Scarecrow
Scarecrow
The school-violence enmity between Kang Tae-ju and Cha Si-young, and the detective-prosecutor partnership, form a created storyline about the protagonists, not biographies of actual Yun Seong-yeo and Kim Yong-bok. The Hye-jin case in the drama was inspired by the case of Kim Hyeon-jeong, the daughter of the late Kim Yong-bok. Im Seok-man in the drama takes Yun Seong-yeo’s wrongful conviction as its central motif.
OVERALL TRUTH BASIS · Fact-based dramatization
A fact-based fictional investigative drama that takes the Lee Chun-jae serial murder case and the actual suffering of the families of Yoon Seong-yeo and Kim Yong-bok as its core motifs, while combining fictional locations, protagonists, and investigative collaboration.
Lee Chun-jae Serial Murder Case
A series of sexual violence and murder cases that occurred from 1986 to 1991 in areas including Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. A name incorporating the place name was widely used in the past, but after 2019, use of the name “Lee Chun-jae Serial Murder Case” spread following Hwaseong residents’ requests to change the name and the disclosure of Lee Chun-jae’s real name.
FACT / FICTION
Verification 12
Fact / Fiction verification
12 recordsScarecrow aired on ENA from April 20 to May 26, 2026.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
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- Verified record
- ENA’s official program page lists the broadcast period.
View 1 sources
- 허수아비ENA · Production material · Grade AOpen source →
It was directed by Park Jun-woo and written by Lee Ji-hyun.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
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- Verified record
- This is from ENA’s official production staff information.
View 1 sources
- 허수아비ENA · Production material · Grade AOpen source →
The drama’s central real-life case motif is the Lee Chun-jae serial murder case.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
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- Verified record
- A production team interview states that the drama began with the victims and the case.
View 1 sources
- 허수아비 제작진 인터뷰연합뉴스 · Creator interview · Grade AOpen source →
Yoon Seong-yeo is an actual person who was wrongly accused of being the perpetrator of the eighth Lee Chun-jae serial murder case and served an unjust prison sentence for about 20 years.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
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- Verified record
- A Yonhap News interview with the production team confirms this.
View 1 sources
- 허수아비 제작진 인터뷰연합뉴스 · Creator interview · Grade AOpen source →
In the drama, Im Seok-man drew on Yoon Seong-yeo’s wrongful conviction as a core motif.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
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- Verified record
- Director Park Jun-woo said directly that Seok-man’s story was based on this motif.
View 1 sources
- 허수아비 제작진 인터뷰연합뉴스 · Creator interview · Grade AOpen source →
The late Kim Yong-bok was the father of the late Kim Hyeon-jeong, who was killed by Lee Chun-jae, and a family member of a victim whose daughter was treated as missing for a long time.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
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- Verified record
- Yonhap News describes the production team’s actual meeting and the case.
View 1 sources
- 허수아비 제작진 인터뷰연합뉴스 · Creator interview · Grade AOpen source →
The Hye-jin case in the drama was based on the case of Kim Hyeon-jeong, the daughter of the late Kim Yong-bok.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
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- Verified record
- The production team explained that they made sure to include this episode.
View 1 sources
- 허수아비 제작진 인터뷰연합뉴스 · Creator interview · Grade AOpen source →
The main setting in the drama, “Gangseong,” is a fictional place that does not use the actual place name Hwaseong as is.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
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- Verified record
- Newsis explains that the story is set in the fictional village of Gangseong.
View 1 sources
- 허수아비 제작진 인터뷰뉴시스 · Creator interview · Grade AOpen source →
Kang Tae-ju and Cha Si-young’s antagonistic history stemming from school bullying and their cooperation as a detective and prosecutor are an invented protagonist storyline, not the biographies of the actual Yoon Seong-yeo and Kim Yong-bok.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
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- Verified record
- ENA’s official synopsis describes an investigative drama in which the two characters, despite their antagonistic relationship, work together.
View 1 sources
- 허수아비ENA · Production material · Grade AOpen source →
Rather than reproducing the actual case as it happened, the drama combines it with a 30-year storyline about fictional characters.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
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- Verified record
- A Newsis interview with the production team discusses both the actual case and the fictional setting of Gangseong and fictional character structure.
View 1 sources
- 허수아비 제작진 인터뷰뉴시스 · Creator interview · Grade AOpen source →
The production team said they avoided a fantastical revenge ending because, in reality, the actual victims had not received sufficient retribution.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
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- Verified record
- This was the production intent described in a Yonhap News interview.
View 1 sources
- 허수아비 제작진 인터뷰연합뉴스 · Creator interview · Grade AOpen source →
It concluded after a total of 12 episodes.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
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- Verified record
- The official schedule, which listed it in the Monday–Tuesday slot from April 20 to May 26, 2026, and the production team’s end-of-series interview confirm that it had 12 episodes.
View 2 sources
- 허수아비ENA · Production material · Grade AOpen source →
- 허수아비 제작진 인터뷰연합뉴스 · Creator interview · Grade AOpen source →
CHARACTER ↔ PERSON
Characters and real people
강태주
Fictional character임석만
Composite characterComposite of real peopleYoon Seong-yeo →
차시영
Fictional character혜진
Composite characterComposite of real peopleKim Yong-bok →
Sources used
- 허수아비ENA · Production material · Grade AOpen source →
- 허수아비 제작진 인터뷰연합뉴스 · Creator interview · Grade AOpen source →
- 허수아비 제작진 인터뷰뉴시스 · Creator interview · Grade AOpen source →