My Name: The Ideal One-Woman Army Vengeance Story

The Best South Korean Revenge Drama

My Name 2021 (Netflix)

The South Korean drama productions are no strangers to international success, and as the world went literally crazy over the international blockbuster Netflix series ''Squid Game'', the revenge/drama series ''My Name'' caught my attention upon first glance. There hasn't been a super buzz and rambling about ''My Name'' as there has been with ''Squid Game'', but I still was intrigued by the immaculate cast members and initial storyline. 

The story is basically about Yoon Ji-woo who loses her father in a shocking way when he is killed right in front of her apartment by an anonymous, unidentifiable figure. Her father is shot a couple of times and dies in her hands. She starts her revenge journey immediately asking her father's friend Choi Mu-jin – who is the leader of a massive gang – to avenge his friend's death and find the unidentifiable killer. But instead of that he helps her to avenge her father herself by training her and swapping her identity with a new one so she could join the police force to find the killer herself since he's ''apparently'' a policeman whose gun was proved to be used to terminate Yoon Ji-woo's father.

Han So-hee as Yoon Ji-woo

Park Hee-soon as Choi Mu-jin

 

This series is the perfect formula of intriguing storyline, unexpected plot twists and super dedicated cast members. There isn't a single dull episode and no irrelevant, time-filling scenes. The first of episodes where Yoon Ji-woo is being bullied in school because her father is rumored to be a member of the grand Dongcheon gang, sets the pace for audience members to get a glimpse of the protagonist's resilience and endurance. After that when she moves to the gang's clubhouse, she has to deal with horrid situations where she's being harassed, molested and nearly raped by two members of the group. But she fights back and refuses to leave even when Tae-ju – Lee Hak-joo – truly advises her to bail out because neither she nor her father belong to the criminal world.

Choi Mu-jin, the head of the gang, personally trains Yoon Ji-woo

When she joins the police force – the drug control unit - she becomes detective Oh Hye-jin and finds out that the gun that killed her father belongs to a dead police officer who died years before her father's death! The circle of revelations leads to an unexpected plot twist where it all starts and ends with Choi Mu-jin.

The dynamic of this series is fast and convincing, and the plotline is the optimal revenge journey. I genuinely like the fact that the producers, for a change, made this series a one-woman army where detective Oh Hye-jin is seeking revenge on her own ending up face-to-face with Choi Mu-jin and all of his gang. She had to go through it all to finally get to her goal.

Detective Oh Hye-jin

Han So-hee and Park Hee-soon have undoubtedly perfected their roles, owned their characters, and made them that much more believable and moving that you'll automatically be attached to them and deeply invested in their feelings and struggles. Han So-hee mastered her character's journey from a physically-weak and torn-apart schoolgirl to the relentless and formidable police detective. And of course Park Hee-soon is the star of the show. He's the dreadful gang leader who likes to personally kill traitors and punish the disobedient. He brought both the charisma and heart to a gangster whose life has always been only blood, gore and violence.

South Korean Actress Han So-hee

South Korean Actor Park Hee-soon

Actually each cast member did a fantastic, incomparable job bringing their characters to life. In the last episode, Choi Mu-jin whispers to himself that he's always the one to be betrayed even though he has never betrayed anyone. The thing is without noticing he got way too emotionally connected to Yoon Ji-woo – his friend's daughter – that he lost sight of the fire burning within her; he wanted her to become attached to him the same way he's to her and turn into that unwavering follower that Tae-ju is. Jung Tae-ju - Lee Hak-joo – is the loyal, unshakable follower of Choi Mu-jin; he unquestionably believes in his leader and would never betray him even if he wanted! That's why his death takes place in episode 7 alluding to the reality that his fall is the final step towards ending Choi Mu-jin and Dongcheon for good. Lee Hak-joo did a superb job portraying Tae-ju as this calm, subtle, devoted, undeviating and constant companion of Choi Mu-jin. He defended his leader to his very last breath.

Lee Hak-joo as Jung Tae-ju

What makes this series even better are the high-intensity action scenes that are very thrilling and exhilarative. Han So-hee mastered her action scenes and nearly all of the fantastic and mind-blowing action sequences in the series include her. The action sequence in episode 7 between Ji-woo and Tae-ju is one of the best. It shows how she's evolved over the years and became this fearless fighter who can defeat even the most skilled, right-hand man of Choi Mu-jin. But Tae-ju tells her ''Do you think you've seen the real Choi Mu-jin, you haven't.'' She's yet to see the real gang leader! Another breathtaking action sequence is in the last episode whilst Ji-woo is fighting with Pil-do; they were handcuffed to each other and made it work despite the number of men attacking them.

Ji-woo and Pil-do

I can’t say enough good things about this series, because it's just the optimal formula of action and emotions without any exaggeration. Each cast member marveled in their parts. The head of the drug control unit Cha Gi-ho – Kim Sang-ho – went through loads and loads of obstacles to avenge the death of one of the most dedicated and hardworking officers. Jeon Pil-do – Ahn Bo-hyun – is the charismatic, straightforward young detective who is adamant on ending Choi Mu-jin and his gang. And of course Do Gang-jae – Chang Ryul – is the lunatic, uncontrollable freak who desperately wants to reach ultimate power and kill Choi Mu-jin.

My Name Cast Members

Yoon Ji-woo tells Choi Mu-jin at the finale: "I understand now. The price of revenge is to become a monster, a monster like you''. And she indeed erupted into an unstoppable monster to end an entire gang on her own. 

My Name 2021