''Squad 38'' () is a

South Korean television series Korean drama (), also known as K-drama or Koreanovela, refers to Korean-language television shows made in South Korea. These shows began to be produced around the early 1960s, but were mostly consumed domestically until the rise of the Korean Wa ...

starring

Ma Dong-seok Lee Dong-seok (; born March 1, 1971), better known by the stage names Ma Dong-seok () and Don Lee, is an American actor and film producer based in South Korea. He gained early recognition for his supporting roles in '' Nameless Gangster: Rules ...

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and

Choi Soo-young Choi Soo-young (; born February 10, 1990), known mononymously as Sooyoung, is a South Korean singer, actress, and songwriter. She was a member of the short-lived Korean-Japanese singing duo Route 0 during 2002 in Japan. After returning to Sou ...

. It aired on cable network OCN on Fridays and Saturdays at 23:00 ( KST) for 16 episodes from June 17, 2016 to August 6, 2016.

Synopsis

The story is about civil servant Baek Sung-il and his team who collect taxes from habitual tax evaders as well as delinquent taxpayers in cooperation with the fraudster Yang Jeong-do.

Origin of title

''Squad 38'' is motivated and received advice from "38 Tax Collection Division" (aka 38기동대: Task force 38) in Seoul Metropolitan Government. The number 38 is derived from Article 38 of

Constitution of South Korea The Constitution of the Republic of Korea () is the supreme law of South Korea. It was promulgated on July 17, 1948, and last revised on October 29, 1987. Background The Provisional Charter of Korea The preamble of the Constitution of Sou ...

, which stipulates the duty to pay taxes:

모든 국민은 법률이 정하는 바에 의하여 납세의 의무를 진다.
All citizens shall have the duty to pay taxes under the conditions as prescribed by Act.

The Korean title "사기동대 (sagidongdae)" is the combination of the words 사기 (sagi: fraud) and 기동대 (gidongdae: task force). In the logo of this series, letter of 사기 is written in blue and underlined to emphasize. The motto of the drama, "끝까지 사기쳐서 반드시 징수한다" (Swindle to the end, must be collected.) is parody of, the motto of 38 Tax Collection Division, "끝까지 추적하여 반드시 징수한다" (Trace to the end, must be collected.)

Cast

Main cast

as Baek Sung-il/Park Woong-cheol – manager of Tax Collection Bureau's section 3 *

as Yang Jeong-do – professional swindler *

as Cheon Sung-hee – Tax Collection Bureau's officer

Supporting cast

38 Revenue Collection Unit

Song Ok-sook Song Ok-sook (; born August 14, 1960) is a South Korean actress. She has appeared in supporting roles in numerous television dramas, including ''Winter Sonata'', '' Beethoven Virus'', ''More Charming by the Day'', and '' Missing You''. Song is ...

as Noh Bang-shil – nickname "Wallet" * as Jang Hak-joo – nickname "Cannon" *

Ko Kyu-pil Ko Kyu-pil (born May 2, 1982) is a South Korean actor. He debuted in the 1993 South Korean children's film '' Kid Cop'' and has thus appeared in notable television series and films in a supporting role. Personal life On June 16, 2023, it was ...

as Jung Ja-wang – nickname "Keyboard" * Lee Sun-bin as Jo Mi-joo – nickname "Kkotbaem" = flower-snake (literally) = seductive girl (meaning) *

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as Choi Ji-yeon

Seowon Town Hall

Ahn Nae-sang Ahn Nae-sang (; born December 25, 1964) is a South Korean actor. He began his career on the stage, and in 1994 made his film debut in the Bong Joon-ho short film ''Baeksekin'' ("White Man" or "White-collar worker"), followed by Jang Sun-woo's ...

as Cheon Gap-soo – mayor of Seowon * Jo Woo-jin as Ahn Tae-wook – director of Tax Collection Bureau * as Kang Noh-seung – manager of Tax Collection Bureau's section 1 * as Ahn Chang-ho – young employee of Tax Collection Bureau *

Kim Joo-hun Kim Joo-hun (; born March 1, 1980) is a South Korean theater, television and film actor. He debuted in 2007 in play ''Gangster Number 1''. He was a member of Alleyway Theater Company from 2009 until 2014. He is best known for his roles in the t ...

as Investigator Park – investigator of Tax Collection Bureau's section 3 *Jung Do-won as Investigator Kim – investigator of Tax Collection Bureau's section 3

Extended cast

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as Sa Jae-sung – detective * Lee Ho-jae as Choi Cheol-woo – former representative of Woohyang Group *

