South Korea · Drama · 2017
While You Were Sleeping
Binge Brief
- SBS aired 32 half-hour episodes on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 27 September to 16 November 2017.
- AGB Nielsen's nationwide rating peaked at 10.0% for episode 14; the lowest was 5.1% for episode 5.
- Lee Jong-suk and Bae Suzy won Best Couple at the 2017 SBS Drama Awards, and Kim Won-hae won Best Supporting Actor.
- It won the Top Excellence Award for Korean Drama at the 13th Seoul International Drama Awards in 2018.
- The first script reading took place on 20 January 2017 in Mokdong, Seoul.
Synopsis
While You Were Sleeping (당신이 잠든 사이에) is a 32-episode SBS fantasy drama that aired from 27 September to 16 November 2017. Bae Suzy plays Nam Hong-joo, a woman whose dreams about other people's futures always come true, and Lee Jong-suk plays Jung Jae-chan, a prosecutor who starts dreaming about hers.
In the first episodes Hong-joo dreams of hugging a man she has never met, and Jae-chan dreams of an accident he feels he must stop. Once he learns that her dreams come true as a rule, the two try to change what they have seen before it happens. Police officer Han Woo-tak, played by Jung Hae-in, starts having the same kind of dreams, first seeing Hong-joo hurt in one of them, and from episode 7 the three of them work together.
Their families are pulled in from the start. One of Jae-chan's first dreams is about his 19-year-old brother Seung-won (Shin Jae-ha), and Hong-joo's widowed mother Yoon Moon-sun (Hwang Young-hee), who runs a restaurant where Hong-joo is torn between helping out and going back to work, later tries to keep Jae-chan away from her daughter to spare her more pain.
The cases grow from a family crisis to a murder trial, and more and more of them put Jae-chan in court against Lee Yoo-beom (Lee Sang-yeob), a defence lawyer. The murder of the former archer Yoo Soo-kyung puts Woo-tak's friend Do Hak-young under suspicion, and Jae-chan is later shot by the victim's father. Hong-joo, meanwhile, finds a note showing that she and Jae-chan crossed paths 13 years before the story begins.
In the second half the team takes on an organ donation case and an old series of IV drip murders, Yoo-beom receives a message from the real killer, and the last episodes put Yoo-beom himself on trial. Kim So-hyun appears as the pianist Park So-yoon in the early episodes and again in the finale, and Kim Won-hae, Ko Sung-hee and Bae Hae-sun play Jae-chan's colleagues in Criminal Division Three.
Park Hye-ryun wrote the K-drama and Oh Choong-hwan directed it. AGB Nielsen's nationwide ratings ranged from 5.1% to 10.0%, and Lee Jong-suk and Bae Suzy both won Top Excellence Awards at the 2017 SBS Drama Awards.
Why it still gets watched
While You Were Sleeping keeps finding new viewers years after its original run: MyDramaList records an 8.7 out of 10 score from more than 106,000 raters and ranks it #293 among all titles the site tracks, with 219,051 users marking it watched as of 25 September 2026. Hallyuism's 2023 review points to a specific reason people return to it: the show pairs Jae-chan and Hong-joo without turning Woo-tak's feelings for her into a rival subplot, so the three leads stay close instead of competing.
While You Were Sleeping cast
Best scenes
Spoilers aheadThe moments people come back for, and where to find them. Episode numbers and outcomes are named, so come back to this one after watching if you would rather not know.
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The kiss in the rain Episode 20
Jae-chan runs outside on an injured leg and kisses Hong-joo the way he already had in a shared dream, and the drama splits the screen to run both kisses at once.
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The bus stop, a year on Episode 32
A year after the trial ends, Jae-chan tells Hong-joo, who is now living with him, that sitting down beside her at the bus stop the morning they met is the one choice he would never take back.
Filming locations
The drama was fully pre-produced. Filming began in February 2017, Lee Jong-suk joined the shoot on 2 March, and filming wrapped on 27 July 2017 at the Wonbang set in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, after five months. No other location is confirmed in Wikipedia or the press reports checked.
Visual design and costumes
A 2017 style feature on Beautytap traces Hong-joo's costume arc: cropped flares, an oversized jacket and glasses in the early episodes, then knee-length skirts, blouses and kitten heels once she goes back to reporting from episode 5, a deliberate step away from Suzy's usual polished idol wardrobe. Hallyuism's review calls the location cinematography of the drama high notch and credits it with keeping the dream sequences readable against the real scenes.
