Hong Gil Dong (or Korean Robin Hood)

[alexandral]

I have watched 5 episodes of this 24-episode Korean drama already and it is really enjoyable. Not earth-shattering or outstanding but very, very well done. It seems that Korean dramas of the last two years gathered in speed and quality and this is just another very good product indeed. Fast, tight, great story, bright colours and very amusing. Oh, and good music. The story of Robin Hood is good everywhere, isn't it?

Few things to mention:

- Please don't kill me – I am not finding Kang Ji Hwan (the actor who plays Hong Gil Dong) attractive yet. I am saying "yet" as may be he will grow on me (and I really like the character) but for now he is somehow a tad too fat or something.

- I definitely don't quite like Heo Lee Nok (or Yi Nok?). And this must be the character as Sung Yu Ri was wonderful in "Winter Queen". I just wish Heo Lee Nok will stop making over-eggagerated facial expressions. And I have grown tired of "a stupid girl with a heart of gold who eats too much and with whom everyone falls in love" cliche . She doesn't bother me but at the same time she doesn't amuse me at all.

- So here (apart of the story which is very interesting to watch) I am all about The Black Prince. I think I will end up with my heart broken!!

- The last part of the usual quadrangle, Seo Eun Hye (played by Kim Ri Na) , seems to be a psycho spoiled girl. The first scene with her (the one with a dead bird) was very seriously creepy.

Just a nice screencap: The Black Prince vs Hong Gil Dong



A screen cap of The Black Prince

Comments

[allbloomedout.livejournal.com]

YAY!!! You watched! :D

1. Kang Ji Hwan will probably grow on you. :) He grew on me. I think he's really cute and charming. :) Don't worry i won't kill you!

2. Well, i really like Yi Nok too. I can see how you got tired of the clique but i still find her adorable.

3. I love the Prince :) Yay something we can agree on. :P But yes, i think our hearts will be broken.

4. The spoiled girl creeps me out and annoys me to death. *grrr*

You still have 5 more eps to go before you're up to date so hopefully the characters will grow on your more. :) I really think it keeps getting better with every episode. :) I'm happy you're joining in the HGD fun! *HUGS*

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Kang Ji Hwan will probably grow on you. :) He grew on me. I think he's really cute and charming. :)

Hee! It happened to me before. Some of the actors that I didn't find good looking at all I fell in love with layer through their characters. And I already LOVE Hong Gil Dong. His back-story and this relationship with his father are so heart-breaking! May be when I see Kang Ji Hwan angst I'll like him better? :D

I love the Prince :) Yay something we can agree on. :P But yes, i think our hearts will be broken.

I just hope the creators will not make him some jealous so-and-so at the end. He seems to be destined to die (well, he doesn't care to live in the first place!) and all so tragic. So gorgeously tragic.

You still have 5 more eps to go before you're up to date so hopefully the characters will grow on your more. :)

I have got all 10 episodes and as I am marathoning this I'll probably be there tomorrow. :D

[allbloomedout.livejournal.com]

It has happened to me before too. I think the key example for me would be Rain. I didn't find him attractive at all until i saw Full House. :)

I love Gil Dong' back story with his family too. It is really heartbreaking. :( He is really good at angsting. He's cute when he's being silly too. :)

I agree though I think he's bound to be jealous. I agree, he really is bound to die somewhere towards the end. :( I hope the writers will surprise us. Perhaps we should start preparing tissues. :P

Yay!! Ep 10-11 will probably out this weekend, hopefully. :) I'm dying to see it! :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

*heart is shattered*

Nooooooooooo! Kang Ji Hwan is my fave kdrama actor ever. Hotter with straight hair though. Ah well, tastes are subjective and all that. I am still trying to figure out Ikuta Toma or Ryu Shi Won fans (and there are plenty) as find them not hot at all.

I happen to adore Yi Nok, but I can see how she is a type that won't appeal to everyone. She is actually very 'anime' in her character (I can think of tons of anime girls like this) but less common in a drama. I like the faces, just as I love it when they do it in twdrama. I like slapstick in general though. She is actually reminds me of characters like Sujini and even more, YEH's heroine in Coffee Prince (you've seen that one, did you like her?).

I don't mind Chang Hwe but I don't find him particularly interesting. Also, he sort of suffers in comparison with HGD's self-sacrificialness and activeness (don't remember when certain stuff happens, but don't want to spoil, so won't go into details).

