Series / Big Mouth (2022)

Warden Park: Who do you think you are?
Park Changho: Big Mouse.
Warden Park: What?
Park Changho: Listen. I'm really Big Mouse, you moron. [...] I'll show you why I'm Big Mouse.

Big Mouth (Korean title: 빅마우스) is an MBC Noir/Crime Korean Drama television series. It ran for 16 episodes on July 29, 2022.

Park Changho (played by Lee Jong Suk) is a third-rate lawyer with a low success rate. He is known as "Big Mouth" between his peers and clients because he talks big but doesn't have the actions to back it up. One day, he gets tangled up in a murder case involving the upper class when Choi Doha, the mayor of Gucheon, asks him to take up the case. His life turns upside down as he's mistaken for a famous conman that goes under the name "Big Mouse" and gets sent to prison.

Enters Go Miho (played by Yoona from Girls' Generation), Changho's loving and brave wife who works as a nurse. When her husband is accused of being the mysterious conman "Big Mouse" she vows to clear up his name and support him no matter what with the help of her father (Go Gikwang, played by Lee Ki-Young) and Changho's best friend who's also a lawyer (played by Oh Eui-Sik).

Will Miho succeed in proving the innocence of her husband? What will be Changho's fate in jail and who's the real "Big Mouse"?

The series blends Noir elements (like a hellish prison environment and corrupt people in power) and mystery elements like the true identity of the "Big Mouse", and even dramatic elements.

Not to be confused with the animated Netflix show Big Mouth.

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This series provides examples of:

