Kapow! Bam! POW! And the actual sight of sound barriers being broken, but not to worry this isn’t Superman versus Batman, but the adventures of the small woman Do Bong Soon (Park Bo Young). Her strength being as strong as the Hulk’s and just as devastating in its reach – but in her case it’s more accidental than on purpose. Find a new and more relatable superhero with Strong Woman Do Bong Soon.
Born with an over-abundance of strength, Do Bong Soon carries on the tradition of powerful females in her lineage, and like them has to heed warnings about using her power unwisely. For if she uses her strength against an innocent person, or for personal gain, she will lose it, just as her mum did before her, and so she takes great care to keep her secret quiet. However, in using her ability to defend a school bus of children from gangsters, she’s inadvertently spotted by Ahn Min Hyuk (Park Hyung Sik), the President of AIN Software industries, and the gaming company Do Bong Soon dreams of working for, but not quite in the role she’s offered – that of a bodyguard. For someone’s threatening to harm Ahh Min Hyuk.
To make matters more complicated, the area Do Bong Soon lives in and is named after is being stalked by a killer; with young women being targeted, often disastrously – their bodies found in quiet alleyways. But maybe the attacker doesn’t mean to kill them. Either way, the by-the-book detective, In Gook Doo (Ji Soo), is investigating the case and he’s determined to solve the crimes even if it’s by himself. However, whether by pure bad luck or good, Do Bong Soon becomes involved with this mystery as well – having at one point heard the kidnapper’s voice. Fortunately for her this means she gets to spend more time with In Gook Doo, who’s been her only crush since childhood. But wait, there’s now the handsome company president Ahn Min Hyuk, who looks at Do Bong Soon as more than just his bodyguard, and like that a love triangle is born in amongst two cases of danger.
The stories are told well, and the more sinister of them – the attacker – develops with increasing risks. The story never stagnating, in large due to the well-matched opponents, and the increasing pressure on Do Bong Soon, who changes from hiding her gift, to someone pursued by inner demons that tell her she should and could do more. These catalysts of danger, and of needing to physically help others, transform Do Bong Soon into the role of a superhero, but it’s done more naturally than the spandex wearing cape crusaders of the large screen, for she doesn’t lose the essence of herself and still makes mistakes. However, there are some imperfections that were obviously overdone for comedic purposes, such as a lack of sensibility by Do Bong Soon, as though by having strength she had to lose something else to balance it out. It would have been more refreshing for her to have been above average in her thinking, while still retaining her naivety. The point of it being otherwise, is perhaps an effort by writers to make her vulnerable in some other way, and thereby have the male love interests still act as “protectors” of Do Bong Soon – which they use to increase the sense of a love triangle, but it’s overplayed. Excluding this, it was brilliant to see the leading men’s reactions to Do Bong Soon’s strength; having them not perceive it as a threat to their “macho” manliness but to look on in awe, while the surrounding sub-characters; middle-aged gangsters and teenage boys, still needed to have the ‘traditional stand-off’ in being stronger than a woman – and okay some of these scenes were hilarious, because of course, they didn’t expect it.
The casting of the three leading actors is perfect, with the chemistry between them being palpable, especially in the case of Do Bong Soon (Park Bo Young) and Ahh Min Hyuk (Park Hyung Sik) – and I’d certainly like to see them play against each other in future roles as well.
However, one character really grated in the show, Do Bong Soon’s mother, who showed a great cruelness to her husband that was nothing short of emotional abuse, not to mention her whining to friends when she felt jealous or insecure – her almighty reign threatened. Although it did have the redeeming factor of portraying someone who couldn’t cope with the loss of her own once-superhuman strength, and so gained it by taking “power” from others and lording it above them. Still, despite the great acting by Shim Hye Jin in the role, the character was irritating and left me wanting to fast-forward her scenes.
It’s very rare to have a show that’s all-round perfect, and any detracting points I’ve made are very small in a series that is otherwise fantastic. The first episode is hilarious, the second provides the audience with the crime-thriller aspect, while the third looks more at the building of a romance. After this the episodes have more of an equal balance, until later where mystery and romance take more of a starring lead. Diverging from the trappings of one genre, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon masterfully manages several – leaving you to never be bored.
If you enjoy a show that completes its storylines, never grows stale, and has characters you can fall in love with, then Strong Woman Do Bong Soon is the one for you.
Director: Lee Hyeong-Min
Other notable works:
- My Dangerous Wife 2020
- Miracle That We Met 2018
- Ms. Temper & Nam Jung-Gi 2016
- The Snow Queen 2006-2007
Writer: Baek Mi-Kyeong
Other notable works:
- Mine 2021 –
- Miracle That We Met 2018
- The Lady in Dignity 2017
- My Love Eun Dong 2015
