# The Escape of the Seven (인의 탈출)
**The Escape of the Seven** (7인의 탈출) is a South Korean television revenge drama broadcast by SBS as a Friday-Saturday series, written by Kim Soon-ok and directed by Joo Dong-min, in which seven villains connected to a girl's disappearance fight to survive a punishment game designed by a mysterious figure.[1](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010277069) It premiered on September 15, 2023, and ran for 17 episodes.[2](https://welcon.kocca.kr/mobile/en/directory/content/the-escape-of-the-seven-the--6431) A second season, *The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection* (7인의 부활), followed in 2024.[3](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/413424)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | SBS Friday-Saturday drama (금토드라마), 17 episodes, first aired September 15, 2023[1](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010277069) • [2](https://welcon.kocca.kr/mobile/en/directory/content/the-escape-of-the-seven-the--6431) |
| Creative team | Written by Kim Soon-ok, directed by Joo Dong-min[1](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010277069) |
| Premise | Seven villains linked to a girl's disappearance face a survival struggle and bloody retribution in a picaresque revenge drama[4](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010276773) |
| Lead role | Uhm Ki-joon as Matthew Lee, head of Korea's largest mobile platform company and designer of the game that punishes the seven[1](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010277069) |
| Season 1 ratings | Held in the 6% range (Nielsen Korea nationwide) from the first two episodes through the finale[3](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/413424) |
| Season 2 | *The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection*, premiered March 29, 2024; episode 1 rated 4.4% and episode 2 rated 3.2%[3](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/413424) |
| IMDb rating | 6.2/10 from 732 user ratings[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29198828/ratings/) |
## Premise
The story centers on the disappearance of a girl, Bang Da Mi, and the seven people whose lies and desires entangled her fate. SBS described the series as a picaresque revenge drama (a work whose protagonists are villains) depicting the seven villains' survival struggle and the bloody retribution directed at them.[4](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010276773) The KOCCA content directory summarizes the setup as a revenge game designed by Matthew, a mysterious man who poses as a god, with each game depicting one of seven sins: greed, betrayal, falsehood, distortion, incitement, envy, and indulgence.[2](https://welcon.kocca.kr/mobile/en/directory/content/the-escape-of-the-seven-the--6431)
The girl's mother, Geum Ra-hee ([Hwang Jung-eum](https://www.edgepedia.org/hwang-jung-eum)), returns to her daughter's life intending to use her to obtain the grandfather's inheritance, and the idol trainee Han Mo-ne (Lee Yu-bi) befriends Bang Da Mi only to use her as a look-alike.[6](https://kpoppost.com/kim-soon-ok-the-escape-of-seven-criticisms/) The principal cast also includes [Lee Joon](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-joon) as Min Do-hyuk, Shin Eun-kyung as Cha Joo-ran, Yoon Jong-hoon as Yang Jin-mo, Jo Yoon-hee as Ko Myeong-ji, Jo Jae-yun as Nam Cheol-woo, Lee Duck-hwa as Bang Chil-sung, Yoon Tae-young as Kang Ki-tak, and Jung Lael as Bang Da-mi.[7](https://www.cinnamondb.com/tv/the-escape-of-the-seven-2023)
## Production and cast
**Kim Soon-ok's revenge universe.** Kim Soon-ok, the writer behind *Temptation of a Wife*, *The Empress's Dignity*, and the *Penthouse* series, built the series as a new entry in her revenge-themed world, this time with seven villains in the title itself. She worked again with director Joo Dong-min, her collaborator on *The Empress's Dignity* and *Penthouse*.[1](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010277069) The production presentation on September 14, 2023 was attended by Uhm Ki-joon, Hwang Jung-eum, Lee Joon, Lee Yu-bi, Yoon Jong-hoon, Jo Yoon-hee, and Jo Jae-yoon.[1](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010277069)
Uhm Ki-joon, who had played the villain Joo Dan-tae in *Penthouse*, took the role of Matthew Lee, the head of Korea's largest mobile platform company and the designer of the game that condemns the seven villains.[1](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010277069) A week before the premiere, SBS released the opening title sequence and mugshot-style videos of the villains, imagery that included a blood-stained bell hat clutched amid tangled hands before a sculpture evoking a hell painting.[4](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010276773)
