Stranger

After watching Parasite, i had this thing to watch a Korean Tv series and guess what. I'm hooked to this one. It is really amazing, fan of breaking bad, the wire, better call saul, Mindhunter, True directives and many more like that will be hooked to this. Trust it's hidden gem on internet. The cinematography, acting, screenplay everything is amazing. I'm really happy that I'm getting to know Korean culture little little from this movie and series.

First of all, I loved the background music - its gripping. It a very well written and executed how, with good story line and acting. You wont know anything until the very end, and keep doubting every character.

Its a decently paced show, and you wont find one boring moment - amidst all revelations, blame games and well, causalities! Also gives you a sneakk peak into the power game in South Korea.

Give it a try if you like suspense thrillers. You wont be disappointed!

The story and characters were absolutely amazing!!! Shi Mok Hwang and Yeo Jin Han have soon become among my favourite characters ever and I already miss them. I really hope there will be a follow up of their story. The series is a great chance to understand Korean culture and it can compete with the best series around the world. The whole plot and reconstruction is very realistic and all the cast is superb, all characters very detailed and true, it's one of the best series/movie I ever seen. It gives addiction! I look forward Shi Mok to come back to Seoul and to lieutenant Han!

The first season of this Korean drama opens with Prosecutor Hwang Shi Mok discovering the body of a murdered man. The case will see him working with policewoman Lieutenant Han Yeo Jin. They are very different characters; thanks to an operation when he was a teenager Shi Mok has reduced emotions. There is an early suspect but questions are soon raised about his guilt as evidence emerges suggesting the victim had been involved in corruption. The case draws attention to tensions between the police and the prosecution service.

The second season opens with two students drowning at a beach where the closure notices had been taken down. Those who took the notices down are quickly apprehended but they have contacts in high places and are soon released; Shi Mok is on the case. Once again he finds himself working with Han Yeo Jin as both are seconded to a group examining the relative powers of the police and prosecution service. Both sides are keen to show the other in a poor light so look into wrong doing in the other service. Tensions further mount when a prosecutor disappears; evidence suggests kidnapping or worse.

I really enjoyed this series. It doesn't waste time with needless exposition concerning the rivalry between police and prosecution; it treats the viewers as intelligent enough to pick it up as the story progresses. The cases in both seasons are interesting and the main characters are fun to watch. Cho Seung-woo does an outstanding job as Hwang Shi Mok but Bae Doona steals just about every scene she appears in, as she manages to produce laughs with the subtlest of gestures, without every becoming a comedy character. The rest of the cast are impressive too. Overall I'd certainly recommend this.

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

I have to confess that I am a k-drama addict, but that said, this is by far one of the best Korean TV dramas ever - surpassing not just the usual run of Asian dramas, but also most US TV dramas.

This show is from a new writer, her first TV script. I think it will not her last. The main star for me is Bae Doona, who I first came across in "Sense 8". The show is absent many of the far too common k-drama tropes that make so many of them seem rather silly - like dozens of totally incompetent cops, the stupid sidekick that is supposed to be funny but seldom is, and several others. A very tightly written script with almost no "WTF?" moments.