Save Me

Synopsis

Im Sang-mi and her family move from Seoul to the suburb of Muji County, after her father's business fails.

The religious cult Goseonwon has most of the county in its grasp, with a large number of followers. The cult disguises itself as a peaceful church, but dark secrets, torture, violence and murder lurk underneath, with even mischievously darker intentions that deceive their most devoted followers.

Sang-mi's twin brother, Sang-jin, who has had a limp since birth, is mercilessly bullied and assaulted at school. Because he can take such abuse no longer, he commits suicide by jumping off the school building. This tears Sang-mi's family apart.

Sang Mi's mother soon loses her sanity, causing Sang Mi's hatred for the religious cult, which she blames for her mother's poor condition.

Taking advantage of their fragile state, the cult's leader lures her parents into Goseonwon. Despite Sang-Mi's repeated objections to something wrong with the cult, her father is fully brainwashed. With him in the clutches of the cult and her mother mentally unstable, Sang-mi is trapped and unable to escape.

Three years later, her classmate Han Sang-hwan, the son of the county chief who is now a law student, and his two friends Jung-hoon and Man-hee have a chance encounter with Sang-mi. She whispers to them, "Save me." Sang-hwan, determined to right the wrongs of his past, grows determined to save her and expose the cult to the county. He is joined by his third friend and convicted criminal, Dong-chul, and both Jung-hoon and Man-hee in his mission, unaware that the cult is just the tip of the iceberg. Using their abilities, the characters try to outwit each other in the tug of war over Sang-mi.

Cast

Main

Ok Taec-yeon as Han Sang-hwan

The only son of a corrupt politician, who tries to save Sang-mi from the cult. Having power and wealth, he uses it to break into the cult but finds a darker secret lurking inside it.

Seo Yea-ji as Im Sang-mi

A new girl whose family moved from Seoul to Daegu after her father's business went bankrupt. Her twin brother Sang-jin committed suicide, and the incident caused her mother to go crazy. Her father started to get deeply involved in a cult as he was obscured by the vision of getting his family on the Boat of Salvation to reunite with his deceased son. She desperately tried to escape the hell for three years, until she met again with Han Sang-hwan and his gang, silently pleading for him to save her.

Jo Sung-ha as Baek Jung-ki

The charismatic leader of the cult, whose kind demeanor and caring attitude are shadowed by violent and manipulative behavior. He is called the Spiritual Father.

Woo Do-hwan as Suk Dong-chul

The friend of Sang-hwan, who has the most fighting skills out of the whole group. He was incarcerated for three years after Sang-hwan refused to testify for an accident he was involved in, and their relationship had become strained since ever. However, after his release from jail, he decided to mend their relationship and started to work together to save Sang-mi. He breaks into the cult to save Sang-mi, disguised as the son of a rich businessman.

Special appearances

Jung Hee-tae as homeless man

Son Jong-hak as Cheon Jae-soon

Second season

OCN confirmed that Save Me would return for a second season, this time based on the 2013 animated film The Fake. Save Me 2 premiered on May 8, 2019.

Original soundtrack

Ratings

In this table, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

N/A denotes that the rating is not known.

This drama airs on a cable channel/pay TV, which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).