The strengths of this drama:
1) The actors played it very well. The main "love triangle" and the antagonist were done quite well. This is mainly because of acting ability and not due to the writing of the drama.
2) Even though common troupes were used, they touched upon it in a sensitive and realistic manner. To expand upon this point, when the second lead's girlfriend began to "waver" she did not straight up just cheat on him and his friend did not automatically turn his back on him. She was up front with her opinions to her current boyfriend. He was also hesitant to pursue anything since he was friends with her ex-boyfriend. Often times you see characters that just follow the plot and don't follow logic. My second point is the common troupe of the second lead that realizes his love too late. This is one of the most over-used plots in dramas and should be done away with. However, they added a nice touch by focusing on his anguish and how he expresses his feelings to both partners of the new couple.
My main problems with this drama:
1) The lack of defined plot. There were approximately 3 main plot lines and 6-8 side plots that were just poorly written or poorly handled. Can any viewer definitively tell me every plot and its resolution? I felt the need to skip over certain plots because they dragged on and did not have any importance or significance to the story at all. Firstly, as soon as I started watching I knew that the two leads would end up together and the second lead would get snubbed. Not even trying to change the plot line. Of course it had to be selfish rich guy that changes and cares only for her and does things behind her back until she coincidentally finds out and they fall in love. Instead of the person that she had liked for 7 years and just missed saving her by a step. Always. I could have not watched this drama at all and told you the plot "twists" and "endings." Oh wow, family issues when it shows that her mom does absolutely nothing and emotionally abuses her father? Wow, how new and insightful with 0 character development or relevance. Oh wow, it turns out she gets her powers again and instead of living in fear of using it, which she never was by the way, becomes a hero and helps people. Wow, so new.
2) The amount of random comic-relief side characters is ridiculous. The only serious characters in this story are the main three characters, the serial killer, the brother and his love interest. Every single other character was there for comic relief or not relevant enough to remember their names. I don't know what the purpose of all these characters is. And I don't understand how this drama can confuse quality characters with a hundred random useless characters. Can anyone tell me the name of the mob boss? How about the secretary's name? How about the name of the school gang leader?
3) This drama was boring. There were definitely highlights and extremely important moments to remember but the fact is that due to the mixing of multiple overall plots and the usage of comic relief characters, it takes away from the character development of the main characters and the main plot. After watching the thrilling portions of the drama, didn't you want to know what happened next? Not wait until next episode for there to be development and have to wade through a sea of nonsense and random fighting or shopping scenes. How about after a romantic scene, shouldn't there be build up towards the main plot? However, every time there was a transition between genres there was meaning lost. For example, do you remember why the murder killed the first girl? Most people will forget that important plot point cause it was submerged under a ton of other nonsense. Secondly, do you remember who was the first suspect for threatening the President (Hyunsik)? All of these major plot points become nothing once you have a hundred of them that drag on and do absolutely nothing to build upon each other.
Overall, for everyone saying this is worth watching, let me ask you this: is this a drama that you would watch again? Is this the drama you will remember in 10 years? I don't think so. There are many better dramas than this. Just because you like Hyunsik or Ji Soo or Park Bo Young does not mean this is a good drama. In my personal opinion, this was a very poorly written drama that could be fleshed out and narrowed down.
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Misogyny, homophobia, domestic violence in a comedy, as comedy? Oh, no.
The creative team behind Strong Woman Do Bong Soon assembled all the ingredients necessary for a delightful screwball comedy. Fun wacky premise? Yes—a diminutive woman is born with the strength of your typical superhero. Of course, she wants to go through life without being noticed, so she must hide this gift. Charming and beautiful lead actors with good chemistry? Yes—but then we expect that from every K-drama at this point. A powerful man in need of protection? Yes—a CEO accustomed to being in charge must hire the Strong Woman to be his body guard. Naturally, their agendas clash to create comedic plot points. Villains appropriate to a screwball comedy? Yes—not one but two dysfunctional families and a group of inept mobsters are the comic foils to our two heroes. Action sequences in keeping with the screwball premise? Yes—at one point, the titular Strong Woman singlehandedly brawls with 30 mobsters and vanquishes them all in true cartoon-violence style. That is to say, it’s both funny and satisfying. Having assembled these ingredients, the creative team delivers a finished product that delivers on the promise of its premise. For much of the time, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon is a textbook example of what a viewer would want from a screwball comedy.But this creative team was not content with the strong comedic elements they compiled. They must have concluded the story needed some drama too. So, to their wacky tale featuring cartoonish-feats of strength, leads squabbling with parents whose goals for their kids differ from the kids' own goals for funny, if typical, family conflict, and a half-hearted but light love triangle, this creative team threw into the mix the following additional and super-amusing ingredients: brutal, violent misogyny; kidnapping and torture; multiple ways to ridicule and demean gay men; and turning domestic violence into a joke. To say these elements do not mesh with the elements discussed in the fist paragraph would be to grossly understate the degree to which Strong Woman Do Bong Soon went off the rails as a series.
