Strong Woman Do Bong-soon

Strong Woman Do Bong-soon, is an amazing romantic comedy, crime drama. It was one of the most
popular Korean dramas released in 2017, it was so popular in fact that there has been talk of second season, which is rare for K-dramas. Strong Woman Do Bong-soon consists of 16 episodes ranging from 63 to 70 minutes long. Strong Woman Do Bong-soon is one of my all-time favorite dramas, I have watched it twice all the way through, both times binge watching it in a single weekend. Strong Woman Do Bong-soon is an amazingly written, romantic comedy with a comic like super hero twist and dark undertones from the crimes that the show portrays. The advisories that I would issue for this show would include sexual innuendo and mature themes due to the crimes that it portrays: murder, kidnapping, etc. so this show is for viewers aged 13 and older.  

The three main characters of Strong Woman Do Bong-soon are Do Bong-soon (Park Bo-young), Ahn Min-hyuk (Park Hyung-sik), and In Gook-doo (Ji Soo). Do Bong-soon is the main female lead, and is the hero of the drama. She is from a family where all of the women are gifted with super human strength, however if they ever hurt an innocent person they loss their strength as punishment. She has lived her whole life hiding her ability and trying and wishing that she could be normal. The fact that she is extremely small adds to the humor of the drama as she shocks many people when she does display her strength.  She has never been gifted at anything other than her strength, which has led her to be unemployed and seen as inferior to her twin brother, a doctor, by their mother.  

Ahn Min-hyuk is one of the male leads, he owns a video game content creation company. Min-hyuk has three half-brothers, when his father decides that he is going to retire and appoint Min-hyuk as the new CEO they are furious. Min-hyuk left the family business years ago and opened up AINSOFT, his company. The success that he has had when running his company only left him more determined to have Min-hyuk take over the company, which the brothers were all against, especially since he is not the eldest. As a result of the family being against him as well as the numerous other enemies he has made over the years, he starts receiving death threats. Due to his dislike and distrust of the police he ends up hiring Bong-soon as a bodyguard, and to try and help him catch whoever is threatening him. 

In Gook-do, is the second male lead, and has been a close friend of Bong-soon since they were children. Bong-soon has loved Gook-do since they were children, a fact he is completely oblivious to. He is currently a police officer and is assigned to the violent crime unit that investigates in Bong-soons’ neighborhood. Throughout the series Gook-do is investigating the serial kidnappings of women and trying to find the culprit, while protecting Bong-soon whom becomes a target. 

Min-hyuk first meet Bong-soon when he witnesses her fighting a group of gangsters who were beating up and elderly bus driver. He witnesses her incredible strength is immediately intrigued and wants her to become his bodyguard. He quickly starts to develop feelings for her and spends the rest of the series trying to protect Bong-soon and win over her heart. Min-hyuk meets Gook-doo at the police station after Bong-soons’ fight and the two hate each other immediately, the only thing they are ever on the same page about is protecting Bong-soon. As the show progresses the rivalry between Gook-do and Min-hyuk intensifies the more they are forced to work together to catch the serial kidnapper and keep Bong-soon safe. Bong-soon also has major growth throughout the series, learning more about her strength and ability and how to help and protect those in need. 

Strong Woman Do Bong-soon is definitely one of my top 5 Korean dramas that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys watching K-dramas. The charter development as well as the main stories development is incredible and always keeps your attention, it one of those shows that you keep saying “just one more episode”. The only negative thing that I would say about this drama is there was a lot of time spent on some supporting characters that is not really needed and distracts from the main storyline. The times spent on those charters really just feels like unnecessary filler, and to be honest the second time watching the series I just skipped through those scenes and lost none of the main plot or important development. Over all even with the unnecessary story lines I would still give this drama 9.5/10, it is definitely a drama that anyone could enjoy, even those new to K-dramas. 

