Good Boy

The Sun that shines through the Darkness (SPOILER FREE)

GET IN THE RING

Remember, the day when everyone burned with passion !

Don’t be swayed by the bad reviews, some people don’t know nuance and think things are either black or white !

This kdrama means so much to me, Yoon Dung-Ju, the main character, means so much to me.

It started really strong, had some REALLY GOOD highs, some little lows, but overall, it’s a show that i find to be really REFRESHING.


Plot :

The plot could have been better, it’s not the most extraordinary, but it’s not the sloppy thing that some people will try to make you think it is.

To me, the thing that really made this plot and this story move forward was the ANTAGONIST.

The writers of good boy gave us Min Ju Yeong and they delivered ! Some people found it problematic that the show was centered around one villain, but to me, the delivery was really well done. Even though he was the only one MAIN antagonist, he had many tricks up his sleeve so the story went along with it and he made our main crew suffer quite a bit.

Repetitive ? Yes. Bad ? Not necessarily so. That’s what some people ought to learn to differentiate.

The show also kept us from being more emotionally attached to certain secondary characters by cutting the amount of screen time some scenes should have had. It moved on too quickly from scenes and things that were really poignant and GOOD for character developments.

Characters :

- Yoon Dong Ju : He is the sun of the group, a former professional boxer. I already made this comparison in the comments many times but, he really reminds me of Monkey D Luffy from One Piece. Simply put, Dong-Ju is a strong willed individual that does not hesitate to charge without thinking in order to protect his friends, family AND also to bring down Villains. Dong-Ju had a really sad childhood but pushes through with a smile, even if it means destroying himself in the process, he is THE GOOD BOY of the show. Some would say that he does not think at all throughout the show, but that’s not true. He evolves, learn to deal with the consequences and change at his own pace, with nuance. He Still is the same person at his core but is much more level headed. Park Bo Gum really made a STRONG impression with this role, he nailed it completely.

- Ji Hana : This one is a little special. Kim So Hyun’s performance was not really outstanding, but not BAD. I think it’s one of her best role but she still had a tough time delivering good emotional moments with the character. The character also has its own problems and trauma and i think that, to an extent, she (KSH) did a good job depicting them. I like the character but it does not move me in any way. The character is a badass, despite its flaws.


Lee Sang-Yi’s character : One of my favorite. At first, i didn’t like him at all, but i really loved his character development. I grew fond of him and became eager to see him and dong-ju interact with each other, cultivating their rivalry/friendship. The writers did a good job with this character.


Man-Sik’s character : The clown of the group, and it’s not an insult. He made me laugh so HARD, multiple times. He was like their dad, his relationship with dong-ju moved me.


Tae Won-Sok : Not much to say about his character as an individual : He was sweet, the big brother of the group.

As a whole : Their Dynamic was off the charts. Doesn’t matter which characters are exchanging words, they nailed it completely ! The group as whole is a FOUND FAMILY and I will miss them very much.


Others :

- Action Scenes : The choregraphy for each AS was really good ! I am a boxer myself so i was looking forward to see if they were gonna deliver, especially with Dong-ju : they did. You can feel each and every IMPACT from the hits.

- Cinematography : One of the highs of this kdrama. Everything is really well filmed and put together.

- The Balance between romance / comedy / action is well done too. Honestly, this show could have done without the romance, it wasn’t necessary BUT it was a good addition nonetheless because it gave us sweet and badass moments.

- The Music : 10/10, i won’t say more.

Again, the show has its flaws, it CAN be boring sometimes, but it’s like a bowl of fresh air. The character dynamics, the villain, the stakes, it’s overall a really enjoyable show.

It Also has multiple good quotes, especially from dong-ju.


This Show has a special place in my heart.

a well deserved 8.5 / 10 for me.

you should definitely give it a go.

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A shonen manga-esque action drama to chill with

This was good TV. Good comedy, great action, memorable characters, turn off one's mind and chill. A nondescript corrupted customs officer being a cartel boss was the most genius concept. The villains were definitely the most prominent characters even if following archtypes, larger than life. Overall this drama was carried by great acting from all, with Oh Jung-se being like a maestro.

MVP: Gwang-se.
He is too, too super cute and funny. The scene where Mama's phone call saves him and the actor's joke about Mama's blessing was the best. The way he said "Spasibo Mama" too XD. Second MVP is definitely Geum-nam, who does more work than the entire Korean Police force. Man-sik was overloaded with comedy😂. Leo is yet another element of comedy, even his last words had a comic element, albeit sentimental.