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as Bang Pil-gyu – Choi Cheol-woo's second in-command *

Oh Dae-hwan Oh Dae-hwan (born July 5, 1979) is a South Korean actor. He appeared in television series such as '' Squad 38'' (2016), ''Shopping King Louie'' (2016), ''Radiant Office'' (2017), ''The Red Sleeve ''The Red Sleeve'' () is a South Korean tel ...

as Ma Jin-seok *

Lee Deok-hwa Lee Deok-hwa (; born May 8, 1952) is a South Korean actor. Career Lee Deok-hwa studied theater and film at Dongguk University, and made his acting debut in 1972. He and his father, movie star Lee Ye-chun starred together in the 1975 horror fil ...

as Chairman Wang

Others

* as Taxation officer *Oh Yoo-jin as Baek Ah-jeong – Baek Sung-il's daughter *Jo Seon-joo as Baek Sung-il's wife * as Kim Gyu-sik *

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as Cheon Gap-soo's secretary * as Section chief Shim Yong-jae * as Bang Ho-seok *Ji Sung-geun *

Kim Eung-soo Kim Eung-soo (; born February 12, 1961) is a South Korean actor. Kim lived in Japan for seven years, where he studied filmmaking at the Japan Institute of the Moving Image. Filmography Film Television series Variety show Web sh ...

as Jo Sang-jin * as Yang Jae-taek * as Noh Deok-gi *

Jo Yeon-hee Jo Yeon-hee is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''One Dollar Lawyer'', '' Mr. Queen'', '' One the Woman'' and '' Black Dog: Being A Teacher''. She also appeared in movies '' The Houseguest and My Mother'', ''S ...

as Baek Sung-il's wife *Kang Min-tae as Jang Hak-joo band's member *Geum Gwang-san as Jang Hak-joo band's member * * *Lee Seon-goo * *Kwon Ban-seok * *Lee Gyu-tae *Hwang Tae-ho *Gong Min-gyu * *Kim Ji-sung as Bang Mi-na * as Police chief Jin Seon-hwan *Lee Cho-ah *Kim Bo-bae *Park Byung-wook *Kim Ki-nam *Baek Seung-cheol * *Lee Dong-jin *Jung Ae-hwa *Seo Min-kyung *Ha Soo-yeon * * *Kim Hae-gon *Yoon Man-dal as Park Sang-ho *Hong Dae-sung *Moon Hak-jin *Kim Jong-doo *Kim Sung-il *Jo Gi-tae *Park Do-joon *Jung Jae-sung *Lee Shi-yoo as Choi Mi-sook

Cameo appearances

Oh Man-seok Oh Man-seok (; born January 30, 1975) is a South Korean actor. Best known for playing the titular transgender singer in rock musical ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', Oh's acting career spans theater, television and film. After graduating from the ...

as Park Deok-bae * as Cha Myung-soo *

Lee Se-young Lee Se-young (; born December 20, 1992) is a South Korean actress. She debuted as a child actress in 1997 and was best known for her roles in '' Dae Jang Geum'' (2003), '' When I Turned Nine'' (2004), ''Lovely Rivals'' (2004), and ''The Wonder ...

(Ep. 3) *

Park Sung-woong Park Sung-woong (; born January 9, 1973) is a South Korean actor. Following his acting debut in ''No. 3'' in 1997, Park has starred in several movies and Korean drama, television series, notably as a gangster in ''New World (2013 film), New Wo ...

(Ep. 2) *

Kim Sung-oh Kim Sung-oh (; born September 15, 1978) is a South Korean actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium ...

(Ep. 2)

Production

The series' main cast lineup was unveiled on March 3, 2016. The first script reading was held on March 19, 2016 at the CJ E&M Centre in

Sangam-dong Sangam-dong () is a legal '' dong'' (neighborhood) of Mapo District, Seoul, South Korea. In the wake of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, a large apartment complex and DMC business district have been created and developed into the center of western Seoul. ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Ratings

Original soundtracks

OST Part 1

OST Part 2

International broadcast

The broadcasting rights to the series were sold to 11 countries, China, Cambodia, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
''Squad 38''
at

Studio Dragon Studio Dragon Corporation () is a South Korean Korean drama, drama production, marketing and distribution company under CJ ENM CJ ENM Entertainment Division, Entertainment Division. It was established on May 3, 2016, as a Corporate spin-off, sp ...

''Squad 38''
at SM C&C * * {{Works by Studio Dragon OCN television dramas Korean-language television shows 2016 South Korean television series debuts 2016 South Korean television series endings South Korean crime television series Television series by Studio Dragon Television series by SM C&C