38 Task Force (2016)

Why I watched it: Seo In Guk. That’s pretty much all I needed.

Was it worth it: Probably?

What I liked the most: The cons. It’s fun to see the guys you’re rooting for get the upper hand.

What I disliked the most: There was a lot of content overlap and it got a bit muddled towards the end.

Moment Meter: 2/10 – Not too many romantic moments, but there were a few feel good “gotcha” moments in there.

Other thoughts: There are a lot of characters, so you have to pay attention, especially to names. The constant cons can also break your brain if you’re not paying attention. After a while you just start second guessing everything. There were some cute parts. It had a bit of an Ocean’s 11 feel to it at the beginning. The ending was pretty solid, but again, you have to pay attention. I would have liked to see more between Yang Jeong Do and Cheon Seong Hee, but then again I’m a sucker for romance. Rewatchable only if you were lost the first time you saw it.

Conclusion: A solid drama. It could have been cooler given the subject matter, but not bad all together.

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A mix feeling drama?

Well in the plot itself u will understand the basics of the story and u get and idea of where the whole thing is leading too and trust me when i say that itself is enough reason to make the drama boring.
But. But. Hear me out since even i thought this would be a boring drama but it isnt. This drama kinda is boring and so predictable and soo easy to understand but why did i see the whole drama without dropping? A question i ask alot of the times. I found the answer is because it was not that typical or cliche-ish. It was a perfect drama that fits all its tags and genre. There was no unnecessary romance or "mind-blowing luck" or even fighting stupidly. The leads also didnt act out of their league too much also. The villains also acted level headed.
The actors did a wonderful job. I really liked how they made me feel all the emotions in perfect balance. It was so peaceful watching the drama.
The music was okay.
Like i said, this drama is not unique or very creative. The drama was striving to be perfect stable that it wasnt meant for creativity or uniqueness, and it reached its goals pretty much.
Hope u enjoy this!

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I really like this show but the thing is I happen to like the cast especially had a total crush on Lee Sunbin. She's so hot! And don't even get me started on Seo In-guk ???? honestly that guy is so gorgeous and on top of that he can act! But I absolutely got addicted to this drama. And then there was the whole wish fullfilment scamming the bad guys lol I admit it was so fun! But ok I feel like even though I liked this drama I feel like it wasn't something I can rate as high it lacked somehow in some ways, like for instance the going to prison for two years was completely pointless! Because it doesn't add anything to the story. A lot of things happening were the same and again lack of proper action and not enough emotion. Also, I'm sorry I didn't find the female lead role attractive at all, so I was always shipping Seo In-guk with Sunbin I'm sorry. They actually had chemistry. That one scene where she lashed out at him and he pats her head *swoooooooon* I feel like they should have just treated the tax collector chick and in guk as a past story rather than an actual main ship, because their 'love' or whatever just wasn't believable. Anyway the romance part isn't a major aspect of the drama so there's that. Anyway in conclusion, it's a good drama absolutely watch it entertaining and because ok Seo In-guk looks HOT HOT HOT ????

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I can't believe I forgot about this drama...
Overall its great! Its really satisfying... I give the story/plot 8.5 ,because I wish that they had gone more into some of the stories in the drama. It had a lot of twist, my brain was working for once when watching a drama( I haven't seen so many twist since I Gap Dong). I had a lot of ,,Bad guys" drama flashbacks too ( the feel T.T), if you liked those dramas you will most probably like this one too.
The cast and acting was amazing 10/10!!! The music really fits the drama, I wanted to sing a long but I don't know korean.
Watch the drama, there is something satisfying about it (probably the many twists)!. After the second episode is when it really might get some people, if they are more into normal kdramas.

I just rewatched it again, after some time passed and decided to give it a higher score. I dont know why I like it better the second time. :)

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I really cant describe this show. It is not that superb but also not bad. It is not something you will excitedly wait but it is something really worth watching.. As a viewer, you will just unintentionally be immersed with the story, be in love with the squad and be awed with its lot of twist.

38 Task Force is swindling in a professional level, that make this show interesting.. The issues being discussed in this show is on point and realistic.. The way how they make a con and make all things go as their plan is somehow unrealistic but possible. Maybe what this show trying to say is, all human being is somehow similar, has its own weaknesses and somehow fall in the same trap even your rich, educated or poor. It really has lot of twists that make this series predictable that the con will go well, but still you will like how it will be revealed in front of your eyes.

