“Officer Black Belt” tells the story of Lee Jung Do (Kim Woo Bin), a sports-loving man with a total of 9 dan in taekwondo, kendo, and judo. He dreams of living a happy life and doing things that make him happy.
One day, he happened to witness a fight and helped a black belt officer fight back against a criminal wearing an electronic ankle bracelet. After the incident, Jung Do was awarded and offered a temporary position as a black belt officer for 5 weeks.
While working with the head of the probation department, Kim Su Min (Kim Sung Kyun), Jung Do hunts down many criminals and helps people overcome dangerous situations in life.
After its release on September 13, the film attracted 8.3 million views and topped Netflix's weekly non-English language film chart, showing some of the audience's desire to explore the world of probation officers and martial arts.
Korea Herald assessed that the appeal of the movie "Black Belt Officer" mainly comes from the thrilling action scenes, beautiful martial arts performances, and Kim Woo Bin's graceful and emotional acting.
However, due to following the criminal hero motif, compared to the fast-paced development in the first half, the second half of the film falls into a rut when focusing on exploiting Jung Do and his colleagues having to closely monitor Kang Ki Jung - a criminal who has just been released from prison for sexually abusing 15 children.
The fact that Ki Jung "returned to his old ways", joined a child rape ring, filmed sensitive video clips to earn money, or that Jung Do, despite being in danger while chasing Ki Jung, was determined not to let him "go beyond the law" did not surprise viewers much.
On the other hand, with the plot of “Black Belt Officer”, many people associate it with “Bloodhounds” - a film also directed by Kim Joo Hwan, revolving around the story of two martial artists who are not afraid to fight and always aim for the right things.
Meanwhile, the plot of forcing children to film sensitive videos also reminds of the online sexual abuse case - "Nth room chat" that shocked the Korean public in 2020.
However, the work is still recognized by the media for helping to remind people, especially the MZ generation (Millennials and Gen Z), about their community awareness and dedication to the public interest.
