Gangnam B-Side Episode 1 Review: A Case of Missing Women

Gangnam B-Side is a crime-drama series on Disney+ which follows police detective Kang Dong-won, who, after getting rejected from his prestigious job and his family, starts working at a rural outpost to put the life of crime and dangers behind him. However, when his daughter’s friend suddenly goes missing, he is drawn once more to the vices and the corruption of Gangnam, Seoul, and he teams up with a mysterious broker Yoon Gil-ho and prosecutor Min Seo-jin to get to the bottom of the mystery.

The series, written by Joo Won-gyu and Park Noo-ri, will release 8 episodes from November 06 to November 27, 2024.

Gangnam B-Side Episode 1 Recap

The episode opens with Kang Dong-won orchestrating a huge bust at a nightclub which his colleagues aren’t happy about – Dong-won doesn’t have authorisation and it seems like his colleague also has something to lose through this bust. He is proven right later on when he catches Jang-ho with drugs at the nightclub, who eventually tells him that everyone in Major Crimes is involved in this operation. Eventually, Dong-won’s colleague is also arrested.

On the other hand, at a nightclub, we see two women, Jae-hee and Jung-hwa, trying to get out of a perilous situation, where they are being forced to do some illegal things. While the latter is caught, Jae-hee escapes. At the same nightclub, we see Yoon Gil-ho beating up a drug dealer for giving drugs to his girls and realises that he can’t get in touch with either of the girls. Meanwhile, Dong-won continues his usual work at his new village outpost, refusing to do anything remotely illegal.

He later gets him to come back and put his talents to use, citing a ton of girls who are going missing in Gangnam. In the midst of this, we also learn that his daughter is having a mental health crisis thanks to facing horrible bullying at school. However, when Ye-seo mentions to him to find Jae-hee, he can’t help but make the connection and make up his mind as well. He goes to a colleague to investigate Jae-hee’s whereabouts, who is able to give him some information and helps him make a connection between her and Gil-ho.

As Dong-won searches for the next clue, as well as Gil-ho, the latter tries to find Jung-hwa’s whereabouts, who is escorted to a hotel room with five men and the next scene shows her turning up dead, with Gil-ho looking at her. Meanwhile, we are introduced to prosecutor Min Seo-jin, who is heading the missing persons investigation.

Gangnam B-Side Episode 1 Review

The episode starts off strong, with a ton of different things happening at once. With murder and drugs in the mix, there’s bound to be something twisted and disturbing coming up soon and we will be left rooting for Jae-hee and Jung-hwa sooner rather than later. The series has a dark and dreary tone and will leave you waiting for more. What dark secrets lie waiting just underneath the surface? What more will Dong-won uncover through this investigation? We will only have to wait and watch!

Watch Gangnam B-Side on Disney+.

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