Once the viewer decides no longer to overlook the brutality of scenes that involve the stalking of women, the beating of women, the mental and physical intimidation of women after their kidnapping; once the viewer can no longer stomach the tired, cliched portrayals of gay men whose only purpose in the story is to make the point that being gay is disgusting and gross and to serve as the butt of jokes for others; once the viewer decides that domestic violence is never funny even if the perpetrator is the wife rather than the husband—well, once the viewer really reflects on those things Strong Woman Do Bong Soon ceases to function as an innocuous screwball comedy. At that point, it’s just an unwatchable mess.
And that’s a shame, because when the series wasn’t being actively misogynistic, insultingly homophobic, or miscasting a social problem for comedy, the rest of it was quite entertaining. This show was popular in its day—and plenty of fans continue to choose to overlook the issues I mentioned above, precisely because the screwball comedy ingredients actually deliver effective screwball comedy. But I cannot imagine people will watch this mess in the future and think it aged well.
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SWDBS follows Do Bong Soon, who has a supernatural ability that gives her incredible strength and it runs in the females in her family. Combine this with Park Hyung Shik as the leading male with hilarious side characters and it seems like it will be a match made in heaven. But this drama from the beginning has always suffered from tonal problems because of its other plotline that has to do with kidnapping. With one half of the show so cute and funny, it does not blend with the other half of the show that happens to be very serious. The writer had a hard time blending comedy and thriller together and the drama starts to suffer in the end because of it. Even with these problems I still believe that you will have a great time watching this drama, especially the first half but you might become frustrated towards the latter half.
It also suffers from pacing problems and at times it will linger on scenes that do not move the plot forward. And also, the kidnapping plotline itself is just not strong. There is nothing really exciting about it because everything is really obvious. The best thing about the plot itself is the romance between the two leads because everything else is not as strong.
The cast is hands down the best thing about this drama. I came in knowing that Park Bo Young will be great. She is a really good actress and I've always felt that she has been able to add a lot of depth to the characters that she is given. Park Hyung Shik was a surprise for me. I've never watched him in a drama before but after this I know I'll be watching all of his past dramas and future ones too. As we know, a lot of idols are cast in leading roles because of their popularity and looks but Park Hyung Shik is not just a handsome idol (and he is handsome!) but a really good actor and he showcases that in this drama. He had a lot of strong scenes that surprised me and I’m already looking forward to seeing him in something new. His character Min Hyuk will make your heart swoon. If you watch this and don't like the plot, I will guarantee that you'll love his character. The way he looks at Do Bong Soon will make your heart melt.
Ji Soo will be a bit of surprise for many if you seen his past work before. Ji Soo is usually the guy to give you second male lead syndrome but he definitely is not able to do that here. Unlike others, I did not have that much of a problem with the character itself. The rest of the cast is good too. They are hilarious and it’s a joy to watch them.
I will give fair warning to people. If you get offended by some jokes then this will not be the drama for you. There is a lot of gay jokes and people weren't particularly happy with the domestic abuse either (and with good reason.) So, if you are bothered by gay jokes, I wouldn't suggest watching this because they never really let up on it either. It's not just one joke but multiple ones.
Overall, I must say for myself personally I really liked this drama and though I think it started to drag towards the end, I still really enjoyed it. It's a drama that you'll have a lot of fun with. I think if you pay attention to the leads and the hilarious moments then you'll really enjoy this drama. My best recommendation is to not pay much attention to the kidnapping plot line. I really feel like it holds the drama back from being really good. Despite the story not being strong, I think a lot of people will still enjoy this drama. I think this is one of those dramas, that you have to watch without paying too much attention to the plot and just enjoy it. Because once you start to pay attention to it, it will fall apart.
That being said, if you like a swoon worthy male lead and a badass female lead who kicks ass then you'll love this drama. If you like your story strong, tight, and with good pacing then this might not be the drama for you.
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There never really seemed to be any sense of urgency to catch the bad guy.
How inept and pointless was that police force?
