Kdrama Review: Bel Ami + You're All Surrounded (AKA Hot Cops, Cases and Crimes)


After a relaxing vacation States-side, I’m back to Asia, back to teaching, and back to watching kdrama! And my first drama since being back was sure to be historic. My curiosity about the so-called Prince of Asia had peaked, especially after reading about his charms online and constantly running into cardboard cutouts of him in Caffé Bene. He starred in my first kdrama, “You’re Beautiful,” and I felt it was time to see him again. Thus I started Jang Keun Suk’s latest, “Bel Ami” (or “Pretty Man”).


This drama was, in fact, historical for me, but for a quite different reason. It can be marked down as the first kdrama of my watching career that… I QUIT.

I can only put up with so many hours of every woman on screen ogling over and clinging to an arrogant, gold-digging pretty boy. I can put up with even less pathetic female lead, who has a degree but no job, no self-esteem, who pools her miniscule earnings to buy things for said pretty boy who’s never so much as looked at her. I’m getting nauseous just recalling it. The second, mystery plotline seemed somewhat interesting, but the lead guy / lead girl relationship was so dire I couldn’t keep with it.

After the horror of watching drooling, wealthy women chase after a long-haired, haughty “bel ami” – UGH – I resorted to a cop drama. “You’re All Surrounded” saved my faith in kdrama with action, guns, murder, mysteries, hostages, friendship, and adventure! Oh, and, uh, super manly men and strong female characters.


“You’re All Surrounded” is about four new detectives, fresh out of the Police Academy, and their old-fashioned, legendary Team Leader. Everybody’s got a back story, rifled with unsolved murders, secret identities, and hidden agendas. Male lead Eun Dae Gu secretly hunts the criminals who tore his life apart as a child, while his new partner Eo Soo Sun struggles to keep her job as a female detective, and guilt-ridden Team Leader Seo meets an old flame. The first episode is primarily a giant flashback, yet still delivers excellent suspense and action sequences.

“You’re All Surrounded” is a bit more mature than my usual rom com kdrama fare, and I rate it a dramaland PG13 for violence, language and some mature themes. The love story, however, is sweet and pure all through. (Dawww, I love awkward, innocent, Asian romance!!)

A few aspects of this drama pleasantly surprised me. One: its unpredictable and intricate plot. There were a few times where I called it, but most of the drama I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. Then again, I don’t really watch cop dramas (Korean or otherwise), so I’m not an expert. But I really enjoyed all the interconnected twists and turns in the story!

Two: The pacing of the romance was wonderful! Yes, this cop drama has love, and it’s very well done. (None of that City-Hunter-agony of an unfulfilled ending.) All girls involved are competent and confident. All guys involved are decent human beings with actual personalities. YES!

Three: I’m a sucker for character development. I loved the friendships amongst the four new detectives and how they grew as a team. I loved the emotional development of Dae Gu as a person in addition to the emotional development of the romance. I loved how characters grappled with justice, responsibility, legality, adversity, and good versus evil.

It was fun to see Little Brother from “Man From the Stars” again (model Ahn Jae Hyun), and Evil Dad from “The Heirs” kept up his evil-fathering, angry-eyebrow-raising ways (Jung Dong Hwan). This was my first drama with Lee Seung Gi or Go Ara, and I will definitely watch more of them in the future! I’m so glad that I didn’t suffer through too much of “Bel Ami” and moved on to better drama like “You’re All Surrounded”!



I mean, is it even a contest?

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