Strong Girl Namsoon (2023)

GARBAGE ON STEROIDS!

***DISCLAIMER: These are just my thoughts on the show as a whole. We don’t have to agree and I’m not here to argue with anyone.***

AND THE AWARD FOR WORST KDRAMA OF 2023 GOES TO STRONG GIRL NAM SOON!!!!! (Except nobody is smiling, cheering or clapping and all you hear are crickets)

THIS SHOW IS SOOOOO BAD I WANT TO GIVE IT A ZERO BUT THAT’S NOT POSSIBLE SO I GIVE IT A ONE. It is the definition of unserious. Though this review may come off like I’m hating (which I kind of am) it’s mostly disappointment. I had such high hopes going into this and it just did not meet the mark AT ALL.

This show just lacked depth. The plot made no sense whatsoever and you basically have to turn off your brain to watch it. The focus shifted from Nam Soon to the mother, Geum Ju, and her heroic tendencies / saviorism, and unwavering determination to bring down Pavel and the Korean drug cartel. Even Nam Soon's grandma and her whole love affair got more attention than her. To say this drama did not live up to the hype or potential would be an understatement.

All the characters were unlikeable except for Nam Soon (earlier episodes) and Shi Oh… at least when he was around Nam Soon he didn’t treat her like a 5 year old. I sort of feel like her being childish / silly with him was healing his inner child so I was happy to see him smile and be content with her. I also liked Nam Soon's father... he was so supportive and seemed to genuinely care for his children unlike the mother who was always working / busy and could never see what was going on under the surface or spare five minutes of her time to get to know them better. Geum Ju was a horrible mother and I will not stop saying it. Her over the top emotions and tears coming out whenever her children were in danger and on the verge of death says so much. I don't even want to get into her fat phobic / insensitive comments and how that took a toll on her Nam In's mental health. While this show masked it as humor, it was in poor taste because it just was not funny at all.

It is safe to say I wasted over 2 months of my life watching this tom foolery. That’s time I will never get back. The last 2 episodes were absolute bullshit and they lost the entire plot. Tell me why Ryu Shi Oh died by suicide within 20-25 mins of episode 16, Bread Song turned out to be Nozh, Grandma was supposed to die and didn’t and Nam Soon who is such a half witted, untrained and reckless girl became a cop? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.

Ugh and don’t get me started on Hee Sik’s gold digging family, Nam Soon’s mom flaunting her wealth and the obvious lack of chemistry between Nam Soon and Hee Sik. That last kiss was an immediate no, no hate to Yoo Mi, but why did she kiss him like she was eating noodles??! Everything about that kiss seemed weird / unnatural and awkward. Anyway I know people who shipped them from the get go would have eaten it up, but it just was so cringe in my opinion.

It's the way they tried to outdo SWDBS and FAILED. Again, you seriously can't outdo the doer and this show is proof of that. The plot was lackluster / sucked big time, the acting was over the top and it seemed like they were putting on a comedy sketch (a seriously bad one) rather than a serious drama / tackling real issues. Except for Ryu Shi Oh, the characters were dull, one-dimensional, and devoid of depth. Nam Soon was even more childish at the end than at the beginning. When she received her award, she acted like an immature hyperactive toddler / a crazy person in serious need of a mental facility. Not to mention her continual lifting up of Hee Sik (bridal style) which was a major turn off. I need someone to me why she was always acting ridiculous? She seemed to always behave like a damn fool / deer in the headlights. Nam Soon doesn't appear mature enough for a relationship, let alone marriage... and when Hee Sik eventually proposed – it was so underwhelming.

I could not feel anything for the main couple or root for their happiness because there was no development whatsoever, it felt like they just forced their relationship down my throat. Nam Soon clearly had better angst / chemistry with Shi Oh and it was easier to see their potential because they had so many good moments together. Even Bread Song and the mom had more tension filled interactions – which is saying so much. The way the proposal was at the same cherry blossom tree as in SWDBS was a major eye roll moment. Also, the stupid, overbearing heartfelt moments between the Joong Gan and Jun Hee like? PLEASE SPARE ME. LITERALLY NOBODY WANTED TO SEE THAT. Even in the end, they attempted to build up the suspense and make it appear as if it would be the death of her character after she had used a lot of her power, but they still let her survive. It would have been more dramatic if she had died... and Jun Hee and her ex-husband were obliged to mourn her together.

I still can’t believe Jun Hee was just a bland/flavorless character, had no connection to the Russian mafia and didn’t turn out to be a secret bad guy. THAT WAS SUCH A MISSED OPPORTUNITY. The fact that he was just there to be Joong Gan’s sidekick and lover sent me over the edge. The amount of screen time the grandma's whole arc took up just because the writer was trying to live vicariously through her character was so annoying!