The real villains of this show are the writers by keeping the character of Do Bong Soon subordinate to the male lead whom she eventually marries, which shows a severe lack of imagination for a female character with super human strength.
I expected more "girl power" and female badassery from this show.
Other than being physically attractive, I saw no reason for the leads to be together.
I lost it when the bomb transformed into a fireworks display.
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A very cute, funny, romantic and really well put together drama. The story was fluffy and dark at the same time. I really liked it. It's fun to watch. There were really funny characters. Funny scenes. And a beautiful ending.
Let's not forget about the chemistry between the two leads were fire hot... *the kiss in ep 15*
I started this drama because of Park Hyung Sik. For me he stole the spot light in 'Hwarang' and when i found out that he was the lead here. I had to watch it. And I'm glad that I did. Because he was absolutely amazing. He was cute, cocky and so so sweet. But in episode 14 he just became 100 times better. He did all the right thing with his lines, his delivery and with his expressions. I loved him in here. I love him everywhere. Just look at the guy's smile!
Same goes for Park Bo Young. This is was the first time I saw her. And I loved her. She is cute and on the money with her acting. She made this character look effortless. Her acting in ep 14 was wow.
And the new guy Jang Mi Kwan! Loved that physo killer.
The music was beautiful.
It's a beautiful drama. And you will love it. It's really funny. And really sweet but not over the top. It has a weird balance to it. That will make you love it. If you are into RomCom then this is your drama. And Park Hyung Sik looks awesome in here!
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Lots of slapstick without much growth
If you like slapstick comedy and silly misunderstandings as the basis for relationships, then this will fit the bill. This type of set-up isn't my cup of tea and I find it rather annoying because it doesn't fuel much depth or growth in or between characters. I don't mind a little, especially at the beginning of a show, but then I prefer a show to move into more meaningful interactions as characters build relationships with each other and share their stories and thoughts with us.Even with the overuse of slapstick and misunderstandings, this show could have been great if each resolution to a misunderstanding included a script with depth in which the characters share their true feelings, insights, and histories with each other. Unfortunately, the interactions and dialogue stayed very shallow. We never get to understand the characters' perspectives on their family drama, their own insecurities, or their feelings for each other. This simply isn't written into the script.
Despite the high ratings, this was a disappointment for me. I kept waiting for a deep conversation where the characters actually learn about each other, have heartfelt conversations with their families, and grow more in love, but it never came.
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Quite disappointing
Story: A love triangle mixed with gangsters & a serial murderer. A superhero theme with mediocre plot and too many unnecessary side characters. Bong soon’s character wasn’t loveable but I forgive her because she’s too cute. I love PBY but I really don’t get how she chooses her scripts. Her characters are always terrible. The only good thing about this drama is PHS/Min min. All side characters are skippable. Disgusting, even.Acting: Acting wise, they all did good. The plot is just what’s wrong with this drama. Such a letdown.
Music: nothing worth remembering.
Rewatch value: what you see on Instagram reels, short clips on YouTube or tiktok, those were the only highlights of the drama. Nothing much to see, unfortunately.
Overall: A 4-5 for me. Min min saved this drama along with bong bong’s cuteness even when she was being annoying. That’s it. I hate to review this but I felt like I wasted a day of my life from watching this. Those short clips you see online would make you look forward to this but ended up being disappointed because it has nothing much to offer. If I have to summarize the message of this drama it would be about not bullying the weak and policemen are useless.
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weak weak writing
The reason I decided to write this years after it was released and years after I watched it because I keep hearing the main characters name as the poster child of strong women. And as per usual for ranting reviews, this is pretty spoiler heavy.Romance parts were your run of the mill, cliche, tried and tested kdrama formula; it was cute, it was fun and it was light.
The rest, I had a lot of problems.
A user said that this was an easy-to-watch drama. I disagree. It was very hard for me. In fact, I rated screenwriter Baek Mi Gyeong bad after finishing this. A lot of things in drama were either plain wrong and/or used for cheap laughs.
From now on; my rant starts.
Do Bong Sun's desk at the company. What the hell was that? It was a toy desk, maybe suitable for children going to primary school or younger but no older. From my point of view, giving her that desk was the same as saying "I do not respect you or your work but I am indulging you". It was like those punishment rooms I heard about korean companies that they send people to drive them to quit. How can anyone feel respected and wanted working on a desk like that when everyone else have.. appropriate working environment?
Hospitalized gang and the school gang. Why oh why did they keep showing them? It was not funny seeing a grown man salivate and people groaning or keep getting hurt. It was definitely not sad or impactful (the way it was presented).
