Taxi Driver | Korean Drama | Forgiveness or Revenge?

Taxi Driver is a Korean drama series based on a webtoon of the same name. Season 1 was released in 2021. The first episode of Season 2 aired on Korean television on February 17, 2023. Both seasons have 16 episodes.

Taxi Driver fans had been anxiously awaiting this new season. According to soopmpi.com:

“On February 17, “Taxi Driver 2” premiered to higher viewership ratings than the first season of “Taxi Driver.” According to Nielsen Korea, the first episode of “Taxi Driver 2” scored an average nationwide rating of 12.1 percent, easily making it the most-watched Friday-Saturday drama of the night.

“Taxi Driver 2” was also the most-watched program of any kind to air on Friday among the key demographic of viewers ages 20 to 49, with whom it earned an average rating of 5.2 in the Seoul metropolitan area.”

Meet the Taxi Driver

In Season 1 we are introduced to the taxi driver, Kim Do-gi (played by Lee Je-hoon). Kim Do-gi’s mother died a violent death at the hands of a psychopath. He had just come home from serving in the military and found his mother’s bloodied dead body lying on the kitchen floor. It is very difficult not to immediately bond with this guy. He has all personality and physical traits that would attract people to him.

• He is handsome and well-built with an innocent face that makes him look sweet and gentle.
• His fighting skills show that he has been well-trained to defend himself, with or without a weapon.
• He is kind-hearted, decent, honorable, and loyal to family and friends.

Of course, he is devastated and heartbroken by his mother’s cruel death and it is hard for him to forgive her murderer and resist the urge to get revenge. But he was told that the person accused of murdering his mother committed suicide in prison. The hole in his heart grew even bigger.

He is also discontent with the injustice of the current justice system. Ruthless criminals are set free after serving a short sentence not commensurate with the crimes they committed. Then what? They are let loose to roam the streets and commit violent crimes all over again.

1. Is he the only one with this immense grief and pain?
2. Is he the only one angry about the unjust punishment of criminals?
3. Is he the only one who cries out for REVENGE?

The answers to questions 1, 2, and 3 are all the same. NO!! He is not the only one.

Meet the Boss of the Rainbow Taxi Company

Rainbow Taxi Company is run by Jang Sung-chul (played by Kim Eui-sung). He wants to do more for the victims. To help the victims of crimes, he operates Blue Bird, a non-profit foundation. And the criminals? Since the official prisons let them go free, even though they had no intentions of changing their ways … he put them in prison again! He built an unofficial prison to house these unreformed convicts. He does not plan to keep them there forever. His goal is to “overcome evil with good”.  

Jang Sung-chul’s mother was also murdered by a violent criminal. Mr. Jang recruits Kim Do-gi to work for his company as a taxi driver. The job responsibilities include:

• Picking up violent criminals who had been released from official prison, and making them “disappear” (into the unofficial prison).
• Picking up victims, listening to their stories, and offering them a choice: Forgiveness OR Revenge?

Most of the victims choose REVENGE. Let’s face it. The justice system let them down.

How Many Different Ways Are There to Commit Crime?

Season 1 has 16 episodes and they address a wide range of crimes. Everything from:

• taking advantage of people who have special needs,
• phishing scams that rob people of their hard-earned money,
• school bullies who beat up kids for money,
• distribution of illegal pornography,
• missing persons and illegal organ trafficking, and
• high-profile criminals guilty of a myriad of organized criminal activities.

In Season 1, all of the crimes take place in South Korea.  Whereas in Season 2, the crime dragnet is widened. Kim Do-gi follows a criminal gang all the way to Vietnam.

Viewer Ratings

• RE: Season 1:  “Taxi Driver” Ends On 4th-Highest Ratings Of Any Friday-Saturday Drama In SBS History + “Mine” Hits New High | Soompi
• RE: Season 2:  Taxi Driver 2: “Congratulations to Taxi Driver 2”: Fans rejoice as Lee Je-hoon’s drama records 12.1% of viewership nationwide for the first episode

I am watching this TV series on Viki.com and the average rating for Season 1 was 9.7 out of 10 stars. I agree.  Season 2 will likely get the same rating. 

Creatrip: Shocking True Stories In Korea Behind the Taxi Driver K-drama Series ~ https://t.co/s5JbSx4b1m #fact versus #fiction pic.twitter.com/F4sTXo6K10

— Treathyl Fox (aka cmoneyspinner) ~ #Freelancer (@cmoneyspinner) March 23, 2023