# Vigilante (2023)

> A Korean National Police University student secretly becomes a vigilante, punishing criminals the law cannot reach while surrounded by colleagues with hidden agendas.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/127814

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 8
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, thriller, drama
- Created by: Moon Yoo-seok
- Network: Disney+
- Cast: Nam Joo-hyuk, Yoo Ji-tae, Kim So-jin, Lee Jun-hyuk, Kwon Hae-hyo, Lee Seung-ryong, Lee Seo-hwan, Gi Eun-you
- TMDB rating: 7.7/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27458539/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: brutal
- Tone: tense, grim, gripping, morally ambiguous, bleak

## What critics say

Viewers broadly praise the grounded, morally gray vigilante story and the lead's controlled, unsettling performance, with audience ratings positive overall.

## Synopsis

Vigilante (2023) is a South Korean crime thriller miniseries created by Moon Yoo-seok for Disney+. Across eight episodes of about 45 minutes each, Nam Joo-hyuk plays Kim Ji-yong, a police university student who leads a double life as a masked vigilante by night, personally punishing criminals who slip through the legal system. Yoo Ji-tae plays Jo Heon and Kim So-jin plays Choi Mi-ryeo, two figures whose own ulterior motives tighten around him as he gets closer to the truth. The engine of the story is the constant risk of exposure: each episode pairs a targeted act of street justice with the mounting pressure of investigators, reporters and colleagues who all want something from him. The structure is a single continuing story rather than a case of the week, so each capture ripples into the next. Its tone is grim and tense, with a grounded, realistic look at law enforcement and the moral cost of taking justice into one's own hands. Set in contemporary South Korea, it has the bruised atmosphere of Korean crime cinema. Fans of Stranger, Dexter and Death Wish will find resonance in its vigilante premise and its slow slide into moral compromise, and the series suits viewers who enjoy a dark, character-driven thriller.

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