Lead Actors: Woo Do Hwan, Lee Sang Yi, Kim Sae Ron, Huh Jun Ho
Where to Watch: Netflix
Plot
Set in the thick of the Covid-19 shut downs in Korea. There is a 10 PM curfew and all of the small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. If you have ever visited Korea, there is an entire bustling economy that thrives on small businesses. The loan sharks are out to “help” these small businesses out and prey on them during their most vulnerable times.
Kim Gun Woo (Woo Do Hwan) is an amateur boxer who tries to live an honest life and help his mother make ends meet. He is sweet and gentle hearted with the quickest iron fists. He beats Hong Woo Ji (Lee Sang Yi) in a match and they instantly become best friends after. Gun Woo’s mom falls victim to Smile Capital, a vicious loan shark to keep her cafe afloat. Gun Woo does not stand by and watch. He meets Choi Tae Ho (Huh Jun Ho) and his daughter Hyeon Ju (Kim Sae Ron) and together they face the Smile Capital head on.
My Review
Oh lord, I waited for this show for MONTHS and it finally came and it was a bitter sweet good-bye. It was such a great show but I’m so sad I finished it so fast.
I would be doing a huge disservice if I didn’t mention the amazing hard work that Lee Sang Yi and Woo Do Hyun put into their physical training to get their shit looking so tight for their role. So tight… I was so shocked during the first few scenes.
The combat sports styles were on full display. You have the boxers, mixed martial artists, and a little bit of impromptu kendo from Hyeon Ju. It was very obvious that Woo Do Hwan and Lee Sang Yi trained for a long time. I don’t know if they actually did but the skill was on display. They had an actual pro MMA fighter, Hong Joon Young who played one of the Smile Capital henchmen. Kim Sae Ron’s kendo skills (again, I don’t know if she actually trained in kendo) were also seen in a bad ass fight scene.
This is your classic David and Goliath tale told in the setting of one of the darkest years in our lifetime. The thing that I loved about this is the people that we usually regard as the villains became the victims. The Chaebol Hong Min Beom (Choi Si Wan) is a victim of Smile Capital and a former loan shark loans money interest free for people who cannot afford medical procedures and starts an orphanage. Not your typical “good guys”.
Woo Do Hwan.… Needless to say, I have been a huge fan since I watched him in My Country. I’ve made a point to watch everything he’s been in. He has a magical way of charming viewers. He is no different in this. I can’t imagine anyone else playing the role of Gun Woo. He has the perfect amount of sweet and fierce that the character needs.
The combination of the story, characters, and action scenes makes this show absolutely perfect. It’s only 8 episodes and every one of them is significant. Now there are quite a bit of bloody scenes, so if that’s not for you, turn your eyes away during those scenes. It’s already made it into the top 10 in Netflix after only 24 hours.
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