Ever since I read a certain comment it is stuck in my mind- this kdrama reminds me a lot of the manga Boku no Hero Academia(I really wish this had been more like One Piece instead). [edit: scriptwriter confirmed he did it in the style of shonen manga/manhwa!] The number of blatant plot devices and the amount of suffering- it seems to cross the invisible line in fiction for how far things are supposed to go with violence, which got too much in both cases. Both MCs are inspired off two national poets of their respective countries and the poem on "ideals" embodying the concept of an ideal person(who in the two MCs case) can be considered a "hero". His dialogue too is very shonen manga. The way some things frustrated me in BnHA, the way it was good because of both things that were excellent and things with missed potential kept me hooked. Art carries a lot. The comic pettiness too is very like in BnHA... Basically they kept a sort of tempo which in time glossed over the faults quite a bit.

The core crime concept of the plot and the way all the types of crimes committed fell together however felt quite ingenious. Albeit, it was too in the background to matter(ironically, quite a bit that isn't a mob fight is realistic but used as plot device). And except...everything has very little to do with the protagonists being former national olympic athletes which was what I thought it would show more of. Again, very manga-esque that while this concept is a fresh hook, the story itself is just a straightforward action story utlizing these skills same way as individual superpower sets and as is common for Kdramas, its a police story instead of a superhero one. But in almost every kdrama the police team(sans the one brainiac of the team) are badass at fighting, usually with some national level skill at judo or taekwondo or a UDT background or such. So, end of the day, it was nothing new. While they were united against a greater evil they still felt like each was so accustomed to individual sports they were unable to function as a proper team the dissolution of which made them more united than it's inception.

The bromances overall were super strong. Dong-ju/Man-sik, Man-sik/Dae-young(RIU captain, I really liked him by the end), Dong-ju/Jong-hyeon, Dong-ju/Min Ju-yeong, Dong-ju/Jae-Hong, Man-sik/Geum-nam... The team bonded together by the end and with Gwang-se, Geum-nam and even Sergei made a perfect combo. The side characters had a strong presence and a lot of the "good" side ones turn into allies by the end. I liked the main romance was kept understated, though it wasn't a big draw. I really liked Han-na a lot. She was badass and a dedicated cop with her own story arc.

Now there comes the issue I take with the writing. Initially I was thinking this should have ended in only 12 episodes if thats all the plot they can come out with. But there was enough in the overall plot concept that didn't make it to being fleshed out. The entire past of how Min Ju-yeong became who he is and all the players in that story in the past could have been expanded on(and even without this crime part, the individual team member's characters could have been expanded on). Everything coming back to Min Ju-yeong was straightforward and all the pieces fell together neatly in a binge rewatch but it was not memorable during live-watching. His being revealed early has little to do with it since thats been done before and works if done well. Unlike Ju-yeong, ML's character was inconsistent being the punching bag of the show for the majority of the run, sometimes with eidetic memory, nobly idiotic/dumb at times but super smart when needed to get a win, and the power level was inconsistent to when he needed to win or lose a fight. The amount of beatings he could take on or folded from was too inconsistent, and the one overkill scene(actually, an episode) was a turn off. And so on. Something either writing or editing wise was off at times and it affected the flow. I know several Kdramas with similar plotting I couldn't sit through so it is well done. But I also know kdramas with far worse writing I'll forever call the greatest of tv, so it could have been done better. Too much was glaringly implausible. Or too contrived.

