Gangnam B-Side

A violent gritty thriller set in the shady underworld of Gangnam where the lives of young girls have little value for anyone apart from the friends and families of these victims. The three main characters are Kang Dong-woo as Jo Woo-Jin a detective who is trying to save his estranged daughter from this world, Kim Hyeong-seo as Kang Ye-seo a violent pimp trying to save his friend and Ha Yoon-kyung playing Min Seo-Jin a prosecutor who may or not be on the side of the evil drug company boss behind it all. It is only eight episodes and is entertaining enough with good performances from the cast but in my opinion the plot is too simple and the characters behaviour and portrayal are over the top and if it had been reined in a bit it would have been more entertaining.

I think this is one of the best dramas of 2024 (if not the best). This is a hard look at really that society wants us to forget and ignore. Choosing Gangnam as the backdrop of this story was a great move, because behind the glitz and glamour that this place represents lies the dark truth at all is not well in this world. The stories of survival in this drama touches on reality , and it was really very well told, it did not hold back, whether it is painful or not, acceptable or not, the story told it as it is. Those who watched it and understood what it is all about will find it thought provoking (and painful at times). With 4 episodes down, we are really rooting for the characters to have a "saving grace ending" (to be less painful and a lot hopeful)...This is a must watch.... Great work to all those who made this masterpiece of a drama.( Special mention to Ji Chang Wook who must have had the hardest time shooting, great choice of work) Bravo!!!!!

It starts with the raid at an illegal club. The police scoop up one of their own there. When the officer is being questioned about his crime activities, he says he was just making a delivery. It was the first time he ever did anything like that, and what are they going to do, arrest /everyone?/ ❓ The whole violent crimes unit is involved in this, he says❗ GBS is a 2024 release that is rated 90 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 8 50-minute episodes.

We cut over to a party where the women aren't being respected. Jenny makes a run for it and she doesn't leave empty-handed. She has a dangerous video. Now she has a target on her back.

Jo Woo Jin (Alienoid: Return to the Future, Happiness) is detective Kang Dong U. He won't take bribes. He insists on putting perps in jail, even if their uncle is the mayor. He was involved in cleaning up the last police scandal. He got awards, but that was for show. He's been a pariah and was pushed to the side ever since that award winning heroism. His wife is a stunningly gorgeous, smart anchor woman. Ex-wife, that is. And his daughter's in psychiatric care. She's been brutally bullied and she's not coping well. We see video of her slamming her head on the table. It's heartbreaking. She's discharged from inpatient care, and as he's driving her home, she begs him to find her friend, Jaehee (Jenny), who has been missing for weeks. "I need her to live," she explains.

Ji Chang Wook is Yun Gil "Ho". Ho runs Ho's. He's a pimp! I don't know what to think of this guy. He's top tier ML, both action and romance, it's just that for every good casting choice he's also made a poor one. He's the lead in The K2-8 - one of my gateway Kdramas & a top notch action thriller, he's the romantic lead in Lovestruck in the City-7.3 - really a fabulous romance (I've had the nagging feeling, for a while, that I've underrated it, I'll have to watch it again), he's solid in the crime thriller The Worst of Evil-7.7, but Backstreet Rookie-6.4 has way too many problems and he lacks sex appeal in it, while Melting Me Softly-4.9, has a declining IQ that dipped under 70 before ep14. It has some nice moments, but overall, it's awful. So, pimp is a new look for Mr. JI, and h's killer in this role. His performance is exceptional. All the acting is exceptional. The writing in the 2nd half is what keeps this show from flying high.

Ha Yoon Kyung See (You in My 19th Life, Umbrella) is prosecutor Min Seo Jin. She grew up poor. DA, Tak, recognizes her as someone that he could use. He knows she can be bought because of her deprived background. BIBI- I pretty much fell in love with her while watching The Worst of Evil. She has unlimited potential. Here, she plays Kim Jaehee / "Jenny". Ryu Hye Young from Law School-8 & Reply 1988-8.6, is one of the cops, Seo Ji Su. R88 is 20 episodes that are around 90 minutes each. Once a person's spent that much time watching a family, one feels adopted into it. I'm thrilled to see sister Bora working and doing such a great job. Jeong Man Sik (Iris-8, Vagabond-8) is Tak Ju Il. When he's fully dressed, all I've noticed about him is his kind looking face. That doesn't mean that he can't play a tough guy, but there's something likeable about him. In The Worst of Evil, he's a gangster. There's a shot with him shirtless showing his muscularity and, in that show at least, he's covered in tats. It was impressive looking. Park Noo Ri (Money) directed and co-wrote with Jo Won Gyu (Argon).

