The “Strong Girl” K-Drama franchise consists of two hit shows: Strong Girl Bong Soon (Strong Woman Do Bong Soon) and Strong Girl Nam Soon. Both K-Dramas became global favorites, with viewers from all around the world.
“Strong Woman Do Bong Soon” | JTBC
So when, at the end of the Strong Girl Nam Soon‘s finale episode, the franchise hinted at a potential male version spin-off—assumed to be something along the lines of Strong Man Choong Dong…
“Strong Girl Nam Soon” | Netflix
…the negative reactions to the idea might have been unexpected.
아니 스핀오프로
힘쎈남자 장충동 …? pic.twitter.com/2JXnmV5MiP
— 시즌 (@season__22) November 26, 2023
Wait, is this a spin-off teaser? Is it going to be Strong Man Jang Choong Dong…?
— @season__22/Twitter
But via online communities and social media platforms, Koreans, and even international viewers, pointed out that a male version would defeat the purpose of the female character-driven franchise.
| theqoo “But the world is full of men using their strengths. We don’t need to see another male character—one punching a computer monitor at that—to be the lead of a K-Drama.” “Strong man… f*ck that.” “The ‘Strong Girl’ franchise was meaningful because it was female character driven. Am I wrong?” “A ‘strong’ man who smashes computer monitors after losing a PC game is not it.” “Yeah, no. We’re not interested in watching a show about some loser.” “Anger management, much?”
Some took it a step further and criticized the premise of the said “Jang Choong Dong” character, based on the behavior that was shown in the teaser.
| theqoo “It looks like the male lead comes with an anger management issue.” “WTF?” “I tried watching the two female versions for… sh*ts and giggles. Which I failed. And no, I will not be watching the male spin-off.” “But who wants to watch a ‘strong man’ going around smashing monitors? In fact, characters like that remind me of crimes happening in real life. Gives me goosebumps.” “Um…? That defeats the purpose of the franchise. Isn’t it supposed to be about female characters being strong warriors? Flip that, and the plot is no longer special.” “But who would watch Strong Man Jang Choong Dong?”
The “Strong Girl” franchise scriptwriter Baek Mi Kyung has neither confirmed nor denied the speculations surrounding the male version spin-off.
Read more about the cast of Strong Girl Nam Soon here.
Who’s Dating Who? The “Strong Girl Nam Soon” Cast’s Real-Life Romances
