Stealer ~ The Treasure Keeper: 2023 K-Drama Series on Tubi TV

“Stealer: The Treasure Keeper” has been added to the Kdrama+ category on Tubi TV. It is an action comedy Korean drama series released in 2023, with 12 episodes.

In 2022, Tubi and CJ ENM signed a contract for the entertainment company to provide Korean films, dramas and K-POP series. Viewers can watch free with ads. Tubi’s selection is varied and most of the content was released before 2023. But occasionally there are films or series released in 2023.

♦ A Professional Thief Who Returns Treasure?

“Stealer: The Treasure Keeper” is about a professional thief, nicknamed “Skunk”, who finds Korean treasures that were stolen during the Japanese colonial period, re-steals them, and returns them to Korea as Cultural Heritage Assets. There is no charge for his service.

Jang Tae-In, Shin Chang-Hoon, and Choi Min-Woo are police investigators assigned to the Cultural Heritage Assets Team (CHAT). For a while now, the team’s job has been made easy because a professional thief nicknamed “Skunk” has been sending them the cultural assets that he steals or rather re-steals.

Skunk finds people dealing in the black market who are buying and selling stolen treasures, i.e. Korea’s cultural heritage assets, and returns them to their rightful owner, i.e. The Republic of Korea. Of course, since it’s the black market, the parties he stole from can not report his theft to the police without revealing their underhanded dealings.

♦ The Legend of the Seven (7) Joseon Coins

In Korea, it is believed that during the Japanese colonial occupation, many of Korea’s cultural heritage assets were stolen. (Source: History.com)

In “Stealer: The Treasure Keeper”:

• According to available records the assets were destroyed and the only assets remaining after the Japanese left were seven (7) Joseon coins.
• However according to legend, whoever finds the seven (7) Joseon coins will also find out where the Korean cultural assets are hidden.

The search for the seven (7) Joseon coins is not only intense, it’s dangerous and deadly. A well-known antique collector had managed to find all but two (2) of the coins. He and his entire staff were murdered. At the crime scene, the police were baffled because his treasured collection worth several billion won had not been touched.

So what was the killer after? Later the police realize that he was after the coins. The other treasures did not matter, and that’s why they were not stolen.

CHAT decides to focus their efforts on finding the Joseon coins; and hope that they find them before the cultural heritage criminals do.

Jang Tae-In is the CHAT leader and he invites Hwang Dae-Myeong to join their team. He thinks Dae-Myeong is “Skunk” but he can’t prove it. But even if he isn’t, Dae-Myeong knows a lot about Korea’s cultural heritage assets. His expertise in this area would be a great contribution to the team’s efforts.

♦ So What’s the POA?

This is the CHAT leader’s POA (plan of action). There are a lot of cultural assets that need to be returned to the Korean government. Skunk may be good at his thievery, but there’s no way he can single-handedly do the job. He could use some help. The CHAT wants to help Skunk steal the treasures.

What? But CHAT is law enforcement and … isn’t stealing unlawful? Yes. Yes, it is. But Jang Tae-In and the rest of the team have agreed that it’s the quickest and best way to recover most of the treasures. If they do it the legal way, then the criminals who are protected by the law (because the criminal ring includes corrupt government officials) will just get away with their crimes.

The cultural heritage criminals are stealing the assets and profiting. CHAT plans to steal the assets and return them to the rightful owners, i.e. the citizens of the Republic of Korea. In that way the whole nation profits.

OK! Sounds like a 3D plan. Dangerous and deadly; but doable.

Main Characters:

• Hwang Dae-Myeong aka Skunk (played by Joo Won, “Alice”)
• Jang Tae-In (played by Jo Han-Chul, “Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days”)
• Shin Chang-Hoon (played by Kim Jae-Won, “King the Land”)
• Choi Min-Woo (played by Lee Joo-Woo)

Watch FREE with Ads on Tubi

Viewership and Rating:

IMDb: 6.4 out of 10 stars

My Drama List: 7.5 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is 8 out of 10 stars. The action scenes sort of turned Skunk into a superhero. They were unrealistic but fun. The idea of an entire team of investigators joining hands with a professional thief to return treasures to the rightful owner was also fun. The bad guys were really bad and their criminal activities were downright unpatriotic. The main characters and support cast made this series very entertaining.

{Personal note/observation: I am not a qualified historian. But I find it interesting that one country would invade another country and try to oppress the people by depriving them of their culture. They attempt to make them “disappear” by not allowing them to speak their language, taking away their freedom, and demanding that they assimilate. But they’ll steal their cultural heritage assets. Does that even make sense? In a sense, it does make sense. They probably stole it and then tried to say it was theirs! That is so trifling! Anyway! They didn’t succeed.}

LINKS OF INTEREST:

• ‘Stealer: The Treasure Keeper’ Review: 3 Charms that Got You Hooked | ZAPZEE | Premier Korean Entertainment Magazine
• “Stealer: The Treasure Keeper” Remains No. 1 In Viewership Ratings As “Bo Ra! Deborah” Enjoys Boost | Soompi
• Good Ol’ Review: “Stealer: The Treasure Keeper” a Refreshing and Fun Adventure | DryedMangoez.com

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

CJ ENM Global. “Stealer: The Treasure Keeper | Official Trailer | CJ ENM.” YouTube Video. YouTube, August 18, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4dfvKABc7s.‌