# Great Escape (대탈출) (South Korean TV series)
**Great Escape** (대탈출, also romanized Daetalchul) is a South Korean escape-room reality variety series in which six cast members are locked inside a large themed set and must collaborate to find clues and solve puzzles in order to escape. It was created and directed by Jung Jong-yeon, known for *[The Genius](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-genius-tv-series)*, and first aired on tvN on July 1, 2018.[1](https://his.pusan.ac.kr/bbs/pncc/11985/759880/download.do) • [2](https://thetvdb.com/series/tvn-escape)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Cast members locked in a themed "super-sized secret room" each episode; they pool physical strength, nerve, wit, and brainpower to solve clues and escape[2](https://thetvdb.com/series/tvn-escape) |
| Original run | Season 1 aired on tvN from July 1 to September 23, 2018, in 13 episodes[3](https://tvn.cjenm.com/ko/greatescape/) |
| Original cast | Kang Ho-dong, Kim Jong-min, Shin Dong, Yoo Byung-jae, Kim Dong-hyun, and P.O for seasons 1 to 4[1](https://his.pusan.ac.kr/bbs/pncc/11985/759880/download.do) |
| Creator | Jung Jong-yeon, director of *The Genius* and *Society Game*[1](https://his.pusan.ac.kr/bbs/pncc/11985/759880/download.do) |
| Awards | 2020 Baeksang Arts Awards, Arts Prize, described as a first for a TV variety program[1](https://his.pusan.ac.kr/bbs/pncc/11985/759880/download.do) |
| Ratings | Around 1.5 to over 3 percent across seasons; season 1 opened at a peak 2.2% (Nielsen Korea nationwide paid households) and seasons 2 and 3 exceeded 3%[1](https://his.pusan.ac.kr/bbs/pncc/11985/759880/download.do) • [4](https://v.daum.net/v/c7bElQCchi?f=p) |
| Continuation | *The Great Escape: The Story* (season 5) premiered on TVING on July 23, 2025, after a four-year hiatus[5](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20250618045800005) |
## Format and design
Each episode places the six cast members in a completely sealed, mystery-filled set built around a new theme, such as an illegal gambling den for the premiere or a haunted girls' school in the season 1 finale arc. The members must use stamina, mental resolve, wit, and deduction to escape the super-sized secret room, and viewers watch them work through the clues.[2](https://thetvdb.com/series/tvn-escape) • [3](https://tvn.cjenm.com/ko/greatescape/)
An academic study of the series describes it as a team game oriented toward the escape process, set apart from earlier Korean deduction programs because the cast does not compete against one another; instead they must combine forces toward the single goal of escaping. Episodes build a continuous deductive narrative across the locked rooms, and the program actively uses horror content such as zombies and ghosts, with cast members playing NPC-like roles that the team rescues or helps escape, heightening immersion.[1](https://his.pusan.ac.kr/bbs/pncc/11985/759880/download.do)
## Seasons and cast
The original lineup of [Kang Ho-dong](https://www.edgepedia.org/kang-ho-dong), Kim Jong-min, Shin Dong, Yoo Byung-jae, Kim Dong-hyun, and P.O stayed together for four seasons on tvN, from the 2018 debut through the end of season 4 in 2021. As seasons accumulated, members developed on-screen characters, with Shin Dong and Yoo Byung-jae consistently presented as the team's brains, and the youngest member P.O described as a caretaker of his older castmates.[1](https://his.pusan.ac.kr/bbs/pncc/11985/759880/download.do) • [6](https://pncc.pusan.ac.kr/bbs/pncc/11985/759880/download.do) Season 1 was planned as "escape variety," then relabeled "secret-room adventure" for season 2 and "adventure variety" from season 3.[6](https://pncc.pusan.ac.kr/bbs/pncc/11985/759880/download.do)
