3 Violent K-Dramas Worth Watching + 1 That's Pretty Good
3 Violent K-Dramas Worth Watching + 1 That's Pretty Good
Reviews of THE KILLING VOTE | THE WORST OF EVIL | GYEONGSANG CREATURE | VIGILANTE
Hello, everyone! I’m so excited to let you all know I was recently a guest on the podcast They Call Us Bruce. My episode was called, appropriately enough, “They Call Us K-Culture.” Hosts Phil Yu (aka Angry Asian Man) and Jeff Yang (aka Original Spin) and I discussed a myriad of topics about Korean culture, including some of my favorite K-dramas of the year (hellllooooo “Moving,” “My Dearest,” “The Glory” and “Divorce Attorney Shin”), BTS’ relevance in pop culture, the tragic death of Lee Sun-kyun and watching bootlegged K-drama rentals with our parents back in the days of yore.
Reflecting back on my career, I realized that this was the first time I’ve been on a mainstream broadcast solely with fellow Asian Americans. We were the majority in this case, rather than the minority. And it was all kinds of awesome, to be honest.
If you’re interested, you may listen to it below (or on any of your favorite streaming sites).
Now let’s get to reviews of some Korean shows that I think you might enjoy:
THE WORST OF EVIL
VIGILANTE
THE KILLING VOTE
GYEONGSANG CREATURE
But you may want to close your eyes every now and again while watching...
THE KILLING VOTE ☆☆☆
“The Killing Vote” (국민사형투표 ) reunites Park Hae-jin (“Cheese in the Trap”) and his Man to Man co-star Park Sung-woon (“Bloodhounds”). The former portrays a rules-bending police officer, while the latter tackles the role of a once-esteemed law professor who is in prison for murdering his daughter’s killer. Korean speakers will recognize immediately that the two share a history — the younger police officer refers to the prisoner as hyung or older brother. Though they’re not related, the term indicates that they have a close relationship.
Based on the webtoon of the same name, the premise revolves around a masked man who uses the pseudonym Gaetal/게탈 — which translates into dog mask — to mete out justice for those who they feel deserved stronger punishment for their crimes. Hiding his face behind a cute dog mask, Gaetal plays judge, jury and executioner, while putting the onus on the Korean public to determine each victim’s fate (by voting on their smartphones). Press yes for death or no for salvation. Simple, right? When you create a scenario that dehumanizes people, it’s not difficult to get the verdict you want, regardless of the truth. Make no mistake about it — those selected to die are horrific scum. But should the public be turned into de facto vigilantes in order to bring about justice?
You may guess the identity of the mastermind behind this heinous app, but I can guarantee that there will be other surprises. “The Killing Vote” is one of the few K-dramas with no romantic overtones. As the series’ moral compass, female lead Lim Ji-yeon (“The Glory”) is wonderful as a cyber security officer who can empathize with victims, while visualizing the bigger picture. (Prime Video)
VIGILANTE ☆☆½
This Nam Joo-hyuk (“Twenty-Five Twenty-One”) thriller is based on a webtoon of the same name. Nam plays a police academy student who by day attends school and by night (on weekends, when he’s not in class) punishes criminals got out of prison too soon. As a vigilante, he doesn’t do much to hide his face. He wears a black hoodie and is recognizable to anyone with eyes, but he’s less concerned about protecting his identity than he is in quenching his thirst for justice.
As with “The Killing Vote,” this K-drama centers on the intersection of criminals and their corrupt police counterparts — all of whom benefit from the quid pro quo exchange. Both shows also feature power-hungry female broadcast journalists who will stop at nothing to further their careers. Twist the truth? Sure. Create their own headlines? Why not? Order their bosses around without getting fired? Now hold on a minute!
“Vigilante” (비질란테) showed a lot of promise in the first three thrilling episodes. But with a clearly disturbed and morally-bankrupt anti-hero, it was difficult to root for anyone in this drama. By the end, I was left wondering, “What was the point?” (Hulu)
THE WORST OF EVIL ☆☆☆
After a series of disappointing post-military clunkers, Ji Chang-wook is back with a vengeance! The heartwarming 2022 K-drama “If You Wish Upon Me” got the ball rolling, followed by last year’s “The Worst of Evil” (최악의 악). (His latest, “Welcome to Samdal-ri,” is currently airing). Playing undercover police officer Jun-mo — who hopes that his gig will lead to a promotion — Ji is in his element as an eager cop who infiltrates a drug cartel with ties to China and Japan.
The series starts off with chaotic bloody carnage that makes it difficult to parse out the good guys from the bad. But that’s the point of this show. There are so many morally ambiguous characters doing what they think is right — or what’s right for them — that it’s easy for viewers to get swayed. One of the best scenes occurs in episode 8 when Jun-mo’s wife — also a police officer — looks on in horror as she watches her undercover husband beat rival gang members with the kind of brutality she didn’t know he was capable of.
This isn’t the kind of series with a cutesy second-lead syndrome storyline. With that said, there is a bittersweet love triangle between Jun-mo and Eui-jeong (Im Se-mi), who are married but pretending not to be — and Gi-cheul (Wi Ha-joon), who has loved Eui-jeong since childhood. He wants to be a respectable man for her, but it’s clear that he is in far too deep to pull himself out of the life he’s drowning in. (Hulu)
GYEONGSEONG CREATURE ☆☆☆
Like “Moving,” “Gyeongseong Creature” (경성크리처) meshes several genres to create an exciting and unique series. Set in Gyeongseong — what’s now called Seoul — during a time when Korea was occupied by Japan, this series isn’t exactly subtle in its depiction of who the real monsters are. Even the mythical and terrifying creature that feeds on sacrificial Koreans was created by the Japanese as a weapon to use against them.
When the Japanese police commissioner commands Tae-sang (Park Seo-joon) to find his missing concubine … or else … he unwillingly teams up with Chae-ok (Han So-hee) and her father to find the mistress. In return, he promises to help them find Chae-ok’s missing mother. What they discover is a horrific labyrinth where Koreans are systematically tortured and disposed of.
The gore in this K-drama is intense and unrelenting — so much so that it ironically begins to lose impact. But amidst all the violence are well-developed stories of families, love and patriotism — and that’s what prevents this series from being just another horror show. (Netflix)
My Most Popular SUBSTACK posts of 2023:
1) Rest In Peace, Lee Sun-kyun
2) Is That NYT Podcast About K-pop Any Good? Not Really and I’ll Tell You Why
3) My Mother’s Cooking
4) “XO, Kitty” Tackles Adoption, Diaspora & Maintaining Korean Ties. But It’s Not Any Good
5) The Rose, Lollapalooza & Rock 'n' Roll
I hope you all have an amazing and very happy 2024!
© 2024 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved
I think I’m the only person among my K-drama loving friends who hates the violent and gory stories that are so popular now. What I wouldn’t give for a show like Isis or Healer that has lots of action without zombies, demons, or gratuitous gore.
GyeongSeong Creature got better and better with each episode. I'm a sucker for K-dramas set during the Japanese occuption. Park Seo Joon is one of my favorite actors, and he delivered big time. His subtle comedy and chemistry with Han So Hee was great (loved her in My Name too). I did not expect that ending at all. I can't wait to see what comes next!