• Accidental Truth: Changho bluffs about the location of the gold that Jihoon is looking for by telling him it's buried near the A2 marker in Gudal Mountain. Jihoon and his NR Forum crew go there to dig up the gold and they indeed find one gold bar in a box that was put there by "Big Mouse" without Changho's knowledge, meaning "Big Mouse" is spying on him and saved him.
• Bald of Authority: The boss of the biggest and most powerful gang in Gucheon Penitentiary, aka Yang Chunshik, is baldheaded.
• Bedlam House: Changho is kidnapped and then taken to Jiseong Mental Center by Gong Jihoon. The place, where everything is eerily white and silent, is empty save for a few mad patients, a nurse, and a deaf guy kept to watch him. They gagged his mouth and put him in a straitjacket, then injected a truth serum into him more than once to force him to reveal "Big Mouse"'s real identity and where Jihoon's money is.
• Being Watched: Changho, aware that there are security cameras in the prison yard and that the warden could be spying on his and Miho's conversation, takes her to another place away from the cameras so they could talk freely.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Miho is generally pleasant and kind but she can fight and talk back when she's provoked enough.
• Blood from the Mouth: Go Miho starts bleeding from the mouth near the last episode, which means they're suffering from a deadly disease that is lymphoma, a blood cancer.
• Bluff Worked Too Well: When Changho pretends to know the whereabouts of the gold Jihoon is desperately searching for he makes up a location that he once went to with Miho and it turns out that there's indeed gold buried there. This convinces Jihoon and his crew that Changho is really "Big Mouse" despite his denial during his torture.
• Bound and Gagged:
  • Episode 8: Changho opens his eyes to find himself straitjacketed and muzzled in a mental hospital.
  • Episode 16: This is what prevents Doha's wife from coming to court because they were wrapped in a straitjacket and muzzled as they thrash around and try to scream the same way as Changho did.
• Break the Haughty: warden Yoongab goes through this. He's full of himself and money-hungry but at one point he gets put in his place as he gets arrested for taking bribes, causing a big celebration, then assaulted by the new warden, then assaulted again by inmates who harbor a grudge against him.
• Bullying a Dragon: Invoked by the protagonist since his goal after he ends up in jail and reaches a dead end is to fight with scary criminals so they'd murder him.
  • He seeks the head of a powerful and terrifying gang and spills soup on his bald head. The gangster boss, or Chairman Yang, lets him, and then Changho smacks him with the food tray several times and sends him flying with a strong punch.
    Changho: Try killing me.
    (Chairman Yang stops his gang from intervening)
    Changho: What? This is not enough? Kill [smack] me! [smack] Want an axe? Hey, bring him an axe. Are you a lumberjack? You can't kill without an axe?
  • He then goes after a serial killer diagnosed as a psychopath and hurls insults, such as:
    Changho: I'm really curious. What did she [his mom] have after giving birth to a psycho like you? [...] I heard you killed nine people. Make it ten. You got the death penalty anyway, so what are you afraid of?
• Clear Their Name: Changho's wife will do anything to prove his innocence and get him out of jail even if it puts her in danger and against her husband's wishes.
• Code Name: The entity that's notorious for being a genius con artist is an organization that goes by the name "Big Mouse."
• Cold-Blooded Torture: Gong Jihoon tortures Changho after kidnapping him from the penitentiary by putting food in front of him even though he has Changho wrapped in a straitjacket and his mouth gagged. Every time his consciousness fades due to the truth serum they put in his body, he gets slapped awake or has water thrown at him. No matter how much he thrashes around and screams, they continue torturing him; asking him if he's "Big Mouse" and where are the money he "stole."
• Conveniently an Orphan: Changho was in an orphanage as a kid and there's no mention of his parents whatsoever.
• Crocodile Tears: Choi Doha sheds fake tears at Chairman Kang's funeral. He's the one who killed the latter after all.
• Crowd Chant: Every prisoner at Gucheon Prison chants "Big" (short for "Big Mouse") in support of Changho when he has to prove to Jihoon that he knows the names of the five clients "Big Mouse" sold drugs to. It's so epic that this is the first and only time the show plays a song in a scene.
• Cyanide Pill: One of the guys who tried to kill Changho committed suicide by taking a cyanide pill. Subverted later as it turns out that warden Yoongab is the one who gave them cyanide by telling them it's a sedative.
• Death Seeker: After almost being hanged and beaten to death, Changho loses all hope of his situation getting better and decides to die. Afraid of a Bungled Suicide attempt leaving him disabled, he then resorts to provoking the criminals in prison into fighting and killing him. Contrary to his wishes; he's still very much alive, unscathed, as no one lays a finger on him.
