Recently, an interesting new drama series titled 'Sculpted City' was released on Disney+. This drama has sparked curiosity from the very beginning, as it is a remake based on the 2017 movie <Fabricated City>. What makes this even more compelling is the common thread that actor Ji Chang-wook plays the lead protagonist in both the original film and this new series. For fans who remember the original, this presents a fascinating opportunity to compare the new interpretations in 'Sculpted City' and to see how Ji Chang-wook, after eight years, portrays the very same character in a new light.
The original film, <Fabricated City>, garnered attention upon its 2017 release for its fresh premise and stylish direction. In addition to the lead, Ji Chang-wook, the film boasted a powerful supporting lineup including Ahn Jae-hong and Shim Eun-kyung. It also featured the early-career appearances of actors like Oh Jung-se and Lee Hanee, who are now top stars in the industry. At the time, the movie attracted a respectable audience of 2.5 million viewers; however, it was reported that this was unfortunately not enough to surpass its break-even point. For Ji Chang-wook, this film remains a significant part of his filmography as his official big-screen debut.
While watching the new drama 'Sculpted City', I initially wasn't aware that it was a remake of <Fabricated City>. I simply perceived it as the typical setup for a revenge drama, where an ordinary young man is unjustly framed and his life is destroyed. As I watched the early plot unfold, I had the distinct impression that it felt "a bit clichéd for a modern drama." It all made sense when I learned that the source material was a movie from 2017—that is, eight years old. It seems the core challenge for this drama will be how it reinterprets this previously consumed narrative structure with a modern sensibility.
The drama's protagonist, Park Tae-joong (played by Ji Chang-wook), is a young man who lives his life with extraordinary diligence, working as a delivery driver. The series dedicates a significant amount of its initial runtime, almost to an intentional degree, to showcasing his kind and sincere character. We repeatedly see him stopping to help people in need while on his routes, even at the cost of his own time. His meticulous habit of managing his deliveries and other tasks "down to the minute" serves as a narrative device to show just how intensely and earnestly he approaches his life.
This depiction of Park Tae-joong is more than just character development; it serves as the crucial backdrop for the tragedy that is about to unfold, making his framing for murder all the more devastating. He has a girlfriend who relies on him and is fulfilling the role of the family's main provider, supporting his younger sibling's education. He is, by all measures, an ordinary young man preparing for the future, harboring a humble but specific dream of "starting his own flower shop." Because he is such a fundamentally decent and ordinary person, the calamity that befalls him feels exceptionally brutal, maximizing the audience's empathy.
The tragedy begins with a very minor and seemingly random event. One day, Park Tae-joong happens to find a ringing cell phone on the street. The woman claiming to be the owner makes an unusually generous offer: 300,000 won (approx. $220 USD) as a reward for its return. Park Tae-joong, who desperately needed the money for his sibling's academy fees, heads to the meeting spot without a hint of suspicion. However, what awaits him is not a thank-you, but a team of detectives ready to arrest him as the prime suspect in a gruesome murder case.
The detectives who barge into his home as soon as he returns forcibly arrest him, accusing him of being a killer without presenting any specific evidence. From the viewer's perspective, the immediate reaction is "But why?" It is only later, during the trial, that the detailed reasons for his designation as the suspect are revealed. In that brief moment when he went to return a phone for 300,000 won, he had unknowingly walked into a perfectly designed trap. His every move and action during that time had been meticulously manipulated and transformed into fabricated evidence against him.
To be frank, there were several points regarding the plausibility of this frame-up process that were a bit difficult to accept. In particular, the scene where he is seen moving a 'suitcase'—a key piece of evidence—is accepted as damning proof far too easily, despite other witnesses being present in the vicinity. It felt like a "setup for the sake of the setup." Like the movie, the drama opens with an intense motorcycle race that implies Park Tae-joong is already on a path of revenge, but the actual plot development unfolds quite differently, focusing instead on his desperate struggle for survival within the confined walls of a prison.
His story as a convicted murderer, which continues up to episode 4, is set almost entirely within the prison. Here, Park Tae-joong falls to the absolute depths of despair. When he receives the devastating news that even his younger sibling, who had always trusted him, has taken their own life, he loses all will to live and even attempts suicide. He is also relentlessly bullied, targeted by other inmates as a weakling. However, unable to collapse completely, he begins to diligently train his body and mind with the help of his cellmate, No Yong-sik (played by Kim Jong-soo), while working in the prison chapel.
Behind all of this tragedy is the drama's other protagonist and primary villain: Ahn Yo-han (played by Do Kyung-soo). First appearing in episode 2, Ahn Yo-han is a brilliant "architect" who "solves" problems for high-society VIPs whenever they get into trouble. His method involves perfectly covering up the crimes committed by his wealthy clients and finding an ordinary, unconnected person, like Park Tae-joong, to pin all the blame on. His portrayal as a pure psychopath, one who feels not a single shred of guilt in the process, maximizes the story's tension.
Just as Park Tae-joong, who begins to realize he was "designed" by an unseen force, vows revenge and prepares to fight back, Ahn Yo-han sets out to push him into even deeper despair by designing a "new world" to entrap him. Overall, 'Sculpted City' is shaping up to be the desperate survival story of a man who unjustly lost everything, a growth drama about confronting a colossal, unseen evil, and a thrilling revenge plot. Produced by CJ ENM, this 12-episode series also lists actor Lee Kwang-soo in the cast; his failure to appear as of episode 4 makes his eventual role another point of keen interest. I am extremely curious to see how the remaining episodes will unfold and whether Park Tae-joong can ultimately smash the massive design that has imprisoned him and bring the truth to light.
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