# Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard
**Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard** (좋거나 나쁜 동재; literal title *Good or Bad Dong-Jae*) is a 2024 South Korean television series and a spin-off of the thriller series *[Stranger](https://www.edgepedia.org/stranger-tv-series)*, in which the supporting character Seo Dong-jae, a prosecutor tainted by a corruption label, becomes the lead. It ran for 10 episodes on the streaming service TVING from October 10 to November 7, 2024, with a simultaneous cable broadcast on tvN from October 14 to November 12, 2024.[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Dongjae%2C_the_Good_or_the_Bastard)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 좋거나 나쁜 동재 (*Jotgeona Nabbeun Dongjae*)[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Dongjae%2C_the_Good_or_the_Bastard) |
| Format | 10-episode TVING original drama, about 46 minutes per episode; also aired on tvN[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Dongjae%2C_the_Good_or_the_Bastard) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/dongjae-the-good-or-the-bastard) |
| Run dates | TVING: October 10 to November 7, 2024; tvN: October 14 to November 12, 2024[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Dongjae%2C_the_Good_or_the_Bastard) |
| Lead | Lee Joon-hyuk as prosecutor Seo Dong-jae, reprising his role from *Stranger*[3](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3281029/k-drama-dongjae-good-or-bastard-lee-joon-hyuk-leads-bouncy-stranger-spin) |
| Premise | A prosecutor labeled corrupt, mired in a redevelopment case, takes on a high school student murder case and walks a line between prosecutorial intuition and opportunistic instinct[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Dongjae%2C_the_Good_or_the_Bastard) |
| Creative team | Showrunner Lee Su-yeon; director Park Gun-Ho; writers Hwang Ha-Jung and Kim Sang-Won[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Dongjae%2C_the_Good_or_the_Bastard) |
| Final tvN rating | 2.8 percent nationwide (Nielsen Korea), up from 2.3 percent the previous episode[4](https://www.soompi.com/article/1702829wpp/dongjae-the-good-or-the-bastard-ends-on-ratings-rise-brewing-love-achieves-its-highest-ratings-yet) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and characters
Seo Dong-jae is a prosecutor in the Cheongju District Prosecutors' Office. He is ambitious and puts his career success first, but he is not completely cold-hearted. Because of the label attached to him as a corrupt prosecutor, his future in the service is poor: he is repeatedly passed over for promotion and given drudge work, while ambitious juniors rise below him and supervisors watch him from above.[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Dongjae%2C_the_Good_or_the_Bastard) • [3](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3281029/k-drama-dongjae-good-or-bastard-lee-joon-hyuk-leads-bouncy-stranger-spin) • [5](https://www.intl.paramountplus.com/gb/shows/dongjae-the-good-or-the-bastard/)
The story opens with the results of another promotion review going against him. While he is entangled in trouble over a redevelopment case, he takes on the murder case of a female high school student, and the series follows him as he balances his intuition as a prosecutor against his instinct as an opportunist.[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Dongjae%2C_the_Good_or_the_Bastard) • [3](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3281029/k-drama-dongjae-good-or-bastard-lee-joon-hyuk-leads-bouncy-stranger-spin)
The main cast includes [Lee Joon](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-joon)-hyuk as Seo Dong-jae, Park Sung-woong as Nam Wan-seong, Hyun Bong-sik as Cho Byung-gun, Lee Hang-na as Jeon Mi-ran, and Jung Woon-sun as Kim Ji Hui.[6](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/show/dongjae-the-good-or-the-bastard?context.unit=HC) Nam Wan-seong, a construction company representative who digs into Dong-jae's past wrongdoings, is the antagonist of a mudslinging struggle that drives the plot.[7](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/bulletin_2024-11-25.pdf)
## Relationship to Stranger
The series is a spin-off of the first two seasons of the tvN drama *Stranger* (비밀의 숲, 2017 and 2020), in which Seo Dong-jae appeared as a supporting character, a corrupt prosecutor.[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Dongjae%2C_the_Good_or_the_Bastard) • [8](https://www.kocca.kr/trend/vol41/241209/file/KOCCA_BROADCATING_TRENDS_Vol_41.pdf) In the spin-off, the character is drawn as struggling to break free of his past wrongs, and the series completes another 10-episode run with the former villain as its protagonist.[8](https://www.kocca.kr/trend/vol41/241209/file/KOCCA_BROADCATING_TRENDS_Vol_41.pdf)