Additionally when Nam Soon and her adoptive mom both happened to nearly be killed by bombs was just so predictable. Your telling me the writers couldn’t have come up with a better plot?! Even bringing in this new guy to play adult Bin Bin at the end was strange – he had no connection to the people we previously knew and never popped up in the story before (at least not as an adult), so it was difficult for me to feel pity or anything else for him. Yes, he spared Shi Oh’s life by not betraying him / killing him as ordered and that was the only bonus. Everyone literally thought Bin Bin would have been either Bread Song or the kind man at Opulentia helping Geum Ju out with her investigation. AGAIN, ANOTHER MISSED OPPORTUNITY.

The only thing I liked about this drama was the fact that the girl vagrant took the money back from the male vagrant after he discarded her / threw her to the waste side. I have been praying on his downfall ever since he broke up with her and I’m glad to see he lost everything in the end and ended up penniless and homeless while she was free to live her best life without him. I also liked when Nam Soon's father suggested that all the single males live together. I could definitely see it because they would have started their own "weak men" empire (for lack of a better name) or something like that! Now that is something I'd watch. When Nam In said te refused to live with them out of fear of ending up like them I DIED, he was so real for that!

Needless to say I really HATED this drama and would never watch it again. I would rather kill myself or rip out my eyeballs instead. Even banging my head repeatedly on the wall would be better than rewatching this ridiculous parody. I stuck around for Shi Oh and in the end they gave him the worst possible death, no redemption arc and completely ruined his character. He had so much potential to be a better person and a changed man but the writers destroyed everything. I still refuse to believe he actually tried to kill Nam Soon and her family when he found out her identity. Though, what is enemies to lovers without both parties trying to kill each other? (iykyk) It’s even more sad when you think about the fact that he tried to help his birth father out and even bought an orphanage and turned it into a boxing gym. I won't stop saying it but – RYU SHI OH DESERVED SM BETTER THAN THE HAND HE WAS DEALT!

Anyway, I guess they just couldn’t allow him to live after he spiraled, went off the rails and took so many innocent lives. What gets me is that Geum Ju and Nam Soon believed Hwa Ja was capable and worthy of being saved but they could not extend the same right or courtesy to Shi Oh. I mean seriously? Hwa Ja even tried to murder Nam Soon at one point…. just because she was unsuccessful in her attempt does not make what she did excusable or justifiable. I don’t care what anyone else says but the fact that Nam Soon’s mom forgave her after all that and basically adopted her as a daughter was absolutely insane and I will never understand it. This show proves that Geum Ju's and Nam Soon's empathy is conditional on whether they feel pity for someone's situation or not. Ryu Shi Oh never chose this life and it's unfair because he had gone through so much as a child to just hang on / survive. Literally everything he did was just so he could finally escape / find a way out from Pavel's control. He was a victim or circumstance but the stupid characters in this show could not even see that. It's ironic because when they were starting to realize at the end it was ALREADY TOO LATE.

My favorite character was and always will be Ryu Shi Oh. They could never make me hate him! It’s unfortunate Byeon Woo Seok was not enough to save this drama and make me turn a blind eye to how horrible the overall production and acting was. If the writers had gone with an enemies to lovers plot / dark romance, this show would have been so much better. I mean – most people were watching for the villain and rooting for him instead of the ML or even Nam Soon and her family. This drama was way too childish, and it was difficult to find benefits or reasons to stay. Each episode progressively got worse, and I had to force myself to watch for the sake of completion.

I sincerely hope the writer gives up and just ends this TRAIN WRECK / TOILET FIRE IMMEDIATELY. This show does not need a part 3 or spin-off. Whatever she writes next she will ruin it even further and it would just be wise of her to stop now.

I could have lived my life without watching this drama or knowing it was a sequel to the original Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. If you are contemplating starting this because you liked SWDBS, I suggest and strongly advise you skip this drama entirely and watch some edits instead. Their five minute screen time is not worth over 18 hours of torture and misery. Please save yourself and quit while you are ahead.

If you think I'm lying / joking then watch this circus act and see for yourself.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you though.


P.S. No hate to new watchers or persons who enjoyed this drama. I'm happy for you, truly. I'm glad some people were lucky enough to be warned beforehand and able to go into this with very low expectations.

✌️

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Lower your expectations if you don't want to be disappointed.

BUT WHAT HAPPENED??? everything was going so well until episode 3, the ep cover launching feels like I'm watching a comedy that my uncles would laugh at, the story had everything to become interesting and the romance too, but it seems that the screenwriter wanted to try something new and now the story is uninteresting, boring, strange, a dubious comedy, and this HORRIBLE romance where ML seems to be fall in love with the girl in the second episode? like a drama made in 2023 with everything good, and yet the original drama crushes this poorly made work, the acting in this drama is HORRIBLE I thought that AT LEAST the acting could save this shit, but what happened to the actress? she does so many good works, all of are dead, your adults matter, her appearances are incredible, the Her productions are perfect, why did she have to put herself through that? the main character seems like a stupid and inattentive child, and on top of that the couple has no chemistry at all, i would rather have closed eyes and imagine that they never made a second drama of the original. simply despicable.

