“My Name” ~ A Woman Seeks Revenge for Her Father’s Murder

“My Name” is a 2021 Korean drama series, with 8 episodes, and can be categorized as Action, Noir, Thriller and Suspense, Crime and Mystery, Revenge Drama, and Romance. It is streaming on Netflix and is English dubbed.

SUMMARY: A teenager grows up feeling distant from her father, who she perceives as prioritizing work over their relationship. However, the one night she thought he would come home to be with her, turns out to be the last night of his life. Her world shatters when she learns he had a dangerous job and was killed trying to protect her. Seeking revenge, she joins a gang and the boss claims the man who killed her father was a dirty cop. He helps her create a new identity and get a job working as a police investigator. She will also serve as his mole. Infiltrating law enforcement, she aims to uncover her father’s killer, and accidentally meets another detective when she disrupts his undercover operation. Initially, the two clash, but eventually gain each other’s trust after they are assigned to work together. Not only does she find her father’s killer but she learns painful truths about her father’s love and sacrifice. If only she had understood him sooner.

♦ If Only I Had Known My Father

In “My Name”, Yoon Ji-Woo is a typical young adult with a typical parent-child relationship. She thinks her father is never there for her when she needs him and cares more about his work than he does about her. Speaking of work, what kind of work does he do? One night her father desperately wanted to get in touch with his daughter. The work he did was dangerous and he had unintentionally put her in danger. He wanted to take her to a place of safety, so he went to their apartment. But before he opened the door he turned around to face his killer. Her father broke off the key in the lock to prevent her from opening the door. He then placed himself against the door. It was his last act to protect his daughter from harm. Yoon Ji-Woo heard the gunshots. Through the keyhole, she could see someone walking away. When she got the door open, it was too late. Her father was dead.

Yoon Ji-Woo wanted to know who killed her father because she planned to get revenge. Her father had dealings with Choi Mu-Jin who was the leader of a criminal organization, the drug crime gang Dongcheon. She asked him to take her in and train her to be a fighter and a killer. He agreed but he didn’t stop at that. He created a new identity for her as Oh Hye-Jin so she could get a job working in law enforcement. Even though he was a drug lord and ran many criminal enterprises, she would also be working for him as a mole in the police force. Choi Mu-Jin said her father was killed by a dirty cop. Once she was on the inside she could investigate, figure out who he was, and then kill him.

Oh Hye-Jin worked on several undercover assignments. On one assignment, her work disrupted the investigative work of another detective named Jeon Pil-Do. Their working relationship got off to a bad start. Jeon Pil-Do told her he had worked 6 months on this special operation and she ruined it by busting in to arrest someone she had been chasing after. As far as Oh Hye-Jin was concerned, she worked in another unit and she was just doing her job. Nobody told her she couldn’t! Their supervisor decided to assign her to the same team as Jeon Pil-Do. Like it or not, they were going to have to work together.

As time went on they developed a working relationship. Jeon Pil-Do learned to respect and trust Oh Hye-Jin. But he did not know her backstory or even her real name. Jeon Pil-Do also had a backstory and a reason for working on investigations involving gangs. Supposedly they were both working together to capture Choi Mu-Jin. At least, that’s what Jeon Pil-Do thought. In the process of learning the truth about her father’s death, Oh Hye-Jin uncovered the truth about what really happened. If only she had known who her father was and how much he loved her.

Main Characters:

• Yoon Ji-Woo / Oh Hye-Jin (played by Han So-Hee, “Gyeongseong Creature 1 and 2”, “Abyss”, “100 Days My Prince”)
• Choi Mu-Jin (played by Park Hee-Soon, “The Policeman’s Lineage”, “The Bequeathed”, “A Model Family”)
• Jeon Pil-Do (played by Ahn Bo-Hyun, “See You in My 19^th Life”, “Flex X Cop”, “Military Prosecutor Doberman”, “My Only Love Song”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.8 out of 10 stars
• MyDramaList: 8.7 out of 10 stars
• Common Sense Media: 3 out of 5 stars
• Google users shared a public rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is the same as My Drama List.

I have no complaints about the acting. “My Name” measured up to all of the words reviewers like to use to describe action crime thrillers. It was gripping, gritty, and violent with intense fight scenes, etc. Sure it was a predictable revenge drama and you could guess the ending. But it was only 8 episodes and each episode ran about 45 minutes to an hour. Add it to your watch list for Friday night entertainment.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Review: My Name ~ Slick, gritty, and with more than a dash of blood and violence- The Fangirl Verdict

Netflix’s ‘My Name’: 8 Facts to Know About the New K-Drama | Tatler Asia

‘My Name’ Star Han So-hee On Her Transformation For the New K-Drama | Tatler Asia

‘My Name’ review: A predictable, pacy revenge saga led by an outstanding Han So-Hee | The Hindu

K-drama review: My Name – Netflix gangland revenge drama starring Han So-hee spins its wheels after promising start | South China Morning Post

‘My Name’ Netflix Review: Stream It or Skip It? | Decider.com

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

Netflix K-Content. “My Name | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB].” YouTube Video. YouTube, September 30, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOl7iOrD31Q.‌