Strong Woman Do Bong-soon

The best way I can think to describe the South Korean show Strong Woman Do Bong-soon is to say it’s a surreal anime drama, except it’s live action and also it’s a soap opera and a crime thriller. Netflix—where the show is now streaming as Strong Girl Bong-soon—also lists it as a romantic, dramedy, comic-book, superhero show, so I guess you could say it runs the gamut. The plot revolves around Do Bong-soon (Park Bo-young), a meek and mild-mannered twentysomething with the power to bench press a school bus. Unmarried and unemployed, she’s first introduced with high hopes but poor prospects. This changes when the cute Ahn Min-hyuk (Park Hyung-sik), CEO of a renowned video game developer, hires her as his bodyguard. With a mysterious stalker following her boss, Do might be in over her head. Meanwhile, her policeman crush is tracking a psychotic kidnapper who terrorizes Do’s neighborhood. That’s one out of about 20 subplots that keep the show engaging, yet surprisingly easy to follow. It’s just weird enough to be fun, and normal enough to be relatable.