Themes and messages
- Fate vs. Free Will: The central theme of the series is whether the characters can change the fate they foresee in their dreams, raising questions about destiny and personal choice.
- Justice and Morality: Jae Chan’s role as a prosecutor and the ethical dilemmas he faces emphasize the show’s focus on justice and the difficult decisions involved in upholding the law.
- Love and Sacrifice: The budding romance between Jae Chan and Hong Ju is underpinned by their willingness to sacrifice for each other, highlighting love’s role in the face of adversity.
- Courage in the Face of Danger: The characters frequently confront dangerous situations revealed in their dreams, showing the courage needed to protect others and change the future.
- Friendship and Trust: The bond between Jae Chan, Hong Ju, and Woo Tak showcases the power of trust and friendship, as they work together to change outcomes and protect each other.
Interesting facts
- A third script for Lee Jong-suk. Park Hye-ryun had already written I Can Hear Your Voice and Pinocchio for him. For Suzy it was a second Park Hye-ryun series after Dream High in 2011.
- The leads sing on the soundtrack. Suzy recorded Part 4, "I Love You Boy", and Part 13; Lee Jong-suk sang Parts 9 and 12. "I Love You Boy" was nominated for Best OST at the 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards.
- A reunion from Page Turner. Shin Jae-ha and Kim So-hyun had played opposite each other before in KBS's three-episode drama Page Turner.
Real-life loves on set
No relationship between members of the While You Were Sleeping cast has been confirmed by the actors or their agencies.
Episodes
| Ep | Title | Air date | Status | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | While You Were Sleeping (당신이 잠든 사이에) Hong-joo dreams of hugging a man she has never met, and on Valentine's night she hurries home, worried about her mother. | 2017-09-27 | Aired | 7.2% |
| 2 | While You Were Sleeping (당신이 잠든 사이에) Jae-chan dreams about Hong-joo and sets out to make sure the accident he saw never happens. | 2017-09-27 | Aired | 9.2% |
| 3 | The Good, the Bad and the Weird (좋은놈 나쁜놈 이상한놈) Jae-chan learns that Hong-joo's dreams come true as a rule and goes to her after dreaming that his brother Seung-won becomes a murderer. | 2017-09-28 | Aired | 8.3% |
| 4 | The Good, the Bad and the Weird (좋은놈 나쁜놈 이상한놈) So-yoon tries to kill her father to protect her mother, and Seung-won tries to stop her. | 2017-09-28 | Aired | 9.2% |
| 5 | Secretly, Greatly (은밀하게 위대하게) Jae-chan reaches Seung-won in time and Hong-joo improvises, so the night ends differently from her dream. | 2017-10-04 | Aired | 5.1% |
| 6 | Secretly, Greatly (은밀하게 위대하게) Jae-chan tells Seung-won to stay out of trouble, and the brothers drift further apart. | 2017-10-04 | Aired | 6.1% |
| 7 | A Few Good Men (어 퓨 굿 맨) Woo-tak dreams that Hong-joo gets hurt and brings Jae-chan to the spot, where he stops it. | 2017-10-05 | Aired | 7.9% |
| 8 | A Few Good Men (어 퓨 굿 맨) Woo-tak and Hong-joo have similar dreams with different endings and call Jae-chan in to get the one they want. | 2017-10-05 | Aired | 8.9% |
| 9 | Don't Trust Her (그녀를 믿지 마세요) Hong-joo is torn between going back to work and helping her mother at the restaurant. | 2017-10-11 | Aired | 8.1% |
| 10 | Don't Trust Her (그녀를 믿지 마세요) As the three keep stopping what they have seen, Hong-joo starts to hope her own fate is not sealed. | 2017-10-11 | Aired | 9.4% |
| 11 | City of the Blind (눈먼자들의 도시) Jae-chan dreams that Hong-joo reports a false insurance case on the news. | 2017-10-12 | Aired | 8.9% |