True Beauty

True Beauty is a beautiful high school romantic comedy. This drama was one of the most talked-about and popular Korean Dramas released in 2020. True Beauty is based off of a web-drama and consists of 16 episodes each ranging from 69 to 80 minutes long. This drama is definitely a binge-worthy show that you could finish in a weekend if you set your mind to it, which is how I prefer to watch my dramas! True beauty is a feel-good high school coming of age love story which is an easy watch and good for middle schoolers and older. The only advisories that I would issue are bullying and suicide, there are not any dark themes or plots, which makes this show a great and family-friendly drama.

The three main characters of True Beauty are Im Joo-kyung, (Moon Ga-young), Lee Su-ho (Cha Eun-woo), and Han Seo-jun (Hwang In-youp). Joo-kyung is a high school girl who has always been told by everyone around her that she was not pretty, which led her to think of herself as ugly at a very young age. When she was younger, she tried to fit into societal norms by dressing up cute like all little girls did. However, she was always bullied and was told she was ugly and scary. Then, she decided to embrace her ugliness by turning to horror comics and films as a way to entertain herself, since she had no friends. In high school, she is bullied mercilessly by being called ugly and used as a “dumpling shuttle.” When her bullies catch her attempting to confess to her crush, they ambush her by dumping food on her head and telling her she is too ugly to live or have a crush on someone. In addition, they recorded the whole incident on their phones. This event marks the end of Joo-kyung’s limits as she goes to the top of a tall building and plans to jump off of it and commit suicide. She later decides not to commit suicide, instead she transfers schools and learns how to perfected her makeup. Later, she becomes the “goddess” of her new school due to her beautiful looks.  

Su-ho is one of the main male leads. He is a quiet and borderline antisocial high school student. Growing up, Su-ho’s mother past away. His relationship with his father was nonexistent due to the fact he saw his father sleeping with another woman on the day his mother died. He lives alone and does not socialize with the students at school because he believes he does not deserve to be happy or have friends. One of his best friends, Yoon Se-yeon, committed suicide by jumping off the roof of a building prior beginning of the drama. Su-ho blames himself for Se-yeon’s death resulting in him isolating himself from all of the other students. Thus, feeding to his thoughts and beliefs that he does not deserve to be happy because he was not there for his friend when he needed him. 

Seo-jun is the other male lead. He is ex-best friends with Su-ho, whom he also blames for Se-yeon’s death. He hates Su-ho and mentions to him that he does not deserve to be happy until he meets Se-yeon again in the afterlife. Seo-jun used to be a trainee to become a K-pop star along with Se-yeon, but dropped out after Se-yeon’s death. Seo-jun has a reputation of being a “bad boy” at school, while Su-ho was the icy “good boy” heart throb. Seo-jun also had to drop out of school for a while, so he could work and pay the family bills after his mother became extremely ill and required a kidney transplant. 

Joo-kyung and Su-ho first meet on the roof top from where Se-yeon jumped. Su-ho stops Joo-kyung from jumping off the building. She later does not recognize Su-ho after meeting him for the second time at her new school, as her glasses broke from when he pulled her from the side of the roof. Additionally, Su-ho doesn’t recognize her because of her makeup. When the two finally recognize one another, they start to form a friendship that blossoms into love. Joo-kyung meets Seo-jun when she saves him from getting beaten up by some kids he used to hang out with. When he realizes that Su-ho likes Joo-kyung, he starts hanging around her and trying to “steal” her from Joo-kyung. Seo-jun later realizes he has real feelings for Joo-kyung and continues to try to win her over in earnest. 

True Beauty is overall one of my favorite Korean dramas. The character development is incredible and the high school love triangle keeps you engaged and bouncing between who you want Joo-kyung to end up with. The drama is a lovely story about friendship and blossoming first loves. The ending is endearing and lighthearted. True Beauty is a show that you could watch more than once and still be entertained. Overall, I give this drama a 10/10, must watch!