Characters who should have been fleshed out a lot more: Jae-hong, Jong-hyeon and Leo.
I did like them overall as characters but felt their stories should have been expanded on more. Both Jong-hyeon vs Baek and Jae-hong vs Misha fights were well set up in advance so it felt satisfying. But they both had very little to do a lot of the time. Man-sik's portion felt just right by contrast. Leo atoning through death after saving Han-na and giving her hard evidence was the perfect end for the character but the character himself was written contradictory. I ended up with a massive crush on Leo- his villain archtype and style, his atoner death(reminded me of Cha Rae-hyoung's in Hometown) plus Ko Jun's voice... Leo's character was hard-carried by the acting and presence but the writing around Leo is bare minimum and a tad too plot device-y. A lot of things regarding his story, especially around Min Ju-yeong, felt they were left unexplained. Drugmon's story is a tad confusing as well but she is like a "black cat"(aka The enigmatic 'femme fatale') villain archtype and she gets the redemption lampshaded from the start(Leo by contrast starts as a brutal mob hitman, the sort that lives and dies by his gun). But both really nailed their characters- cartoony but also well-rounded and human criminals. And Lee Ho-jung is so beautiful! Leo also reminded me a bit of Twice of BnHA and Sanji of One Piece. And Drugmon mostly of Toga. And thats how their villain pair chemistry was to me- more like Twice and Toga of BnHA at it's core. I actually liked Baek and his cartoon style too, as well his pretty henchman Ryu-ga. Misha too. The villains nailed being villains. And I also loved the villain OST themes a lot(I associate two with Min Ju-yeong with "Your Name" really being an earworm). The main opening song "Finish Line" was so catchy. "Get in the Ring" was great too.

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Fun action scenes and an unrealistic antagonist

This show had so much potential in the first half, and I really wanted to like it. The cast is incredibly talented and honestly the only reason I stuck it out until the end.

Unfortunately, the story never felt complete to me—especially when it came to the characters. The only one who truly felt fleshed out was Park Bo Gum’s character. There was an attempt to build depth for the antagonist and his network of cronies, but it ended up feeling uneven: we were given a lot of details, yet somehow still not enough to truly understand them.

In the end, strong acting carried a weak narrative, leaving me wishing the writing had matched the cast’s potential.

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Park Bo Gum is hot and that's pretty much it.

The show started off really strong and was entertaining but became lowkey boring. I haven't been keeping up with kdramas recently but decided to watch this cuz I missed Park Bogum on my screen. He was my favorite part of the show, his acting was breathtaking. Even though Yun Dongju wasn't a particularly great character, Bogum brought a complexity to his character that made me fall in love with Dongju despite his shortcomings. And of course the many amazing Bogum edits that came from the show was a plus

Oh Jungse plays the villain in this show and a deceitfully plain one at that. Min Juyeong's character isn't one I hated or loved but appreciated ten times more because of how Jungse played him. There is something so sinister about a villain who is evil for sport. The absurdity of how much money he had and was moving around made him a worthy villain that took all 16 episodes to defeat. Now, was is harder to believe 5 easily disposable cops could bring down someone like him down, sure, was it entertaining watching them try, mildly. The sequence of Dongju sending Min Juyeong selfies of himself tryna find his money was ridiculously funny.

I loved the comedic relief Heo Sung Tae's character brought to the show. It was disappointing though, that they used such a talented actor solely for comedic relief without attempting to utilize his acting prowess but instead making his character a bumbling fool that rarely contributed to a team he supposedly lead. However, without him the show would have been significantly more boring than it ended up being.

It's not bad, but it's not great, and for a show with a stacked cast and a cool premise, it was very disappointing. The few things I did enjoy, however, were the action scenes. The action isn't something I really care for in shows, but I was pleasantly surprised by how skillfully shot the scenes were. It felt like I was in it sometimes, and enjoyed seeing all the main cast have an action scene. I also really enjoyed the romance because of the chemistry Bogum and Sohyun had. They had a chance to create a very entertaining bromance but decided to make Lee Sangyi's character a bitter and boring.

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An alright binge.

It was alright. I definitely wasn't hooked when I started the drama but it was an alright binge.

I think the villains and characters were pretty well crafted but the plot just dragged on way too much. Like it was kindof obvious who the main villain is since the start of the drama and it just kept dragging on SO MUCH. Also, it was so frustrating when the fl or the ml would just put themselves in such a bad situation. Like just bring backup??? Is it ever that hard?!?!

Second thing, I know this isn't a romance drama but there was def romance between Ji Ha Na and Yoon Dong Ju. But it was done pretty poorly imo. There was just no "oompf". Like he was just crushing on her this whole time and idk I just wish there was just a bit more to it. And it was like they just added the kiss scenes in there just to add "chemistry"... it wasn't really working tho. Don't get me wrong, I really like Park Bo Gum and Kim So Hyun. But it just wasn't doing it for me idk.

The saving grace for this drama was definitely the OST. It was SO good. The cast was pretty great too. I enjoyed watching the olympic avengers lol.

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“Good Boy” is good enough! No speck of shame in the sky!