And the school gang.. I first thought oh she is going to reform them, teaching to be valued members of society or something. But then they kept showing them acting like delinquents; shouting, fighting gangsters, skipping school... you know, the reason she beat them (and then took them under her wings) in the first place. So, the way it was presented is like She is enabling them instead of showing her affecting her surroundings positively. Intentional?
Only time those groups were "arguably" important for the story was the first encounter of the gangsters where Min Min first saw and became intrigued about Bong Bong, and the last scenes where gangsters told them how the criminal was going to escape and that he has a sniper rifle, and when Bong Bong asked school gang to post the criminals pictures online.
All the rest of the scenes with these groups are in are either filled with saliva, pain or acts of delinquency; all of them played for cheap laughs.
And the thing is; all the rest of the time you showed us these groups could have been used to show more important things (IMO). Like Bong Gi and Hui Ji. They seemed to be more mature than our mains and I can't help but think that their story and resolution would have made the drama richer.
Or the parents. They kept showing Chil Gu bruised right until the end and at the end they just told us "no, Jin Yi was not beating him" and then just let go of that story. Why not show us their relationship?
Oh and just to be clear; the character Bong Bong is not written any good either. The mechanics of her power is all over the place. Bong Bong bullied, hurt and scared people using her power from the first episode and the ONLY time she was unaware she was using her power on an undeserving person she lost her power? So it doesn't matter if undeserving people get hurt with her power unless the scene is funny? Or everyone who is mean to her deserves everything that happens to them? Her uses of her power ranges from scaring, bullying people to practically crippling them.
All I can say is;
Weak writing Ms. Baek Mi Gyeong.
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Pros :
1. Superb Direction :The director never treats this as a TV show and fills in visual after visual of great beauty and marshals his actors so well.I am now committed to watching any show this PD makes (recently watched Miracle we met!)
2. Casting and Performances : PBY was superb and I also found Park Hyung Sik underplayed his character (he was basically the damsel in distress in this one!) It takes guts to take up this kind of a character and he did it with aplomb.Jin goo also acquitted himself quite well.The support cast was awesome too.
3. Story and writing : This was the first tv show to warm me up to the idea of female superheroes and a lot of credit goes to the writer's efforts who made the character of DBS so interesting
4. OST : Some of the songs and their use was awesome in this
5. Excellent comedy : The comedy in this is hillarious and the scenes bring a smile to your face instantaneously
6. OTP : The initial pics never showed a great pair potential but both the leads worked superbly together
7. Great Ending : I have seen many great dramas run out of steam at end.The ending of this show satisfied me while still looking forward to a season 2..
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The actors were pretty good. I loved the unusual dynamic between Ahn Min Hyuk and Do Bong Soon, it's refreshing, not to mention adorable, he looks at her the way I look at coffee on a sleep-deprived morning.
What I didn't love is the drastic changes in tone this show seemed to have. You can't have a starry-eyed boy trying to hide the fact he's turned on in the most PG-13 way possible in one scene, and a really terrifying serial kidnapper in a dungeon filled with his victims hatching his plan in the next. I never knew how important it is for a story to choose a Genre and stick with it until now.
That god-awful song that came on every time they had a sentimental moment drove me nuts, it ruined any scene it played on. I can't say I remember any other song on the soundtrack.
I skipped most of it, except for the parts with Bong Soon because she's awesome, and Min Hyuk because how could I resist his charming fangirling over her, and his over the top gestures that cracked me up. The other parts seemed like a` waste of my life.
Don't watch it unless you wanna laugh a lot and don't mind skipping every other scene.
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For those on the fence after watching a few episodes
If you've watched a few episodes and are wondering why the ratings for this show are so high, take my advice: Stop now. This isn't the show for you. It will not get better enough to feel worth it. The last three episodes are good, but no matter how many lovely pairings of our leads together you give me, it doesn't make up for the side stories taking over this drama.If you feel like the slapstick humor was pretty good in the first episode and then quickly soured: Stop now or get used to the sour taste continuing. The potty humor goes swirling round in the toilet episode after episode.
If you feel the thriller aspect of the show is discordant and hope it will be a relatively minor element: It won't be minor nor will it feel worth be jarringly pulled away from the sweet moments of romance.
If you feel like the actors are good but you can't quite find enough redeemable in the characters they're playing (especially the male lead and second male lead): It's going to take those boys a loooong time. There are a few cute moments. I fully support fast forwarding to the Min-hyuk eye smoldering. Just skip to watch just the parts with him and Bong-soon together and call it a day. They're really what we came for anyway, right?
