My Strange Hero is a romantic comedy about a man (Yoo Seung Ho) who is falsely accused of committing violence against another student (Kwak Dong Yeon) at school, and even his first love (Jo Bo Ah) doesn’t help him which results in him being expelled. Then as an adult, he returns to the school for revenge where she is now a teacher, but he finds himself in the middle of a complicated situation.
My Strange Hero is one of those dramas that is pretty simple in terms of story, but where it shines is with its characters and their personal journeys. It’s got a very quirky side combined with a dash of angst and a lot of heart. And that makes for a pretty great drama!
Yoo Seung Ho plays our revenge-seeking hero, Kang Bok Soo. After being unable to complete high school because of being expelled, he starts a job running errands for people. But when he gets the chance to go back to school as a student, he sees it as an opportunity for revenge. That is until old feelings for his first love start to get in the way.
Jo Bo Ah is his first love, Son Soo Jung. She’s a high school teacher with money problems. When Bok Soo turns back up as her student, her life gets even more complicated. She will have to face their past if she wants to move forward.
Then there is Kwak Dong Yeon as both our second lead and our villain, Oh Se Ho. Se Ho was the student who accused Bok Soo of committing violence against him, and he’s now a director at the school. He definitely does some bad things, but there is a lot more to him than meets the eye.
There were several great supporting characters in this drama too. My favorites were Bok Soo’s teacher Park Dong Jun (Chun Ho Jin) who he had a really entertaining and sweet relationship with as well as his close friends Kyung Hyun (Kim Dong Young) and Min Ji (Park Ah In) who he worked with.
Well, I’m a big fan of Yoo Seung Ho, so I was pretty excited to check out My Strange Hero. I’ve also been waiting to see Jo Bo Ah in another lead role since she usually plays second leads. And then there’s Kwak Dong Yeon who I also love (still impatiently waiting for him to get a lead role!) who took on a villain role this time around. Talk about a great cast!
The opening scene of Yoo Seung Ho cruising the streets on his motorcycle to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” certainly grabbed my attention and really set the tone. It was just fun! The drama starts off with a pretty off-the-wall feel to it with a comedy style that was very in your face. That tones down some as the drama progresses, but it does keep a quirky feel to it.
On the other hand, the drama had quite the dramatic side. The events surrounding Bok Soo’s past are definitely serious. Now you might think that in a drama with a revenge-seeking hero there would be a lot of revenge. Well, there’s not, lol.
Yes, Bok Soo definitely has revenge plans, but those really take a back seat to the many other issues going on which get in the way. Though there is a little bit of revenge to be found later in the drama. Instead, the drama tackles things like bullying, pressure to get good grades, and major school corruption.
I was completely enamored with high school portions of the drama. Bok Soo and Soo Jung were such entertaining characters, and I really loved seeing their romance blossom. They had such a fun rapport with humorous bickering and some very adorable moments.
The emotional beats were also very strong concerning the big incident that happened. Bok Soo, Soo Jung, and Se Ho were tangled up together in a messy way. That one incident was so charged and completely drew me in. And all three actors were completely captivating.
SPOILERS NEXT 2 PARAGRAPHS
It was difficult to see how a misunderstanding altered the course of Bok Soo’s life. Being framed by Se Ho who claimed Bok Soo pushed him off the roof when in reality he jumped, resulted in Bok Soo being expelled and never having the chance to graduate.
And poor Soo Jung was led to believe that Bok Soo had betrayed her confidence and then came in late to the roof incident and didn’t have the full story. She didn’t lie about what happened, but she was missing some important details. And she was so hurt, she never wanted to talk to Bok Soo about any of it. A tragic lack of communication!
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The concept of an adult going back to school 9 years later was also quite fun. Add to that his old girlfriend being his teacher, well, it sets up this really unique dynamic. This was certainly my kind of high school drama!
The romance between Bok Soo and Soo Jung carries over to the present quite nicely. They continue to have such fun interactions with some pretty great chemistry. This duo was just super cute together!
My Strange Hero has some really fantastic stories of growth for our characters. The first one being Bok Soo. His life was ruined because of what happened in school. So he has to come to terms with what happened and reconnect with those involved like Soo Jung and Se Ho. Plus, he has all kinds of new problems that begin to pop up. He really has a lot to go through.
And we got a couple nice sides to Yoo Seung Ho. First, he was hilarious and had his comedic chops on full display. He’s just fun all around. But there was also a dash of that angsty side with the emotion and heartbreak just pouring out of those glassy, tear-filled eyes. You know that’s my favorite kind of Yoo Seung Ho!
Then we have Soo Jung who carried the burden of what happened back in high school with her to the present day. She never had the full story, and that clouded her feelings towards Bok Soo. The poor girl suffered some confusing emotions from hurt to guilt. And she makes some questionable decisions in the present which she has to eventually face up to.
I loved that our villain Se Ho had his back story fully intertwined with Bok Soo and Soo Jung. We also learn about his problems and motivations early on. I always appreciate that so that I am able to have some sympathy towards him despite some of the shady things he does.
If they wait too long to reveal that sort of stuff, it doesn’t always allow us to build a connection with the character, and we only see the bad side. So I was relieved he had such an in depth story. That means we get a nice journey of character growth from him too.
SPOILERS NEXT 3 PARAGRAPHS
Se Ho had quite the sad story with him struggling to live up to his evil mother’s expectations as well as being socially awkward. Of course, then he falls for Soo Jung, and we get that poor pining second lead who just looks so heartbroken seeing her with another man. Plus, he’s simply jealous of Bok Soo and his life.
Thus our villain is born. He’s willing to do deceptive things to draw closer to Soo Jung. That not only messed up her and Bok Soo’s lives in high school, but it also threatens them in the present. Now he wields power and is more than willing to use it to get what he wants. But even then, he’s still a mess and unable to be happy.
It took whole a lot, but he does eventually see the error of his ways. He is fully aware that nothing he does will make up for the things he did, but he really steps up to try and right things as much as he can. Seriously, what a magnificent performance from Kwak Dong Yeon who was truly amazing in this role!
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I even enjoyed the other story lines involving corruption at the school and Bok Soo and Soo Jung helping the students with bad grades try to succeed. There were plenty of warm fuzzies to be had with the stories involving the students, and they all really grew on me throughout the drama.
So My Strange Hero turned out to be quite a fun drama. It never felt too heavy despite some of the serious topics, and it always had a very feel-good tone to it. Yet, it still delivered plenty of very emotional moments from the characters that really touched my heart. The entire cast was just fantastic and made for an all around wonderful experience.
My Rating: 8/10
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