Strong Woman Do Bong Soon is perfectly enjoyable and is full of iconic characters and dialogue. It's a fun, easy watch that doesn't require much thinking. However, there is one key element of the show that is missing: a clear message.

Granted, not every show needs to have a message. However, SWDBS shoves a theme of "girl power" down our throats without really saying anything about it.

Whenever Bong Soon has to fight with men, they always underestimate her because she is a woman. However, the show somewhat argues that their belief that women are weak is a correct one; Bong Soon is the only strong female character, and that is only because she has superpowers. In fact, she consistently talks about how she needs to protect the weak from the strong, mainly focusing on women. The show does everything in its power to differentiate Bong Soon from "other girls" who are "weak".

Another example of failed feminism in the show is the bizarre lack of female characters. There are no female police officers working with Gok Doo (you would think there would be, given they are catching a criminal that exclusively targets women), no female gangsters, and no female executives at Ainsoft. The main cast is almost exclusively men and most of the narratives surround men. The female characters don't usually get much characterization, and most of our descriptors for them are traumatic things that happen to them or their connection to male characters. They serve no purpose other than to advance the narratives of Do Bong Soon or one of the many male main characters.

The one exception to this rule is Bong Soon's mother, but that isn't necessarily a good thing. She is frequently shown hitting her husband and her daughter, which was deeply upsetting and demonstrated an incredibly surface-level understanding of feminism. Bong Soon's mother has reversed gender roles, with her being domineering and assertive, and this is played for laughs. This is concerning for two reasons: 1) behaving like your oppressor isn't empowerment, and 2) it makes abuse seem like not a big deal.

Finally, the main villain is so over the top and ridiculous that it sensationalized sexual violence and made it into an individual issue rather than a societal one. None of the sexist characters learn anything or change their ways after meeting Bong Soon.

Overall, SWDBS had so much potential to make real criticisms about society but instead capitalized on surface-level "girl power" narratives that maintained the status quo. That being said, it's a fun watch and the chemistry and acting are super enjoyable.