*Stranger* stars [Cho Seung-woo](https://www.edgepedia.org/cho-seung-woo) and Bae Doo-na do not return; showrunner Lee Su-yeon remains at the reins, steering a mix of comedy, thrills, and legal shenanigans around the title character's moral minefield.[3](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3281029/k-drama-dongjae-good-or-bastard-lee-joon-hyuk-leads-bouncy-stranger-spin) Lee Joon-hyuk said he was initially reluctant to revisit the role, worried the spin-off might damage the original, and that he telephoned Cho Seung-woo at the start to say he did not want to shoot it.[7](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/bulletin_2024-11-25.pdf)
## Release and reception
The series premiered at the Busan International Film Festival one week ahead of its streaming debut.[3](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3281029/k-drama-dongjae-good-or-bastard-lee-joon-hyuk-leads-bouncy-stranger-spin) In its first week of release it ranked first in paid-subscriber contribution among TVING original series, and viewers coined the nickname "Better Call Dongjae" by analogy with *Better Call Saul*, the spin-off of *Breaking Bad*.[7](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/bulletin_2024-11-25.pdf)
On linear television, the final episode drew an average nationwide viewership rating of 2.8 percent on tvN according to Nielsen Korea, a 0.5 percentage point rise from the previous episode's 2.3 percent.[4](https://www.soompi.com/article/1702829wpp/dongjae-the-good-or-the-bastard-ends-on-ratings-rise-brewing-love-achieves-its-highest-ratings-yet) On IMDb the series holds a 7.4/10 rating from about 220 users.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29311315/) Internationally, the series was scheduled for release on [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) in January 2025.[10](https://cjenmir.irplus.co.kr/fileupload/analyst_e/202411/20241128_cjenm1.pdf)
## Significance as a spin-off
Korean commentary on drama spin-offs noted that proper precedents had been hard to find until 2024, when this series drew attention as a fully realized case: a derivative work of an existing drama IP that made a former villain its protagonist and completed a full 10-episode run.[8](https://www.kocca.kr/trend/vol41/241209/file/KOCCA_BROADCATING_TRENDS_Vol_41.pdf) Lee Joon-hyuk attributed the character's popularity to the fact that Seo Dong-jae differs from the clichéd villain who repents and sheds tears; the character carries an inferiority complex and a sense of entitlement from attending a regional university in a legal profession dominated by [Seoul National University](https://www.edgepedia.org/seoul-national-university) graduates, and has bowed to power.[7](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/bulletin_2024-11-25.pdf)
## References
1. [Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Dongjae%2C_the_Good_or_the_Bastard)
2. [Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/dongjae-the-good-or-the-bastard)
3. [K-drama Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard: Lee Joon-hyuk leads bouncy Stranger spin-off, South China Morning Post (Pierce Conran, 4 October 2024)](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3281029/k-drama-dongjae-good-or-bastard-lee-joon-hyuk-leads-bouncy-stranger-spin)
4. ["Dongjae, The Good Or The Bastard" Ends On Ratings Rise, Soompi (13 November 2024)](https://www.soompi.com/article/1702829wpp/dongjae-the-good-or-the-bastard-ends-on-ratings-rise-brewing-love-achieves-its-highest-ratings-yet)
5. [Dongjae, The Good or The Bastard, Paramount+](https://www.intl.paramountplus.com/gb/shows/dongjae-the-good-or-the-bastard/)
6. [Dongjae, The Good or The Bastard, Plex](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/show/dongjae-the-good-or-the-bastard?context.unit=HC)
7. [K-media Rods bulletin, 25 November 2024 (interview with Lee Joon-hyuk)](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/bulletin_2024-11-25.pdf)
8. [KOCCA Broadcasting Trends Vol. 41 (December 2024)](https://www.kocca.kr/trend/vol41/241209/file/KOCCA_BROADCATING_TRENDS_Vol_41.pdf)
9. [Dongjae, the Good or the Bastard (TV Series 2024), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29311315/)
10. [CJ ENM analyst report, November 2024](https://cjenmir.irplus.co.kr/fileupload/analyst_e/202411/20241128_cjenm1.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Korean contemporary drama › Thriller, crime, and mystery series › Legal and political thrillers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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