Strong Girl Bong-soon

Strong Girl Bong-soon

Strong Girl Bong-soon (Korean: 힘쎈여자 도봉순) is a 2017 South Korean television series starring Park Bo-young in the title role as a woman with superhuman strength, with Park Hyung-sik and Ji Soo. It aired on JTBC from February 24 to April 15, 2017.

The series received audience acclaim, with its final episode recording 8.96% in nationwide ratings, becoming the "highest viewership rating among JTBC dramas" at that point of time.

Synopsis

Strong Girl Bong-soon

Do Bong-soon (Park Bo-young) was born with superhuman strength. Her strength is hereditary and passed along only to the women in her family. She dreams of creating a video game with herself as the main character. She desperately wants to become a delicate and elegant woman, which is the ideal type of her crush, In Guk-doo (Ji Soo), a police officer who is also her childhood friend. Thanks to her strength, she gets a job as a bodyguard to rich heir Ahn Min-hyuk (Park Hyung-sik), the CEO of a gaming company, Ainsoft. A series of kidnapping cases happen in Dobong-dong, the district Bong-soon lives in, and she is determined to catch the culprit who targeted her best friend. With help and training from Min-hyuk, she manages to control her strength to use it for good causes. Min-hyuk and Bong-soon find their relationship growing into something more. Their relationship at work and in pursuit of the kidnapper creates comical and dangerous situations, which bring them closer.

Cast

Main

• Park Bo-young as Do Bong-soon • Shin Bi as young Do Bong-soon

A young woman born with superhuman strength who tries not to use her powers but does not hesitate to use them for good when needed. She has had a crush on Guk-doo for a long time but eventually falls for Min-hyuk. She will lose her powers if she harms an innocent with them.

• Park Hyung-sik as Ahn Min-hyuk • Choi Seung-hoon as young Ahn Min-hyuk

A chaebol heir and CEO of a video game company who hides his pain underneath his cheeky demeanour. He knows Bong-soon even before the "Bus incident" but is not aware of it until much later.

• Ji Soo as In Guk-doo • Choi Min-young as young In Guk-doo

An idealistic rookie detective who is passionate about justice. Known for being crazy and extremely aggressive, he is continuously transferred from one department to another. He was initially unaware of Bong-soon's powers.

Ainsoft Employee

• Kim Won-hae as Oh Dol-ppyeo

Head of Development Planning Team; doppelgänger of Kim Kwang-bok.

Production

Strong Girl Bong-soon

The drama was written by Baek Mi-kyung, who previously wrote Beloved Eun-dong and directed by Lee Hyung-min of Ms. Temper and Nam Jung-gi. Filming started in October 2016 and finished on April 11, 2017.

The drama served as a reunion between Park Hyung-sik and Yoo Jae-myung, who previously worked together in the KBS2 drama Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth, as well as Kim Won-hae.

Ratings

Strong Girl Bong-soon

<table><thead><tr><th>Ep.</th><th>Original broadcast date</th><th>Title</th><th>Average audience share</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Nielsen Korea</td><td>TNmS</td></tr><tr><td>Nationwide</td><td>Seoul</td><td>Nationwide</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>February 24, 2017</td><td>Ridiculous Punks (기막힌 녀석들)</td><td>3.829%</td><td>4.044%</td><td>3.9%</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>February 25, 2017</td><td>Culprit's Thought (범인의 마음)</td><td>5.758%</td><td>6.041%</td><td>6.1%</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>March 3, 2017</td><td>That Person's Secret (그놈의 비밀)</td><td>6.081%</td><td>7.003%</td><td>5.5%</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>March 4, 2017</td><td>Her True Identity (그녀의 정체)</td><td>8.301%</td><td>8.669%</td><td>8.3%</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>March 10, 2017</td><td>Seems As If They're Friends, and Yet Not (친구인 듯 친구 아닌)</td><td>7.113%</td><td>8.025%</td><td>6.7%</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>March 11, 2017</td><td>Happy Together (해피투게더)</td><td>8.692%</td><td>8.632%</td><td>7.7%</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>March 17, 2017</td><td>Changes (변화)</td><td>6.834%</td><td>7.119%</td><td>7.1%</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>March 18, 2017</td><td>One Step Closer (한 걸음 더)</td><td>9.603%</td><td>10.261%</td><td>8.8%</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>March 24, 2017</td><td>Love Risking One's Life (목숨 건 사랑)</td><td>7.423%</td><td>8.019%</td><td>8.8%</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>March 25, 2017</td><td>Find A Hidden Heart (숨은 마음 찾기)</td><td>9.668%</td><td>9.286%</td><td>9.8%</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>March 31, 2017</td><td>Timing (타이밍)</td><td>7.772%</td><td>8.572%</td><td>7.7%</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>April 1, 2017</td><td>Help Me (헬프 미)</td><td>8.477%</td><td>8.352%</td><td>9.1%</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>April 7, 2017</td><td>Nevertheless (그럼에도 불구하고)</td><td>7.448%</td><td>8.036%</td><td>8.9%</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>April 8, 2017</td><td>A Prelude to the Battle (배틀의 서막)</td><td>8.597%</td><td>9.251%</td><td>9.9%</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>April 14, 2017</td><td>Level Up (레벨 업)</td><td>7.834%</td><td>8.773%</td><td>7.9%</td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>April 15, 2017</td><td>Final (파이널)</td><td>8.957%</td><td>9.625%</td><td>9.8%</td></tr><tr><td>Average</td><td>7.649%</td><td>8.107%</td><td>7.9%</td></tr><tr><td>Special</td><td>April 17, 2017</td><td></td><td>0.8%</td><td>N/A</td><td>0.6%</td></tr></tbody></table>

Awards and nominations

Strong Girl Bong-soon

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
2017	53rd Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Actress	Park Bo-young	Nominated
Best New Actor	Ji Soo	Nominated
12th Seoul International Drama Awards	Best Mini-series	Strong Girl Bong-soon	Nominated
Best Actress	Park Bo-young	Nominated
Outstanding Korean Actress	Won
1st The Seoul Awards	Best Actress	Won
Popularity award	Park Hyung-sik	Won

Adaptation and spin-off

Aborted American adaptation

On November 9, 2018, it was announced that an adaptation of the series was in development at The CW from CBS Television Studios and writer Melissa Scrivner-Love, with Ronda Rousey and Ben Silverman also set to executive produce. The project, titled Strong Girl, would have followed "a former war photographer named Rayna who discovers she is indestructible and potentially the strongest woman in the world. Ghosted by [her Special Operations fiancé] when she reveals her newfound power to him, Rayna is hired as a bodyguard by a billionaire named Oliver, who sees her true potential." On February 8, 2019, it was revealed that the script was not picked up to pilot.

Malaysian adaptation

In February 2024 it was reported that an adaptation of the series would be made in Malaysia, with no further news on which broadcasters nor the release date.

Spin-off

The spin-off of the series titled Strong Girl Nam-soon, starring Lee Yoo-mi, Kim Jung-eun, Kim Hae-sook, Ong Seong-wu and Byeon Woo-seok, premiered on JTBC on October 7, 2023. Park Hyung-sik and Park Bo-young make a special appearance in Strong Girl Nam-soon as Min-hyuk and Bong-soon.