Heartless City 무정도시 is my forty-first drama and one of my new all-time favorites. While looking for an action-heavy drama series, I came across Heartless City, which was described as a noir/crime thriller. When I took a glance at the casting, I did not recognize many of the actors. In fact, the only one I recognized was the main actress, Nam Gyu Ri. However, it simply because she was a singer in one of my favorite ballad groups, See Ya. In the end, I decided to give Heartless City a shot and I wondered why I didn't watch it sooner.
Ji Hyungmin (Lee Jae Yoon) is a police officer assigned to assemble a special investigation unit, tasked to hunt down an elusive drug supplier known as "Scale". During a mission to find Scale, fellow detective and girlfriend Lee Kyungmi (Go Na Eun) is killed in the line of duty. Feeling guilty and responsible for failing to protect Kyungmi, Hyungmin swears to find the one who killed her. Hyungmin learns that he isn't the only one looking for Scale. Hyungmin's investigation leads him on a wild hunt for Jung Shihyun (Jung Kyung Ho), a man known only by the alias "Doctor's Son". There is inner conflict within the drug ring and Shihyun's leading the coup d'état to overthrow Scale. Kyungmi's best friend Yoon Soomin (Nam Gyu Ri) is determined to seek revenge by picking up where Kyungmi left off. Soomin goes undercover to search for "Doctor's Son", the prime suspect for Kyungmi's death. Heartless City is a story that revolves around the gangsters of an infamous drug ring and the detectives who set out to catch and arrest them. It's set in a world with one rule: Once you get in too deep, there's no turning back.
The story is complicated overall but Heartless City does a great job easing the viewers into the story. I was grateful that characters were introduced slowly and as they were relevant to the story. In a drama where both the gangsters and detectives are posing as double agents, it's difficult to keep track of the 'good guys' and the 'bad guys'. Heartless City does a great job with delving into each character's past, regardless of whether they were a main or secondary character. As a result, there is a feeling of understanding and even a moment of sympathy for all the characters. I liked how most of the characters cannot be labeled clearly as 'good guy' and 'bad guy'. While watching Heartless City, I wondered why the main lead looked familiar. The biggest surprise for me was realizing that Jung Kyung Ho was also one of the main leads in "I'm Sorry, I Love You". He played the character of pop singer Choi Yune in "I'm Sorry, I Love You". As I recalled, I lacked interest in the character because I felt Choi Yune was a wimpy flower boy. The realization blew my mind apart in the same exact way when I saw the difference between Lee Min Ho's characters from Boys Over Flowers and City Hunter. Jung Kyung Ho's acting in Heartless City definitely changed my mind and I'm looking forward to seeing his acting in a future drama series.
Although the soundtrack contains several songs, the most important one is Kim Yong Jin's "Pain 상처". This song is first introduced at the end of the first episode during Shihyun's fight scene. The background enhanced the feeling of awe when I watched Shihyun take out ten gangsters in a narrow hallway. An ending theme with an addicting hook is always needed to cause a marathon of episodes and this song was successful in doing so.
Heartless City lists as one of my all time favorite dramas for many reasons. It took the elements I enjoyed most from action/conspiracy dramas like IRIS and City Hunter and condensed it into a much darker setting. Anyone who has enjoyed crime/police stories like Hong Kong film "Infernal Affairs" or its American adaptation "The Departed", would also enjoy Heartless City. The sheer number of betrayals, alliances and truces formed between all the characters will completely pull at the viewer's attention. The only drawback I see is that Heartless City has its fair share of violent fight scenes and lacks any light humor, which may be a turnoff for some people. The ending was appropriate and does not disappoint a viewer who has just invested twenty hours into the roller coaster of emotions. Heartless City is a high recommendation and should not be missed out for any drama fanatic.
