Bulk (2024)

Gangnam B-Side: A Crime Drama Lost in Shadows and Barely Saved by Ji Chang Wook..

Gangnam B-Side is a drama filled with secrets, ambition, and unexpected alliances.. And also people whose ambitions have no morales or value for human lives.. The drama excels in creating an atmospheric narrative.. It attempts to stitch together a thriller but i dont think that worked out well.. It was more of a Crime/Action drama rather than a thriller.. The pacing didnt exactly keep me on edge even though it was a short drama.. The drama tries to create a dark intrigue but it lacks any genuine suspense.. JCW shined as always.. He outperformed everyone in the drama by a mile..

Gangnam B-Side also explores the dark world of online sex work, prostitution, and drugs.. Shedding light on the struggles and exploitation faced by the women involved.. It delves into how they are manipulated and controlled.. Both on camera and behind the scenes..

One standout moment was the intense fight scene in Ep 2.. Which was choreographed with precision and full of raw energy.. The gritty action and Ji Chang Wook’s impeccable performance made it a highlight of the series.. That scene showcased the potential the drama could have tapped into more consistently.. I also loved the short scene of Ji Chang Wook entering the arena.. It perfectly elevated the fight that followed..

The acting of the rest of the cast was decent.. But it certainly wont be getting any applause from me.. The cop's daughter was unbelievably dumb.. She made things unnecessarily complicated in the second half of the drama. Even in the end her actions led to no positive outcome..

Overall.. Gangnam B-Side has its moments.. Especially with strong performances from Ji Chang Wook and some thrilling action sequences.. However.. The lack of genuine suspense.. Predictable story arc.. And a few frustrating plot points held it back from reaching its full potential.. Its an entertaining watch.. But not without its flaws..

P.S. I am not kidding when I say JCW covered in blood is a sight to behold.. No I am not a psychopath.. It was just seriously intense..

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Realistically well made drama - The Drak Side of BEHIND CAMERA lives !

In South Korea - The Percentage of runaway kids 55.5% of adolescents run away from home between the ages of 13 and 15, and the number of runaways among elementary school students is increasing.

Before going to start about my views on this drama, I want to share some real-life events behind this drama and its core story. We have to know how much they worked hard to bring this drama to us. And the main point is that it's always a heavy challenge and risky work to blend the real-life events in a movie or drama. 
All the information and source were collected from the Naver News & Director Interview.
1) The story was based on the book Made in Gangnam by Jo Won-Gyu, and he is the screenwriter of this drama.
2) Ji Chang-wook's Yoon Gil Ho character role was inspired by the 17-year-old boy. The screenwriter met him while he was working as the call driver.
3) Ep 5-6 faced problems from some high people in SK because it was real.

Now, let's see about the drama.

I'm one of them who has been waiting for this drama day and night from the day they announced the cast; one of the main leads is Ji Chang-wook, and it was based on the real-life events from the book Made in Gangnam. I tried to read that book & tried to purchase it, but unfortunately it was not available in my region, so I have only one option: to wait for the release.

Drama Released:-

It was a perfect, realistically well-made drama. From the very first episode, drama clearly shows what is going to happen. It's not a mystery thriller for many plot twists. Characters are introduced one after one at the right time where the story needs them, and the characters depth is also good with a clearer motive. Yes, this is a complex story to deal with because we don't have one main protagonist here; everyone is fighting for their lives and trying to protect their loved ones. The story reveals equally about the main characters. Some watchers said in comments, "It was so confusing from the first." Let me give the answer to this one; we have the clear synopsis to understand the story. TBH, it wasn't that hard to understand what's going on there when the characters are running and protecting their lives. 


Main Theme and My Personal View :- 10/10

Drama really showed the dark side of club culture in South Korea and the secret lives of some celebrities behind the cameras. The originality of the drama is the dark side of celebrities and the corruption in the government officials in South Korea and lives of run away kids and club women director Park Noo-Ri succeeded to maintain the same originality from the first to last episode with continuous thrilling, chasing and heartbroken moments and keeping story engaging with action scenes & lil bit non rom aspect. I really appreciate how the director & writer presented the core story of the drama aspects: drugs, violence, runway kids lives, celebrities & Idols drak side lives.