• Despair Event Horizon: Changho crosses it after being unjustly thrown in jail and beaten up by the influential prisoners and almost hanged by them. He contemplates committing suicide and divorcing his wife, who strongly refuses.
  Changho: Miho. You need to face reality. There's no hope for me. I may rot in prison for the rest of my life, stupid. [choked up] I may die.
• Domestic Abuse: Han Jaeho (one of the VIPs who works as a surgeon) beats his wife frequently. He even tries to choke her once but because she's afraid of him she hides it instead of reporting it to the cops. This is the reason why she cheats on him with Dr. Seo.
• The Don: Chairman Yang is the head of one of the prominent gangs in Gucheon Penitentiary.
• Dramatic Unmask: Played With. Episode 8 starts with Changho finally seeing "Big Mouse" in person though he's wearing a mask. Changho fights him for a bit then removes the mask from his face just to see... himself. Smiling creepily. Then he wakes up.
• The Dreaded: Changho slowly becomes one in prison after his violent confrontation with a Serial Killer and the boss of a powerful gang and how all the people who picked a fight with him committed suicide. When the warden orders the prisoners in their cells watching other inmates get searched by the warden to put their heads back in their cells they don't listen to him. However, when Changho simply gives them a look, they all put their heads inside immediately out of fear.
• Evil Laugh: Jihoon laughs maniacally when he tortures Changho.
• Evil Is Hammy: Jihoon is a Corrupt Corporate Executive who tends to shout randomly and overreact. He claims that he loves Changho and is a fan of him in a dramatic, loud manner. Though he's obviously lying.
• Fake Defector: Park Yoongab pretends to oppose the idea of Changho as the new "Big Mouse", and joins Doha's side instead. It turns out that he's deceiving Choi Doha and he didn't switch sides.
• Fanboy: Jerry is too fond of "Big Mouse" he tattooed a tiny mouse on his arm and went by the moniker Jerry referencing Tom and Jerry.
• Faking the Dead: Park Changho pretends to be shot by Yoongab who's filming the murder scene to Choi Doha.
• Faux Affably Evil: Choi Doha pretends to be polite and dignified but he's nothing but a vengeful bastard who enjoyed murdering Park Changho (though he survives) and Chairman Kang.
• Fearless Fool: Justified as Changho has reached a dead end being locked up in prison so he seeks out the most intimidating and dangerous inmates so they'd murder him without an iota of fear of dying or ending up disabled.
• Fire Alarm Distraction: A fake fire alarm is started by "Big Mouse" to save Changho from the mental institution he was confined in and Jerry arrives disguised as one of the firefighters and comes to Changho's rescue.
• Frame-Up: Changho being framed as "Big Mouse" and then thrown in jail is what kickstarts the story. The police suddenly find gold and tons of money hidden in the walls of his work office after someone gives him a spiked drink and he gets into a car accident.
• Group-Identifying Feature: All of "Big Mouse" followers have a tattooed knife on fire on their bodies which Changho and the new warden use to identify "Big Mouse" and his underlings.
• Hallucinations:
  • The protagonist, being trapped in a mental institution, starts seeing a mouse on his leg, then the mouse attacks him and the whole White Void Room becomes full of mice while he screams in horror due to the effect of the truth serum Jihoon gave him.
  • Changho makes Chaebong hallucinate that he ripped his heart out of his chest. In reality, Changho just cut out a piece of his clothes.
• Hellhole Prison: The prisoners in Gucheon Prison are forced to do manual labor such as cleaning up sewers and gardening.^note Though this is the norm in South Korean prisons in real life. But in the show, the characters were dissatisfied with having to work in the sewers. The prison warden takes bribes from the prisoners so they can get favorable treatment compared to others and the food they eat comes in small amounts. Plus, some inmates engage in violence, riots, and fights.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Jerry comes to save Changho from the mental center he was confined in and gives him the car keys and tells him to escape from Jihoon and the police before they catch him while Jerry distracts them. The last thing he sees of Jerry is his bloodied face when he's taken to the emergency vehicle. Subverted later in that he's not really dead.
• Hit Me, Dammit!: Up to eleven in Changho's case as he desperately begs two inmates and the prison officers to hit or kill him as part of his Suicide by Cop plan.
• Humiliation Conga: When the wicked Park Yoongab gets arrested for abusing his position, all the prisoners cheer upon his arrival at the penitentiary, then he receives a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown by the new warden, and gets beat up again when he enters his cell.
• Instant Sedation: The sedating injection that the guards give to Changho in episode seven instantly knocks him out.
• Institutional Apparel: Gong Jihoon has Changho in a straitjacket after sending him to a mental center.
