# Strong Girl Bong-soon (힘쎈여자 도봉순)
**Strong Girl Bong-soon** (힘쎈여자 도봉순, also translated *Strong Woman Do Bong-soon*) is a 2017 South Korean television romantic comedy about Do Bong-soon, a small woman born with superhuman strength inherited through the women of her family, who is hired as a bodyguard by a gaming company chief executive while a serial kidnapper operates in her neighborhood. It was broadcast on the cable network JTBC, written by Baek Mi-kyung, directed by Lee Hyeong-min, and ran for 16 episodes from February 24 to April 15, 2017 in the Friday and Saturday 23:00 slot.[1](https://asianwiki.com/Strong_Girl_Bong-Soon) In 2017 it became one of the highest-rated K-dramas in South Korean cable history, and it spawned the 2023 spin-off *Strong Girl Nam-soon*.[2](https://www.nme.com/reviews/tv-reviews/strong-girl-nam-soon-review-lee-yoo-mi-3516914)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title / romanization | 힘쎈여자 도봉순 / Himssenyeoja Dobongsoon[1](https://asianwiki.com/Strong_Girl_Bong-Soon) |
| Network and run | JTBC, 16 episodes, February 24 to April 15, 2017, Fridays and Saturdays at 23:00[1](https://asianwiki.com/Strong_Girl_Bong-Soon) |
| Director / writer | Lee Hyeong-min / Baek Mi-kyung[1](https://asianwiki.com/Strong_Girl_Bong-Soon) |
| Main cast | Park Bo-young (Do Bong-soon), Park Hyung-sik (Ahn Min-hyuk), Ji Soo (In Guk-doo)[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6263222/) |
| Ratings (JTBC Studio data) | 7.6% average, 9.7% peak[4](https://www.paxnet.co.kr/WWW/data/researchCenter/attach/20201106112247032.pdf) |
| Award recognition | Park Bo-young nominated for Best Actress at the 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards (2017)[5](https://www.yoda.wiki/wiki/Strong_Girl_Bong-soon) |
| Spin-off | *Strong Girl Nam-soon* (JTBC/Netflix, 2023), written by Baek Mi-kyung[2](https://www.nme.com/reviews/tv-reviews/strong-girl-nam-soon-review-lee-yoo-mi-3516914) |
## Premise
Do Bong-soon ([Park Bo-young](https://www.edgepedia.org/park-bo-young)) was born with superhuman strength passed down through the women of her family. According to a viewer guide, the gift carries a condition: all the women in her family inherit it, but they can only keep it if they use it for the greater good.[6](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a26895105/best-korean-dramas/) Her dream is to create a video game with herself as the main character.[1](https://asianwiki.com/Strong_Girl_Bong-Soon)
The JTBC character page gives the setup in more detail. Bong-soon, a high school graduate repeatedly rejected in job applications, lives in the Dobong neighborhood of Seoul with her parents: her father Do Chil-gu, a former wrestler who now runs a walnut-pastry shop, and her mother Hwang Jin-i, who passed on the strong gene.[7](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/cast/PR10010452/1) Her mother learned of the family power at Bong-soon's first birthday, when the baby lifted her own dol table (Korean first-birthday ceremony table the baby lifts), and spent years teaching her to hide and control it.[7](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/cast/PR10010452/1) She has a fraternal twin brother, Do Bong-ki (Ahn Woo-yeon), a first-year medical resident who became a doctor specifically to find out the secret of his sister's strength and eventually accepts that her power cannot be explained neurologically or pathologically.[8](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/cast/PR10010452/4)
## Story and characters
The plot begins when Bong-soon, after 27 years of concealment, publicly unleashes her strength: she helps a bus driver attacked by a thug and then single-handedly fights off a group of thugs.[1](https://asianwiki.com/Strong_Girl_Bong-Soon) • [7](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/cast/PR10010452/1) Ahn Min-hyuk ([Park Hyung-sik](https://www.edgepedia.org/park-hyung-sik)), the eccentric chief executive of the gaming company Ainsoft, witnesses the scene and contacts her: he has been receiving threats and wants a bodyguard nobody would suspect.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6263222/) • [6](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a26895105/best-korean-dramas/) Bong-soon, whose first goal is a permanent job at Ainsoft, accepts the offer.[7](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/cast/PR10010452/1)
The series interweaves three strands: a workplace comedy built on the contract in which Bong-soon protects a wealthy man rather than the reverse, a love triangle, and a crime plot. The third point of the triangle is In Guk-doo ([Ji Soo](https://www.edgepedia.org/ji-soo)), Bong-soon's childhood friend and long-time crush, now a police officer assigned to a string of kidnappings that has frightened her neighborhood.[6](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a26895105/best-korean-dramas/) • [7](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/cast/PR10010452/1) Korean press materials describe the show as a tug-of-war romance among three men and women, in which a mysterious series of abductions of women intertwines with the romance.[9](https://www.hankyung.com/article/201703189743H)