*nurses her heart again* :)

I do severely doubt Prince is going to buy it. He is clearly set up to take over the kingdom from his psycho brother. It's not like HGD can ascend the throne ;)

Re: other girl. I find her interesting and a bit ambivalent. More spoiled than evil. Still don't care for her though, but one of her lines from a later ep (9? 10?) is sort of now a catchphrase in the Mousie household :)

Oh, and you get plenty of GD angst later.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Do you really think the prince is set to die? But who would rule the Kingdom then? Even in a fairytale-type story, I doubt a slave could ascend the throne so GD is out and we haven't met any other potential candidates at all...

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

This what I think too and it brings me hope. But I guess there is so much of tragic vibes around the prince that I can't help but to anticipate the worst.

Also by breaking my heart I mean that it is not as if the prince will be the one to get the girl?

[allbloomedout.livejournal.com]

I'm with alexandral, there is so much tragic undertones with the Prince. Doesn't exactly feel that he will have his happy ending. :/ I don't think Gil Dong would rule either. Umm.. that's true. There is still HOPE! I think i may more concerned with Yi Nok and Gil Dong being happy in China than the Prince taking over though. :P

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

If he gets the girl, I would not be only majorly upset but shocked because it's like the law of kdramas. Secondary male never gets the girl :D

I actually do have more detailed opinions why I think GD/YN make a better match than YN/Prince even aside from kdrama law. Leaving aside spoilery stuff and the fact that YN's preference is GD, it'a the simple matter of social matching. YN might have come from the most aristocratic family ever to exist, or what not, but not only she has no idea about it, she grew up in the gutter. Her behavior and her whole mentality is basically the same as someone in GD's class (well, she is a very lowclass freewoman and he's a slave, but it's basically the same). And at 20 (or however old she is), her personality is set. I can never see her fitting in a proper, formal aristocratic structure (whether as rediscovered heiress or Mrs prince when he ascends the throne). I mean, she makes Chae-Gyung seem like Lady Formality, and that was in modern day, not in stuffy hierarchical period setting.

I might be the only one btw, but the whole Prince-YN-GD triangle is a little reminescent of the My Girl triangle, only here the girl with unsteady past and conning and hand-to-mouth existence likes the free-spirited wacky one, not the serious one.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Nooooooooooo! Kang Ji Hwan is my fave kdrama actor ever. Hotter with straight hair though. Ah well, tastes are subjective and all that. I am still trying to figure out Ikuta Toma or Ryu Shi Won fans (and there are plenty) as find them not hot at all.

Don't despair! It was the same for me with Rain. He gradually "grew" on me in "Full House". But now he is one of my favourites. :D ** apologies to any Kame fan who reads this ** And yes, tastes are very subjective. For me it is Kame who I don't at all find attractive but whose fangirls are millions of.

She is actually reminds me of characters like Sujini and even more, YEH's heroine in Coffee Prince (you've seen that one, did you like her?).

Oh, I liked YEH in "Coffe Prince" and so did I love Sujini. I dunno, may be because the accent in "Hong Gil Dong" is made on "stupid". Or may be just because I have watched few of similar girls recently? As I said, I don't dislike Yi Hon, I am just "cold" towards her.

I do severely doubt Prince is going to buy it. He is clearly set up to take over the kingdom from his psycho brother. It's not like HGD can ascend the throne ;)

He!! At least HGD will get the girl! I am confused with tragic aura around the prince. I hope he will be alive. But there is no chance for him to win the girl, right?

Re: other girl. I find her interesting and a bit ambivalent. More spoiled than evil. Still don't care for her though, but one of her lines from a later ep (9? 10?) is sort of now a catchphrase in the Mousie household :)

She improved on me since her first scene, but I can't forget the poor bird. Cruelty to animals = one of the few things I hate with passion. :D

Oh, and you get plenty of GD angst later.

YAY!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

At this point, much as I like everyone except the ministers, the King, Evil Brother and Creepy Goth Girl, I agree. As long as GD/YN get a happy ending, I am OK with sacrificing everyone else :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I admit Kame grew on me. Now I adore him. Though he still needs a meal. It's funny about Rain. I don't find him objectively good-looking (too baby faced for me) but I adore him anyway, to bits, and find his characters hot.

I dunno, may be because the accent in "Hong Gil Dong" is made on "stupid".

I was a goner for Yi Nok from the beginning, when she fought all those men before it went to flashback but yeah, I can see the silly thing. She gets smarter-acting as it all goes on. And the thing about oding on such characters makes sense. I was watching HGD with Legend, true, but also Beautiful Days and Que Sera Sera, and those heroines are miles from that type. I am just excited that no matter what, she isn't dying of cancer in this one :)

I am confused with tragic aura around the prince. I hope he will be alive. But there is no chance for him to win the girl, right?

