Tempest – My Husband Was Not a Spy

By cmoneyspinner - September 13, 2025

“Tempest” is a 2025 Korean drama series with 9 episodes, and is categorized as Action, Romance, Political Thriller, Conspiracy Drama, and streaming on Disney+/Hulu.

Memorable Quote: “Truth isn’t what survives the storm. It’s what causes it.”

SUMMARY: She was a highly respected working woman with her own career and aspirations. Her husband asked her to come home to support him as he planned to run for president, and he needed her by his side. He died before that could happen. She would have died too, were it not for the heroic efforts of a bystander who knocked down the assassin.

♦ My Husband Was Not a Spy

In “Tempest”, Seo Munju was a UN ambassador, but she stepped away from those duties and responsibilities at the request of her husband. He planned to run for president and wanted her by his side to support his noble ambition. She did not object, but the current president, Chae Kyung-Sin, talked to her and indicated her knowledge, skills, and experience would be utilized better if she helped the current administration. The president told her that her husband’s agenda was too radical and dangerous, especially his goal to reunite North and South Korea. Seo Munju declined and said she wanted to support her husband.

Sadly, Seo Munju did not get a chance to be by his side throughout the presidential campaign because he was assassinated. Seo Munju and her husband were getting ready to go to a public event. Her husband gave her a necklace to wear. She asked him what “this” was all about. She knew he wanted to tell her “something”. He said he would reveal everything soon. They went to a catholic church where he was to give a public speech. Just as he started to speak, a soldier walked up and shot him point-blank. At first, Seo Munju tried to shield her husband with her body and then looked the assassin in the face. It’s possible the soldier would have shot her, too.

But Baek San-ho, a brave citizen or someone (?) who happened to be the right place at the right time, tackled the soldier and saved her life. However, he didn’t save the soldier who was being held down on the ground. He swallowed a pill to commit suicide, but before the soldier died, he said that Seo Munju’s husband was a spy. A spy? My husband? No way!

♦ She’s in Danger and Needs a Bodyguard

It turns out that the young man who saved Seo Munju’s life is a shadowy ex-special agent. Someone contacted Baek San-ho and told him that he needed to convince Seo Munju to hire him for security purposes. She’s in danger, but she doesn’t know it. He wanted to refuse the job, but he accepted. He managed to convince her to hire him.

First, he returned the necklace that her husband had given her. In the chaos, immediately after the assassination, her necklace had fallen off.
Next, he told her that he was at a vantage point and saw the soldier put something inside the bible and place the bible in the book holder on the back of the church pew. The card had a telephone number, but when he tried to call, it said the number was out of service. He made the call from a public phone booth and left quickly. He lingered in the area, out of sight, and noticed that people arrived at the phone booth to check to see who had made the call. He saw them, but they did not see him.
Finally, he showed her some camera footage. The soldier met someone before he carried out the assassination. The person he met with was her husband’s brother.

Seo Munju decided to work with Baek San-ho to uncover the truth. She refused to believe her husband was a North Korean spy. As for her brother-in-law, her husband’s brother? She wasn’t sure what to believe about him.

Main Characters:

Seo Mun-Ju (played by Gianna Jun, “The Berlin File”, “The Thieves”, “Jirisan”, “Kingdom 1 and 2”, “The Legend of the Blue Sea”)
Paik San-Ho (played by Gang Dong-Won, “Uprising”, “Dr. Cheon and The Lost Talisman”, “Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned”, “Broker”, “The Secret Reunion”, “Haunters”)
Chae Kyung-Sin (played by Kim Hae-Sook, “Tomorrow”, “Inspector Koo”, “Alienoid 1 and 2”, “Along With the Gods 1 and 2”, “RV: Resurrected Victims”, “The Thieves”, “Strong Girl Nam-Soon”, “Hotel King”, “My Demon”, “Mr. Plankton”, “Who Is She?”, “Gyeongseong Creature 1 and 2”, “Under The Queen’s Umbrella”, “Tower of Babel“, “My Father is Strange”, “Room No. 9”, “Tower of Babel“)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

IMDb: 7 out of 10 stars
My Drama List: 8.3 out of 10 stars

My personal rating is the same as MDL.

“Tempest” draws inspiration from geopolitical tensions and espionage thrillers. The show explores themes of diplomacy, betrayal, and covert operations at the highest levels of government.