Action noirs and stories of espionage are traditionally dominated by men, but My Name introduces a female lead to the classic revenge theme. It offers a refreshing mix of deftly carried out elements within the genre. 

The cast consists of Han So-hee in the spotlight surrounded by powerful actors: Park Hee-soon, Ahn Bo-hyun, Kim Sang-ho, Lee Hak-ju, Jang Yull and Yun Gyeong-ho. With each actor holding their own in a well-orchestrated drama, My Name, according to Director Kim Jin-min, is a testament to the great things that happen when the actors give their all.

Han So-hee transforms herself in the lead role of Jiwoo, who witnesses her father die right before her eyes and joins the crime ring he belonged to for revenge. There, prodded by his best friend and the leader of the ring, Mujin (Park Hee-soon), she enters the police force as a mole under the alias Oh Hyejin. With each step Jiwoo takes to find her father’s killer, she must face brutal truths that harden her even more.

Park Hee-soon has earned audiences’ trust with solid performances in The Witch: Part 1 - The Subversion, 1987: When the Day Comes and The Fortress. He plays Mujin, who heads the country’s largest drug ring, the Dongcheon cartel. After the death of his friend Donghoon (Yun Gyeong-ho) whom he trusted like a brother, Mujin accepts Donghoon’s daughter Jiwoo into the organization and leads her to go undercover into the police force. Although Mujin does everything in his power to protect Jiwoo from harm, he remains a veiled character who piques viewers’ curiosity more and more with each episode.

Ahn Bo-hyun plays the role of Pildo, Jiwoo’s partner who is the top cop in the narcotics division and a man of unbending principles. Ahn creates momentum for his character Pildo who becomes increasingly compelling and captivating as the storyline crosses into the latter half. He also creates convincing on-screen chemistry with Han So-hee as her partner. Han So-hee, Park Hee-soon and Ahn Bo-hyun, each playing a drug lord, an undercover mole and a cop respectively, come together as a formidable team of leads to bring the series to new heights.

Rounding out the cast are: Kim Sang-ho, who commands a presence with every role he undertakes, playing Giho, the chief of the Drug Investigation Unit; Lee Hak-ju plays Taeju, Mujin’s right-hand man and the second-in-command of the Dongcheon cartel; Jang Yull, who is building an impressive filmography in both plays and dramas, playing Gangjae, a member of the cartel who embroils Jiwoo in a major conflict; and Yun Gyeong-ho, whose character portrayals run a wide spectrum, playing Jiwoo’s father Donghoon.

To set the genre-appropriate ambiance, special care was taken with dark lighting and tones. Director Kim Jin-min is gifted in melding the ordinary with the extraordinary in creating a convincing reality. Distinguishing Korean cultural establishments such as bars, restaurants, singing joints, and gaming cafes line alleyways with glaring neon signs and dark corners. Such is the backdrop against which Han So-hee’s character Jiwoo shows off raw action moves. Uniquely Korean details incorporated into characteristic genre elements give My Name a breath of fresh air. 

Watch My Name on Netflix now!