I truly enjoyed this drama. The ending wasn’t bad at all—it didn’t go full “Vincenzo” dark—and at its core, it was a story about conviction, hope, and redemption. If you get the chance, grab a copy of "Sky, Wind, and Stars" by Yun Dong-ju (it’s easy to find online). It was so cute whenever Good Boy’s Dong-ju would quote it. And let’s be real, if anyone truly made this drama, it was Park Bogum and his smile. Ah, so infectious.

Also, I need to say this: if there’s one thing the show didn’t do any favors for, it’s the narrative that Kim Sohyun and Park Bogum’s chemistry “wasn’t there.” People swear it didn’t work, but if you’ve seen the BTS and their interview with Hyeri, you’d beg to differ. Kim Sohyun portrayed her character so well and made her sport look cool as heck. Seriously, she sold me on the believability of an Olympic shooter, and she’s just too cute.

I really liked the other guys too. Lee Sang Yi is genuinely such a cutie, and I adored his visuals. I honestly thought I was going to dislike Kim Jong Hyeon and his goofy fencing feet, but I ended up loving how he slowly loosened up and became a solid team player. Lee Sang Yi’s Kim Jong Hyeon had the most growth, and I mean that. Then there’s Heo Sung Tae—what a gem. His facial expressions, his voice—I LOL’d more than a few times because of him. And Ko Man Sik’s leadership? Loved it. He was always so torn between doing the right thing and navigating the politics without letting the commissioner push him around. You could tell he truly cared, and I’m so glad he got a happy ending. Same with Tae Won Seok’s Sin Jae Hong. He was a good team player (except for that one episode, you know the one), but I’m glad he got talked into some sense. Honestly, everyone on that team had to learn not to be sore losers or bad team players, and watching that growth was satisfying.

And there’s so much I could say about the other characters because there were so many gems in this cast. Oh Jung Se is getting too good at playing villains—it’s wild seeing how far he’s come from being the goofy ping-pong player in “As One.” He killed it here. Also, I loved the detective team the champions ended up working with because, at the end of the day, they had the same mission: get answers and fight for justice.

All in all, in a world where we’re all trying to survive the politics, the paycheck-to-paycheck grind, and the heavy weight of depression, this drama is a reminder of how to keep going and rise again. Seriously, check this drama out and grab "Sky, Wind, and Stars" while you’re at it. Man, I could cry right now. I’m going to miss Good Boy and his lovely crew. And Park Bogum’s smile. Gaaaaah.

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Good action, requires heavy suspension of disbelief

This is the first review that I am writing, and I will be updating it as I continue to watch the drama.

Current status: end of episode 5, dropped it for other dramas as I lost interest

When I first saw the trailer, I was immediately drawn in by the premise: 5 Olympic medallists teaming together to resolve crimes. To me, I felt it would be the perfect balance of action and comedy. The first two episodes did not disappoint with regards to my expectations, but the story does appear to be logically flawed in a few aspects.

Episode 1:
Dong Ju was established to be a formidable boxer, but yet he was momentarily stunned when fighting the villain Gold Rabbit. I understand that perhaps this was done to segue into a potential medical complication that he has, which is understandable, but I find it hard to believe that there was no follow up from this on Dong Ju's end. Certainly, if I felt lightheaded suddenly, let alone in the middle of a fight, I would consult a doctor immediately after. Strangely, no mention of aftercare was mentioned; Dong Ju's illness appears to be swept under the carpet for now. I predict this should be a recurring theme in the future.

Dong Ju's fight scene at the end of Episode 1 was admittedly impressive and had an outstanding action sequence, but when juxtaposed to the first fight scene, it felt a bit jarring. While Dong Ju's difficulties for the first fight may have been due to momentary weakness, I found it hard to believe that he would be able to fight off multiple armed men without sustaining crucial injuries, especially since his opponents were armed with sharp knives. Moreover, his behaviour was irrational; it does not make sense for a police officer to go to a secluded location simply off an anonymous phone call without any backup whatsoever. I would say this is a minor point, as this was probably done to illustrate Dong Ju's hotheadedness.

Episode 2:
I found it illogical that Jong Hyeon chose to chase after the criminal immediately after Man Sik fell instead of helping up Man Sik. I would expect a police officer to help a fellow colleague in danger, let alone a colleague high on drugs hanging off the edge of a high storey building. Some may argue that Dong Ju was just behind and could have helped Man Sik to get up, but note that in the few seconds required for Dong Ju to catch up, Man Sik could have lost his grip and fell down with serious injuries. To make it worse, this intentional ignoring of his colleague did not come fruition, as Jong Hyeon was unable to take down the criminal after all. Due to some unexplained background trauma, he froze when confronted with the criminal holding the sharp nail, which felt like an unsatisfying payoff after taking such a high risk to pursue the criminal at the expense of his colleague.