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I'm gonna be sick

The most I can say is
CRINGE CRINGE CRINGE CRINGE OMG the cringe!!
The acting is just bad. The female lead has the personally and
maturity of a 8 year old. From the moment she popped up till the last ep. The mother
and grandmother characters over the top especially the mother of the female lead. You got
a fake daughter come in and do all that and even go to the lengths to try and kill your real child and you
forgive her and want to treat her like your child. They were also full of themselves and the over
acting of both actresses is a joke and that's just sad for an actress like Kim Hae Sook. I saw no spark between
the female lead and the male lead. Nothing at all romantic. The male characters in the strong woman family
are have been written to be morons. I do have to say though that the acting of the
actor in the role of the villain was the only good thing I can say about this show besides the fact that
its over. I'd say his acting in the was the best out of all the cast. The acting from the rest of the cast was god awful!! The female lead was annoying and I have to say it again had the mentality of a I'm gonna go lower that 8 years she acted like she was 4. I guess that's how the director wanted the cast to act but
this was bad on so many levels and I don't see how he didn't have some noise cancelation headphones
while directing this mess. Having to watch this was bad enough but also having to listen to all that terrible acting was even worse. Now I guess they're planning on making another one LMAO
I hope its not going to be on Netflix. They can do better than that mess!

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Cringe at best, Insulting at worst

as a big fan for the prequel, this sequel just the WORST. i said this with all the amount of respect i could gather and it is almost nil.

The MC, cringe. the family, bad. the hero, bland.

and the one star i could give, all of it for byun woo seok. he alone carry the whole story. and I dont understand, for a character that you plan to kill at the end, why oh why, you give him THAT much depth and background.

and i know yumi is a better actor than this abomination, she could easily pull an innocent and naive character properly. but nooo, she gotta be an 8 years old the whole time. why?

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Minus.

I'm not even going to compare this to the OG, because I refuse to count this as anything remotely connected to Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. Strong Girl Namsoon is in a league of its own. One of the worst dramas I've seen.

I wanted to drop it post ep4, but damn, Ryu Shi Oh is one fine character who has me captivated; 10/10 for that role? Maybe because he was the only one with some story going for him. 0/10 for everything else happening in this show hence, I've come to a generous 1/10.

The story and acting deserves a MINUS. The amount of rubbish they've stuffed into this show is mind boggling.
Could have been a 4-6 episode mini series and called it a day, because everything else was just fillers.

Absolutely nothing worked about this show apart from the Bong-bong Min-min cameo ❤️ and Ryu Shi Oh's character because at least he had a backstory going for him.

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l'ho vista sperando un finale migliore per Ryu Si Oh

sinceramente pensavo di droppare la serie all'episodio 4, l'ho continuata solo per Ryu Si Oh, che nel bene o nel male ha portato avanti da solo la serie, farlo uscire di scena così è stata una stronzata, con il modo giusto avrebbe avuto un glow up migliore..
Nam Soon di un imbarazzo totale.. non la commento nemmeno per quanto mi abbia totalmente delusa il suo personaggio, io capisco l'infanzia lontano dalla società, vissuta in campagna con quattro persone in croce, ma non credo che il popolo mongolo sia così stupido come in qualche modo lo rappresenta lei..
la madre? che dire.. pessima.. non solo si sente superiore al resto delle persone perché ha forza e ricchezza.. (no il fatto che si "sdebiti" con chiunque tratti bene la figlia non la giustifica).
uno dei temi trattati, come il delicatissimo tema sull'obesità, fatto passare per una storiella tappa buco..
la storia d'amore della nonna mi sarebbe piaciuta un po di più se il vero villani fosse stato il fidanzato della nonna..
il poliziotto, per quanto carino possa essere l'attore, lho trovato a tratti inutile..
questa serie è un vero FLOP

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This is the 2nd worse kdrama I watched this year. Just bad. I am not comparing to Strong Woman b/c I never saw it. I literally started watching this b/c of the short youtube videos of Si-O. I love a good looking guy, villian even better (that's my jam). I actually thought the 1st three episodes were fairly good even with some of the shenanigans going on.

The reason this show is terrible is the writing. Period, point blank. A show can be an over the top comedy/fantasy/drama. That doesn't mean the writing gets to be bad and the audience has to accept the many inconsistency in the story. The plot still has to be logical and reasonably entertaining but this wasn't. There were way too many unnecessary characters and too many unnecessary subplots.

