# Seoul Busters
**Seoul Busters** (강매강: 강력하진 않지만 매력적인 강력반; revised romanization *Kangmaekang: Gangryeokhajin Anjiman Maeryeokjeokin Gangryeokban*) is a South Korean comedy crime television series that aired on Disney+ from September 11 to October 30, 2024, in 20 episodes[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Seoul_Busters). It follows the nation's lowest-ranked homicide squad, Violent Crimes Unit 2 of the Songwon Police Station, after an elite detective volunteers to become their new captain[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Seoul_Busters). The series streams on Disney+ internationally and on Hulu in the United States[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/seoul_busters/s01).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Korean title | 강매강: 강력하진 않지만 매력적인 강력반, roughly "Not Powerful, but Attractive Crime Squad"[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Seoul_Busters) |
| Network and run | Disney+, 20 episodes, September 11 to October 30, 2024[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Seoul_Busters) |
| Genre | Comedy and police procedural[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Seoul_Busters) |
| Director | Ahn Jong-yeon, director of SBS's *Racket Boys* (2021)[3](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/disney-cop-comedy-series-seoul-busters-guns-for-big-laughs/12032193) |
| Writers | Lee Young-chul (*High Kick!* series) and Lee Kwang-jae (*Potato Star 2013QR3*)[3](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/disney-cop-comedy-series-seoul-busters-guns-for-big-laughs/12032193) |
| Lead cast | Kim Dong-wook, Park Ji-hwan, Seo Hyun-woo, Park Se-wan, Lee Seung-woo[4](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3278348/disney-police-show-k-drama-seoul-busters-kim-dong-wook-swaps-crime-comedy) |
| Availability | Disney+ internationally, Hulu in the US; rated TV-14[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/seoul_busters/s01) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
Dongbang Yu-bin ([Kim Dong-wook](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-dong-wook)) is a police academy ace working as a professor at a prestigious university outside South Korea. Offered a lifetime faculty position, he turns it down and instead volunteers to lead Violent Crimes Unit 2 at Songwon Police Station, the squad with the lowest arrest rate in the country[4](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3278348/disney-police-show-k-drama-seoul-busters-kim-dong-wook-swaps-crime-comedy) • [1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Seoul_Busters). The story opens with the bumbling detectives botching a stakeout in a park, after which their captain takes the blame and is transferred to the countryside[4](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3278348/disney-police-show-k-drama-seoul-busters-kim-dong-wook-swaps-crime-comedy).
A running visual gag anchors the setting: the crime squad uses an old daycare center as its makeshift headquarters instead of a police station, complete with forgotten toys, children's art hung next to evidence boards, and tiny furniture[5](https://www.soompi.com/article/1682766wpp/watch-kim-dong-wook-park-se-wan-and-more-strive-to-become-an-elite-crime-fighting-unit-in-new-comedy-drama-seoul-busters) • [6](https://gazettely.com/2024/11/entertainment/seoul-busters-review/).
### Cast and characters
- **Kim Dong-wook** as Dongbang Yu-bin, the new captain, a deductive genius with a peculiar sense of humor[4](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3278348/disney-police-show-k-drama-seoul-busters-kim-dong-wook-swaps-crime-comedy) • [7](https://www.nme.com/reviews/tv-reviews/seoul-busters-review-disney-plus-k-drama-3792180).
- **Park Ji-hwan** as Moo Joong-ryeok, a former national boxer and instinctive detective who tackles cases head-on[3](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/disney-cop-comedy-series-seoul-busters-guns-for-big-laughs/12032193) • [5](https://www.soompi.com/article/1682766wpp/watch-kim-dong-wook-park-se-wan-and-more-strive-to-become-an-elite-crime-fighting-unit-in-new-comedy-drama-seoul-busters).
- **Seo Hyun-woo** as Jung Jung-hwan, a methodical, frugal detective and excellent shot[3](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/disney-cop-comedy-series-seoul-busters-guns-for-big-laughs/12032193) • [7](https://www.nme.com/reviews/tv-reviews/seoul-busters-review-disney-plus-k-drama-3792180).
- **Park Se-wan** as Seo Min-seo, a blunt, hot-tempered detective[3](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/disney-cop-comedy-series-seoul-busters-guns-for-big-laughs/12032193).
- **Lee Seung-woo** as Jang Tan-sik, the cheerful youngest member, who has an acute sense of smell; the actor studied how dogs sniff and react to play the trait[3](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/disney-cop-comedy-series-seoul-busters-guns-for-big-laughs/12032193).
Director Ahn Jong-yeon said he cast Kim because he "looks normal but actually is not," combining apparent intelligence with clumsiness[3](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/disney-cop-comedy-series-seoul-busters-guns-for-big-laughs/12032193).
## Production and release
The series was directed by Ahn Jong-yeon and Shin Jung-hun and written by the sitcom veterans Lee Young-chul and [Lee Kwang-jae](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-kwang-jae)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/seoul_busters/s01) • [3](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/disney-cop-comedy-series-seoul-busters-guns-for-big-laughs/12032193). The first four episodes premiered on September 11, 2024, with new episodes dropping every Wednesday thereafter[8](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/amp/news/international/seoul-busters-review-kim-dong-wook-park-se-wan-park-ji-hwan-seo-hyun-woo-hit-right-notes-slapstick-shenanigans-new-k-drama-crime-comedy/). At the press conference held in Guro District, western Seoul, actor Seo Hyun-woo said he had cracked back teeth from clenching them to hold back laughter during shoots[3](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/disney-cop-comedy-series-seoul-busters-guns-for-big-laughs/12032193).
