SBS's Connection 커넥션 opens with a narcotics detective doing what he does best, and then takes it all away from him. Jang Jae-kyung (Ji Sung) is the most decorated officer on the drug squad at Anhyeon Police Station until someone forcibly hooks him on a new synthetic drug. Around the same time, a high school friend he has not really spoken to in years turns up dead. The title points to the link between those two events, and the 14 episodes spend their running time pulling it into view.
This Connection kdrama review is spoiler-free. Everything below covers the premise and the first episodes; the update section at the end mentions the outcome only in general terms.
A detective on the wrong side of his own case
Writer Lee Hyun builds the story on an awkward premise: the man best placed to investigate a drug ring is now one of its customers. Jae-kyung has to hide his withdrawal from colleagues, keep a junior detective at arm's length and still chase the case, which means the thriller works on two levels at once. Every lead he follows could expose him, and that double pressure is what keeps Connection moving.
The friend who dies is Park Jun-seo (Yoon Na-moo), and his death pulls the rest of the old class back together. Oh Yoon-jin (Jeon Mi-do) is a social affairs reporter at a local business paper. Park Tae-jin (Kwon Yul) is a prosecutor, long known as the brightest of the group. Won Jong-soo (Kim Kyung-nam) is the heir to the Keumhyung Group and has been throwing his weight around since school. Heo Joo-song (Jung Soon-won) runs a company of his own and still carries a torch for Yoon-jin. Jun-seo's widow, Choi Ji-yeon (Jung Yoo-min), raises the first awkward questions about his life insurance.
Flashbacks to their teenage years run alongside the present-day investigation. In the editors' view, this is where the show is strongest: each return to the past adds a detail that changes how you read someone in the present, and the structure rarely feels like padding.
Ji Sung carries it, Jeon Mi-do keeps pace
Ji Sung has made a career of difficult roles, and Jae-kyung suits him. He plays the addiction physically, through sweating, shaking hands and sudden flashes of temper, without letting it swallow the character. The detective's competence never disappears, which makes his slips harder to watch.
Jeon Mi-do gives Yoon-jin an edge that the script could easily have sanded off. She is ambitious and not always scrupulous about getting a story, and the pairing with Jae-kyung works because neither of them fully trusts the other. Kwon Yul plays Tae-jin with a stillness that keeps you guessing, and Kim Kyung-nam makes Jong-soo genuinely unpleasant to be around.
Every lead he follows could expose him, and that double pressure is what keeps Connection moving.
Where it wobbles
The back half leans heavily on corporate conspiracy, and some of the pharmaceutical plotting is easier to follow as a mood than as a chain of events. A few supporting characters exist mainly to deliver information. Directors Kim Moon-kyo and Kwon Da-som keep the tone dark and the pace tight, though, and the cliffhangers land. Our verdict: a sharp, adult crime thriller with a lead performance worth the time.
Connection at a glance
- Korean title커넥션
- NetworkSBS TV, Fridays and Saturdays at 22:00 KST
- Premiere24 May 2024
- Episodes14
- FinaleEpisode 14 aired on Saturday 6 July 2024 at 21:40 KST, earlier than the usual slot
- WriterLee Hyun
- DirectorsKim Moon-kyo, Kwon Da-som
- StreamingWavve and Coupang Play in South Korea; during its run it was also offered on Viki and Kocowa in selected regions and on Vidio in Indonesia. Availability varies by country.
Main cast
- Ji SungJang Jae-kyung, narcotics detective
- Jeon Mi-doOh Yoon-jin, social affairs reporter
- Kwon YulPark Tae-jin, prosecutor
- Kim Kyung-namWon Jong-soo, heir to the Keumhyung Group
- Jung Soon-wonHeo Joo-song, company CEO
- Yoon Na-mooPark Jun-seo, the friend whose death starts the investigation
- Jung Yoo-minChoi Ji-yeon, Jun-seo's widow
Update: how Connection finished
This is a spoiler-free summary. The finale answers the central question of who was behind Jun-seo's death and settles Jae-kyung's own situation, so the story is complete within its 14 episodes. As of October 2026 we found no announcement of a second season.
The ratings tell the story of a drama that found its audience as it went. Connection premiered at 5.7 percent nationwide (Nielsen Korea) and climbed almost every week. The finale reached 14.2 percent nationwide and 14.8 percent in Seoul, the series high, and its 4.8 percent among viewers aged 20 to 49 made it the most-watched program of that week in the group.
At the 2024 SBS Drama Awards on 21 December 2024, Connection was named Drama of the Year. Jeon Mi-do won the Top Excellence Award for an actress in a genre or action miniseries, Kwon Yul and Kim Kyung-nam shared Best Supporting Actor in the same category, and Jung Yoo-min and Yoon Sa-bong shared Best Supporting Actress. Kim Min-ju, who plays the teenage Yoon-jin in the flashbacks, won Best New Actress. Ji Sung was one of six Grand Prize (Daesang) nominees; the award went to Jang Na-ra for Good Partner.
Editor's note: This story first appeared on kpop-fandom on 9 July 2024. It was rewritten and updated in October 2026: we corrected several character names and relationships (the friends are high school classmates, not college friends, and the detective is forcibly addicted rather than a user by choice), corrected the finale air time, added the directors and verified streaming details, and added the final ratings and the 2024 SBS Drama Awards results.
Sources Dramabeans: Ji Sung and Jeon Mi-do team up to uncover the Connection, Tenasia: Connection finale broadcast time, Soompi: Connection ends on all-time high, Soompi: Winners of the 2024 SBS Drama Awards, Wikipedia: Connection (TV series).