Main Cast: Park Bo Young, Park Hyung Sik, Ji Soo
Genre: Romcom, fantasy, mystery, thriller
Fashion: Oversized hoodies, gingham prints, and picnic-ready dresses
Swoondar: 10/10
Where I watched it: Netflix
Brimmed with powerfully strong messages and inspiring characters, Strong Girl Bong Soon had me hydrated with giggles, squeals and smiles, in between the chills and scares from the darker parts of the storyline. Despite the large amounts of fluff in this drama, there was also a very harrowing mystery thriller running throughout - making it a gripping and lovable series.
The drama has a Park-Park perfect pairing which I am so here for! Firstly, Park Bo Young as the title's smallest, but coolest strong girl, Do Bong Soon and Park Hyung Sik's dashing daepyonim (CEO), Ahn Min Hyuk. The Park-Park duo definitely won over my heart as one of my favourite kdrama couples, they are both as cute as they are strong (the perfect kind of balance!)
General storyline:
Do Bong Soon, a 20-something with genetic super strength, dreams to develop her own video game where the main character (based on herself) can freely beat up the baddies without hiding her genetic powers. Out of her video game dreams, Bong Soon conceals her strength from the world as if she uses it wrongly (like most of her previous ancestors, including her omma) she may instantly lose her powers. Unemployed, Bong Soon soon becomes Ahn Min Hyuk's, peanut-sized, body guard and their fantastical adventures and whirlwind romance take off!
Not shying away from being a dark thriller, Strong Girl Bong Soon has a great balance of fluffy romance, with rolling on the floor comedy, and, unexpectedly, a disturbing darkness with psychopaths, torture and kidnappings. There were moments when chills ran down my spine with this drama, with thanks to the twisted ordeals many of the characters went through. Not just our Bong Soon and Min Hyuk (yes, our cute couple too went through the wringer), but the girls who were being chased, beaten and kidnapped to be later held in terrifying captivity. This storyline adds another dynamic, making the drama unique and engaging, tempering the much needed light sugary fluff, but still passing us the intended affect. With that being said, it does set up our badass Bong Soon to kick some butt and spread a positive, inspiring message to women, girls and those on the fringes of society! *Hello! Annyeonghaseyo! That's what I'm taking about!*
Warning to the anti-love-triangle viewers, Strong Girl Bong Soon has a strong love triangle storyline running throughout, between Bong Soon's policeman friend and life-long crush, Guk Doo, daepyonim Min Hyuk and our cute King Kong... Bong Soon!
No one else could've filled the shoes of Bong Soon perfectly than Park Bo Young, her aura *queue Park Seo Joon as Vice Chairman in Secretary Kim here* of confidence, cuteness and badassery is second to none! The contrast of her sweet, chirpy voice against her prowess, coolness and sass is the most brilliant blend *chef kiss*! Undoubtedly, I fell in love with Ahn Min Hyuk / Park Hyung Sik the second he came on the screen; his bubbly charms mixed in with his handsome visuals, and heavy seasoning of support and care for Bong-Bong (omg, I died each time they called each other Bong-Bong and Min-Min, too cute for words!), Park Hyung Sik absolutely ruled this role and captured all of our hearts in the meantime!
As if this drama couldn't get any better, the side stories and supporting characters are also well developed, and the humour or evilness which comes from them is spot on. They are definitely the kind of supporting characters you won't forget 50 dramas later! Notably, Kim Won Hae's characters (oh, yes, I said characters... KWH double dose!) Kwang Bok, a gangster who our Herculean queen beats up after his gang provoke her - his physical comedy was comical gold, and Mr. Oh, the flamboyant, arrogant manager at Min Hyuk's company, Ainsoft - however much I wanted to facepalm from the character's annoyance, each moment was just as hilarious as the last. Also, I cannot move on without mentioning other supporting characters such as, Bong Soon's omma, appa and twin oppa, Guk Doo, the psychopath kidnapper and Secretary Gong - all amazingly portrayed and will leave a lasting impression no matter how nice, evil or witless they were.
Strong Girl Bong Soon's wonderful messages of female empowerment and strength, as well as awareness of misogyny and societal norms of discrimination against women and preying on the weak, was a refreshing delight to see compared to the *usually* typical, text book romcoms we all know and watch. What's even greater, Strong Girl Bong Soon's screenwriter was Baek Mi Gyeong - it is rare, even nowadays in the West and the East, to have a woman writing working on top billed series and films, again giving Strong Girl Bong Soon a powerful message and, hopefully inspires many girls and those who feel they are looked over by the social norms to know we all have a strength inside us we can use for the greater good.
The classic 16-part kdrama favourite is definitely a must see, with constant laugh out loud moments, spine chilling psychopaths and so much romance to swoon over - they are balanced perfectly! Just be warned, there are distressing scenes involving torture against women which is terrifying, but these scenes do come in small batches, so nothing too daunting to worry about if this doesn't usually affect you greatly. However, the comic-book-like action and perfect humour works harmoniously with the key messages and inspiring characters against the beautiful soundtrack, making me unable to recommend this enough!
Overall Rating: 10/10
M x
Ps...
Can someone please find me an Ahn Min Hyuk... asking for a friend...! Thanks xoxo
Please note, this review is all based from personal opinions, if you find statements which you disagree with, that is completely fine as well, all opinions and thoughts are regarded equally.
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