What I really like in this show is the whole squad itself especially the Baek Sung Il and Yang Jung Do tandem.. I never imagined Seo In Guk having a good bromance chemistry aside from Park Bo Gum in I Remember You but Ma Dong Seok and Seo in Guk Bromance is something worth rooting for. I really like how they trust each other and how Sung Il believe in a conman more than anyone else.

Romance is really lack in this show.. But I dont really mind it..

I really hope all the government official is like Sung Il, contented on what he have and doing his job well. This show is truly eye opener on issues about tax collection, evasion and bribes..

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Fun and engaging but has no connection to reality whatsoever

I enjoyed this show. It's full of twists and turns to keep you interested, and you care about the characters because they're well-acted and charismatic. The plot, which was the primary focus of the show, had its good points and bad points. It was good at keeping you guessing and taking unexpected turns. I was never able to predict the clever ways in which the heroes were able to solve every problem, because their plans always encountered big obstacles, like the villains finding out about their plans, etc. However, this repeated pattern ended up being predictable because it happened again and again. And the plot was totally unbelievable. Why would a bunch of grifters and criminals suddenly decide to work so hard and risk so much to help the government collect taxes? There was a little bit of talk at the beginning about them getting a small cut of the collections, but that fell by the wayside, and it seems like they were getting nothing out of it at all. If they were such idealistic and altruistic Robin Hood types, why didn't they feel guilty about all the money they stole from innocent people as career criminals up to this point? And I never totally believed the bromance between Seong Il and Jeong Do. It happened too quickly. Actually, none of the relationships were satisfying. But the actors did a great job fleshing out underwritten characters. So overall, it was entertaining, but it could have been much better if the script was a more grounded in reality and paid more attention to characters' motives and relationships.

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As I had a huge list to watch, I did not find any time to watch Squad 38. Eventually I managed to squeeze it in and I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised with this series. A refreshing mix of crime, suspense with a very very light touch of romance. The story itself was quite unique and caught me off guard at several occasions making you doubt whether this or that was part of their plan. Ma Dong Suk did an excellent job as boring Seowon's City Hall's Tax Chief who eventually ended up with a team of conman in order to retrieve the tax those taxpayers refused to pay by avoiding law and tax cheats. Seo In Gook did an excellent job as main conman, while I was most definitely fan of Lee Sun Bin and her performance. The only downside was that I am not so fan of it's OST, but that's just a minor detail.

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Wish it had more episodes

When I saw that Ma Dong Seok-Bad Guys. Oh Man Suk-Partners For Justice, Lee Deok Hwa-Giant, Suspicious Lawyer-shows I've watched-was in this I had to watch.

The first few episodes were so slow that I almost stopped watching it. By episode 6 I was hooked!

There was no sappy cliche romance in this series at all. Something that I have come to despise in Korean dramas.

If you like revenge shows then you will like this. I found myself laughing, whooping, and clapping when each episode was over. There were two episodes where it nearly brought me to tears but I held strong and didn't bawl.

I never rewatch Korean shows but for the sake of it, I gave it a decent number for a rewatch.

Revenge, no sappiness, yes, one will love this drama.

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Review panjangku

Drama 7 tahun lalu dan baru aku tonton sekarang. Kata orang2 lumayan bagus dan aku setuju sama mereka. Menurutku dramanya lumayan seru, walau ada beberapa part yang bosenin dan masih jadi tanda tanya.

Oke kita bahas kenapa bagus dulu ya
1. Ceritanya lumayan menarik. Dari beberapa drama yg aku tonton tentang con-artist, drama ini tuh cukup unik karena alasan mereka menipu tuh biar uangnya bisa dipake buat bayar pajak. Ya meskipun Leverage (drama ttg con-artist juga) ceritanya mirip2 gini, tapu tetep 38 Task Force unik karena berhubungan sama pajak.
2. Acting para pemainnya bagus banget, apalagi Seo Inguk keren banget bisa bener2 kelihatan kayak con-artist wkwk
3. Plot twist di akhir episode bikin panik wkwk aku awalnya mikir "lha ini kan udah ep16, kok malah muncul masalah2 baru lagi" ehhh ternyata sengaja buat nipu penonton


