Naked Fireman ~ Your Memory Can Play Tricks on You
“Naked Fireman” is a 2017 Korean drama series, with 4 episodes (a short-form TV drama), categorized as Thriller, Suspense, Crime, Murder Mystery, and Romance; streaming on KOCOWA+.
SUMMARY: A young girl’s parents were brutally murdered and their house burned down to destroy evidence. She survived and the only memory she has is of a young high school boy who has a scar on his back. The criminals were never captured and she’s been looking for him ever since.
♦ I Remember the Scar on His Back
In “Naked Fireman”, Han Jin-A is an artist, and her paintings are very valuable. She has been searching for a male who won’t mind posing in the nude. She is willing to pay $10,000. Why so much? Han Jin-A is searching for the person or persons who murdered her parents and burned down their home. It happened when she was a young girl, and it’s been over 10 years. Her only memory is of a young high school boy who was climbing over the fence. She pulled at his shirt, and it exposed a scar on his back, but the boy got away. The family reported the details to the police. Han Jin-A remembers the scar, and she remembers the name of the high school because the boy was wearing a school uniform.
The murder of Han Jin-A’s parents and losing her childhood home happened when she was young, between 10 to 12 years old. It was very traumatizing, and her memories are unclear. She is desperate to remember more details and has even undergone hypnosis, but the sessions were unsuccessful. Now she is searching for the killer by advertising for a nude male model. Even though by this time he is no longer a teenager and she doesn’t remember his face, she is hoping that he still has that scar on his back. It’s her only clue. The murderer of her parents must be brought to justice.
Kang Chul-Soo is an honest, hard-working fireman now, but when he was a teenager in high school, he and his friend were on the wrong path. Thanks to an older fireman giving him a chance to turn his life around, he was able to take the straight path. His friend, Oh Sung-Jin, continued on the crooked path and became a career criminal. He has even served time in prison for various crimes, including arson. Even though they took separate life paths, they are still friends.
Unfortunately, Oh Sung-Jin is still a crook who does crooked things. It doesn’t bother his conscience to take advantage of his relationship with his friend and use his ignorance and innocence to commit a crime. Because Kang Chul-Soo is a close friend, Oh Sung-Jin knows that he has a scar on his back. Because he is in a romantic relationship with Han Jin-A’s aunt, Han Song-Ja, he knows about the nude male model job opportunity. He tells Kang Chul-Soo about it and says it’s an easy way to make a lot of money fast.
At first, Kang Chul-Soo is not interested in taking his clothes off to pose naked for a female artist. But then he learns that the man who was his mentor and helped him become a fireman is sick. His wife needs $10,000 for his medical care. Kang Chul-Soo changes his mind and decides that if it will save his mentor, he’ll take off his clothes and pose naked.
Being a naked fireman isn’t really a bad thing. Right?
Kang Chul-Soo doesn’t know that his friend, Oh Sung-Jin, along with Han Jin-A’s aunt, Han Song-Ja, has an ulterior motive. They’ve involved Kang Chul-Soo in their criminal plan to steal some of Han Jin-A’s valuable paintings. Kang Chul-Soo will be used to distract Han Jin-A while they break into her safe. Kang Chul-Soo shows up at Han Jin-A’s art studio for the modeling job, and as soon as he takes off his shirt, Han Jin-A recognizes the scar on his back. IT’S HIM!! After all these years searching for the high school boy who climbed over the fence, has she finally found the person who killed her parents?
It’s an unsolved cold case now, nevertheless, Han Jin-A tells the detective, Kwon Jung-Nam, who worked on the murder investigation from the start. He told her that memories can be tricky and she needs EVIDENCE. Han Jin-A decided to find a way to stick close to Kang Chul-Soo until she finds the evidence needed to get him convicted. She has convinced herself, based on her unclear memories, that he’s the man who did it! But did Kang Chul-Soo kill her parents?
Main Characters:
- Kang Chul-Soo (played by Lee Jun-Hyuk, “Love Scout”, “Vigilante”, “Stranger 1 and 2” “Along With the Gods 1 and 2”, “Dark Hole”, “365: Repeat The Year”, “Designated Survivor: 60 Days”, “Are You Human?”, “Baseball Girl”)
- Han Jin-A (played by Jung In-Sun, “DNA Lover”, “Psychopath Diary”, “My Secret, Terrius” “Circle: Two Worlds Connected”)
- Kwon Jung-Nam (played by Jo Hee-Bong, “Blind”“Hong Gil Dong, the Hero!”)
- Oh Sung-Jin (played by Park Hoon, “12.12: The Day”, “Payback: Money and Power”, “Remarriage and Desires”, “Haechi”, “Memories of the Alhambra”)
- Han Song-Ja (played by Seo Jung-Yeon, “Juror 8”, “Decoy 1 and 2”, “She Was Pretty”)
Viewership and Rating:
- IMDb: 6.6 of 10 stars
- My Drama List: 7.8 out of 10 stars
My personal rating is 9 out of 10 stars.
“Naked Fireman” is one of those underrated hidden gems. It gets a high rating for the storyline, but also because the male and female leads had great chemistry. I like reading short stories, and I’m starting to like watching short-form Korean TV dramas. Hope I can find more!
LINKS OF INTEREST:
Naked Fireman – Korean Drama Review | Kdrama Love
Good Ol’ Review: KBS’ “Naked Fireman” an Unexpectedly Intriguing and Fun Mystery | DryedMangoez.com
Drama Review – Naked Fireman (KBS, 2017) | The cat that watches TV
Naked Fireman | Heart and Seoul
TRAILER/TEASER:
KBS WORLD TV. “Naked Fireman.” YouTube, 10 May 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5Gnd6VX2KE.
♦