• Iron Lady: Joohee is the director of Gucheon Hospital and has a tough, prideful, and no-nonsense personality. However, she has her moments where she shows weakness, shock, and fear near the end of the show where she realizes the truth about her husband and his terrible actions.
• Karmic Death: This is how the downfall of Choi Doha at the end of the series seems to be. After causing Go Miho to become ill and die, he dies in a similar manner— by getting the same illness as well. Although the death part isn't seen on screen.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: Choi Doha gets away with many of his misdeeds even after some of them are exposed to the public, but it's only in the final episode, in the last scenes, that he gets punished with possible death.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Doubles as Humiliation Conga. After blackmailing and taking bribes from inmates and treating them like shit, Park Yoongab gets put in jail for his corruption. Much later he receives a beatdown from the new warden and when he goes to his cell room he gets stamped on by his new cellmates as revenge.
• Luxury Prison Suite: Gucheon Prison is your typical prison but this is the case for the wealthy VIP prisoners who pay the warden to get them the best room with entertainment services like a pool table and Whisky.
• The Man They Couldn't Hang: The NR Forum prisoners greet Changho by suspending him by a noose with a chair under his feet. They don't kill him but they come close to it.
• Over-the-Shoulder Carry: When the protagonist is abducted, a deaf man with a bowl cut carries him over one of his shoulders through the hallway of the mental institution to take him to his room.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Park Changho instills fear in the people who harmed him and made him beg for his life. He comes after them one by one; first, he suspends Jaeho with a noose just like he did to him, then threatens him into confessing that he helped kill Professor Seo. Second, he makes Dugeun hallucinate that Changho has cut his chest open and ripped his beating heart. As for Chaebong, he pours water on him and gives him an electric shock.
• Pariah Prisoner: "The psycho" serial killer who murdered nine people is despised by everyone in jail and no one comes near to him because they fear him. It becomes quite a shock to everyone when Changho challenges the said psycho and manages to make him cry when he mentions the latter's mother.
• Prisons Are Gymnasiums: Some gang members are shown carrying weights and building up their muscles. Played for Laughs when Changho is shown to be doing pull-ups just for the whole shot to reveal that another man is carrying him on his shoulders out of respect after he gained a reputation that he's powerful in prison.
• Prison Riot: Changho starts one when the prisoners complain about the food's quality, and having to do manual work like cleaning poop. He loudly demands real food from the warden after threatening him secretly. Needless to say, they win and get what they want.
• Prisoner's Work: Everyone (except for the VIPs) at Gucheon Prison is forced to do manual labor including gardening and cleaning the sewers.
• Punctuated Pounding:
  • Changho beats up Chairman Yang with a food tray in this manner.
  • Changho does this again to the serial killer inmate on death row.
    Changho: You [smacks his head] useless [smack] piece of [smack] crap [smack].
• Reality Has No Soundtrack: Aside from the brief opening and ending credits and the "Brand New" OST that got played once, the series stands out for not having soundtracks, unlike most Korean dramas.
• The Reveal:
  • Noh Park is revealed to be the real "Big Mouse." They were the ones who framed Changho as the swindling "Big Mouse" to save him from dying at the hands of the NR Forum.
  • The real Choi Doha drowned when he was a child as the fake Choi Doha, Cho Sunghyun, took the other's identity and came back to get revenge on Chairman Kang.
  • Both Yoongab and Jerry turn out to be part of the "Big Mouse" organization.
  • The serial killer is revealed to be the Fall Guy for the rich son of Chairman Kang who's actually the one who killed 9 women but sent the former to go to jail in his place.
• Rescue Equipment Attack: Jerry hits the big, deaf guy who was attacking Changho with a fire extinguisher on the back of his head which makes a loud clang noise. Changho pushes him back afterward, and he falls down, then his head hits the extinguisher.
• Rodents of Unusual Size: Changho sees two big rats standing next to his bed among the tiny Swarm of Rats attacking him in his hallucinations at the beginning of episode eight.
• Sadist: Gong Jihoon revels in torturing Changho to a certain degree going as far as laughing and clapping when the latter is screaming in pain.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money!:
  • The imprisoned wealthy, influential members of the NR Forum can get off scot-free with near-murder, violence, and breaking the law in any way because, well, they have the money and power to do so even in jail.
  • The mayor of Gucheon gets away with corruption and even murder because he's super rich and powerful.
