Prison Playbook

Prison PlaybookHangulHanjaLit.Wise Prison LifeRRSeulgiroun gamppangsaenghwalMRSŭlgiroun kamppangsaenghwal GenreBlack comedy[1]Created byLee Woo-jungWritten byJung Bo-hoonDirected byShin Won-hoStarringCountry of originSouth KoreaOriginal languageKoreanNo. of episodes16ProductionExecutive producerPark Sung-jaeProducerPark Soo-wooCamera setupSingle-cameraRunning time90 minutesProduction companytvNOriginal releaseNetworktvNReleaseNovember 22, 2017 (2017-11-22) -January 18, 2018 (2018-01-18)

Prison Playbook[2] (Korean: 슬기로운 감빵생활) is a 2017 South Korean television series directed by Shin Won-ho and starring Park Hae-soo and Jung Kyung-ho. The series marks Park's first-ever lead role. It aired on tvN from November 22, 2017 to January 18, 2018, every Wednesday and Thursday at 21:10 (KST) for 16 episodes.[3][4]

The series was a commercial hit and became one of the highest-rated series in Korean cable television history.[5]

A captivating series revolving around the lives of convicts behind bars, their families and duty officers working in the correctional facilities. It focuses on the story of a superstar baseball pitcher, Kim Je-hyuk, who is convicted of assault after he saves his sister from a sexual assault.

• Park Hae-soo as Kim Je-hyuk
  • Lee Tae-sun as young Kim Je-hyuk

A superstar baseball player who turns into a convict overnight after protecting his sister from an assault. Due to ultimately fatal injuries that the perpetrator suffers, he is sentenced to a year of jailtime. Despite excelling in baseball, he is quite clumsy at everything else, which is a running gag throughout the show.

• Jung Kyung-ho as Lee Joon-ho
  • Lee Do-hyun as young Lee Joon-ho

An elite prison guard and Je-hyuk's best friend. He used to play baseball with Je-hyuk in high school but had to quit because of injuries sustained in a car accident. Other prisoners and guards believe that he is just an avid fan of Kim Je-hyuk.

• Krystal Jung as Kim Ji-ho
  • Shin Rin-ah as child Kim Ji-ho
  • Lee Chae-yoon as teenage Kim Ji-ho

Je-hyuk's girlfriend who is a traditional Korean medicine student.

• Lim Hwa-young as Kim Je-hee

Je-hyuk's younger sister.

• Ye Soo-jung as Je-hyuk's mother
• Kim Kyung-nam as Lee Joon-dol

Joon-ho's younger brother who is a reporter and an avid fan of Je-hyuk.

• Sung Dong-il as Chief Jo Ji-ho

A veteran chief prison guard who is quick and flexible when it comes to resolving incidents that take place inside the prison, but is known for being corrupt and easily swayed by money or other material goods that inmates can provide him.[6]

• Jung Jae-sung as Professor Myung
• Lee Ho-chul [ko] as Gal Dae-bong (a.k.a. "Seagull")

• Choi Moo-sung as Kim Min-chul (a.k.a. "Long-term Prisoner")

A gang member and convicted murderer who was at first, sentenced to life imprisonment before his sentence was shortened to 25 years on appeal a decade after his trial. A model prisoner and father figure to younger inmates, especially to Lee Joo-hyung.

• Park Ho-san as Kang Chul-doo (a.k.a. "KAIST")

An engineer who was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months' imprisonment because of a gambling scam. He has a severe lisp, which other inmates (especially Han-yang) make fun of.

• Lee Kyu-hyung as Yoo Han-yang (a.k.a. "Second-generation Chaebol" or "Looney")

A repeat offender for drug usage. He constantly bickers with Kaist and Captain Yoo.

• Jung Hae-in as Yoo Jeong-woo (a.k.a. "Captain Yoo")

A commanding officer who allegedly assaulted his teammate, which led to the latter's death. He initially found it hard to live in prison but eventually began to fit in.

