Weekend Binge: "Behind Your Touch"

Small-town vibe? Check. Murder mystery? Check. Psychic powers? Check.

K-drama’s long love affair with murder mysteries and psychics (He is Psychometric, 2019; The Girl Who Sees Scents, 2015) adds another to its list with Behind Your Touch. Is the latest fantasy-mystery-comedy worth a binge? Read our spoiler-free review to find out.

The Plot

There’s a serial killer on the loose in small town in South Korea. Don’t worry though. Help is on the way with a detective from Seoul who’s been demoted to the already challenged local police force, Jang Yeol, and a veterinarian who’s recently come into some butt-touching psychic powers, Bong Ye-bun. Lee Min-ki and Han Ji-min play the lead in this hilarious comedy mystery. They are joined by Kim Jun-myeon (EXO’s Suho) who is easily crushable material but also a potentially mysterious murder suspect. Will these two squabbling neighbors and the rest of the town ever be able to work together to find the culprit?

The Review

If you had told me that I would be immersed in a murder mystery drama about a woman who touches butts to get psychic information, I would have called you crazy. Except, that’s exactly what happened in Behind Your Touch. I started watching because I was waiting to look for things I could make fun of and yet 16 episodes later, there I was completely engrossed in the lives of everyone in Mujin and rooting for all of them.

Get behind me, psychic!

That’s in large part due to the fine acting of its two main leads. As skeptical and ornery Seoul detective Jang Yeol, Lee Min-ki and his deadpan performance make for unexpectedly comical scenes in a script that swings from seriously dark to absurdly funny in the same episode. But it’s really kindhearted and reluctant psychic Bong Ye-bun played by talented actress Han Ji-min who makes a bizarre storyline feel strangely relatable and touching.

Odd couple detective Jang Yeol and vet Bong Ye-bun solve crimes no ifs, ands, or butts.

Surrounding the leads are the quirky characters that provide enough complex relationships that endear the town to its audiences— Bong Ye-bun’s feisty best friend and gang leader Bae Ok-hui (Joo Min-kyung), eccentric aunt Jung Hyeon-ok (Park Sung-yeon), chief detective Won Jung-muk (Kim Hee-won), local shaman Park Jong-bae (Park Hyuk-kwon), and assemblyman Cha Ju-man (Lee Seung-joon) among others.

It takes a village to solve a crime.

As with most small-town dramas, the bucolic setting provides more space for its characters to shine. Away from the bright lights and the cynicism of the city, the down-to-earth characters keep us entertained by being their unconventional but well-meaning selves. Despite its fantastical premise, the show quickly reminds you that it’s not really the main point—that it is just another plot device to get a good story going.

Those who love a good whodunnit will get their money’s worth as the taut writing keeps you on tenterhooks every step of the way. There are plenty of suspects to choose from, each of them guiltier than the last. The psychic powers help, but there’s still a lot of brainwork and good ol’ detective instincts for those who love mysteries.

This is one of those shows where if you truly want to enjoy it, you have to park your assumptions at the door and allow yourself to be led wherever the drama takes you.

Stream if you enjoy a good mystery with some fantasy thrown in.

Skip if you want a thoroughly logical explanation for how psychic powers work.