| 12 | City of the Blind (눈먼자들의 도시) Jae-chan asks Hong-joo to remember every detail if something happens, so that he can find her through his dream. | 2017-10-12 | Aired | 9.7% |
| 13 | A Secret That Can't Be Told (말할수 없는 비밀) Jae-chan finds Woo-tak stabbed, arrests Dae-hee and works to see him prosecuted. | 2017-10-18 | Aired | 8.6% |
| 14 | A Secret That Can't Be Told (말할수 없는 비밀) Woo-tak recovers at Hong-joo's house and asks her and Jae-chan for favours. | 2017-10-18 | Aired | 10.0% |
| 15 | Pride and Prejudice (오만과 편견) The former archer Yoo Soo-kyung is murdered and Do Hak-young becomes the prime suspect. | 2017-10-19 | Aired | 7.9% |
| 16 | Pride and Prejudice (오만과 편견) Woo-tak persuades his friend Hak-young to turn himself in, but Jae-chan lacks the evidence to prosecute. | 2017-10-19 | Aired | 8.9% |
| 17 | The Usual Suspect (유주얼 서스펙트) Hak-young is released pending investigation, and a netizen's comment helps Hong-joo explain the marks on the victim's floor. | 2017-10-25 | Aired | 7.3% |
| 18 | The Usual Suspect (유주얼 서스펙트) Yoo-beom uses the media to argue Yoo Soo-kyung's case in public. | 2017-10-25 | Aired | 8.9% |
| 19 | Boy Meets Girl (소년, 소녀 만나다) Jae-chan is shot by the victim's father, Yoo Man-ho, and taken to hospital. | 2017-10-26 | Aired | 8.2% |
| 20 | Boy Meets Girl (소년, 소녀 만나다) Hong-joo receives a note Jae-chan wrote before the accident and realises they have known each other for more than 13 years. | 2017-10-26 | Aired | 8.9% |
| 21 | To Die or to Be Bad (죽거나 혹은 나쁘거나) Out of hospital, Jae-chan stays with Hong-joo for two days while she and Woo-tak dream of a case that ends his career as a prosecutor. | 2017-11-01 | Aired | 6.9% |
| 22 | To Die or to Be Bad (죽거나 혹은 나쁘거나) Back at work, Jae-chan must decide whether to authorise an autopsy on a man who is about to donate his organs. | 2017-11-01 | Aired | 8.4% |
| 23 | Knocking on Heaven's Door (노킹온 헤븐스 도어) Jae-chan charges Moon Tae-min with murder against everyone's advice and has to prove that Lee Hwan did not die from the transplant. | 2017-11-02 | Aired | 7.3% |
| 24 | Knocking on Heaven's Door (노킹온 헤븐스 도어) Hong-joo's mother tries to keep Jae-chan away from her daughter to spare her more pain. | 2017-11-02 | Aired | 8.6% |
| 25 | We're on Our Way to Meet You Now (지금 만나러 갑니다) Woo-tak and Jae-chan share their theory about why they see each other's futures in their dreams. | 2017-11-08 | Aired | 6.8% |
| 26 | We're on Our Way to Meet You Now (지금 만나러 갑니다) Hong-joo shadows a prosecutor in Criminal Division Three for an article, and a phone thief turns up evidence for an old case. | 2017-11-08 | Aired | 8.6% |
| 27 | Catch Me If You Can (캐치미 이프유캔) After the arson, Criminal Division Three is buried in work. | 2017-11-09 | Aired | 7.7% |
| 28 | Catch Me If You Can (캐치미 이프유캔) The team splits between the arson and the old IV drip murders, while Yoo-beom gets a text from the real killer. | 2017-11-09 | Aired | 9.6% |
| 29 | Stand by Me (스탠 바이 미) Hong-joo is injected with a lethal drug and loses consciousness. | 2017-11-15 | Aired | 8.1% |
| 30 | Stand by Me (스탠 바이 미) Jae-chan arrives in time to save her, and Hong-joo is called to testify when the hearing begins. | 2017-11-15 | Aired | 9.6% |
| 31 | Goodbye, My Friend (굿 바이 마이 프랜드) Yoo-beom goes on trial, and Dam-dong warns that he may try to leave the country before the verdict. | 2017-11-16 | Aired | 8.7% |
| 32 | Goodbye, My Friend (굿 바이 마이 프랜드) Woo-tak takes a large personal risk to help the trial succeed. | 2017-11-16 | Aired | 9.7% |
Soundtrack
Starting the player loads Spotify, which sets its own cookies.