By the end of ep2 my thought was: O-shizzle-me-fizzle, this is good! GBS has some multi-layered complex humor to it. Jo Woo Jin as the Detective and Hyun Bong Sik as Kim Jang Ho have a few scenes together. We're following a grizzled, hardened cynical cop... He went state's witness and locked lots of his buddies up. He needs help from one of them, now. His old partner is now a gangster and he actually has the gall to go ask him for help. The way they write their dialogue and the interactions is marvelous. These 2 can't help but lapse into recollecting the old times. They're on a stakeout together and the gangster starts reminiscing about what they used to eat during their past stakeouts. The acting is aspirational - it's divine. I've seen Mr. Hyun in DP-8.4, Our Blues-8.5, & The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion-7.6, just taking him for an off-the-rack bad guy. He's much more. I'll be paying closer attention from now on.

The show does get a tad outrageous, but anymore, I expect that for everything I see and hear, reality is that bad or much worse. The world makes more sense since I've adopted that view.

We have 2 male leads. The cop wants to save his daughter. The pimp wants to save Jenny. This isn't a world in which everyone gets what they want, not even all the bad guys. We get a depressing look into the seedy side of Gangham, Seoul's most affluent neighborhood. The timing and the editing are crisp. Most of the music is techno noise. The opening credit song is dystopian sounding technopop.

This show is for those who enjoy hard hitting crime and action, who won't get triggered by violence - severe violence - against women as well as men. There isn't scene in which Ho's face isn't battered and bloody, and yes, you should see all the OTHER guys - they're in the morgue.

IMHO〰🖍

📣7.3 📝6.7 🎭8.4 💓🦋🎨7 🎵/🔊6.5 🔚🤗2 ▪ 🌞2 ⚡7 😅3.3 😭6 😱6 😯3 🤢7.7 🤔5 💤0

Age + Language: R-rated w/ F💣s Scantily clad women. Drug parties that seem like they'll soon be origies. Violent, bloody knife fights. Killing hookers. Betting on fights to the death. Brutal stabbings.

Re-📺? Probably won't subject myself to this again

In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:

⚡/🚀 - Flex X Cop-8.5, Missing: The Other Side-8.3, Inspector Koo-8.4, It's Okay Not To Be Okay-9, Descendants Of The Sun-8.3, Itaewon Class-8.7, When the Camellia Blooms-8, Uncanny counter-S1-8.4;S2-4, Vagabond-8, Why Her?-8, Sisyphus 8 (give it 2 episodes, ep1 is confusing), A Taxi Driver-8.4, Beyond Evil-7.4, Blood Free-8.5, Tunnel 8.5, Iris-8, Revenge of Others-8.1, The Cursed 8.3, Flower of Evil 8.9, Awaken-8.7, A Shop for Killers-8.7, Moving-8.5, D. P.-8.4, Light Shop-8.6, The Man from Nowhere 8.9, The Wailing-8.8, Black 9, Sweet Home 8.4 Oldboy-9,

〰 Hulu Catalog 〰

A Shop for Killers-8.7 Big Mouth-7.4, Blood Free-8.5, Call It Love-8.4, Crazy Love-7.8, The First 1st Responders-7.8, Flex X Cop-8.5, The Golden Spoon-8.1, Han River Police-7.1, High School Return of a Gangster-7, The Judge from Hell-4.5 The Legend of the Blue Sea-7.2 (this show is marvelous except for taking a quality dip in eps 20-22) Light Shop-8.6, Link: Eat, Love, Kill-6.7, Maestra: Strings of Truth-6.8, Moving-8.5 Pandora: Beneath the Paradise-3.9, Parasite-9, Revenant-7.4, Revenge of Others-8.1, So I Married the Anti Fan-6.8, Uncle Samsik-8.4, What's Wrong With Secretary Kim-6.8, Why Her?-8, Wonderful World-7.8, The Worst of Evil-7.7.

The series has an intriguing premise centered around corruption, a theme that holds significant weight and relevance. However, it suffers from inconsistent execution.

The storytelling lacks fluidity, with too many characters and plotlines crammed into a short runtime, making it difficult to fully connect with any of them.

While the acting is solid and the action sequences are well-shot, the lack of depth in character development and emotional engagement weakens the overall experience. Additionally, the series fails to immerse viewers in the unique atmosphere of Gangnam; the events could have taken place in any generic location, missing an opportunity to leverage the distinct vibe and culture of the area.

It had the potential to be a gripping crime thriller but falls short due to its fragmented narrative.

Suitable for fans of fast-paced action, but not a standout drama.

Gangnam B-side is a dark story of this bustling city. The first 6 episodes of the series show the real world of power, desire and self-interest of various interest groups, and how the people at the bottom are just playthings in their playground.

The story depicts the absurdity of Gangnam's nightclub life, the drugs market, the helplessness of the call girl's life, the police and the prosecutor's choice between justice and profit.

The overall story is fast-paced, the plot flows smoothly, and the action scenes have a strong sense of reality, especially when Ji Chang-wook insists on not using a double to fight in the boxing ring. His control of the short sword is so smooth and agile that it is very impressive.