[Drama Review] The K2 (2016, tvN)

KMazing – Romantic comedy or melancholy type of drama is one of the most frequent type of Drama in South Korea. Lately the trend transcended to fantasy type and bromance relationship as the intrigue point to attract viewer. Political and action is one of the rare genre that K-Drama touch, maybe due to the budget limitation and the lack of attention from the public. Anyway, enough with the chit chat, today we are going to review one of the best *in our perspective* action pack Korean television series, The K2.

The K2 is a South Korean drama series that aired on tvN for 16 episodes from September 23rd 2016 until November 12th 2016. The filming was taking place in two countrie, South Korea and Barcelona, Spain, this drama series is a proper combination of action, romance, and politics. Ji Chang-Wook, as its main protagonist, is known to have filmed all of the dangerous action scenes without a body double – landing him the predicate of the tvN’s highest paid actor. Check out the trailer here before continue to read the review till over.

The Plot

Kim Je-ha, also known as K2 in the series, used to work in PMC Blackstone as a mercenary soldier. However the leader of current-ruling party as well as one of the presidential candidates, Park Kwan Soo, ordered his aide to murder Je-ha’s then girlfriend while they were in Iraq. The death of his girlfriend puts him in a difficult situation as he is framed and mistaken as the one behind the murder – Je-ha manages to escape and return to South Korea as a fugitive. Shortly by chance, Choi-Yoojin of JSS Security who is also known to be the wife of one of the presidential candidates (Jang Se-joon) comes across him and offers him a job of being a bodyguard for the illegitimate daughter of her husband, Go An-Na.

Go An-Na herself has long been living away from the spotlight and has grown to be a recluse. Being lonely all her life, it does not take long for her to get close to her bodyguards, one of them is Je-ha, who shows his deep concern for An-Na. Slowly but surely, both Je-ha and An-Na fall in love with each other which in turns, deeply troubles Je-ha as the sole purpose of his decision to accept the job offer was to avenge the death of his past girlfriend. He is torn between fulfilling his oath to work with his own ally to take down Park Kwan Soo, and fulfilling his duties to protect the new love of his life – Go An-na whose life is already in danger.

The Cast

Ji Chang-wook as Kim Je-ha or K2, whereas Coi Seun-hoon as the young Kim Je-ha. Je-ha is the main protagonist in the series.
Im Yoon-ah as Go An-na whereas Lee Yoo-joo as the young Go An-na, the illegitimate daughter of Jo Sung-ha whose life is in danger due to her step mother’s ambition.
Song Yoon-ah as Choi Yoo-jin, the series’ main antagonist. She may be the wive of a presidential candidate, but she’s proven to be more ambitious and merciless because she will do anything to get what she wants.
Jo Sung-ha as Jang Se-Joon, the father of An-Na and also one of the presidential candidates.

Reception

Although The K2 is known to have received quite favorable reviews, it cannot be denied that when it comes to ratings, The K2 is quite fluctuated throughout its 16 episode broadcast. Starting at 3.257% in the beginning on the 23rd of September 2016, it reaped the highest rating of 8.489% on the 8th of October 2016, and unlike other drama series that gets even higher ratings leading up to the finale, The K2 didn’t – its finale was only rated 6.537%.

Our Final Statement

The K2 has a great plot and a plethora of action scenes that are beyond impressive – something that many drama lacks. While the politics scheme can be dull for some people, the main issue of this drama is actually not that. It’s the fact that many of the characters are underdeveloped which makes the entire series feel empty. While Im Yoon-ah’s character and acting are rather flat, the same cannot be said for Ji Chang Wook and Song Yoon-ah who are the true stars of this drama. Wook’s acting and action scenes are exceptional, while the antagonist Yoon-ah, has successfully brought out the intensity and complexity of her character. If you’re into a rather serious watch, The K2 is a good watch.