K-Drama Flashback: 'My Name'

'My Name,' starring Han So-hee in the titular role, deftly subverts gender norms in society via a story of relentless fight for revenge

- DEBASHREE DUTTA

My Name (2021) attacks misogyny head-on, challenges traditional views of female identity, and makes a woman the unbeaten hero of the story. The way she is a girl gone rogue and unstoppable in her quest for revenge over a personal loss-deftly subverts gender norms in society.

Dark, violent, and searing with rage My Name is as much about Yoon Ji-woo (Han So-hee) seeking her dad's killer as it's about her self-discovery. Her name is what influences who she is, how she sees herself, her inner conflicts, and her experiences, as well as her need to figure out where she fits in the world.

Ji-woo is a high school senior approaching her seventeenth birthday. Being harassed in class and an ensuing brawl turns her wayward and drops out of school. On her birthday, she sees her gangster father's murder and vows to avenge him, knowing that the culprit has yet to be identified. She meets a vicious drug lord-Choi Mujin (Park Hee-soon)-her late father's boss and dear friend-to train hard in his fight facility in a bid.