60 minSeason 1 • Episode 12
LatestJoon Hyeok suspects that Mayor Yoon has seen something that can be used against Dong Geon. Since Jeong Yeon can unlock his memories, they decide to take him out of Human B’s hands and unlock it. And since Min Young is a doctor, she sneaks in to the hospital to take him out.
After Aliens arrive, the story takes place in two time streams: 2017 and 2037. In twenty years, and by 2037, the world has been divided into a “Smart Earth” where artificial intelligence has created a utopian environment in which no diseases or crimes exist, and an “Ordinary Earth” where people still suffer from rampant plague and lawlessness.
Acting
Yeo Jin-goo plays dual roles with unsettling precision.
Writing
Tight 12-episode structure—no filler, all killer.
Production
Two distinct visual palettes split 2017 grime from 2037 glass.
Yeo Jin-goo
Kim Woo-Jin
Kim Kang-woo
Kim Joon-Hyuk
Gong Seung-yeon
Han Jung-Yeon
Lee Gi-kwang
Lee Ho-Soo
Kwon Hyuk-soo
Detective Oh
An Woo-yeon
Kim Beom-Gyoon
Kim Joong-ki
Kim Kyu-Cheol
Min Sung-wook
Lee Hyun-Seok
Nam Myung-ryeol
Yoon Hak-Joo
Lee Hwa-Kyum
Secretary Shin
Seo Hyun-chul
Hong Jin-Hong
Song Young-gyu
Hwang Yong-Woo
Oh Eui-sik
Lee Dong-Soo
Kim Ye-joon
Kim Bum-gyun (young)
Jung Ji-hoon
Kim Woo-jin (young)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The show's Korean title '써클' references both the alien ship and the cyclical nature of the twin timelines.
Circle aired on cable network tvN during Korea's 2017 sci-fi boom, but its bleak fusion of procedural mystery and existential dread predates similar Western hits like Severance.
KR
