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
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]

Original soundtrack

Argon soundtrack album written by music director Tearliner contains 2 single) album 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).

References

1. AROGON [메이킹] 김주혁x천우희! 버럭 혹은 하트 뿅뿅 아르곤 티저&포스터 촬영 현장! 170904 EP.1. YouTube. tvN Drama. August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
2. Jie, Ye-eun. "Kim Joo-hyuck, Chun Woo-hee to star in 'Argon'". The Korea Herald. Herald Corporation. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
3. Kim, Jin-seok. "[단독]김주혁·천우희, tvN '아르곤' 주인공 '확정'". Naver (in Korean). Ilgan Chosun. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
4. Kim, Su-ji. "김주혁, 천우희 '아르곤' 출연…'치인트' 이윤정 PD 연출". Naver (in Korean). Dispatch. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
5. Shin, So-won. '아르곤' 김주혁·천우희·박원상 라인업확정, 9월 첫방. Naver (in Korean). My Daily. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
6. . Viu. November 13, 2017. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
7. Kim, Young-rok. "김주혁X천우희, tvN '아르곤' 출연 확정…9월 방송 [공식]". Naver (in Korean). Sports Chosun. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
8. "Kim Joo-hyeok and Chun Woo-hee to star in tvN "Argon"". Hancinema. Dailian. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
9. "Kim Joo-hyeok and Chun Woo-hee to star in "Argon"". HanCinema. Sports Chosun. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
10. "Park Minha from Nine Muses to star in "Argon"". HanCinema. Newsen. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
11. Jeon, Hyo-jin. "지일주, tvN '아르곤' 출연…김주혁·천우희와 호흡 [공식]". Naver (in Korean). Sports Dong-a. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
12. Kwak, Hyun-soo. "지윤호, tvN '아르곤' 출연 확정...이윤정 PD와 두 번째 만남 [공식입장]". Naver (in Korean). Sports Dong-a. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
13. Yoo, Kyung-sang. "[어제TV]'아르곤' 제보자 자살 최대위기, 현실 같아 '씁쓸'". Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved May 26, 2022.
14. Jeon, Hyo-jin (2017-09-26). "'아르곤' 종영 아쉬움 달랜다…오늘(26일) BGM 음원 발매" [The end of "Argon" calms the sadness...BGM will be released today (26th)]. Sports Dong-a (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-12-31.
15. "Argon OST Album". NAVER VIBE(바이브) (in Korean). 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
16. "Argon OST Part One". NAVER VIBE(바이브) (in Korean). 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
17. "Argon OST Part 2". NAVER VIBE(바이브) (in Korean). 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
18. Lee, Ah-young. "tvN "김주혁·천우희 '아르곤' 월화극 편성…'하백' 후속" (공식)". Naver (in Korean). Xports News. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
19. Hyun, Ji-min. "'아르곤' 대본 리딩 공개...압도적 김주혁X섬세한 천우희". Naver (in Korean). Tenasia. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
20. "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). Retrieved July 20, 2017.
21. . TNmS (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2017.

External links

• Official website (in Korean)
• Argon at HanCinema
• Argon at IMDb