• Jung Min-sung [ko] as Go Park-sa (a.k.a. "Doctor Go")

A manager of a large company who was imprisoned due to his company embezzling ten billion won and him taking the fall for it.

• Kang Seung-yoon as Lee Joo-hyung (a.k.a. "Jean Valjean")

A repeat offender who is unable to refrain from stealing.

• • Kang Seung-yoon as Lee Jong-won, Min-chul's fellow gang member who strongly resembles Joo-hyung. He, Min-chul and three others were found guilty of the murders of two rival gang members, but unlike Min-chul and two of their fellow co-accused, Jong-won (together with their gang leader) was sentenced to death and executed on 6 January 1996.
• Kim Sung-cheol as Kim Young-cheol (a.k.a. "Jailbird")

A man who frequently goes in and out of prison and the first person in the prison Je-hyuk befriends. He considers Je-hyuk his brother because Je-hyuk secretly paid for his mother's life-saving surgery.

• Ahn Chang-hwan as Dong-ho (a.k.a. "Croney")

A prisoner who stabs Je-hyuk in the shoulder, causing his left arm to be injured and unusable for baseball. Eventually, Je-hyuk is able to convince him to be on his side and be his catcher while he trains for baseball in prison.

• Jung Woong-in as Assistant Chief Paeng Se-yoon

A fierce prison guard who likes swearing at prisoners but is actually very supportive and concerned about their well-being and reform.

• Yoo Jae-myung as Je-hyuk's lawyer
• Kim Sun-young as Kang Chul-doo's ex-wife

• Prison Playbook is directed by Shin Won-ho, the award-winning director of Reply anthology series, and written by one of the series' junior writers, Jung Bo-hoon.[7][8]
• The first script reading of the cast was held on July 17, 2017, at CJ E&M Center in Sangam-dong, Seoul.[9]
• The filming wrapped up on January 16, 2018.[10]

Prison PlaybookOriginal SoundtrackSoundtrack album by GenreSoundtrackLanguageKorean, EnglishLabelProducerKim Han-jo (executive) Average TV viewership ratings Ep. Original broadcast date Average audience share Nielsen Korea[16] TNmS Nationwide Seoul Nationwide 1 November 22, 2017 4.638% 4.816% 5.1% 2 November 23, 2017 5.381% 5.900% 5.1% 3 November 29, 2017 4.698% 5.336% 4.9% 4 November 30, 2017 5.468% 6.644% 5.3% 5 December 6, 2017 5.612% 6.518% 5.7% 6 December 7, 2017 5.847% 6.260% 6.2% 7 December 13, 2017 6.388% 6.942% 7.1% 8 December 14, 2017 6.774% 7.409% 7.0% 9 December 20, 2017 7.313% 8.376% 7.4% 10 December 21, 2017 7.910% 8.809% 7.7% 11 January 3, 2018 9.095% 10.139% 8.7% 12 January 4, 2018 9.393% 10.511% 9.6% 13 January 10, 2018 10.142% 11.077% 10.2% 14 January 11, 2018 10.615% 11.531% 11.3% 15 January 17, 2018 10.477% 11.620% 10.9% 16 January 18, 2018 11.195% 12.299% 10.9% Average 7.559% 8.387% 7.7% Special December 27, 2017 5.110% 5.658% 5.3%

• In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
• This series aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).

Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref. 2018 22nd Asian Television Awards Best Drama Series Prison Playbook Nominated 12th Korean Cable TV Awards Best Drama Won [17][unreliable source?] 54th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Director Shin Won-ho Nominated [18][19] Best Supporting Actor Park Ho-san Won Best New Actor Park Hae-soo Nominated Best Screenplay Jung Bo-hoon Nominated Most Popular Actor Jung Hae-in Won 6th APAN Star Awards Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Park Hae-soo Nominated [20] Best Supporting Actor Park Ho-san Won 2nd The Seoul Awards Nominated [21] Best New Actor Park Hae-soo Won

• Official website (in Korean)
• Prison Playbook at IMDb
• Prison Playbook at HanCinema