| Track | Artist |
|---|---|
| When Night Falls, Part 1 | Eddy Kim |
| It's You, Part 2 | Henry |
| You Belong to My World, Part 3 | Roy Kim |
| I Love You Boy, Part 4 | Suzy |
| While You Were Sleeping, Part 5 | Brother Su and SE O |
| Lucid Dream (자각몽), Part 6 | Monogram |
| I Miss You Today Too, Part 7 | Davichi |
| Maze (미로), Part 8 | Kim Na-young |
| Come to Me (내게 와), Part 9 | Lee Jong-suk |
| IF, Part 10 | Jung Joon-il |
| I'll Tell It (말할게), Part 11 | Jang Da-bin |
| Would You Know, Part 12 | Lee Jong-suk |
| Words I Want to Hear, Part 13 | Suzy |
Awards
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 19th Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best OST | Bae Suzy, "I Love You Boy" | Nominated |
| 2017 | 25th SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Wednesday-Thursday Drama | Lee Jong-suk | Won |
| 2017 | 25th SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Wednesday-Thursday Drama | Bae Suzy | Won |
| 2017 | 25th SBS Drama Awards | Character of the Year | Lee Sang-yeob | Nominated |
| 2017 | 25th SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Wednesday-Thursday Drama | Lee Sang-yeob | Won |
| 2017 | 25th SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Wednesday-Thursday Drama | Jung Hae-in | Nominated |
| 2017 | 25th SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Wednesday-Thursday Drama | Ko Sung-hee | Nominated |
| 2017 | 25th SBS Drama Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Kim Won-hae | Won |
| 2017 | 25th SBS Drama Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Hwang Young-hee | Nominated |
| 2017 | 25th SBS Drama Awards | Youth Acting Award | Nam Da-reum | Nominated |
| 2017 | 25th SBS Drama Awards | Youth Acting Award | Shin Yi-joon | Nominated |
| 2017 | 25th SBS Drama Awards | Best Couple | Lee Jong-suk and Bae Suzy | Won |
| 2018 | Korea First Brand Awards | Drama Category | While You Were Sleeping | Won |
| 2018 | 54th Baeksang Arts Awards | Most Popular Actress | Bae Suzy | Won |
| 2018 | 13th Seoul International Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award for Korean Drama | While You Were Sleeping | Won |
| 2018 | 13th Seoul International Drama Awards | Outstanding Korean Actor | Lee Jong-suk | Nominated |
| 2018 | 13th Seoul International Drama Awards | Outstanding Korean Actress | Bae Suzy | Nominated |
| 2018 | 6th APAN Star Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries | Lee Jong-suk | Nominated |
| 2018 | 6th APAN Star Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries | Bae Suzy | Nominated |
| 2018 | 6th APAN Star Awards | K-Star Award, Actor | Lee Jong-suk | Nominated |
| 2018 | 6th APAN Star Awards | K-Star Award, Actress | Bae Suzy | Nominated |
Frequently asked questions
Who is in the cast of While You Were Sleeping?
The main cast of the While You Were Sleeping K-drama is Lee Jong-suk as prosecutor Jung Jae-chan, Bae Suzy as Nam Hong-joo, Jung Hae-in as police officer Han Woo-tak and Lee Sang-yeob as lawyer Lee Yoo-beom. Kim So-hyun has a special appearance as Park So-yoon.
How many episodes does While You Were Sleeping have?
While You Were Sleeping has 32 half-hour episodes, which SBS broadcast two at a time on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 27 September to 16 November 2017. Wikipedia counts them as 16 hour-long episodes.
Where can I watch While You Were Sleeping?
According to TMDB's JustWatch data checked on 24 September 2026, While You Were Sleeping streams on Kocowa in the United States, Canada and the UK, is free on Rakuten Viki in the US and Canada, and is on Netflix in much of Southeast Asia and Australia. This page's streaming list changes automatically whenever a platform's regional licence for the title changes.
Who sings the While You Were Sleeping OST?
The While You Were Sleeping soundtrack has 13 parts, from Eddy Kim's "When Night Falls" to Suzy's "Words I Want to Hear". Suzy and Lee Jong-suk each sing two of them.
Is While You Were Sleeping based on a webtoon?
No. While You Were Sleeping is an original screenplay by Park Hye-ryun, not an adaptation of a webtoon or novel.
Is there a While You Were Sleeping season 2?
As of September 2026 no second season has been announced. The series ended with episode 32 on 16 November 2017.
Is the While You Were Sleeping kdrama ending happy or sad?
Mostly happy, with one loss (spoiler). In the final episode Inspector Choi Dam-dong is killed, Lee Yoo-beom admits his crimes and is sentenced to life imprisonment, and the series closes a year later with Jae-chan and Hong-joo together at a colleague's wedding party.
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