It would be the first kdrama in history for secondary guy to get the girl (even when primary male buys it, she never ends up with secondary :) Though they are doing their best with the red herrings with the whole 'countenance of a queen' and going on and on about HGD's path resulting in him having to give up what he wants. If this was physical anvils, the cast would be crushed to death.

I don't get the doom vibes about the Prince btw, myself. I am thinking his role is to grow into being worthy of being a King (and not be controlled by Lady Noh) and take over the country as a just ruler.

YAY!

Oh, just you wait. Six-eight is like GD angst extravaganza, at least by light drama standards. I cried :(

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I was a goner for Yi Nok from the beginning, when she fought all those men

I liked that moment, and the moment where she and her "grandfather" were selling medicine. But all the "she can't make a step without falling down" is a bit too silly. But she can improve on me to as I really like Sung Yu Ri. Yoo-rin was quite irritating for me at the beginning of "My Girl" but I grew really to like her.
I guess I prefer smart herouines, and to all intents and purposes Sujini, Yoo-rin and Eun Chan were smart girls. I don't like when women are portrayed as silly. :P

Que Sera Sera,

I had a venture at this one, but it is too OTT for me, similar to "What happened in Bali". I want to put them all into therapy, you see. :D

Though they are doing their best with the red herrings with the whole 'countenance of a queen' and going on and on about HGD's path resulting in him having to give up what he wants.

I don't think there is even 0.001% chance for this to happen. And here comes one of my less favourite clichés in kdrama. It is not that I don't want for the main OTP to get together, but I rather prefer that "the other guy" had an OTP with someone else and also was happy. I really liked the way in "The Legend" they broke this cliché.


I don't get the doom vibes about the Prince btw, myself. I am thinking his role is to grow into being worthy of being a King (and not be controlled by Lady Noh) and take over the country as a just ruler.

That would be lovely. I don't mind a little heartbreak for the prince as long as he has the purpose.

Oh, just you wait. Six-eight is like GD angst extravaganza, at least by light drama standards. I cried :(

I am just stating it now. :D

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Sujini was not silly but don't think she was smart. Stree-smart, definitely though. Same for Yoo-Rin. I don't think Eun Chan was but liked her anyway. Braininess is not necessary for my heroines (witness my love for Chae-Gyung).

HGD gets more serious with each ep, so Sung Yuri's character is also settling down. Which is just as well (I mean, I never could have believed Gil Dong of early eps could be heroic, but he is quite heroic now).

I had a venture at this one, but it is too OTT for me, similar to "What happened in Bali". I want to put them all into therapy, you see. :D

LOL. I love my otps tormented beyond measure, so I am all for it. So much dysfunction! Love.

I don't think there is even 0.001% chance for this to happen.

If it was a more serious drama, I could see that. Not that YN would marry Prince or what not, but that GD couldn't have her, ultimately (whether through death or what not). Historical dramas are good at messing with the OTPs.

I rather prefer that "the other guy" had an OTP with someone else and also was happy.

Interesting. I actually don't usually care. (It seems half and half for me, drama-wise. Some give secondary guy someone else, some don't). Maybe because usually secondary guy (in most dramas) never really had a mutual relationship with heroine so I think he would get over her eventually and move on to someone else.

I like the Prince just fine, and think he will do well as a ruler when he matures. He will have a country, and a goal, and friends, so if he loses the OTP, I don't mind. But then I am a sucker for the sheer concept of slave/aristocrat thing with GD/YN. Because that is so forbidden and here is where my angst-loving comes into it.

Btw, you might find Kang Ji Hwan more attractive in Capital Scandal. He has much better hair there.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

If he gets the girl, I would not be only majorly upset but shocked because it's like the law of kdramas. Secondary male never gets the girl :D

Oh, I don't think this will ever happen. It is against the law!

I actually do have more detailed opinions why I think GD/YN make a better match than YN/Prince even aside from kdrama law.

I agree to some extent with your thoughts on social matching, but I am such a terrible fan of "opposites attract" . But I still agree that YN is better with GD – mainly because he has already fallen for her and what would he to do if she prefers the prince? HD already has the baggage of being not accepted by his father. Whatever you may do, if you are told that "your are nothing" all the time, you will end up believing it, if only a little bit. So imagine – YH chooses the prince?? How much will this hurt?

