Lee Dong-Wook Is A Thug Who Longs To Be A Poet In ‘The Nice Guy’

Lee Dong-wook plays a third generation criminal in ‘The Nice Guy.’

Disney/Hulu

Lee Dong-wook fans, be warned. Lee’s character gets stabbed within the first three minutes of The Nice Guy. And even after this brutal opening, you will likely want to watch the rest of this entertaining series to learn what happens to him. Why? It turns out he actually is a nice guy, despite his line of work.

Lee plays Park Seok-cheol, a character whose occupation includes stabbings as part of the job description. He’s a thug but it wasn’t a career choice. He grew up in the business as the grandson in a three-generation crime family. What he really wants to be is a poet, and not just because it involves fewer stabbings. He’s not easily scared by guns or knives. Yet telling his dad that he wants out of the family business is too scary to contemplate.

The plot of The Nice Guy is seasoned with entertaining elements of several genres. There are good gangsters and not-quite-crooked cops, there’s emotional family drama, a sweet romance, dark comedy and just enough action scenes to propel the story. Much of the family drama is supplied by Seok-cheol’s older sister, Seok-kyung, played by Oh Na-ra (My Mister). She gambled their house away and then ran away, leaving her child behind. She too is terrified of facing her father, played by Cheon Ho-jin.

Through his other sister, Seok-hee (Ryeo Hye-young), Seokcheol reunites with his first love, Kang Mi-young (Lee Sung-kyung). Mi-young is a gifted singer and pianist with performance anxiety. She’s also the classic k-drama heroine who works hard at multiple jobs and remains optimistic. She nobly works day and night to care for her mom. Such k-drama heroines are often rescued from their bad luck by the right man, often a rich man, but could the right man for her be Seok-cheol? He hasn’t even figured out his own life yet. At least being a thug is more lucrative than being a poet.

The Nice Guy is Lee Dong-wook’s third drama appearance in two years. He also appeared in The Divorce Insurance and the action-packed A Shop For Killers. Lee Sung-kyung can be seen in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo, Shooting Stars and Dr. Romantic. Ryeo currently also plays a lawyer in Law and the City. She previously appeared in Gangnam B-side.

The JTBC drama is directed by Song Hae-sung and Park Hong-soo. It was written by Kim Woon-gyung and Kim Hyo-seok. It airs on Disney internationally and on Hulu in the U.S.