The actors are great at acting and are super attractive. But pretty doesn't make this a good story for me.
Also: Domestic violence is not comedy. A wife beating a husband is no different than a husband beating a wife. The violence should not be minimized or pardoned by the viewer.
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Marshmallow-Chocoholic
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Strong Woman Do Bong Soon is a hilarious rom-com, with an undertone of gender issues. The show has the usual k-drama tropes; the “rich and good looking” chaebol heir, his antagonistic family, the sassy female lead, the love triangle, and the “boy gets the girl story” after overcoming difficulties and obstacles. However, surprisingly “ Strong Woman Bong Soon” was able to deliver a fairly impactful storyline and sociocultural critiques about issues in South-Korean society also.
Do Bong Soon (Park Bo Young) is a woman born with superhuman strength. A hereditary ability running through the matriarch line of her family, it can only be used for good or she can lose her strength forever like her mother ( Shim Hye Jin) did. Despite her abilities, Bong Soon adores her father ( Yoo Jae Myung) who is a gentle warm character, and her twin brother, Do Bong Ki ( Ahn Woo Yeon) , who works as a doctor in a hospital. However, our heroine often struggles to tie down a job as well as desperately yearning to be a game developer .
There are two other men in her life. One is her childhood friend, Guk Doo , a stern police detective played by Ji Soo who has been her long-held secret crush since their teen years . Also she hides her strength around him, since he claims to have a soft spot for tiny, fragile women, just like Bong Soo seems to be at first glance. The other man who enters later into her life is Ahn Min Hyuk (Park Hyung Sik) the baby-faced CEO of AINSOFTware, a gaming company. One day he witnesses Bong Soon's superpowers against a group of gangsters, and he hires her to be his personal bodyguard to protect him against an anonymous caller, who has been making death threats against him. At the same time a serial kidnapper starts taking tiny, fragile women off the streets as Bong Soon soon finds herself finally using her powers for good by trying to hunt down this mysterious criminal .
Written by screenwriter Baek Mi Kyung, “ Strong Woman Do Bong Soon” is a fairly mixed blend of slapstick comedy, old fashioned romance ( with various successful and questionable effects) and a refreshing look at gender roles and sexism . The series does not sugarcoat delivering criticism towards chauvinism associated with the South- Korean Patriarchy: the police office, the youth gang, the gangster mob in the local vicinity , and the patriarch of the chaebol's family, are all absurdly dysfunctional and over-the-top to highlight notable critiques of gender roles within South-Korean society .
Park Bo Young was undeniably a delight as the petite super-strong female lead with line deliverances that were pure comical gold in a similar manner to costar Park Hyung Sik. As a character, Bong Soon was fairly intriguing by challenging traditional gender stereotypes, however, she wasn’t inherently a perfectly-written character either due to often being a little boorish and fractious at times ( especially with her treatment surrounding Ahn Min Hyuk early on in the series) which may annoy viewers in the beginning. However, Bong Soon does grow as a character by learning to mature , respectful herself as an individual as well as develop an endearing romantic relationship with Min Hyuk.
Similarly, Ahn Min Hyuk isn’t without his faults either. He is often slightly naive, sarcastic and equally fractious as Bong Soon. Nevertheless, Min Hyuk is given an equivocal chance like Bong Soon to grow as a character from seemingly shallow at times, towards having a more complicated familial scenario and circumstances.
The side characters can be a bit of a mixed-bag especially in regards to the second male lead and Bong Soon’s mother. Admittedly, Guk Doo does become inherently more respectful towards Bong Soon as the series progresses, however, his early treatment of the main heroine by putting her down often from her physical appearance and emotionally flaring up in her face at times did become slightly irksome. In a similar manner to Guk Doo, Bong Soon’s mother was equally frustrating at times by her problematic treatment towards her own daughter. Whilst the circumstances were suggested and put forwards to some extent for viewers , her overall relationship development with her own daughter seemed slightly lacklustre.
In addition to this, it is arguable that the ending was a little anticlimactic as well as finally putting a stop to the seemingly “ unstoppable killer” did feel a little disappointing . Nevertheless, “ Strong Woman Do Bong Soon” may not have been flawless within its delivered problems of characterisation and comedy ( at times), but it was inherently a lighthearted fantasy, romance tale with intriguing characters, a fairly well-written heroine and romantic pairing as well as prominent messages and critiques towards gender in South-Korean society.
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