Oh Jung Se was revealed as the criminal early on, which is quite interesting. In a typical 16 episode crime thriller drama, they would reveal the villains in ascending order of hierarchy, but given Oh Jung Se's acting stature, I don't think he is a small fry. He is probably the main villain, but it would be rather frustrating for the viewers if the protagonists and the antagonists play a mouse and cat game for the whole 16 episodes. This is a huge gamble to take from a story viewpoint, and I hope that it plays out well in the future episodes.

Episode 3:

To be very honest, I am quite frustrated in this episode. Dong Ju's actions were simply illogical and unbefitting of a police officer. Sure, he has some circumstantial evidence that Min Ju Yeong was behind the car accident, but barging into his office and beating him to a pulp does not make sense. If he was wrong, he would have beaten up an innocent person. Even if he was right, this only gives Min Ju Yeong (MJY) the legal ammunition to bring him down, especially since Dong Ju physically attacked him first. Moreover, Dong Ju just alerted him that he was onto his illegal activities, which would mean that MJY will react accordingly and put up his defences. Simply put, Dong Ju just put a big target on his back for MJY.

It was even more egregious when he walked into the big office that MJY was in at the end of the episode and broke the window by punching it. If he was not suspended earlier, there is definitely sufficient grounds to suspend him now. From an bystander's perspective, Dong Ju's actions on MJY appear to be unprovoked, and surely Dong Ju must be aware of this; its very hard to justify the attacks on MJY considering the cons of doing so.

Episode 4:
Episode 4 had a few good scenes, but once again the plot holes rear their ugly heads.

Starting from the good scenes, I found the scene where Dong Ju was unable to keep up with his colleagues' typing speeds to be quite funny. The close up scene between Dong Ju and Hana in the car gave a good teaser of their blossoming relationship. The chase scene at the end where they successfully prevented MJY from leaving the country was also well executed, and you feel well connected with the characters as they methodically track down MJY.

Moving onto the negatives, I find it extremely illogical of the police officers to use their chief's car as bait to lure out the criminals. The scene where the car was stolen by the fake valet was admittedly comical, but beneath the comical facade lies the undisputed fact that the team is stealing the car. As police officers, certainly the team would know better than to do that. From my understanding, Jong Hyun comes from a rich family, so a feasible alternative would have been to make use of his family connections to purchase a high end car for their team's purpose. At the same time, I know I mentioned the chase scene at the end was well executed, but honestly I cannot fathom why Dong Ju chose to jump down from the building to physically stop MJY's car. Man Sik and Hana had parked their car blocking the path of MJY, and Hana was already standing in front of MJY's car ready to stop him. The probability of MJY choosing to run over Hana in broad daylight is near zero as MJY still wishes to maintain his social standing. There was essentially no good rationale for Dong Ju jumping off the building to physically intercede at great risk of personal injury.

Episode 5:
Positives: From what I see, Episode 5 is meant to segue into Hana and Dong Ju’s blossoming relationship, and it does so reasonably well with many heartwarming interaction scenes between the two. The addition of the female drug dealer also promises a new dynamic, as its greatly hinted that she likes Dong Ju due to him saving her from the explosion.

Negatives: The product placements are starting to break the veil of engagement, especially during the scene where Dong Ju brewed a cup of coffee and the camera panned into the Nespresso logo. Afterwards, Dong Ju had to exaggeratedly exclaim that the coffee was good, which felt very out of place. I understand that product placement is part and parcel of a drama and finances the production costs, but certainly it can be done in a more subtle way. I felt that the fourth wall was broken in that moment, and not in a good way.

More importantly, I don’t understand why Hana and Dong Ju had to approach MJY separately on their own with evidence of MJY’s wrongdoings. Why are they alerting MJY of their moves in advance? It simply doesn’t make sense, especially since MJY’s relationship with the prosecutorial office is clear at the start of the episode.

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Main character is very stupid. Cannot afford

I don't understand why must makes a dumb guy like main character. Cannot take it even to the end of ep 4.
Still beautiful So Hyun.

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