**The Great Escape: The Story.** After season 4 ended in 2021 the series went on hiatus when Jung Jong-yeon left CJ ENM.[5](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20250618045800005) A fifth season, titled *The Great Escape: The Story*, returned on the streaming platform TVING on July 23, 2025. Direction passed to Lee Woo-hyung (*Three Meals a Day: Jeongseon*, *Backpacker*) and Yang Seul-gi (*Three Meals a Day: Mountain Village*), and the cast was reworked: [Kim Jong-min](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-jong-min), Shin Dong, and P.O did not return, while Ko Kyung-pyo, Baekhyun, and [Yeo Jin-goo](https://www.edgepedia.org/yeo-jin-goo) joined the returning Kang Ho-dong, Kim Dong-hyun, and Yoo Byung-jae.[5](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20250618045800005) • [7](https://enews.imbc.com/News/RetrieveNewsInfo/465377) The season presented one connected ten-episode storyline rather than standalone episodes, with the cast traveling through time as "escapers," beginning with a *Pamyo*-style episode set in 1900s Joseon, and culminating in a fifth and final chapter, "Shin In-ryu" (New Humans), in August 2025.[8](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/broadcasting-service/11376056) • [9](https://dark.namu.moe/w/%EB%8C%80%ED%83%88%EC%B6%9C%3A%20%EB%8D%94%20%EC%8A%A4%ED%86%A0%EB%A6%AC/%EC%8B%A0%EC%9D%B8%EB%A5%98) It was TVING's weekly number-one driver of paid subscriptions for four consecutive weeks.[10](https://www.smcultureandcontents.com/ko/management/issue_view.asp?board_srl=12042&page_no=34)
A sixth season (The Story season 2) had its production confirmed by early 2026, with Lee Woo-hyung expected to stay on as main director; actor Yeo Jin-goo left the cast after enlisting in the military, and casting of the remaining members was under discussion.[11](https://www.osen.co.kr/article/G1112750421)
## Shared universe and reception
Episodes across seasons connect into a shared narrative, referred to by fans as the DTCU (Daetalchul universe), anchored by recurring zombie, ghost, SSA, and time-machine storylines that the *The Story* season consolidated.[12](https://www.namu.moe/w/DTCU)
The series built a devoted fanbase despite modest ratings. Season 4's premiere topped the variety buzzworthiness chart in 2021, and the show's YouTube channel had reached about 160,000 subscribers at that point.[1](https://his.pusan.ac.kr/bbs/pncc/11985/759880/download.do) Its large-scale sets and production design were formally recognized with the Baeksang Arts Awards Arts Prize in 2020.[1](https://his.pusan.ac.kr/bbs/pncc/11985/759880/download.do) The format has also been exported: a Russian remake, *Bolshoy pobeg* (Большой побег, 2023), adapted the 2018 tvN show for Russian television, a localization project noted as rare Korea-Russia cooperation on format adaptation.[13](https://welcon.kocca.kr/cmm/fms/CrawlingFileDown.do?atchFileId=FILE_c10cae5c-a658-43e9-9518-e5d258ab91d9&fileSn=1)
## References
1. [Park So-young (2021). "Escape Games and Deduction Narratives in Korean Variety Content: Focusing on the Great Escape Series," *Korean National Culture* 80](https://his.pusan.ac.kr/bbs/pncc/11985/759880/download.do)
2. [Great Escape, TheTVDB.com](https://thetvdb.com/series/tvn-escape)
3. [대탈출 program page, tvN / CJ ENM](https://tvn.cjenm.com/ko/greatescape/)
4. ["'대탈출'→'식스센스', tvN 시즌제 예능 출격," ST이슈 via Daum](https://v.daum.net/v/c7bElQCchi?f=p)
5. ["스케일 키운 '대탈출' 새 시즌, 티빙서 내달 공개," Yonhap News (2025-06-18)](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20250618045800005)
6. ["한국 예능 콘텐츠에 나타난 탈출 게임과 추리 서사" (member characterization), Pusan National University](https://pncc.pusan.ac.kr/bbs/pncc/11985/759880/download.do)
7. ["PD·멤버 바뀐 '대탈출 : 더 스토리', 7월 티빙서 공개," iMBC News (2025-06-18)](https://enews.imbc.com/News/RetrieveNewsInfo/465377)
8. ["새 멤버 합류 합격점·스토리텔링은 아쉬움…" Star Today / Maeil Business (2025-07-24)](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/broadcasting-service/11376056)
9. [대탈출: 더 스토리/신인류 episode record](https://dark.namu.moe/w/%EB%8C%80%ED%83%88%EC%B6%9C%3A%20%EB%8D%94%20%EC%8A%A4%ED%86%A0%EB%A6%AC/%EC%8B%A0%EC%9D%B8%EB%A5%98)
10. [SM C&C management notice on The Story's four-week subscription record](https://www.smcultureandcontents.com/ko/management/issue_view.asp?board_srl=12042&page_no=34)
11. ["[단독] '대탈출' 시즌6 제작 확정..군인 여진구는 하차," OSEN (2026-02-26)](https://www.osen.co.kr/article/G1112750421)
12. [DTCU (Daetalchul universe), Namu wiki](https://www.namu.moe/w/DTCU)
13. [KOCCA Russia Content Industry Report, 2024 No. 02: Remakes of Korean programs on Russian TV](https://welcon.kocca.kr/cmm/fms/CrawlingFileDown.do?atchFileId=FILE_c10cae5c-a658-43e9-9518-e5d258ab91d9&fileSn=1)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Celebrity, family, lifestyle, and court reality series › Hidden camera and prank series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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