## Reception and controversy
**Ratings.** Season 1 maintained ratings in the 6% range (Nielsen Korea nationwide) from its first two episodes through its finale.[3](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/413424) This fell short of the writer's earlier hit *Penthouse* season 1, which opened at 9.2% and reached double digits (10.2%) by its second episode in 2020.[8](https://www.huffingtonpost.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=213517) On IMDb the series holds a 6.2/10 rating from 732 users.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29198828/ratings/)
**Controversial content.** Season 1 drew viewer criticism for vividly depicting a school birth, compensated dating involving a minor, and child abuse, and for a plot in which villains committing extreme acts kept prospering, which failed to win audience sympathy.[9](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/culture/11003008) • [10](https://v.isplus.com/article/view/isp202404130002) The premiere episode included a scene in which the teenage Han Mo-ne suddenly gives birth in the school art room, one of the first controversies cited by Korean netizens.[6](https://kpoppost.com/kim-soon-ok-the-escape-of-seven-criticisms/) A professor cited in a HuffPost Korea analysis, Yoon Seok-jin, assessed that the strength of Kim Soon-ok's works had been the cathartic satisfaction between villainies, and that *The Escape of the Seven* had failed completely at pacing that satisfaction.[8](https://www.huffingtonpost.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=213517)
## Season 2: Resurrection
A second season, *The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection* (7인의 부활), directed by Oh Joon-hyuk and Oh Song-hee with Kim Soon-ok writing and produced by Chorokbaem Media and Studio S, premiered on March 29, 2024.[11](https://www.sbssau.co.kr/file_news/3_1532_a/SBS%EC%82%AC%EB%B3%B4%201222%ED%98%B8.pdf) • [3](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/413424) It depicts a reset board of revenge in which the seven, reborn, form a desperate and intense alliance, with a new punisher and unpredictable twists.[3](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/413424) The season carried a production budget of 46 billion won, and its first episode rated 4.4% with the second falling 1.2 points to 3.2%, figures the press compared unfavorably with season 1's 6% range.[3](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/413424) Season 2 explained how the seven villains of season 1 became villains and how they fell into Matthew Lee's service, and it transformed Geum Ra-hee, who had used her daughter as a tool for success, in a complete reversal.[9](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/culture/11003008) Director Joo Dong-min, who had worked with Kim Soon-ok for many years, left the series before season 2.[3](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/413424)
## References
1. ["마라맛 이상의 죽을맛"…'7인의 탈출', 더 파격적인 '김순옥 월드' 열린다, SBS연예뉴스 (September 14, 2023)](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010277069)
2. [The Escape of the Seven, The Escape of the Seven: Resurrection, WelCon (KOCCA)](https://welcon.kocca.kr/mobile/en/directory/content/the-escape-of-the-seven-the--6431)
3. ["통할 리가 있나"…'7인의 부활' 명작 틈에 낀 막장의 한계, iMBC 연예 (April 1, 2024)](https://enews.imbc.com/News/ViewAmp/413424)
4. ["'7인의 탈출', 오프닝 타이틀X악인들의 머그샷 공개 '소름 유발', SBS연예뉴스 (September 8, 2023)](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010276773)
5. [The Escape of the Seven (TV Series 2023–2024) - Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29198828/ratings/)
6. ["The Escape of The Seven": MASSIVE Criticisms and SEVERE Controversy, KPOPPOST](https://kpoppost.com/kim-soon-ok-the-escape-of-seven-criticisms/)
7. [The Escape of the Seven (2023), Cinnamon DB](https://www.cinnamondb.com/tv/the-escape-of-the-seven-2023)
8. ["'펜트하우스'보다 자극적인데 '7인의 탈출'은 왜 안 될까?, HuffPost Korea](https://www.huffingtonpost.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=213517)
9. [시청률 2%대 추락...‘7인의 부활’ 이러려고 부활했나[多리뷰해], 매일경제](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/culture/11003008)
10. [진입장벽에 막장요소 피로감…'7인의 부활' 이대로 주저앉나 [IS포커스], 일간스포츠](https://v.isplus.com/article/view/isp202404130002)
11. [SBS 사보 제1222호 (March 14, 2024)](https://www.sbssau.co.kr/file_news/3_1532_a/SBS%EC%82%AC%EB%B3%B4%201222%ED%98%B8.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Korean contemporary drama › Thriller, crime, and mystery series › Crime and mystery thrillers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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