The Manipulated Review – A Super Action-Packed Kdrama With Amazing Acting
I’d been hearing a lot about The Manipulated as one of the Korean dramas everyone has loved.
The Manipulated is a crime–action drama starring Ji Chang-wook (Healer, Suspicious Partner, Welcome to Samdal-ri) in the lead role, alongside Doh Kyung-soo, Kim Jong-soo, Jo Yoon-su, and Lee Kwang-soo. The show is available to watch on Disney+ and is part of a Hulu Original series. It consists of 12 episodes and aired in November 2025.
What is The Manipulated About?
The Manipulated is a Korean drama that follows the most unfortunate incident surrounding Park Tae-jung. He is a friendly delivery driver who dreams of opening his own business. An older brother, a boyfriend, a friend, and considered a good citizen in Korea, he has a love for caring for his plants. But Tae-jung’s quiet life turned upside down when he wakes up to the sound of sirens and is taken away in a police van, accused of a murder he didn’t commit.
During a gruelling court case, Tae-jung discovers that someone has carefully fabricated evidence against him. This has led to his conviction and imprisonment. Consumed by a desire for revenge, he does everything he can to uncover the real culprit and clear his name.
What I liked about it:
Somehow watching the Manipulated felt like a re-watch of both Prison Break and Squid Game. The first few scenes completely hooked me, as it got into the action straight away and I wanted desperately to get to the next episodes. There are a lot of fast cars and motorcycles scenes. This is definetely a show for you if you enjoy a Korean drama with plenty of huge car chase scenes, explosions, and scenes taking place in a rundown and highly dangerous prison. This show reveals the sinister world of the rich, powerful and corrupt.
It’s easy to root for a character like Park Tae-jung. I had sympathy towards his unfortunate circumstances and for the hardships he faced. I was impressed by his strength and intelligence as he pushed through so many obstacles and so much trauma. Ji Chang-wook does an amazing job playing this character in this series.
We also have a fantastic evil mastermind in the form of Ahn Yo-Han (played by D.O.) in The Manipulated. He’s just so criminally insane that it’s entertaining to watch. Another character worth mentioning is Young-sik. He was a caring caring and kind friend and father figure to Tae-jung. The pair first met each other while serving time in prison.
With a drama more focused on the male characters, it was empowering to see a tough yet caring female like No Eun-bi. She is introduced as Young-sik estranged daughter. However, one thing I found it annoying is that producers teased a possible romance between her and Tae-jung, but nothing ended up happening.
I liked that in the ending, all the loose ends were tied up nicely. We get an intense, action-packed finale that’s the kind of conclusion you’d expect from this genre of show.
What I didn’t like about it:
The plot was predictable at times so I was able to guess where the story was heading from the very beginning. Unfortunately for me, I felt like there wasn’t enough plot twists or surprising elements in this series.
Some of the stunts were unbelievable, especially with our main character Tae-jung, like motorcycles driving on walls or jumping of building and fighting against 10 – 15 men and still surviving.
Overall thoughts:
This series includes violence, gory fight scenes, and foul language. It’s an action-packed show that I thoroughly enjoyed. I finished it in just a few days. The pacing is great and with each episode ends with a suspenseful cliffhanger. The music choices and graphics added to the dark, tense ambience of the show. Meanwhile, the characters are well-developed. If you’re looking for a fast-paced series with intense action, The Manipulated is the one you need to watch.
