The Frog ~ It’s Not the Frog’s Fault It Got Hit by a Stone

“The Frog” is a 2024 Korean drama series, with 8 episodes, categorized as Thriller, Crime, and Mystery, streaming on Netflix.

SUMMARY: In “The Frog”, violent crimes occur at the same motel during two different time periods.  Will justice ever be served?

♦ Murder Motel

In “The Frog”, horrific crimes take place across two different timelines and it involves one motel. The motel was purchased by two different owners who had hoped it would become their small paradise. There were no grandiose plans to turn the motel into a chain with locations all across the country. The owners wanted to live a simple life and the motel was how they would support their family and live in a comfortable peaceful environment. However, it only takes one person with evil intentions to completely destroy another person’s dreams of happiness.

When a killer kills one person, is it only that one person who is the victim? The killer took one person’s life but may have destroyed the lives of several others as a result. Has anyone ever calculated how many people were the victims of one crime?

• The Strange Woman: Jeon Yeong-ha moved to a tranquil location for the sake of his wife who was suffering from a terminal illness. After she passed away, he decided to stay there in a home next to the building he operates as a vacation rental. Anyone trying to get away from it all would love to spend time there. One day a young woman named Seong-a arrives with her son and Jeon Yeong-ha rents her a room. But something very horrible occurred. She came with a little boy but when she left she was by herself.

• The Serial Killer: Years earlier, Koo Sang-Jun moved with his wife and son to the same tranquil location. He invested his money in the same place and his family also lived there. Unlike Jeon Yeong-ha, Koo Sang-Jun poured his blood, sweat, and tears into the motel hoping it would be profitable. Sadly, he rented a room to a man who was a serial killer and murdered a woman who was also staying there. Once this shocking crime was published in the news, the vacation rental became known as the “Murder Motel”. Obviously, no customers wanted to stay there. Although lots of people would come by to take pictures.

Is the Motel Cursed?

Is that motel cursed? Violent crimes took place at two different times.

• A serial killer murdered a woman when Koo Sang-Jun was the owner.
• A woman killed a child when Jeon Yeong-ha was the owner.

A year passed and Koo Sang-Jun finally decided to sell the place. However, before he could sell his son got into trouble. He discovered that his son had been bullied. Kids at school were tormenting him about the fact that his family lived and owned the “Murder Motel”. Koo Sang-Jun lost his temper and when he went to the school and heard the parents accusing his son … he went ballistic! One of the parents had connections and prevented the sale of the motel. Koo Sang-Jun’s dreams of paradise evaporated, and his family fell apart. All because he was kind to a stranger and rented him a room. How was he to know the stranger was a serial killer?  They were his victims too.

Crime is Not a Curse

Yoon Bo-Min was working as a police officer in the peaceful town when the serial killer was arrested. She continued her career in law enforcement working elsewhere and solved several criminal cases. Two decades later she returned to the same police substation where she would serve as the captain. She had been collecting information for years and once she returned as a police chief she started investigating further because there was something very puzzling about the way Jeon Yeong-ha behaved.

Yoon Bo-Min was suspicious and observed Jeon Yeong-ha closely as she was certain there must be a reason for his odd behavior. Even though Jeon Yeong-ha kept watching for Seong-a, he had hoped to never see her again. However, that woman who killed the child, came back to stay at the motel again!

• This time Jeon Yeong-ha couldn’t get her to leave!

Yoon Bo-Min already had information she had collected over the years.

• This time, she was determined to put the pieces together, and confirm her suspicions.

Main Characters:

• Jeon Yeong-Ha (played by Kim Yun-Seok, “The Thieves”, “Escape from Mogadishu”)
• Koo Sang-Jun (played by Yoon Kye-Sang, “The Kidnapping Day”, “Spiritwalker”)
• Yoo Seong-A (played by Go Min-Si, “Jirisan”)
• Yoon Bo-Min (played by Lee Jung-Eun, “Miss Night and Day”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 8 out of 10 stars
• Google users shared a public rating: 3.9 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is 7 out of 10 stars.

It’s rare for me to agree with the IMDb rating.  However, I understand this rating. It doesn’t deserve grade “A” (9 out of 10 stars) or grade “B” (8 out of 10 stars). It’s a grade “C” (7 out of 10 stars) a passing grade and it’s good that “The Frog” was only 8 episodes. Any more than that and I would have gotten annoyed.

So? Why is it called “The Frog”? When tragedy occurs in your life that you have no control over “Don’t become a frog” and ask “Why did that stone hit me?” A better explanation of the meaning is provided in a review published by Digital Mafia Talkies:

• “The Korean saying that we see pop up in the show is that if a frog gets hit by a stone accidentally, it’ll still end up dead.”

Another line that popped up constantly in the K-drama was about a tree: “If in a forest where there is nobody, a tree falls, does it still make a sound?” I’m guessing that has something to with a crime being committed but the witness kept quiet about it because … they had their reasons for remaining silent.

“The Frog” was added to my watchlist because there was a lot of hype about it being a highly anticipated 2024 Korean drama. My curiosity peaked because I had to know what a crime drama had to do with a frog! (O.o) Frankly, I did not appreciate the frog or the tree metaphors. But I do have to say I do remember those lines.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Netflix’s latest thriller ‘The Frog’ explores the deeper, darker sides of tragedy | Korea JoongAng Daily

‘The Frog’ Review: Netflix Korean Series Thrills–In Its Second Half | Forbes

‘The Frog’ Title & Timeline Explained: What Does The Korean Name Of The Netflix Show Mean? | Digital Mafia Talkies

Two new K-dramas shake up crime stories with bold narratives | The Chosun Daily (“The Frog” and ““No Way Out: The Roulette”)

3 Crime K-Dramas Like The Frog to Stream Now | Netflix Tudum

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

Netflix K-Content. “The Frog | Official Teaser | Netflix [ENG SUB].” YouTube Video. YouTube, July 26, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3JxbfuxmXk.‌