The Weekend Binge: "Tempest"
- lousycapitalistheart
- 41 minutes ago
- 5 min read
After getting off to a thrilling start, Disney+’s blockbuster k-drama Tempest (Korean title: 북극성, Polaris/North Star) consistently delivered heart-stopping action, mindbending plot twists, and a pleasantly surprising dose of romance throughout its 9-episode run. Boasting of an all-star cast, acclaimed production team, and stunning visual effects, the action-packed spy romance has become the streaming platform’s most successful k-drama of 2025. Here are our thoughts on why Tempest deserves a weekend binge.
The Plot
Amidst heightened threats of nuclear annihilation between the United States and North Korea, South Korean opposition presidential candidate Jang Jun-ik (Park Hae-joon, When Life Gives You Tangerines) is assassinated at a mass for peace and reunification.
Suspecting a cover-up and desperate to uncover the truth behind her husband’s killing, Jang Jun-ik’s widow, former UN ambassador Seo Mun-ju (Jun Ji-hyun, Kingdom: Ashin of the North) joins hands with his mother, shipping magnate and power broker Lim Ok-seon (Lee Mi-sook, Queen of Tears), to take his place as the New Republican Party’s presidential nominee. Almost immediately, attempts on Seo Mun-ju’s life begin.
North Korean defector turned international mercenary Paik San-ho (Gang Dong-won, Peninsula) receives an offer to work as Mun-ju’s bodyguard from military contractor Valkyrie. Despite his apprehensions about the client's hidden identity, he signs on to protect Mun-ju. And it’s a good thing he does, because someone out there is really against her peacemaking agenda.
Mun-ju’s probe into her late husband’s death reveals a complex web of secrets and sinister forces hellbent on starting a war. Across the Pacific, Korean-American US Assistant Secretary of State Anderson Miller (John Cho, Star Trek) investigates the possible existence of a North Korean nuclear-armed submarine.
Whether or not the submarine exists matters less than world powers’ appetite for war. Together, Seo Mun-ju, Paik San-ho, and Anderson Miller must face enemies for more dangerous than they had imagined, distinguish allies from foes, and put everything on the line to keep the peace on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.
Our Review
As we consume South Korean culture and products on a daily basis, it’s easy to forget that the country is technically in a state of war. The Korean Peninsula’s decades-long conflict is peculiar to the region, and has long been mined for storytelling purposes. While there are dozens of films about North-South Korean tensions, there are fewer k-dramas that tackle it, much less on a large scale. Nearly four years after North-Korean-spy-meets-South-Korean-lass romance Snowdrop premiered to mixed reviews, Disney+ once again forays into the territory of cross-border romance with Tempest.
Although writer Jung Seo-kyung debunked news of Tempest’s 70 billion won (US$49 million) budget, Disney+ clearly spared no expense on this 2025 tentpole, assembling an all-star cast and formidable production team led by hitmaker director Kim Hee-won (Vincenzo, Queen of Tears) co-directing with The Roundup: Punishment movie director Heo Myung-Haeng. Working with a powerful screenplay by Park Chan-wook’s frequent writing partner Jung Seo-kyung (Decision to Leave, Little Women), art director Kim Byung-han (Snowpiercer) and VFX supervisor Hong Jeong-ho (Parasite) delivered everything you’d expect of an espionage thriller: impressive set pieces, big explosions, well-choreographed fight scenes, exciting chases, and the overall atmosphere of dread brought by the imminence of nuclear war.
Disney+ also assembled a powerhouse supporting cast including veterans Lee Mi-sook, Kim Hae-sook, Park Hae-joon, Oh Jung-se, and Yoo Jae-myung. It's worth noting that while films of this genre are usually sausage-fests, Tempest is definitely more female driven. And unlike most k-dramas that seem to pick up random caucasians off the streets of Seoul to play Americans, they actually cast real Hollywood actors John Cho, Spencer Garrett (The Front Runner), Michael Gaston (Daredevil: Born Again), and Chris Gorham (The Lincoln Lawyer).
And of course, most crucially, they hit the jackpot by landing Jun Ji-hyun and Gang Dong-won as the series’ leads. Beloved for her iconic comedic roles and a proven box-office draw for her action films, Jun shows a completely different side here as a diplomat and presidential candidate determined to bring long-lasting peace, while struggling with the fallout of her husband’s murder and against some truly wicked in-laws. She may always be the sassy girl in our hearts, but damn, can she do melodrama!
Making his first k-drama series after working exclusively on movies for 21 years, Gang Dong-won sure picked a great comeback vehicle. As the kindhearted yet lethal Paik San-ho, Gang gets to flex his physicality as an action star while making us swoon as a romantic leading man who is more than willing to take a bullet for the woman he has sworn to protect. In the words of writer Jung, "“He portrayed San-ho masterfully, bringing out both the character’s coldness and warmth, his maturity and his boyishness, all at once."
Together, their chemistry is sizzling. Although Seo Mun-ju is married then widowed at the start of the series, revelations about her late husband swiftly clear any objections to her developing a romance with her bodyguard. And Gang makes it easy for Mun-ju as well as the audience to fall for Paik San-ho. It’s hard to imagine anyone else in these roles. Tempest was marketed mainly as a political thriller, so we were pleasantly surprised that it went heavy on the bodyguard romance aspect. It would’ve been a crime to let that top-tier chemistry go to waste.
Beyond the thrills and explosions, Tempest has a lot to say about war and who’s really responsible for the current state of our world. K-dramas tend to lean into old stereotypes and choose easy targets like “Middle Eastern terrorists” or “Southeast Asian syndicates” for their bad guys, so it was refreshing to see a k-drama (and a Disney-funded one, at that!) call out the US for its military industrial complex and warmongering, hypocritically under the guise of “protecting freedom and democracy.”
With its mix of realistic and diabolical baddies, heroes you’ll love to root for, cinematic production values, and compelling storytelling from start to finish, Tempest (as a last note: I personally think the original Korean title of Polaris/North Star works better) is easily one of the best k-dramas of the year so far. With just nine episodes, we definitely need more, so if anyone starts a petition for a second season, we're signing up!
Stream if you’re into spy thrillers with strong female leads, political intrigue, and action with a healthy dose of romance.
Skip if you prefer romance-free thrillers.
