# The Manipulated
**The Manipulated** (조각도시) is a 2025 South Korean revenge action thriller series released on Disney+, in which an ordinary man named Tae-jung is framed for a heinous crime, imprisoned, and, on learning that his downfall was orchestrated by a man called Yo-han, sets out on a quest for revenge.[1](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-5c49a8a7-8236-436c-918b-15b0aa9ae0ab) It was written by Oh Sang-ho, the screenwriter of the drama *Taxi Driver*, and directed by Park Shin-woo and Kim Chang-joo.[2](https://www.chosun.com/english/kpop-culture-en/2025/12/11/EZPCTTOQZ5HRNIKKRMVMNHJF6I/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 조각도시 (South Korea)[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/84807/the-manipulated) |
| Platform and run | Disney+, 12 episodes, November 5 to December 3, 2025; two episodes released each Wednesday[4](https://www.cineplay.co.kr/en-us/articles/22761) |
| Main cast | Ji Chang-wook as Park Tae-jung, Doh Kyung-soo (D.O. of EXO) as Yo-han, with Kim Jong-soo, Jo Yoon-su, and Lee Kwang-soo[5](https://televisionstats.com/s/the-manipulated) |
| Connection to film | An expanded-universe series based on the 2017 film *Fabricated City*, which also starred Ji Chang-wook; the makers describe it as a new drama with new characters rather than a remake[6](https://news.sbs.co.kr/amp/news.amp?news_id=N1008330205) |
| Rating | TV-MA, with advisories for depictions of suicidal ideation and flashing-light sequences[1](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-5c49a8a7-8236-436c-918b-15b0aa9ae0ab) |
| Chart performance | No. 1 on Disney+'s Top 10 TV shows in South Korea and Taiwan for 17 consecutive days; 2nd worldwide as of November 23, 2025[4](https://www.cineplay.co.kr/en-us/articles/22761) |
| Audience score | 7.7/10 on IMDb (5,669 votes)[7](https://watch.rdd.media/shows/275312/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and plot
The series follows Park Tae-jung, a delivery worker whose life collapses when he is falsely accused of a violent crime and sent to prison. Behind bars he learns that every detail of his downfall was planned by Yo-han, and he escapes to hunt down the man who engineered it.[2](https://www.chosun.com/english/kpop-culture-en/2025/12/11/EZPCTTOQZ5HRNIKKRMVMNHJF6I/) • [8](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/hulu/3-new-hulu-shows-to-binge-watch-this-week-and-no-1-is-a-john-wick-style-thriller) Disney+'s episode guide traces the arc from Tae-jung's arrest in episode 1, through the revelation of Yo-han's true nature in episode 5, to a final confrontation in episode 10 and a finale in which "an unexpected guest throws a wrench in the works."[1](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-5c49a8a7-8236-436c-918b-15b0aa9ae0ab)
The show's Korean title is 조각도시, while the international title is *The Manipulated*; Disney's promotional material for the series has used the English rendering "Sculpture City" as a hashtag.[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/84807/the-manipulated) • [9](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htp_u7p-uDw)
## Relationship to Fabricated City
The series expands the world of *Fabricated City* (조작된 도시), a 2017 film in which [Ji Chang-wook](https://www.edgepedia.org/ji-chang-wook) played his first leading movie role.[10](https://mb.com.ph/2025/11/05/korean-action-thriller-series-the-manipulated-premieres-on-disney) Ji said he felt a sense of responsibility revisiting a property he had starred in about a decade earlier, and he described the series as "not a remake of *Fabricated City*... an expanded-universe series. New characters, new arcs, a completely new drama."[6](https://news.sbs.co.kr/amp/news.amp?news_id=N1008330205) According to interviews, the film focused on a massive gaming conspiracy, while the series broadens the scope and adds new characters, including Yo-han, with more detail given to the characters' backstories.[11](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20251211/ji-chang-wook-takes-on-grueling-action-emotion-in-the-manipulated) • [12](https://elle.com.sg/life-culture/ji-chang-wook-doh-kyung-soo-lee-kwang-soo-the-manipulated-korean-drama-interview-2025/) The series' writer explained the shift in emphasis: where the film centered on systematic manipulation, the series focuses on how Yo-han intervenes in selection processes to isolate and cut off an individual from the community.[13](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/amp/article.do?article_id=E10010310060)
