The Story of Kang-goo (2014) 강구 이야기
Directed by Hong Sung-chang, starring Lee Dong-wook as Kim Kyung-tae, Park Joo-mi as Yang Moon-sook and Shin Dong-woo as Lee Kang-goo.
Watched 16 October 2025 — 2 episodes (KOCOWA)
*I hadn't decided on what series to watch next after having finished School 2017, so opted for something in-between. This Korean drama special of only 2 episodes fit the bill and it felt like watching a movie. It has good reviews online and one blogger I follow hails this as a masterpiece, which is highly exaggerated in my opinion.
*The story of gangster Kyung-tae returning to his dead best friend's hometown and then taking care of the friend's sister Moon-sook (ill with diabetes) and nephew Kang-goo seemed like a heartwarming premise but it left me indifferent.
*Kyung-tae is probably the most soft-hearted gangster to come across in a Korean drama. I liked that there was hardly any violence. The best scene of this drama is probably the fight scene. It wasn't a scene of blood and gore but it was stylised and beautifully choreographed while classical music was playing. (This is the first Korean drama to be filmed in 3D. Wonder what the fight scene would have looked like in 3D.)
*Classical music and Chopin play an important part in this drama. Kyung-tae plays the piano which contrasts his gangster lifestyle. I loved hearing piano music throughout the drama, but there was also a cheesy song playing with the piggyback ride scene. I later found out it's the Roy Orbison song A Love So Beautiful. Well, I don't like it very much, yet the visual of the piggyback ride is beautiful.
*I enjoyed seeing Lee Dong-wook for the first time and liked his soft smile. But the scene where he attacks the doctor after the funeral wasn't very good, acting-wise. I didn't like the female lead, Park Joo-mi as Yang Moon-sook, very much. Her character is kind of boring, it's not much of a role. I also didn't find the romance that special and it felt a bit rushed.
*I love the seaside setting and the beautiful cinematography.
*I never got emotional or cried, and I was impatient for this drama to end. The actual ending with Kyung-tae sitting at the piano (a present from Moon-sook) and his imaginary dead friends, smiling and standing beside him, was cheesy. The revelation at the end that Moon-sook already loved Kyung-tae long before he loved her, was supposed to be poignant but it didn't really move me.
*Maybe this needs a rewatch when I'm more in the mood?