Bad Guy - Nappeun Namja - 2010 SBS Korean Drama

This is the latest and newest drama series from Korean actor Mr. Kim Nam Gil, who become the most sought after actor after his brilliant performance as Bi Dam in The Great Queen Seon Deok drama series. This is the first time he played as the main character in a drama. So, here we go :

Bad Guy, directed by Mr. Lee Hyung Min, SBS Production, 17 episodes. Screenplay : Kim Jae Eun, Kim Seong Hee, and Lee Do Yeong

1. Kim Nam Gil as Shim Gun Wook
He is the main character here. Shim Gun Wook is a well educated, sexy, ambitious, very manipulative, and got a hidden revenge to the large corporation - the Haeshin Group. He does not suddenly hate them, there is always a background about it. And usually, Korean drama used a childhood background as a motive.

Twenty years ago Shim Gun Wook or Choi Tae Sung (His childhood name) had forcibly taken to the Hong (the Haeshin) family, they said he was Hong Tae Sung, President Hong's secret son from another woman. So, his adoptive parent had to surrender him to the Hongs with broken hearts. Little Choi Tae Sung or now Hong Tae Sung becomes a little prince in that family, they seemed really love him and wanted him. But one day, a DNA report came out that apparently, he's not the real son of President Hong. It made President Hong in rage and threw him out from their house in the middle of a heavy rain. They called his adoptive parent to pick him up. Unfortunately, his adoptive parent died in a traffic accident making him an orphan instantly. And this made him "mad" and set up a plan to take over the Haeshin group using his skills and charisma.

Choi Tae Sung had been adopted by an American family and brought to the States. Twenty years later, he comes back to Korea under the name of Shim Gun Wook and starts to get the Haeshin into his trap. First, the Haeshin's little princess, Hong Mo Ne, then goes to Hong Tae Ra, becomes Hong Tae sung's personal assistant, gets President Hong's trust and finally he (by accident) makes Hong Tae Kyun the Haeshin's eldest son, died in a car accident. Sound creepy, right?

One day, he finds out that his adoptive parent were killed under Mrs. Shin's order and not just an accident, so he plans to ensnare her and finally Mrs. Shin goes to the prison. Finish? not yet, Mrs. Shin opens a secret that he is actually the REAL Hong Tae Sung, and she said : "How do you feel after you've destroyed your own family, your father and brother? I won after all." It breaks him, shattered in pieces and decides to kill himself.

Kim Nam Gil acts as good as usual, not as spectacular as his Bi Dam's character but he's so intense and impressive here.

2. Han Ga In as Moon Jae In
A smart and beautiful woman. An art curator at the DiDin Art Gallery within the Haeshin Group company. But she is not the usual Korean drama-woman-main-character like, she is a gold digger. She pursues Hong Tae Sung after she had knowledge that he is the second son of Haeshin. She desperately want to be a rich family daughter in law. But she meets Shim Gun Wook and this makes her confuse between happiness and wealth.

In the end she realizes what's best for her, but it's too late.

3. Kim Jae Wook as Hong Tae Sung
He brought to the Hong family as the "real" Hong Tae Sung. Raised in a wealthy family and had everything he want. He changes woman like he changes for clothes, living in careless way, and irresponsible man.

But actually, what Hong Tae Sung wants is his family's attention, they spoiled him with everything but love. He just want his mommy's love and he seeks the love from Choi Sun Young, the only woman that he loves. Until, he finds out about her tragic death and makes him down once again. Finally he finds the love from Moon Jae In and he has to compete with Shim Gun Wook to win over Moon Jae In's heart.

4. Oh Yeon Soo as Hong Tae Ra

She is the eldest daughter of the Hong family, a perfectionist, a high-class married woman, with famous prosecutor hubby and beautiful daughter in tow. And she meets Shim Gun Wook, who turns her world upside down and makes her decide to leave her husband. Never realizes that this is also Shim Gun Wook's plot of revenge.

5. Jung So Min as Hong Mo Ne

The youngest princess in the family. Spoiled of course, gets everything she wants. She is fascinated by Shim Gun Wook when she met him on her yacht. Yes, her private yacht. She's already enganged at that point with other chaebol's son, but her attraction to Gun Wook makes her ditches her fiancee. In the end, she's the one who shot Gun Wook.

Additional Casts :

1. Jun Gook Hwan as President Hong
Typical Korean daddy and leader of a chaebol group. He loved Choi Tae Sung or Hong Tae Sung so much and that love turned to anger when he thought that he'd been deceived. So, President Hong threw the boy in the middle of heavy rain outside their house and left a scar (seen and unseen) within the boy's heart. Actually, he's deceived by his own wife.

2. Kim Hye Ok as Mrs. Shin or President Hong's wife
She is the real villain here. But she did that because she was angry and jealous. She switched the DNA report of the two Hong Tae Sung, she decided to raise the fake Hong Tae Sung because she could not stand to live with her husband's secret son from other woman. A simple reason to make a child's world turn upside down.

For the first five episodes, this drama will present you the background set up of Gun Wook’s life, we see that after the Hong’s kick him out for being the “wrong” Tae Sung, his adoptive parent die in a car accident caused by the rain + a dog that ran into the road. That was bad, but still not enough to be the reason of the whole drama-plot-revenge

And you will see the mastermind Shim Gun Wook with his wall of plan to ruin the Haeshin Group. He put all his efforts, his money, his time, his hatred, and eventually his life to get all information about Haeshin in that wall. And he finally get closer and closer to the family.