[syliasyliasylia.livejournal.com]

The first scene with her (the one with a dead bird) was very seriously creepy.
That's a very very disturbing scene! Eeek!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I agree though I think he's bound to be jealous. I agree, he really is bound to die somewhere towards the end. :( I hope the writers will surprise us. Perhaps we should start preparing tissues. :P

I had a bit of thinking on this matter - I think the Prince will not die. But there is no way he will get the girl. :D So I'll cry his tears eventually. :D

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

The Weird Girl seems to be improving, but I can't forget this scene. And there is something not quite right with her smile.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

If it was a more serious drama, I could see that. Not that YN would marry Prince or what not, but that GD couldn't have her, ultimately (whether through death or what not). Historical dramas are good at messing with the OTPs.

Agree- I think this drama has all the settings of happy ending drama. Though who knows? We haven't seen a half yet.

Interesting. I actually don't usually care. (It seems half and half for me, drama-wise. Some give secondary guy someone else, some don't). Maybe because usually secondary guy (in most dramas) never really had a mutual relationship with heroine so I think he would get over her eventually and move on to someone else.

I often do, because for some reason the other guys are often very attractive and good, like in "My Girl", "Full House". It just feels such a waste of a good guy sometimes.

But then I am a sucker for the sheer concept of slave/aristocrat thing with GD/YN. Because that is so forbidden and here is where my angst-loving comes into it.

I haven't thought about this yet, may be because YN is so un-aristocratic. I usually fall for slave/aristocrat too (Remember "Bednaya Nastya"?)

Btw, you might find Kang Ji Hwan more attractive in Capital Scandal. He has much better hair there

I am getting this very soon!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I often do, because for some reason the other guys are often very attractive and good, like in "My Girl", "Full House". It just feels such a waste of a good guy sometimes.

I don't know why, but I never warmed up to FH secondary guy. I didn't dislike him or anything, just wasn't invested. loved LJK in My Girl though.

I usually fall for slave/aristocrat too (Remember "Bednaya Nastya"?)


Mmmm...yes.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I agree to some extent with your thoughts on social matching, but I am such a terrible fan of "opposites attract"

Dramas do that a lot, though (opposites attract). It's fun to see the rule broken sometimes.

Whatever you may do, if you are told that "your are nothing" all the time, you will end up believing it, if only a little bit.

There is this one scene in ep 7 that sort of addresses this, that rather kills me. HGD's family is incredibly awful: I mean, his father had his mother beaten to death! (or at least let his wife do it).

YH chooses the prince?? How much will this hurt?

Yeah, I think YN is the first person in his whole life who's shown him unconditional caring (even before she fell for him, she was concerned for his well-being). Having that withdrawn wouldn't be too good.

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched this yet coz I want it to finish first so I can marathon :D Kang Ji-hwan has an interesting face. I can understand where you're coming from, not thinking he's cute. But he has a lot of on-screen charm that makes me adore him :)

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

Well it's interesting that you think Sujini wasn't smart because in a way I think she was. She wasn't "brainy" in the academic sense, but there were times when she often knew what Dam Duk was feeling/worrying about, and she would often come up with somewhat smart things to say. An example was when she was hurt after getting shot by an arrow, and she told Dam Duk that a king should be strong and be able to heal himself in a day. Can't remember the line exactly but my impression was that it was a pretty nifty thing to say. Another example was when Dam Duk tried to leave Sujini's clan (forgot the name) and Sujini followed him despite Dam Duk saying to her "Will you leave if I break your leg?" (!) And her response to that was "I know you're running away (?) because you don't want me or my clan to get hurt, like the others did" (this was just after a few of the tribal leaders' sons got killed trying to protect him from Ho Gae and his men)

So yeah. I think Sujini was smart in a sensitive, quirky way. Is that what you meant by street smart? LOL :D

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yup, that't what I meant. She isn't educated but is very good at reading people (especially as she is so attuned to DD) and good at advice.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Braininess is not necessary for my heroines (witness my love for Chae-Gyung).

I forgotten to mention this so I am spamming some more :D - I am not that worried about the herouine being smart in academic sense. Street-smart does fine for me. (also I think Chae-Gyung in "Goong" was street smart and even to some extent smart in academic sense as she was a great designer)

Thing I don't enjoy is - "oh, look how silly she is! she eats so much and so untidily! so adorable!" I don't know - silly and eating untidily doesn't really come as adorable in RL.. (And also my feminist side gets ruffled)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I think Sujini is street-smart too. :D Thing I don't enjoy in dramas is - "oh, look how silly she is! she eats so much and so untidily! so adorable!". I guess here my feminist side gets ruffled. :D

Well, being silly and eating in ugly way doesn't usually fare well in RL. :D