According to an official website, the runway kids percentage is "55.5% of adolescents run away from home between the ages of 13 and 15,"  and the number of runaways among elementary school students is increasing. This is one of the major issues that South Korea is facing. The director and writer tried to show us something or a small part of that runaway lives - like how they're living, how the behind camera society using them. But some people who watched this drama are saying it's a bad drama, bad acting, and everything is bad! I don't understand why you're not ready to receive a drama that contains or deals with contemporary issues. I'm not saying everyone must like this drama; everyone has their preferences, but this is the serious problem: when some of the viewers don't like it, they start behaving like real critics or something, giving negative comments. Appreciate something before you're going to criticize something; that's the basic point of the critic, if you want.

Cinematography - Sound Track: 9/10
Cinematography is great, with the lighting and coloring bringing the originality of every place of filming location. An appreciation to the cinematography and lighting crew. Sound composer: Hwang Sang Jun is one of the top music composers in South Korea; he has given another adrenaline soundtrack; the opening theme is one of the best in kdrama; his tracks in this drama are wonderful; they played a crucial role in presenting any scene as a good one with perfect music.

Acting :- 10/10
Ji Chang-wook is the face card of Gangnam B Side. His acting is versatile; within the 1 year span, he acted in 5 different character roles; not everyone can do it easily like he did. His acting as Yoon Gil Ho is powerful and dominating screen presence. He completely changed his makeover for this role; that's a really awesome and badass look. The Cage action is really one of the best experiences in kdrama. His emotional acting is so deeply moving and great that everyone watching must feel his emotions. In the era where the main actors are doing the central roles of dramas, Ji Chang-wook is really taking challenges, moving from the main protagonist to one of the main protagonists in his prime. As a fan of him, I'm very proud of him and his challenges, like not going to the same cliche, same troop dramas. I want my actor to do challenges, so please be within limits while judging his script choices. If you are not interested, please move on and don't make fuss over his choices and challenges here or anywhere in the name of a kdrama lover. The OG kdrama fans always like K-actors, whatever they choose to act. Sorry, I took a long time here.

Jo Woo-Jin's role is equal to JCW ones; these two acted previously in a movie but in opposite roles, but here we can experience a slight bromance between them. Jo Woo-Jin is acting also powerfully as a detective and emotionally as a father. One of the versatile actors we have in kdrama.

Female actors Bibi and Ha Yoo-Kyung performances are notable; at some point Han Yoo-Kyung's prosecutor role gets annoyed, but we can't do anything to watch. I love Ha Yoo-Kyung and her makeover as a prosecutor; she definitely will become one of the best actresses in the coming days. Bibi, this is her 3rd work; she acted very well and brought life to the Jae Hee role.

The supporting cast gave their best to make drama more intense to watch. Special appreciation to the actor Jung Ga-Ram; his acting as idol Noh Jun-seo is really something I felt to get angry after a long time. Whenever the antagonist made the viewer angry with his acting, he did justice to his role. His crazy smile and psychotic scenes are the best example that he's the potential upcoming actor. I wish he'd get more chances.

Last Talk:- 
Sorry, I wrote it very long. But I expressed what I experienced from the drama. As previously said, I'm a fan of Ji Chang-wook; I always watch' his works with an open mind like every kdrama fan does. So, don't color me with bias here just because our preferences and standards don't meet. Just watch every drama with open eyes and enjoy it. As for Gangnam B Side, it's your time-worthy and single-seat drama with perfect binge watchable for everyone without genre-biased fans.

While some scenes are violent, just skip them if anyone doesn't like them. But reading every comment makes you confused about whether to watch it or not. Remember this typical drama so rare to produce So, just go watch and enjoy experiencing it yourself.
 
about ending you have to experience it yourself :)

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