Beyond ‘Memories of Murder’: ENA’s ‘Scarecrow’ Rises as a Must-Watch Crime Thriller

The serial murder cases that occurred in the Hwaseong area of Gyeonggi Province between 1986 and 1991 remain one of the most horrific records in Korean crime history.

This case, which remained a source of unsolved terror in various works such as the play ‘Come to See Me’ (1996) and Director Bong Joon-ho’s film ‘Memories of Murder’ (2003), finally became known as the ‘Lee Chun-jae Serial Murder Case’ after the real culprit, Lee Chun-jae, was caught in 2019.

The currently airing ENA Mon-Tue drama ‘Scarecrow’ is the first work to use this case as a backdrop since Lee Chun-jae’s arrest.

While ‘Memories of Murder’ posed the question “I desperately wanted to catch you. Who are you?” on its poster, ‘Scarecrow’ confirms the identity of the killer, stating, “I’ve finally met you. The murderer I’ve searched for so long.”

‘Scarecrow’ is a crime investigation thriller where a detective investigating a serial killer forms an unexpected alliance with a prosecutor he detests.

Starting with a 2.9% rating on the 20th of last month (Nielsen Korea), the show has seen a steady climb, with episodes 6 and 8 both hitting 7.4%. This is the highest rating for the channel since its rebranding to ENA in 2022, second only to ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ (17.5%).

Given this upward trend, industry insiders are cautiously predicting that double-digit ratings are practically guaranteed.

Twenty-three years ago, ‘Memories of Murder’ focused on the chase. The film was steeped in the despair of an era unable to catch the killer, a sentiment symbolized by the ending. When a girl describes the face she witnessed as “just ordinary,” Detective Park Doo-man (played by Song Kang-ho) stares intently at the audience, as if making eye contact with the real culprit outside the camera.

However, ‘Scarecrow’ starts by presenting the real culprit, Lee Yong-woo (played by Jung Moon-sung), based on the actual arrest of Lee Chun-jae.

But the show keeps his face hidden, placing the confrontation between Kang Tae-ju (played by Park Hae-soo), now a criminology professor, and Lee Yong-woo, a prisoner, at the beginning and end of every episode 30 years later.

While based on a true story, the plot does not simply rely on reality.

In the actual case, police placed a scarecrow at the scene with a message saying, “If you don’t surrender, your limbs will rot and you will die” to pressure the killer. In the drama, this is transformed into a chilling image of horror threatening women.

Additionally, the way the show sows suspicion and expands anxiety among all characters breaks through the weight of the true story to provide the thrill of a proper investigation drama.

Pop culture critic Kim Hun-sik stated, “The case is constructed like a puzzle regarding the identity of the serial killer, moving between reality and fiction, making it much more plausible and interesting.”

While wearing the skin of an investigation drama, ‘Scarecrow’ builds a multi-layered narrative centered on the relationship between Detective Kang Tae-ju and Prosecutor Cha Si-young (played by Lee Hee-jun).

The two were once inseparable friends, but family issues turned them into the victim and perpetrator of school violence. Kang Tae-ju faces a dilemma as he must join forces with the man he hated, Cha Si-young. Their hostile symbiotic relationship, where neither can be sure if the other is an ally or enemy, heightens the tension early on.

Just as it hits the halfway mark, ‘Scarecrow’ reveals the ‘face’ of the real culprit, Lee Yong-woo, who was Kang Tae-ju’s close friend living under a different name, and unravels why he wasn’t caught for 30 years.

Although the process is fictional, the pain of those whose lives were destroyed by crime is no different from reality. Kang Tae-ju is no exception. The man promised to marry his younger sister was pointed out as a suspect and died after severe torture, and Kang Tae-ju was instead framed as the perpetrator of the abuse. Due to the poor investigation environment, his misjudgment also led to innocent people being labeled as suspects.

The sight of police, victims, bereaved families, and innocent people having their lives ruined while chasing a ‘scarecrow’—only to become scarecrows themselves—highlights the chaos of the 1980s.

PD Park Jun-woo, who directed the series, said, “This work fulfilled my long-time dream of showing a specific period of Korean society through a real crime case. Beyond a simple thriller about catching a killer, I wanted to ask what 30 years of time means to the people of that era and to us now.”

The narrative’s focus on the flawed investigation process, as much as the conclusion of the case, is cited as a key reason for the show’s popularity.

Drama critic Gong Hee-jung explained, “While previous works about serial murders found fun in the twists of ‘who is the killer,’ this work makes viewers more curious about the process of catching the real culprit. While genre pieces often generalize good vs. evil, revenge, and dramatic twists, ‘Scarecrow’ uses the individual stories of the characters to keep viewers engaged.”

Critic Kim Hun-sik added, “Only current affairs programs like ‘Unanswered Questions’ had summarized the story after Lee Chun-jae was caught, but ‘Scarecrow’ is reconstructing the case with dramatic flair. The completeness of bringing the killer on screen to hear the story from his own mouth is also a point of curiosity for viewers.”

Experts believe ‘Scarecrow’ will remain a meaningful example of a genre piece dealing with a real-life event.

Critic Kim evaluated, “There were almost no cases where a drama approached a story after the real culprit was caught. It’s an exemplary case of how to handle a real event. Similar works may follow. It’s a meaningful attempt in terms of subject matter.”