Gun Wook wants to emotionally screw with Mo Ne so that it irritates Tae Ra and he wants to emotionally screw Tae Ra by unnerving an otherwise steady, level-headed woman who is married and has a daughter. And then he’ll go in for the kill with Tae-sung by becoming his personal assistant.

I think the motive to revenge is too weak. I mean, ok, all you have were gone and they who made you like this were still live happily and peacefully, but I still don't get it, does he has to do the revenge like that? Tae Sung is not guilty, why Gun Wook has to kill him. If he wants to destroy then destroys Mrs. Shin, but Shim Gun Wook seems to miss this. Strange.

And Moon Jae In gets caught in the middle of everything because she is a worker in the Haeshin group.

This drama ended at August 5, leaving emptiness. Shim Gun Wook finally succeeds to send Mrs. Shin to the prison but shocks after she said that he IS the real Hong Tae Sung. The confession makes him sorry and regrets to what he did to the family. This delivers a huge blow to Shim Gun Wook that he almost shoots his head but Moon Jae In steps in and finally pacifies him. It works, they shares a kiss. Mo Ne sees the scene without being seen.

After Moon Jae In left the apartment, Mo Ne lets herself in and picks Gun Wook's gun. She has not heard the truth yet, that Shim Gun Wook is her real brother-Hong Tae Sung. Filled with anger and jealousy, Mo Ne fires the gun. And leave the premise.

Gun Wook is still alive at that time, but he's been shot and he does not seek for help. Instead, he's staggering to his feet and leaves his apartment after he hides the gun. And the camera faded, until the body is found near the water, and that's Shim Gun Wook's dead body!

Nobody recognize him, just a piece of police announcement of a dead body, a male age between 20 to 30 years old, with back scar, and height 180 cm.

While Moon Jae In is wandering around and wonders : Gun Wook, where are you? Is the world you're looking at happy now?

What about the Hongs? Well, Mrs. Shin is let out and still has her position in Haeshin, she looks pleased for her daughter, Hong Tae Ra who takes over Haeshin. Hong Tae Sung is traveling somewhere alone. And Hong Mo Ne, she enjoys spa, shopping, and yoga. Don't know if she ever thinks about Shim Gun Wook again.

I have to admit I was over exciting after fell for Bi Dam character in Queen Seon Deok series, and now Kim Nam Gil has his first leading role in a drama, so I really anticipate it. Is this drama bad? Well, depend on how you look into it.

If we talk about the casts, the cinematography, the scenery, the music score, this is a great drama. But if you look at the plot and script, I have to give up. First, I can not understand the reason behind all his revenge plans, and second I feel emptiness after watching the 17 episodes.

Actrees Oh Yeon So said in one of her interview : "It's an unfriendly drama, so I didn't expect high rating to begin with", Oh says. "A lot of viewers want dramas that are easy to follow, something you can easily understand even if you come back after a toilet break or getting a drink from the kitchen. But with "Bad Man" (or Bad Guy) you have to concentrate for the entire one hour. I shot it thinking that I want it to linger in the memory of viewers, rather than with an eye on high ratings".

Well Miss, I don't mind of unfriendly drama or hard to digest drama, or difficult drama at all. But I prefer a reasonable drama more. I am okay with sad ending too, but not the ridiculous sad ending. Excuse me, but why Shim Gun Wook did not seek for help after being shot for instance. If the reason was to protect Mo Ne and guilt feeling, well, he may tell the police that it's just an accident and not process it any longer with Mo Ne.

Actually, I have my own ending for the last scene of Bad Guy, but it doesn't mean it's better than the real script. It's just my fan-reaction-side.

First, after Shim Gun Wook had been shot by Hong Mo Ne, he calls for help and decides to tell the police that it was just an accident, case closed. He will go back to the States because he can not face the Hong family anymore. He decides to help the Haeshin group from a far. If he could destroy the Haeshin from a far, he should be able to help from a far too, he has the money (I believe he's a rich guy too, just look at his apartment), has the skill, the network to support him and has the brain. He will ended with Moon Jae In or not it's not important.

I think everybody deserves a second chance. If the Hongs have their second chances, why not Shim Gun Wook? Just don't make him ends up with suicide thought in his mind.

Second, if it decides to be sad ending and Shim Gun Wook really has to die. It would be better if not Hong Mo Ne who fires the gun. It has to be his partner-of-crime (Shim Gun Wook has a partner who had a bitter experience too with the Hongs). So, after Moon Jae In left his apartment, the guy arrives and confronts Gun Wook. He'd like to continue their plans but Gun Wook resigns, now they're his family, so Gun Wook offers to stop all their plans and will take the responsibility himself, he will pay all the guy's lost. If he needs money, Gun Wook will give it to him. But the guy refuses and mad, grabs the gun and shot him. Gun Wook falls to the floor. The guy left him bleeding.

Mo Ne arrives just in time to catch the conversation and realize that Shim Gun Wook is her real sibling. But she enters after the guy leaves, for the safety's sake. Gun Wook lost a lot of blood and near death but he still has the time to say sorry to Mo Ne and asks her forgiveness and hears she calls him "Oppa" or brother once again for the last time and die in Mo Ne's embrace. How about that, scriptwriters?