Tapi di pertengahan sekitar ep 8-12 apa yaa aku agak bosen jadi kadang aku cepetin nontonnya dan ada beberapa yang aku skip apalagi kalo para antagonis lagi pada ngumpul.
Terus ada beberapa hal yang menurutku aneh / masih jadi tanda tanya (mungkin karena suka aku skip jd ada beberapa info yang aku gatau)
1. sebenernya agak aneh sama target penipuannya, ma jinseok yg ternyata anak buahnya bang pilgyu, bang pilgyu yang ternyata anak buahnya choi chulwoo. walaupun awalnya mereka nargetin ma jinseok karena hutang pajaknya dia tertinggi di tim 3, tapi kenapa ga dibikin dari awal mereka ngejar choi chulwoo aja tp buat nyampe ke choi chulwoo mereka harus nipu ma jinseok & bang pilgyu dulu. soalnya kalo kayak di drama tuh jd berasa muncul karakter baru mulu yg ternyata posisinya lebih tinggi dan hutang pajaknya lebih banyak.
2. di awal kan diceritain kalo kang noseung juga kena penipuan, padahal jeongdo nargetin orang2 yang berhubungan sama ma jinseok, bang pilgyu sama choi chulwoo. karena menurutku dia tuh lebih ke netral (?), dia keluar dari timnya minsik (6 tahun lalu) karena takut aja ga sih bukan karena disuap. beda sama baek seongil tim 1 sama ahn taewook. Nqh tapi kenapa dia ikut jadi target?
3. kemana perginya detektif park deokbae?? karakternya tiba2 ngilang ga jelas, ga dikasih tau dia masih di penjara atau dipecat dari kepolisian. Padahal di awal karakternya cukup berperan penting lho
4. Hukuman jeongdo ga masuk akal. Oke dia ngelakuin penipuan dan dia juga ada riwayat masuk penjara, tapi hukuman 10 tahun tuh aneh banget sih, kecuali emang choi chulwoo yang minta dia dihukum selama itu. Tapi harusnya dikasih lihat sih kalo emang itu permintaan choi chulwoo.
5. Karakter choi chulwoo kurang mateng. Dikasih tau kan kalo choi chulwoo tuh ga punya anak atau keluarga? Dengan bisnis gede banget kayak gitu dan dia udah tua, apa ga takut kalo tiba2 bisnisnya jatuh ke tangan yg salah kalo dia tiba2 gaada? Trus buat apa dia mengembangkan bisnisnya sampe sekaya itu kalo bukan buat diwariskan? Kalo dia dah gaada trus bisnisnya buat siapa dong?
6. Karakter sunghee juga membingungkan. Dia tuh karakter yang kalo gaada juga kayaknya ga masalah, padahal dia termasuk main character.... Walaupun mungkin beberapa kali karakternya berguna, tapi ku kira menjelang akhir dia bakal ikutan menipu lhoo. Eh ternyata sampe akhir dia cuma begitu doang.
7. Park Deokbae kan di awal2 cerita kalo baek seongil dulu gangster sekolah (?) bahkan di awal waktu dia nyari penipu mobil kan dia nggunain kekerasan dikit, tp kenapa sampe akhir drama kemampuannya ga dipake lagi???? Padahal aku udah berharap dia bakal pake tinjunya dikit, ehhh malah yang keluar karakter dia yg lain di bad guys (episode terakhir pas di penjara)

Yahhh overall tetep worth kok dramanya buat ditonton~

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A drama about scams within scams.  It keeps you guessing at who is on who's team until the very end.

The story was well constructed.  The scams were always clever.  Use of music was very effective.  A good cast.

However, despite not having any complaints about any individual aspect of the drama (acting, writing, directing were all solid), it was hard for me to be invested in the drama.  Because the story was very fast-paced (a lot of time passes in the drama) and there are many players, it becomes hard to be invested in the success of any individual character.  It almost felt drawn out, like a 2 hour movie stretched to 16 hours.   Something just feels missing.  Perhaps the villains were too one-dimensional, or the supporting con-artists were treated like plot devices that moved cons along.  

Seo In Guk and Ma Dong Seok were great.  I enjoyed Seo In Guk's acting as he pulled off multiple characters as a con-man.  

I am impressed with the overall premise and how the story played out, yet I am hesitant to recommend it unless you enjoy movies like Ocean's Eleven.  No romance in this.  Subtle bromance.  

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