appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Pierce Conran

2/5 stars
Lead cast: Jeon So-nee, Lee Yoo-mi, Lee Moo-saeng, Jang Seung-jo
While gender equality has made significant strides in South Korea over the past decade, the country stubbornly remains a paragon of patriarchy; consequently, it continues to rank at or near the bottom of all of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s gender equality metrics.
As You Stood By, a new small-screen K-thriller from Netflix starring Jeon So-nee (Melo Movie) and Lee Yoo-mi (Strong Girl Nam-soon), is acutely aware of this.


Through its story of two women who band together to protect one another, it seeks to highlight the bureaucratic shortfalls and social stigmas that continue to make it difficult for women to escape the violence rained down upon them behind closed doors.
“Rained down” seems an apt verb for a series that would have you believe that in South Korea, domestic violence lurks around every corner. Treating its timely subject with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop, the series comes off as performative despite its pretence of being informative.
The two women are luxury department store clerk Eun-soo (Jeon) and her close friend Hee-soo (Lee), a former children’s illustrator who is now a stay-at-home wife.
Hee-soo is married to wealthy financial adviser Jin-pyo (Jang Seung-jo, The Good Detective), and her life is a living hell. She rarely leaves the flat where she is regularly beaten by a monstrous husband who brutalises her for the merest provocation – like making a botched morning smoothie.

Eun-soo is also no stranger to domestic violence, still traumatised by memories of hiding with her younger brother in a wardrobe whenever their father viciously beat their mother.
At work, where she excels, she also has a brush with domestic violence. A regular customer’s wife appears battered and bruised in a dressing room, subtly reaching out for help. Pressured to look the other way, Eun-soo does not intervene, and is devastated when the wife’s suicide is reported on the news a few days later.
When Hee-soo stops answering her calls, Eun-soo goes to investigate and discovers her friend’s bruises. Frustrated by her own inaction as she “stood by” when other women around her were victimised, she decides she will not stand by any more – no matter the cost.
She masterminds a daring plan to murder Jin-pyo and use his newly discovered doppelganger as a patsy for the cover-up. But very little goes according to plan, forcing the two friends to scramble for survival.

Rounding out the cast is Lee Moo-saeng (Maestra: Strings of Truth) as Chen Shaobo, a shady Chinese-Korean merchant connected to Eun-soo. Thanks to Lee’s performance, Shaobo is a charismatic figure, a wily underworld figure with a debonair bent.
He is easily the best character in the show, which is unfortunate, given that he is the one character – a dashing man selflessly and continuously coming to the aid of the female leads – this show probably should have done without.
As You Stood By cannot quite decide if it wants to be taken seriously as a clinical, issue-driven thriller or enjoyed as tawdry escapism. While those two modes may sound different, there is a fine line between them, and the creators fail to choose a side.
Some cleverly play both sides; others, like this one, exhibit a lack of confidence that strips the fun out of the melodrama and the thrills out of the kills. Sadly, As You Stood By plants its feet squarely in the latter camp.

This is clear early on, thanks to the manic soundtrack, which is loud, omnipresent and incongruous – it always feels like it is overcompensating, trying to guide us towards feelings the story itself fails to earn. Several cues even strive to conjure up Hitchcockian suspense that simply is not there.
The show also lays it on thick with its psychological themes. Look no further than the many laughable interludes when post-murder Hee-soo is aligned with Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth. Rather than a “damned spot”, she keeps trying to rub out bloody luggage wheel tracks – figments of her guilty imagination.
This aggressive tone infects many parts of the show, including several incoherent performances, chiefly from Jang, who plays the dual roles of Jin-pyo and his doppelganger, and Lee Ho-jung (Good Boy) as his horrid but idiotic detective sister.
Granted, Jang and Lee may have understood the assignment as pure melodrama, which is where these performances belong.

Well-meaning but undercooked, As You Stood By’s greatest crime is that it may compel viewers to do exactly what its title warns against: look the other way.
As You Stood By is streaming on Netflix.


K-drama Reborn Rookie: Lee Jun-young’s corporate body-swap fantasy hums with melodrama

HBO Max K-drama Fifties Professionals: Shin Ha-kyun action comedy revisits hits of old

Netflix K-drama The Wonderfools review: Park Eun-bin lifts fun but flawed superhero romp

HBO Max K-drama The Legend of Kitchen Soldier: Park Ji-hoon leads winning military comedy

Korean drama reviews

Netflix K-drama As You Stood By review: timely thriller on domestic violence disappoints

Lee Yoo-mi as housewife Hee-soo in a still from As You Stood By. Photo: Netflix

Jeon So-nee as store clerk Eun-soo in a still from As You Stood By, a K-drama that tackles the subject of domestic violence. Photo: Netflix

Lee Yoo-mi as stay-at-home wife Hee-soo in a still from As You Stood By. Photo: Netflix

Jang Seung-jo as wealthy financial advisor Jin-pyo in a still from As You Stood By. Photo: Netflix

Jeon So-nee (left) as store clerk Eun-soo and Lee Moo-saeng as Chinese-Korean merchant Chen Shaobo in a still from As You Stood By. Photo: Netflix

Jeon So-nee (left) and Lee Yoo-mi in a still from As You Stood By. Photo: Netflix

11 of the best new K-dramas to watch in November 2025, including Nice to Not Meet You

Lee Jung-jae in a still from Nice to Not Meet You, one of a host of new K-dramas to watch in November.

Prime Video K-drama Nice to Not Meet You: Lee Jung-jae switches gears for a breezy romcom

Lee Jung-jae as star actor Lim Hyun-joon in a still from Nice to Not Meet You.

Lim Ji-yeon as reporter Wi Jeong-sin in a still from Nice to Not Meet You.

Lee Jung-jae in a still from Nice to Not Meet You.

Lim Ji-yeon in a still from Nice to Not Meet You.

Lim Ji-yeon and Lee Jung-jae in a still from Nice to Not Meet You.

Netflix K-drama The Dream Life of Mr Kim: Ryu Seung-ryong stars in workplace satire

Ryu Seung-ryong in a still from The Dream Life of Mr Kim, a new Korean drama on Netflix. Myung Se-bin and Cha Kang-yoon co-star.

(From left) Cha Kang-yoon, Ryu Seung-ryong and Myung Se-bin in a still from The Dream Life of Mr Kim.

Myung Se-bin in a still from The Dream Life of Mr Kim.

Lee Seo-hwan (left) and Ryu Seung-ryong in a still from The Dream Life of Mr Kim.

Ryu Seung-ryong in a still from The Dream Life of Mr Kim.

The 10 best K-dramas of 2025 so far, from Squid Game 3 to When Life Gives You Tangerines

Lee Jung-jae as Sung Gi-hun in a still from Squid Game season 3. Photo: Noh Ju-han/Netflix

IU (front) and Park Bo-gum in a still from Netflix K-drama When Life Gives You Tangerines. Photo: Yoo Eun-mi/Netflix

Lifestyle

K-drama

K-Pop

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

Netflix’s As You Stood By tackles domestic violence – a worthy subject, but the K-drama falters with melodrama and incoherent storytelling


Netflix’s As You Stood By tackles domestic violence – a worthy subject, but the K-drama falters with melodrama and incoherent storytelling.


K-drama news

What's hot in Korea

South Korean celebrities

Fame and celebrity

TV shows and streaming video

Netflix

5050

An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Netflix’s As You Stood By tackles domestic violence – a worthy subject, but the K-drama falters with melodrama and incoherent storytelling

Netflix’s As You Stood By tackles domestic violence – a worthy subject, but the K-drama falters with melodrama and incoherent storytelling