, who nevertheless performs one humane act, albeit for selfish reasons).

The characters in the present day are portrayed interestingly: some of the actors were aged with good makeup, while the other characters, those whom time and life choices have not treated kindly, are played by new faces - and this works in favor of the story.

“Scarecrow” is vividly written and wins you over with its bittersweet tone, evoking associations with the already classic, poignant saga “When Life Gives You Tangerines” (even the opening credits, with archival footage, play over a melancholic song). In the finale, though, the action does speed up, and the motivation of some important characters may seem rushed, - but this is the only writing flaw in an otherwise excellent story.

The series is made to a high standard, with the production designers and set decorators doing an excellent job recreating the atmosphere of 1980s Korea with angular cars, cigarette smoke, and the simplicity of village life, where everyone knows everyone, - but they are confronted with a horror that is difficult to endure alone. The mood is especially enhanced by the music and songs of those years, while the series’ own soundtrack is fairly standard and at times too dramatic.

 

 

Is “Scarecrow” worth watching? Absolutely. If you love detective stories and historical dramas, appreciate complex characters and a constantly shifting balance of relationships, and are ready for an ending close to the logic of real life, - then you will definitely enjoy the series. It can easily be recommended as an excellent way to fill a week or a week and a half of evening viewing.

Rating: 8/10, a good old Korean series with the dynamics of a modern thriller and the soul of a reunion between old friends. At times funny, at times heavy, but invariably moving, it is a journey back to that last summer from an old photo album, when people still smiled at each other when they met, and an entire life lay ahead…

Автор: Updated at Sep 18th 2026