## Cast and performances
**Ji Chang-wook** plays Tae-jung, a role requiring sustained high-difficulty action; in a post-finale interview he said the cast "pushed ourselves physically from start to finish on this shoot."[6](https://news.sbs.co.kr/amp/news.amp?news_id=N1008330205) • [2](https://www.chosun.com/english/kpop-culture-en/2025/12/11/EZPCTTOQZ5HRNIKKRMVMNHJF6I/) He said his main goal was to make the audience empathize with a man driven to the bottom by unjust manipulation.[11](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20251211/ji-chang-wook-takes-on-grueling-action-emotion-in-the-manipulated)
**Doh Kyung-soo**, the EXO singer also known as D.O., plays the antagonist Yo-han, the first villain role of his career. He said he was "more excited than afraid to try something new," and in interviews discussed how he built the character from a mixture of films and documentaries rather than drawing on his own personality.[6](https://news.sbs.co.kr/amp/news.amp?news_id=N1008330205) • [14](https://v.daum.net/v/20251211144227680) He also said he and the production team debated whether the ending should leave Yo-han ambiguous or resolve him clearly.[15](https://isplus.com/article/view/isp202512150155) The supporting cast includes [Lee Kwang-soo](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-kwang-soo), a former cast member of *Running Man*, and [Jo Yoon-su](https://www.edgepedia.org/jo-yoon-su) of *True Beauty*.[10](https://mb.com.ph/2025/11/05/korean-action-thriller-series-the-manipulated-premieres-on-disney)
## Release and reception
The first four episodes premiered on Disney+ worldwide and on Hulu on November 5, 2025, with subsequent episodes released weekly on Wednesdays until the twelfth-episode finale on December 3.[4](https://www.cineplay.co.kr/en-us/articles/22761) • [8](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/hulu/3-new-hulu-shows-to-binge-watch-this-week-and-no-1-is-a-john-wick-style-thriller) As of November 9, the analytics tracker FlixPatrol placed the series at No. 1 on Disney+'s Top 10 TV shows in South Korea and Taiwan, No. 4 worldwide, with chart entries in six markets including Japan, Turkey, and Singapore; by November 23 it had reached 2nd worldwide and had held 1st in Korea and Taiwan for 17 consecutive days.[6](https://news.sbs.co.kr/amp/news.amp?news_id=N1008330205) • [4](https://www.cineplay.co.kr/en-us/articles/22761) To promote the series, Ji Chang-wook and Doh Kyung-soo met more than 400 reporters from 12 Asia-Pacific territories at the Disney Plus Originals Preview 2025 at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel.[6](https://news.sbs.co.kr/amp/news.amp?news_id=N1008330205)
The series carries a TV-MA rating and content advisories for depictions of suicidal ideation and for flashing-light sequences that may affect photosensitive viewers.[1](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-5c49a8a7-8236-436c-918b-15b0aa9ae0ab) Ji Chang-wook next appears in the 2026 series *Scandals* for Netflix.[16](https://time.com/7345886/korean-dramas-2026/)
## References
1. [The Manipulated, Disney+ official page](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-5c49a8a7-8236-436c-918b-15b0aa9ae0ab)
2. [Ji Chang-wook Endures Grueling Action for 'The Manipulated', Chosun Ilbo (English)](https://www.chosun.com/english/kpop-culture-en/2025/12/11/EZPCTTOQZ5HRNIKKRMVMNHJF6I/)
3. [The Manipulated, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/84807/the-manipulated)
4. ['The Manipulated' Achieves 2nd Place in Flixpatrol Worldwide TV Show Category, Cineplay](https://www.cineplay.co.kr/en-us/articles/22761)
5. [The Manipulated (TV) statistics, TelevisionStats](https://televisionstats.com/s/the-manipulated)
6. ['The Manipulated' Becomes a Smash Across Asia as Ji Chang-wook Fever Peaks in Hong Kong, SBS Star](https://news.sbs.co.kr/amp/news.amp?news_id=N1008330205)
7. [The Manipulated (2025) ratings, RDD Media](https://watch.rdd.media/shows/275312/)
8. [New on Hulu: 3 shows to binge watch this week, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/hulu/3-new-hulu-shows-to-binge-watch-this-week-and-no-1-is-a-john-wick-style-thriller)
9. [Friends at First Sight | Ji Chang-wook & Doh Kyung-soo Mukbang Talk, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htp_u7p-uDw)
10. [Korean action-thriller series 'The Manipulated' premieres on Disney+, Manila Bulletin](https://mb.com.ph/2025/11/05/korean-action-thriller-series-the-manipulated-premieres-on-disney)
11. [INTERVIEW: Ji Chang-wook takes on grueling action, emotion in 'The Manipulated', The Korea Times](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/amp/entertainment/shows-dramas/20251211/ji-chang-wook-takes-on-grueling-action-emotion-in-the-manipulated)
12. [Ji Chang-wook, Doh Kyung-soo & Cast On The Manipulated, ELLE Singapore](https://elle.com.sg/life-culture/ji-chang-wook-doh-kyung-soo-lee-kwang-soo-the-manipulated-korean-drama-interview-2025/)
13. ['지창욱 자체가 장르'... '조각도시' 작가의 극찬, SBS Entertainment News](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/amp/article.do?article_id=E10010310060)
14. [도경수 인터뷰 (조각도시), Daum](https://v.daum.net/v/20251211144227680)
15. ['조각도시'가 보여준 도경수의 또 다른 얼굴, 일간스포츠](https://isplus.com/article/view/isp202512150155)
16. [The Most Anticipated K-Dramas of 2026, TIME](https://time.com/7345886/korean-dramas-2026/)
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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 › Spy and action thrillers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license