The Worst of Evil ~ Husband, Wife, and First Love

“The Worst of Evil” is a Hulu Original, released in 2023, has 12 episodes, and is currently streaming on Disney+/Hulu. This K-drama series can be categorized as Gangster, Crime, Thriller, and Action.

♦ An Unintended and Unexpected Love Triangle

‘The Worst of Evil’ is set in the 1990s. Park Jun-mu is a rural police officer who goes undercover as Kwon Seung-ho. His mission is to infiltrate a gangster organization, Gangnam Union, by getting close to and taking down its leader, Jung Gi-cheol. The organization is a drug cartel that is selling Gangnam Crystal, a new powerful drug, The customers can usually purchase the drug when they visit the nightclubs also owned by the crime lord.

Park Jun-mu succeeds in becoming a gang member but since he’s new he has to earn their trust. Relationships in life are ever so complicated. Park Jun-mu is married to Yoo Eui-jeong who is also a cop, who also has a history with Jung Gi-cheol. During her high school years, they attended church together and sang in the choir. They were close. But when they grew up he became a gangster and she decided to work in law enforcement as a narcotics officer in the security division. She is involved in the investigation. Even though they are clearly on opposite paths, and don’t have a romantic relationship, Jung Gi-cheol still has feelings for her.

Park Jun-mu accidentally learned about the relationship between his wife and his new boss. As if he wasn’t already walking on eggshells trying to convincingly play the role of a bad guy, now he has to make sure that his marriage to Yoo Eui-jeong is also kept secret. The first time Jung Gi-cheol saw the two of them together, he immediately believed that Park Jun-mu had plans to be disloyal to him by snitching to the cops.

Park Jun-mu had just informed his wife that he was now working undercover. Knowing that the confrontation might get heated, she immediately stepped forward to diffuse the situation. She spoke softly, but directly and plainly to Jung Gi-cheol as a dear friend. To make sure that her husband’s identity was not revealed, she assured Jung Gi-cheol that she also knew Park Jun-mu as a childhood friend. Small world, isn’t it? Whew! That was intense and close!

From that point on, the relationships between the three main characters is rife with tension. That’s in between the heated and violent moments when the bad guys are fighting each other and rival gangs over territory and power.

Main Characters:

• Park Jun-mo / Kwon Seung-ho (played by Ji Chang Wook, “Healer”, “The Sound of Magic”)
• Jung Gi-cheul (played by Wi Ha Jun, “Bad and Crazy”, “Gyeongseong Creature”)
• Yoo Eui-jeong (played by Im Se-mi, “Duty After School”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 8.3 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 8.6 out of 10 stars
• Kyahaha: 7.8 out of 10 stars
• Dramabeans: 8.5 out of 10 stars
• India Today: 3.5 out of 5 stars
• Public reviews shared via Google: 4.8 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is 9 out of 10 stars. It was a typical gangster series with drugs, guns, and violence. But the love triangle was “atypical”. The best way to explain why I thought “The Worst of Evil” deserved this rating is to quote from an article by Joan MacDonald contributed to Forbes:

• “Yes, Gi-cheul might make choices that are noble, and, yes, Jun-mo might commit crimes for his undercover work, but The Worst of Evil is not just a story about two men. It’s story about a triangle in which the two men ultimately make decisions that factor in a third pivotal figure.”

Yeah! That’s what I thought too!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

• Disney+ K-drama review: The Worst of Evil – gangster romance starring Ji Chang-wook and Wi Ha-joon recovers after a midseason lull | South China Morning Post
• 5 Reasons To Watch The Worst Of Evil On Disney+: A Gritty Korean Drama That Breaks All The Rules | 8days
• Ji Chang Wook, Wi Ha Joon, And Im Se Mi Have A Complex Relationship In “The Worst Of Evil” | Soompi
• A Triangle In The K-Drama ‘The Worst Of Evil’ May Redefine Evil | Forbes

TRAILERS/TEASERS:

Disney Plus Singapore. “The Worst of Evil | Official Trailer | Disney+ Singapore.” YouTube Video. YouTube, September 11, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5qtpG1kqfI.‌