Argon (TV series)

Argon (Korean: 아르곤; RR: Areugon) is a 2017 South Korean television series directed by Lee Yoon-jung, starring Kim Joo-hyuk and Chun Woo-hee as passionate reporters. The series marks Chun Woo-hee's first small screen lead role. It aired on cable channel tvN every Monday and Tuesday at 22:50 (KST) from September 4–26, 2017.^[2][3][4][5]

Argon
Promotional poster
Also known as	Arogon[1]
Hangul	아르곤
RR	Areugon
MR	Arŭgon
Genre	Workplace[2]
Created by	Studio Dragon
Written by	Joon Young-shin Joo Won-gyu Shin Ha-eun
Directed by	Lee Yoon-jung
Starring	Kim Joo-hyuk Chun Woo-hee
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producers	Park Ho-sik Song Jung-woo
Producer	Jo Moon-joo
Production company	Daydream Entertainment
Original release
Network	tvN
Release	September 4 (2017-09-04) – September 26, 2017 (2017-09-26)

The series was one of Kim Joo-hyuk's last projects before his death on October 30, 2017.^[6]

Synopsis

The story of truthful reporters who strive to deliver the facts in a world full of fake news.^[7]

Cast

Main

• Kim Joo-hyuk as Kim Baek-jin, a perfectionist news anchor, reporter and leader of a news program called Argon.^[8]
• Chun Woo-hee as Lee Yeon-hwa, a temporary employee who gets transferred to the Argon team in the last 3 months of her contract and fights to become an official reporter.^[8]

Supporting

• Park Won-sang as Shin Chul, the producer of Argon and a veteran reporter.^[9]
• Lee Seung-joon as Yoo Myung-ho, the report bureau chief.^[9]
• Shin Hyun-been as Chae Soo-min, a lawyer and long-time friend of Baek-jin.^[9]
• Park Hee-von as Yook Hye-ri, a veteran writer.^[9]
• Shim Ji-ho as Uhm Min-ho, a smart newspaper reporter from the finance department.^[9]
• Park Min-ha as Lee Jin-hee, also known as "the pretty writer" who loves being called that she relies on tricks and charm more than her writing skills to get her through work.^[10]
• Ji Il-joo as Park Nam-gyu^[11]
• Ji Yoon-ho as Oh Seung-yong^[12]
• Kim Joo-hun as Ahn Jae-geun, a whistleblower at Seomyoung Foods.^[13]
• Lee Geung-young as Lee Geun-hwa

Original soundtrack

The Argon soundtrack album is written by music director Tearliner. It contains 2 single albums and one album with 10 score pieces from the series. It features vocal performances from Cho Won-sun and Owen.

Argon
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released	September 26, 2017[14]
Genre	Soundtrack
Language	Korean English
Label	tvN

Argon OST BGM Album^[15]

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Argon" (아르곤)	Tearliner	2:05
2.	"An autumn trip" (가을여행)	Tearliner	2:50
3.	"Free Rider" (프리라이더)	Tearliner	2:16
4.	"A lazy resolution" (게으른 다짐)	Tearliner	2:10
5.	"Lanista" (라니스타)	Tearliner	3:13
6.	"Arena" (아레나)	Tearliner	2:08
7.	"Trust"	Sentimental Scenery	1:47
8.	"70's Life" (두근두근)	Tearliner	1:02
9.	"Jump" (래완의 하루)	Tearliner	2:48
10.	"A moment of empathy" (공감의 순간)	Tearliner	2:14

Singles

Argon OST Part 1^[16]

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Moon Stop" (달의 정류장)	Tearliner (Feat. Cho Won-sun)	4:50
2.	"Moon Stop (Instrumental)" (달의 정류장 (Instrumental))	Tearliner	4:50
Total length:			9:00

Argon OST Part 2^[17]

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"Youth consolation" (청춘위로)	Tearliner (Feat. Owen)	3:45
2.	"Youth consolation (Instrumental)" (청춘위로 (Instrumental))	Tearliner	3:45
Total length:			6:90

Production

The first script reading of the cast was held on July 12, 2017.^[18][19]

Ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share
		Nielsen Korea[20]		TNmS[21]
		Nationwide	Seoul	Nationwide
1	September 4, 2017	2.500%	2.569%	3.0%
2	September 5, 2017	2.869%	3.180%	2.4%
3	September 11, 2017	2.588%	2.625%	2.6%
4	September 12, 2017	2.411%	2.587%	2.9%
5	September 18, 2017	2.602%	3.238%	2.3%
6	September 19, 2017	3.068%	3.424%	2.6%
7	September 25, 2017	2.786%	2.934%	2.8%
8	September 26, 2017	2.761%	3.325%	2.5%
Average		2.698%	2.985%	2.6%
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. This series aired 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).