This was the worst, non-climatic ending to a villian I have ever seen!! I didn't expect Si-O to do a complete 180, that makes no sense. But to not have an epic, all out fight scene with the "hero" and the villian was just plain stupid and Namsoon being immobilized by drugs doesn't count. They litterally end the villain and then there were 40 more minutes of show left. A show that, at this point no one cared about.

The best thing about this show is Byeon Woo Seok. That's it.

11/26/23

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My completely honest review about strong girl namsoon

**DISCLAIMER** this is only my opinion, you don't have to agree !!
**TRIGGER WARNING** (body shaming, dr*gs, su*cide)

Watched it since it came out, was really excited at first, really liked the first episodes, however, it went downhill from there, it got very messy, and they has many things/issues going on at the same time, and everything was packed.

The ml & fl were very decent and lacked character, the whole character of the female lead is her being cute and innocent, and the fact that she always is in some kind of situation and she can’t do anything on her own without anyone’s help, she doesn't use her power that much, a lot of things about her did not make any sense, i'm not gonna talk about her being raised in Mongolia cause what was that?, many things about that don't make any sense.

The male lead is not appealing enough, i like the actor but they could’ve worked more on the haircut, and his overall personality, if not getting a whole new other actor, his acting was better than his other kdramas but he still lacks a lot in my opinion, some things were too easy and unrealistic, like the fact that she found her family immediately, and the fact that the male lead simply allowed her to join him on a police dr*g mission, that does not make sense at all, they literally just met, the love story lacks a lot, they didn’t confess, they don’t hangout together unless it’s work, overall maybe the worst two characters in the kdrama.

The mom, she’s so hot, her character is hot, she’s rich AND does good in the community, she’s a good person but not to evil people, i likes how she was helping a lot, without her they would've not caught the culprit, she wasn’t nice to her son but she kinda made up for it at the end.

The dad, he’s the nicest, i wish he had more screen time especially with his daughter, the fact that he raised her up but she’s always with her mom is sad.

The brother, it was so sad seeing everyone body shaming him, yes they stopped doing that at the end but at what cost, it’s the sad reality for fat people unfortunately, i liked him, he’s very sweet, and funny.

The uncle, he’s hilarious always made me laugh whenever he was on screen, would've been more fun if he actually got into a relationship with the secretary, i would’ve loved if he was on screen more often.

The grandma, I love her so much, she made me laugh a lot, with her boyfriend, and I guess she was almost the one who used her power the most , but every time she uses it, it’s funny as hell, and the fact that she sacrificed herself for her daughter and grand daughter, that scene was touching.

The dr*gs, they were always inconsistent with the information, and as a viewer there was too much information about it most of it was useless, it was confusing sometimes, and I wished they were actual scenes of the culprits getting punished, or the dr*g addicts and a bit of their stories, they needed more details on that rather than the other information about the investors.

Bread song, his character was funny, but I wish they didn’t drag his whole thing till the end, they could’ve mad his identity and plot deeper.

And finally, the best for the last, the villain Ryu shi oh, the hottest character of all the others, he had a backstory, a deep character, he was honest, he trusted namsoon, he liked her, he tried getting rid of the mafia life, yes he sold dr*gs, he used dr*gs to get stronger, he still didn’t hurt namsoon until he found out she betrayed him, he loved her, treated her nicely, smiled at her and her only, took her everywhere with him, didn’t suspect any of her weird and suspicious behavior, he took her to her house everyday and didn’t leave till she was out of his sight, he told her his secrets, told her his childhood story, he is THE STANDARD.
Only thing he wanted was freedom, I don’t care if people say it’s pretty privilege or whatsoever, he CARRIED, he was the only character that actually had story, he made me sympathize with his character. The fact that he k*lled himself is so sad, he deserved better honestly, maybe another chance, but him k*lling himself was so unfair.
And the fact that in the whole drama him and namsoon didn’t fight…. It ruined the whole thing, it would’ve been so good if they had an actual fight and we could see who’s stronger. I still have a lot to say but I think this is enough lol.

Overall 4/10.
Ryu shi oh gets a 20/10

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how is it so bad… literally

It’s both funny and sad how bad this kdrama is
unless it’s target audience was kids below 10, I don’t know how anyone could take it srs

…the absolute terrible plot that beats even the most unpopular shows, the cringe characters, the cringe backstory of every single character, the cringe dialogues…. I think its the first kdrama that made me feel absolutely nothing but rage and disgust
It gets worse when u understand russian, there was literally no reason for them to go out of their way to make this mafia thing up and speak absolute gibberish, I’m not even joking ☠️☠️☠️ even a tiny bit of effort would make it better but I guess the audience is supposed to eat it up anyway 🗿

u can just see it’s a low effort low quality piece of something no one needed in their life…. I was hoping it gets better since I had nothing else to watch anyway but now I just wish I never even knew this thing existed

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