• Serial Killer: The prisoner on death row who got diagnoses as a psychopath is rumored to have killed nine married women, however, this is subverted when it turns out to be false. He was the Fall Guy for the real rich serial killer son of Chairman Kang; it's implied he accepted the blame in exchange for money for his sick mother.
• Slipping a Mickey: The plot is kicked off when the staff at the restaurant he brought his wife and father-in-law to gives him a spiked coffee that causes him to lose focus and make an accident while driving.
• Suicide by Cop: Changho is so desperate to end his life in jail, he seeks death by picking fights with dangerous criminals and the prison officers so they'd kill him. He fails miserably and becomes feared by prisoners instead.
• Swarm of Rats: Changho, hallucinating, sees a huge swarm of rats including two large rats near his bed in the psych ward. This is because he was tortured regarding "Big Mouse"'s real identity and how he's associated with this name he started imagining rats everywhere.
• The Syndicate: "Big Mouse" runs a large organization where the members received help from "Big Mouse" and has developed a symbiotic relationship since then. The organization has members referred to as the Big Three, as well.
• Talking through Technique: Following the incident of the drug clients' list in episode 6, "Big Mouse" starts using tarot cards as a medium to convey messages to Changho in jail. In the beginning, it was one-way, but after Changho was convinced that the tarot card had something to do with "Big Mouse," he began using the cards to communicate back to the former.
• Tattooed Crook: The big, creepy, deaf guy Gong Jihoon brings to keep an eye on Park Changho and prevent him from escaping by beating him is covered in tattoos.
• Truth Serums: Gong Jihoon injects a truth serum called "Peace" more than one into Park Changho so he'd spill the truth behind "Big Mouse" when he sent him to a mental asylum.
• The Unfettered: Jihoon would do literally anything to get back the 280 billion won that "Big Mouse" stole from him including Cold-Blooded Torture.
• Victorian Novel Disease: Go Miho gets diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and other than spitting blood and having a nosebleed they remain looking healthy and as beautiful as ever even when dying. This is particularly notable because the serial killer has cancer as well and he looks obviously sick and pale.
• Villainous Gold Tooth: The big, deaf Tattooed Crook Gong Jihoon brings in to keep an eye on Park Changho and prevent him from escaping by beating him has golden teeth, fitting his creepy look and evil role.
• Villain with Good Publicity: When Choi Doha runs for the presidency, he still wins even after his crimes got exposed to the public.
• Waking Up Elsewhere: Changho gets taken to a hospital due to acute stomachache and after he recovers he supposedly goes back to prison but he notices that they're taking him elsewhere. The guards inject him with something that makes him lose consciousness after he puts up a little fight, then the next thing he sees when he wakes up is that he's trapped in a mental center.
• Wardens Are Evil: Park Yoongab is a classic example. As the main warden of Gucheon Prison, he's a vile man who collects money from the prisoners in exchange for favors and better treatment. He takes money from the three privileged prisoners from NR Forum in order to let them do however they want in prison without getting in trouble. He has no problem ordering the prison officers to kill Changho.
  Changho: [thinking] The cruelest murderer in this penitentiary is the warden.
• Water Source Tampering: Choi Doha, a Corrupt Politician, is the grandson of NK Chemicals which owns a fish farm that's actually a front to get rid of wastewater produced by NK Chemicals which is later dumped into the ocean. When the owner of the farm drinks from a water bottle Miho gave to him, she tells him that the water is from the groundwater of the farm, he immediately tries to cough it out and drops the bottle in shock which proves that the water is indeed contaminated. But the truth is Miho just gave him water she got from her home. When this is revealed to the public, Doha blames the deceased Chairman Kang and gets out of the investigation scot-free.
• Water Wake-up: After Changho's consciousness begins to fade away at the mental institution he was abducted to and starts dreaming, Gong Jihoon splashes a bucket of water on his face so he'd return to reality and respond to his questions.
• White Void Room:
  • The creepy room Gong Jihoon takes Changho to, which exists in a mental institution, consists of nothing but vast whiteness.
  • In the final episode, Joohee, Doha's wife, lies tied up in the same white empty room where Chang-ho was previously kept, so she won't be able to show up and testify in court.
• You Wake Up in a Room: Changho wakes up at the start of episode 8 just to find himself in a white void place tied up in a straitjacket on a white bed. It turns out to be a remote mental center.

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"I have no fear. Because I'm Big Mouse."

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