Can these three captivating middle-aged men become MBC’s next big hit? The chaotic operation involving Shin Ha-kyun, Oh Jung-se, and Heo Sung-tae has officially begun.
The first episode of the MBC Friday-Saturday drama ‘Fifty Percent’ (written by Jang Won-seop, directed by Han Dong-hwa), aired on the 22nd, highlighted the tumultuous lives of three men with flashy pasts: NIS black agent Jung Ho-myung (Shin Ha-kyun), North Korean agent Bong Je-soon, also known as ‘Bulgae’ (Oh Jung-se), and former gangster Kang Beom-ryong (Heo Sung-tae).
From the start, high-tension action scenes grabbed viewers’ attention. Due to a past NIS project, the three men once faced off in a brutal hand-to-hand fight on a rainy night. Their lives were once a storm of conflicting interests, but after the storm passed, they settled into fragments of an ordinary life.
Those who once fought blindly in the rain are now living quiet lives in the corners of South Korea. The once-glamorous agent Jung Ho-myung has transformed into a Chinese restaurant chef, while the special agent ‘Bulgae’ (Je-soon) is now a low-ranking employee at a small company, constantly ignored by his boss.
Beom-ryong has left his flashy gangster past behind and now lives as a quiet neighborhood boss running a convenience store. Their current lives are peaceful. Despite their extraordinary pasts, they care for the youth around them and experience the joys and sorrows of ordinary people, making them feel like neighbors we might actually know.
However, their current lives are the definition of ‘small citizen’ struggles. Toward the end of the episode, Team Leader Jo (Kim Sang-ho), who has been desperately searching for the North Korean agent Bulgae, and Ho-myung accidentally find Je-soon.
After Je-soon’s nephew handed over a house inherited from his grandfather to gangsters for money, a furious Je-soon entered a dark den to retrieve the documents. Meanwhile, Ho-myung, who was running around trying to collect unpaid bills for his restaurant, spotted Bulgae engaged in a fierce brawl.
Ho-myung recognized the face he saw during the operation 10 years ago and felt the tension rise, thinking, “I finally found you, Bulgae.” The operation from a decade ago is finally reconnecting, and the three men are expected to shine in a future mission to wipe out dark villains.
The drama is a “salty” action-comedy about true professionals who have run through 50% of their lives. Though they’ve been beaten down by the world and their skills might be rusty, their loyalty and instincts remain. The premiere featured a fierce “scene-stealer” battle between three veteran actors.
Shin Ha-kyun dominates the screen with his charismatic gaze despite his size, Oh Jung-se breathes life and vitality into his character with his unique wit in every scene, and Heo Sung-tae brings warm humanism beneath his rough and blunt exterior. Their equal and intense acting battle is a major highlight.
It was also interesting to see these extraordinary men living as ordinary ‘ajussis’ in their daily lives. As they quietly build relationships with those around them while keeping their radars on for trouble, what big event awaits them?