## Production and reception
The drama was the first JTBC drama investment by the content company JContentree, which retained the intellectual property from this title onward.[10](https://file.mk.co.kr/imss/write/20180807112737__00.pdf) Writer Baek Mi-kyung went on to other series including JTBC's *Lady with Class* and tvN's *[Mine](https://www.edgepedia.org/mine-tv-series)*, and returned as writer for the spin-off.[11](https://www.jtbcmediacomm.co.kr/download/JELLO/JELLO%202023%EB%85%84%2009%EC%9B%94%ED%98%B8.pdf)
An investor report that tabulates JTBC Studio productions lists *Strong Girl Bong-soon* at a 7.6% average rating with a 9.7% peak.[4](https://www.paxnet.co.kr/WWW/data/researchCenter/attach/20201106112247032.pdf) NME's review of the spin-off calls the 2017 series one of the highest-rated K-dramas in South Korean cable history, noting its award-winning pedigree and commercial success.[2](https://www.nme.com/reviews/tv-reviews/strong-girl-nam-soon-review-lee-yoo-mi-3516914) On IMDb, the series holds a rating of 8.1/10 from about 25,000 users.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6263222/) Park Bo-young received a Best Actress nomination at the 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards in 2017.[5](https://www.yoda.wiki/wiki/Strong_Girl_Bong-soon)
Critics have been broadly positive about the comedy while divided on its tone. A retrospective review for [Celluloid](https://www.edgepedia.org/celluloid) rates it 4/5 and calls it one of the most likeable Korean romantic comedies of its era, praising Park Bo-young's comic timing and the playful chemistry with Park Hyung-sik, while reserving that the kidnapping subplot, with its violence and menace toward women, sits awkwardly beside the slapstick.[12](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/strong-woman-do-bong-soon-review/) Korean media during the run noted the series topping JTBC's ratings charts for three consecutive weeks.[13](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/replay/pr10010326/pm10025936/ep10033091/view)
## The spin-off
In 2023 JTBC and Netflix aired *Strong Girl Nam-soon*, a spin-off set in the same universe, with Baek Mi-kyung returning as writer six years after the original.[2](https://www.nme.com/reviews/tv-reviews/strong-girl-nam-soon-review-lee-yoo-mi-3516914) • [14](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/international/strong-girl-nam-soon-mid-season-review-jung-yoo-mi-ong-seung-wu-byeon-woo-seok-starrer-fantasy-rom-com-entertaining-yet-childish-sequel/) It stars [Lee Yoo-mi](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-yoo-mi) as Gang Nam-soon, described in promotional copy as the sixth cousin of Bong-soon, a young woman who disappeared during a childhood trip, grew up in Mongolia, and returns to Korea as an adult to find her parents, becoming entangled in a criminal case.[2](https://www.nme.com/reviews/tv-reviews/strong-girl-nam-soon-review-lee-yoo-mi-3516914) • [14](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/international/strong-girl-nam-soon-mid-season-review-jung-yoo-mi-ong-seung-wu-byeon-woo-seok-starrer-fantasy-rom-com-entertaining-yet-childish-sequel/) • [15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/strong_girl_nam_soon/s01)
## References
1. [Strong Girl Bong-Soon, AsianWiki profile](https://asianwiki.com/Strong_Girl_Bong-Soon)
2. [Hidzir Junaini (2023). 'Strong Girl Nam-soon' review: silly, slapstick, superpowered shenanigans. NME.](https://www.nme.com/reviews/tv-reviews/strong-girl-nam-soon-review-lee-yoo-mi-3516914)
3. [Strong Girl Bong-soon (TV Series 2017), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6263222/)
4. [Paxnet Company Report (November 6, 2020), JTBC Studio drama ratings table](https://www.paxnet.co.kr/WWW/data/researchCenter/attach/20201106112247032.pdf)
5. [힘센 소녀 봉순, Yoda.wiki (Baeksang nomination note)](https://www.yoda.wiki/wiki/Strong_Girl_Bong-soon)
6. [Ready to Dive Into the World of K-Dramas? Here's Where to Start, Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a26895105/best-korean-dramas/)
7. [등장인물 (Characters): 도봉순, JTBC official site](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/cast/PR10010452/1)
8. [등장인물 (Characters): 도봉기, JTBC official site](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/cast/PR10010452/4)
9. [도봉순의 면접룩, 협찬 브랜드 찾을 수 없던 이유, 한국경제 (Hankyung), March 19, 2017](https://www.hankyung.com/article/201703189743H)
10. [Industry In-depth, Maeil Business newspaper PDF (JContentree IP investment note)](https://file.mk.co.kr/imss/write/20180807112737__00.pdf)
11. [JTBC Mediacomm Ad Sales Guide, September 2023 (writer profile)](https://www.jtbcmediacomm.co.kr/download/JELLO/JELLO%202023%EB%85%84%2009%EC%9B%94%ED%98%B8.pdf)
12. [Kaiser Khan. Strong Woman Do Bong-soon (2017) Review: Muscle Meets Charm, Celluloid](https://celluloidscore.com/reviews/strong-woman-do-bong-soon-review/)
13. [다시보기 | 사건반장, JTBC replay page noting three consecutive weeks as ratings No. 1](https://tv.jtbc.co.kr/replay/pr10010326/pm10025936/ep10033091/view)
14. [Strong Girl Nam Soon Mid-Season Review, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/international/strong-girl-nam-soon-mid-season-review-jung-yoo-mi-ong-seung-wu-byeon-woo-seok-starrer-fantasy-rom-com-entertaining-yet-childish-sequel/)
15. [Strong Girl Nam-Soon: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/strong_girl_nam_soon/s01)
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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 › Fantasy, supernatural, and science fiction series › Premiered 2010 to 2022*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 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