Strong Woman Do Bong-soon (힘쎈여자 도봉순/Himssenyeoja Do Bong-sun) is a 2017 Korean Drama starring Park Bo-young in the title role as a woman with superhuman strength, with Park Hyung-sik and Ji Soo.
Bong-Soon was born with superhuman strength. Her strength is hereditary and passed along only to the women in her family. Her dream is to create a video game with herself as the main character. Through a series of events (her helping out a bus driver who is being attacked by a thug, and easily defeating a mob of thugs who attack her in retaliation), she gets the job of a bodyguard to rich heir and CEO of video gaming company Ainsoft, Ahn Min-hyuk (who just so happens to witness Bong-Soon beating up the group of thugs). He has recently received anonymous threats and even followed by an unknown person, and believes Bong-Soon would make a great bodyguard with her amazing strength.Besides offering high pay, he even offers her the chance of working in the planning department of his gaming company if she does well - a great incentive for her.
Meanwhile, crimes against women take place in Dobong-dong, the neighborhood where Bong-Soon lives. After her friend was targeted, she is determined to catch the culprit. With the help and training from Min-hyuk, she manages to control her strength to use it for good causes. Min-hyuk and Bong-soon find themselves and their relationship grew into something more. However, Bong-Soon is also madly in love with In Guk-doo, a police officer who has been her friend ever since they were children. Kook-Doo tries to solve the series of cases as Bong-Soon and Min-Hyuk are pulled in.
A love triangle, emotional confessions and scenes, mobsters and subplot of a deranged kidnapper — everything that a kdrama usually contains. While it may have some clunky moments, the comedy, the performances, soundtrack and romance makes this drama endearing, and entertaining to many.
A spin-off about another branch of the family, Strong Girl Nam-soon, aired in 2023.
Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon provides examples of:
- Ambiguously Bi: While most likely just a way to poke fun at and get on Bong-Soon's nerves for his amusement, Min-hyuk's blantant flirting with Kook-Doo could be seen as such — especially considering the drunken escapades between them of episode six, complete with a dip into an Almost Kiss. It's mostly Played for Laughs.
- Babies Ever After: The final episode show Bong-Soon and Min-hyuk eventually had twin girls who are already showing signs of super strength.
- The Big Damn Kiss: The kiss Bong-Soon and Min-hyuk share on the beach is really the main example for this trope — as it is their first kiss after so long, but the intense kiss they share after everything concerning the kidnapper and her super strength; complete with lifting and seating Bong-Soon on Min-hyuk's piano before diving back in again could be considered as well.
- Can't Hold Her Liquor: Bong-Soon. Her drunken shenanigans — namely removing a stripping pole from a nightclub, end up being filmed and put on the internet by almost all of the partygoers. Luckily for her, Min-hyuk has every single video removed.
- Comes Great Responsibility: Bong-Soon holds herself to never abuse her powers — if she does, she can lose her superhuman strength.
- Comical Nap Drool: A flashback shows Bong-Soon's first meeting with her deep crush, Guk-Doo: Bong-Soon is asleep in class with her head on her arm when Guk-Doo walks in as a new transfer. She stares at him in awe, completely smitten, as he takes the remaining empty seat next to him, only for him to awkwardly point out the trickle of drool on the side of her face, causing the rest of the class to laugh. This sets up years of Bong Soon pining (apparently) one-sidedly for Guk-Doo while he treats her like a sister.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Min-hyuk and Bong-Soon. Though, anyone with Bong-Soon can fall into this trope, given her height.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Kook-Doo
- Love Confession: While Min-hyuk delivers one in episode 10, the big one is where Bong-Soon confesses that she feels the same way he does, prompting him to say it again.
- Love Theme: “Double Trouble Couple”
by Mamamoo really fits here — the name literally references our two main leads, though for the cute, heart fluttering moments throughout the show, “Pit-A-Pat” by Kim Chung can count as well. - Love Triangle: Bong-Soon, Min-hyuk and Kook-Doo, until Kook-Doo ends up falling into what many kdrama watchers dub as the "Second Lead Syndrome".
- Meet Cute: First, Min-hyuk sees Bong-Soon beating up mobsters with her superhuman strength, she then ends up at the police station where she has to explain their injuries — cue him walking into the scene with an excuse. Upon leaving, he sees her doing the same and asks whether she's going to thank him. Bong-Soon replies by; asking why he lied for her, threateningly getting into his face and calling him out for not stepping in while she fought before walking off. He immediately notes her to be, "So damn sexy."
- Mundane Utility: Before honing her powers to use against the local serial kidnapper, Bong-Soon simply uses it whenever she has to crack walnuts for her family, or lifting tractors whenever they get stuck. The kdrama keeps it from becoming With Great Power Comes Great Perks as she makes an effort to not use it for everything, as it would become easy for anyone to find out she has super strength.
- Official Couple: Bong-Soon and Min-hyuk. They eventually get married in episode 16 and even have twin daughters with the same superhuman strength.
- Pretty Boy: Min-hyuk, and also Kook-Doo.
- Ship Tease: Min-hyuk and Kook-Doo — multiple times. The dream/imagine sequences of Bong-Soon and their drunken interactions certainly give fans something to work with.
- Sickeningly Sweethearts: Min-hyuk and Bong-Soon sometimes — much to the chagrin of Secretary Gong. Park Bo-young has even said that in one scene in episode 15 — where Min-hyuk confronts her about what Secretary Gong saw between her and Kook-Doo, she changed calling him 'sweetheart' to 'Min-hyuk—ssi' to prevent it from being too cheesy.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: Min-hyuk and Kook-Doo tend to engage in this whenever they meet — their conversations usually delving down to Passive-Aggressive Kombat.
- Sorry, I'm Gay: Min-hyuk allows Bong-Soon to think this, which results in her thinking that he's falling for her crush.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Before he's taken down in episode 15, it seems that way for a while. In episode 13 — Kim Jang-hyun successfully makes Bong-Soon lose her powers and even gets away.
- Time Skip: Episode 16 shows that Min-hyuk and Bong-Soon have twin daughters.
- Together in Death: An attempted example by Min-hyuk. In episode 14, when it looks like Bong-Soon will die as she's strapped to a bomb, Min-hyuk doesn't leave her — fully intending to die with her. Luckily for the both of them, they survive.
- The Scream: Min-hyuk has one in episode 13, when Bong-Soon goes unconscious in his embrace.
- Two Guys and a Girl: Min-hyuk, Kook-Doo and Bong-Soon.