For Kim Dong-wook, the role marked his first comedy series in five years, since MBC's *Special Labor Inspector, Mr. Jo* (2019); he said comedy was a genre he had long waited for[3](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/disney-cop-comedy-series-seoul-busters-guns-for-big-laughs/12032193).
## Style and reception
The show pairs slapstick and situational comedy with genuine criminal cases, including murder, kidnapping, arson, artifact theft, and illegal gambling, while keeping a light tone throughout[4](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3278348/disney-police-show-k-drama-seoul-busters-kim-dong-wook-swaps-crime-comedy) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/seoul_busters/s01). Reviewers noted its resemblance to the American sitcom *Brooklyn Nine-Nine* and to the 2019 Korean box office hit film *Extreme Job*[7](https://www.nme.com/reviews/tv-reviews/seoul-busters-review-disney-plus-k-drama-3792180) • [9](https://www.filmfare.com/reviews/web-series/seoul-busters-review-kim-dong-wook-leads-an-over-the-top-police-comedy-68434.amp). The Philippine Daily Inquirer praised the cast's easy chemistry and a breezy treatment recalling Hollywood police procedurals of the late 1970s and early 1980s, while conceding that not every joke lands[10](https://entertainment.inquirer.net/577136/seoul-busters-finds-likable-underdogs-in-crime-bungling-cops).
**Balancing tone.** The NME review highlighted how the script, by the experienced sitcom writers, balances campy humor with first-degree murders and police drama, including parodic cutaways and tender slice-of-life moments[7](https://www.nme.com/reviews/tv-reviews/seoul-busters-review-disney-plus-k-drama-3792180). Filmfare found the early episodes largely self-aware and noted that the show touches on social issues such as [workplace bullying](https://www.edgepedia.org/workplace-bullying) in the entertainment industry, though it judged that potential largely untapped[9](https://www.filmfare.com/reviews/web-series/seoul-busters-review-kim-dong-wook-leads-an-over-the-top-police-comedy-68434.amp). Each episode runs just under 50 minutes[8](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/amp/news/international/seoul-busters-review-kim-dong-wook-park-se-wan-park-ji-hwan-seo-hyun-woo-hit-right-notes-slapstick-shenanigans-new-k-drama-crime-comedy/).
On Rotten Tomatoes, the season held a Tomatometer based on only two critic reviews, with Filmfare rating it 3 out of 5 and Decider finding it broad and goofy but not consistently funny[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/seoul_busters/s01). Audience response was warmer: AsianWiki users gave it 91 out of 100 across 609 votes[1](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Seoul_Busters), and Gazettely's review scored it 7 out of 10, crediting the daycare setting, ensemble performances, and character growth[6](https://gazettely.com/2024/11/entertainment/seoul-busters-review/).
## References
1. [Seoul Busters, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/index.php?title=Seoul_Busters)
2. [Seoul Busters: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/seoul_busters/s01)
3. [Disney+ cop comedy series 'Seoul Busters' guns for big laughs, Korea JoongAng Daily](https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/entertainment/disney-cop-comedy-series-seoul-busters-guns-for-big-laughs/12032193)
4. [In Disney+ police show K-drama Seoul Busters, Kim Dong-wook swaps crime for comedy, South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3278348/disney-police-show-k-drama-seoul-busters-kim-dong-wook-swaps-crime-comedy)
5. [Watch: Kim Dong Wook, Park Se Wan, And More Strive To Become An Elite Crime-Fighting Unit In New Comedy Drama "Seoul Busters", Soompi](https://www.soompi.com/article/1682766wpp/watch-kim-dong-wook-park-se-wan-and-more-strive-to-become-an-elite-crime-fighting-unit-in-new-comedy-drama-seoul-busters)
6. [Seoul Busters Review: Playground Precinct Pandemonium, Gazettely](https://gazettely.com/2024/11/entertainment/seoul-busters-review/)
7. ['Seoul Busters' review: slapstick crime-comedy revels in chaos, NME](https://www.nme.com/reviews/tv-reviews/seoul-busters-review-disney-plus-k-drama-3792180)
8. [Seoul Busters Review: Kim Dong Wook, Park Se Wan, Park Ji Hwan and Seo Hyun Woo hit the right notes, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/amp/news/international/seoul-busters-review-kim-dong-wook-park-se-wan-park-ji-hwan-seo-hyun-woo-hit-right-notes-slapstick-shenanigans-new-k-drama-crime-comedy/)
9. [Seoul Busters Review: An over-the-top police comedy, Filmfare](https://www.filmfare.com/reviews/web-series/seoul-busters-review-kim-dong-wook-leads-an-over-the-top-police-comedy-68434.amp)
10. ['Seoul Busters' finds likable underdogs in crime-bungling cops, Philippine Daily Inquirer](https://entertainment.inquirer.net/577136/seoul-busters-finds-likable-underdogs-in-crime-bungling-cops)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Genre and subject-scripted series › Crime, police, and detective series › Asian and other international crime series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license