My Name

As this series opens school girl Yoon Ji-woo is hassled by the police and bullied by schoolmates because her estranged father is working in a major drug dealing operation. On her birthday he returns home but is gunned down in front of her by an unidentifiably assassin. Determined to find and kill the man responsible she approaches the only person who might help; her father's associate, crime boss Choi Moo-jin. He takes her in and she trains in martial arts in the gang's training school; here she does well but makes an enemy of a fellow student. Choi Moo-jin has her declared dead then, under a new name, she enters the police as a spy. He gives her a clue to the identity of the killer; a discarded police issue pistol. As the years progress she advances and ultimately gets assigned to the drug squad. This gets her closer to the suspected killer; it also puts her in the investigation into Choi Moo-jin's activities and face to face with somebody who might expose her true identity.

I really enjoyed this South Korean series. The plot and general feel were more movie like than televisual... perhaps this is because key plot elements reminded me of the Hong Kong 'Infernal Affairs' trilogy. The story delivers plenty of impressive, sometimes bone-crunching, action as well as twists and turns to keep the viewer guessing as to the identity of the killer. Our protagonist gets into many scrapes and there is a real sense of danger; she certainly isn't immune to injury. The cast does a really fine job; especially Han So-hee who excels as Ji-woo. She manages to make scenes of a diminutive woman defeating several men believable. I liked the fact that the series is morally ambiguous; most viewers will be highly sympathetic to Ji-woo even though she is part of a criminal gang; even her boss is sympathetic to a degree... of course it helps that we are invited to suspect certain members of the police and there is a more unpleasant gangster to treat as a main villain. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of the genre; it is top notch.

These comments are based on watching the series in Korean with English subtitles.

First off the plot: it is well written and grabs you instantly. I watched it in one sitting and it never dragged or got boring.

The story was smart and the conflict was interesting. Sure there are many stories that follow that gimmick of revenge with a criminal organization involved and betrayal, but this has something special to it.

The stunts were amazing and the fight scenes on point.

I got invested in all major characters instantly.

In the end I got what I expected: An edge-of-your-seat revenge story with twists and turns and emotional weight.

Seriously, the directors and writers of that awful mess, Nobody, should have watched this little gem of a series for inspiration. Great action scenes. Great character development. A non-Hollywood ending!

The leads are all terrific and if ever a female action heroine deserves accolades for both her acting and action, it's, So-hee Han She was amazing.

A really great gangster action flick.

Don't miss it!

8/10 after Squid Game, best Korean series on Netflix, Thrilling series, exciting and lots of action. Interesting and good storyline, good plot and good acting.

Korean cinema does better action, crime than many industries. It should be a common knowledge by now. Even some of their bad ones have great action choreography and set pieces. With popularity of Squid Game and Parasite winning an Oscar, I would've thought lot more people would be interested in their content like k-pop and kdrama has huge following. Sadly this one isn't getting as many views as it deserves.

It's a well acted, well written and directed thriller that is shaded because Netflix isn't promoting it enough and people are still not over the whole drama over who will watch with subtitles.

The action is brutal, with sprinkles of gore. It's well shot and edited. Some of the stunts are novel and the lead actress can M O V E. Best thing about this season (and I doubt there will be another) is that there aren't many padding or fillers. Some flashbacks, forgivable cliches and plotholes aside the writing really works. There are enough twists and turns. The bad guys have motivation that make sense and not just pure evil.

Special mention to the original soundtrack and background score. Couple of them are cardio worthy. Another special mention to the action choreography which is done in a way that feels like a sub-practical fight and not clean martial arts.

Spread the word, recommend it to your friends. Watch it in original language with subs, because the dubbing is ....well everyone knows how Netflix rubbings are.