‘Strong Woman Do Bong Soon’ Takes On Girl Power, Ratings Growing Steady At Ep 4

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon is not the usual K-drama that fans would expect. Sure, there are two gorgeous leading men, played by Park Hyung Sik and Ji Soo. And yes, there’s a cute lead actress, played by Park Bo Young, who most probably would be fought over by the two leading men in the upcoming episodes. However, this new drama defies leading lady K-drama norms, with Do Bong Soon’s Wonder Woman capabilities.

Bong Soon is born with herculean strength that has been passed on among the women in her family for generations. However, she has fought to hide her real strength all her life. This is because her mother had misused this uncanny ability in her youth by displaying her strength to bully others. This led to Hwang Jin-Yi losing her abilities, which in effect had Bong Soon scared of the consequences if she herself would use her own.

Of the few times Bong Soon did use her strength, it was only to save people from being bullied. According to the show’s producer, Song Won Seob, the drama may be a romantic comedy, but it also tackles women’s role in our society.

“There are many occasions in our society in which women are overlooked or undervalued, despite their skills and abilities. At first, Do Bong Soon’s inability to reveal her true strength to the world is an instance of this. Furthermore, there are moments in which women are confronted by dangerous and problematic people whom they do not or feel they cannot fight back against as women; however, viewers are able to live vicariously through Do Bong Soon as she puts these people in their place with her abilities.”

According to Soompi, the new JTBC series has surpassed the 8 percent threshold at only its fourth episode. This assures a promising start, especially for a drama airing on a paid cable service. While some viewers would attribute the show’s success to its smart casting of Korea’s hottest leads, one would note that the unique plot also contributes to its potential success.

Aside from the Wonder Woman factor, another underlying message that the drama wants to impart is to the young people, who have great talents, but according to Song, don’t know how or where to use them.

“Similarly, Do Bong Soon’s strength is something she has not found a true purpose for as of yet,” continued producer Song. “As the narrative unfolds, she will realize how she needs to be using her abilities, making a turning point in the drama.”

Meanwhile, Park Hyung Sik is now enjoying his first lead status after playing supporting roles in his previous dramas. Most recent of all was Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth, which ended just a few weeks ago, where he played Sam Maek Jong, who eventually became King Jin Heung. Unfortunately, Hyung Sik played second lead to Park Seo Joon’s Sun Woo, which meant he didn’t get the girl in the end.

Interestingly, while everyone knows that Hyung Sik is the main actor this time around in Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, his character is given a twist in that he might be gay. The versatile actor has already been sighted wearing women’s clothing as he “flirted” with second lead Ji Soo on Episode 4. Though this was only done to portray a dream that Bong Soon had, fans are still wondering where the story will go. On the other hand, Ji Soo has also shown his versatility, as he too has donned women’s clothing as a disguise to catch a criminal. Both actors are said to play some kind of bromance as the drama progresses, and fans are looking forward to this in the coming episodes.

The best thing about Strong Woman Do Bong Soon is that it is both lighthearted and dark and not entirely about cheesy romance. In fact, it has a creepy vibe every time the scenes cut to the serial kidnapper, who seems to be building a bridal prison harem. Hyung Sik’s portrayal of An Min-Hyuk is on point with his ability to switch from pretending to be gay to acting like a chaebol scion and just being plain vulnerable about remembering his mother’s special breakfast. Meanwhile, Park Bo Young is the perfect Bong Soon, with her astonishing Wonder Woman abilities disguised in her harmless facade.

[Featured Image by JTBC]