If there's one country that Netflix has tapped into for new content, it's Korea. K-Drama has become enormously popular, largely thanks to the likes of Kingdom and Squid Game.
Dubbed as Korea's answer to Killing Eve, Inspector Koo hit our screens in 2021. But is it Killing Eve or is the comparison just too easy to make?
Essentially Inspector Koo (also known as A Wonderful Sight or 구경이 in Korean) is a cat and mouse chase between a young female serial killer and a slightly bonkers insurance investigator, who also happens to be a woman.
The story begins years earlier when Koo Kyung-yi (Lee Young ae) is working for the police, investigating the death of a janitor at a school. Her husband also happens to work at that school as a teacher and in the course of her investigation, she encounters the mysterious Song Yi-kyung (Kim Hye-jun).
Fast forward a few years and Kyung yi's husband is dead, having committed suicide after an alleged scandal with a student. Completely overwhelmed by events, Kyung yi is now a reclusive ex-cop, spending all her days online gaming and never leaving her house.
That is until a lifelong friend, Na Je Hee needs her help. Na Je Hee (Kwak Sun-young) works for an insurance company and needs to clear some claims to boost her credibility and get out of ‘Team B'. Along with colleague Oh Kyung-soo (Jo Hyun-chul), they manage to convince Kyung yi to leave her house and investigate the disappearance of a man, presumed dead.
On the trail and with the help of her fellow online gamer Santa (Baek Sung-chul), Inspector Koo goes looking for the truth. However, she gets more than she bargained for when she uncovers a series of seemingly unrelated deaths that all have one thing in common – a boat party.
With their crime scenes perfectly staged, it was assumed they were accidents. However, Kyung yi finds clues that they are all murders, committed by the same person. And that is when ‘Team B' from the insurance company decide to investigate and go on the hunt for the killer, known only as K.
As it turns out, Team B are not the only ones looking for ‘K'. Yong Sook, also known as Director Yong (Kim Hae-sook), is a formidable businesswoman with plenty of status in the community. Not willing to let anything get in her way in her quest for power, she wants to know who K is.
So now we have our main players, the plot deepens as K and her friend Geon-wook (Lee Hong-nae) continue on their killing spree. The question then becomes why are they targeting these specific people? Can Kyung yi stop the serial killer? And who will get caught up in the midst of all the chaos?
Is Inspector Koo Worth Watching?
Here's the thing about Inspector Koo – it's a little bit manic and the story jumps back and forth in time. We get a good sense of who all the characters are and why they do what they do but it takes time.
Actress Lee Young ae has played Inspector Koo (Kyung yi) as an almost crazy person. It's a very over the top performance but it is tempered by the cool calm collected nature of Kwak Sun-young as Na Je-hee, her friend.
I got the sense that if Kyung yi had been too rational then Inspector Koo would have lost a little of its spark. It also means that she bounces very well off the excellent and scheming Song Yi-kyung.
Like all shows, some episodes are better than others but there is a resolution at the end. It's not completely wrapped up in a big red bow, leaving some threads for a potential Season 2.
All that said, I really enjoyed watching it and got fully involved in the cat and mouse chase between the two lead characters. So if you like your smart crime shows with a dash of craziness then Inspector Koo will be right up your street.
Is There A Season 2 Of Inspector Koo?
Inspector Koo is a Korean tv show that aired in Korea before it started streaming on Netflix. Neither the original network that aired it nor Netflix has officially renewed it.
So for now we do not know if there will be a Season 2 of Inspector Koo.
Will we ever find out who exactly Kyung yi's assistant Santa is? Will serial killer K be back for another round with our favourite insurance investigator? Or will we be left to guess the ending for our favourite characters? We will just have to watch this space.
