So let me start with the story, well the plot in this drama is one of kind because instead of adding action elements to the political part this drama has added a scientific element and i have to be careful when i say scientific element because in big part of the drama it's the main thing.
while the scientific part was brilliant and you can see how much effort the directors and the producers put in it the political part was kind of flat, even boring sometimes but honestly this didn't bother me that much, i still enjoyed the story and the plot plus the comedy moments in the drama were really funny ^_^.
How about the casting, well as i said before i watched the drama because of the cast and honestly all the actors were great starting with song il gook, kim sang kyung, lee ji hoon and my personal favorite kim do hyun who did a great job as lee chun and made me really like this character a lot.
Going to the music i have to say it was really nothing special, there's no Osts in this drama so don't expect much anyways there were some tracks which i really liked when they were played and overall the musical arrangement was good.
In the end i want to say that i really liked this drama, it wasn't perfect or epic but it was really fun and amusing to watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
This was a fascinating drama about a great scientist of Joseon ~ Jang Yeong Shil ^^ Everything he did had to do with the stars and how our planet works, it was a awe inspiring journey through history.^^ I enjoyed watching him come up with new and exciting ideas for things I personally could never come up with - and they ways those ideas came to him was a wonder in and of itself XD [A leaf, a persimmon, a chime, and rolling iron weights to name a few]. I'm always so impressed with people who can think outside the box in almost miraculous ways like this. I am in no way an astrology major or anything close lol, I barely know about the "big dipper" lol XD Any dramas though where the characters are fascinated about the stars - always ends up peaking my curiosity and I end up looking at the stars more often myself ;) Cast: Jang Yeong Shil (Song Il Guk) *I was so excited that SIG was going to be in a drama again!!!* I loved his character, his beliefs never wavered, and his journey through life wasn't easy - just when he was about to give up on his country, he gained a King and comrades ^_^ That made him fall in love with his country Joseon - He made up his mind that he would do his best to make it better for the people. (I personally like SIG better with the long hair lol rather than the "bun" he had to sport later in the drama). He played his character perfectly though, as SIG always does :)
Jang Hee Je (Lee Ji Hoon) my second favorite character in this drama ^^ He was run by jealousy and envy - and it was hard for him to see past that most of the time - He wanted to escape it so badly but he usually caved into it. *I want to say more but I'm afraid what I might say might be a spoiler so I'll refrain from saying it* I believed in him, believed that he could change - and I didn't let that hope go ^^ His character in a way was also quite pitiful :'(
Then we have King Sejong <3 Love this King <3 He was portrayed by Kim Sang Kyung (Who also plays King Sejong in 'The Great King Sejong' drama) I really liked the Sejong that was portrayed through this actor - he did a magnificent job! Through all his encouragement of Science and creating Hangul - He was truly a wonderful King.
Other characters I enjoyed: Ju Bu Ryung *she's so pretty & I loved her personality*, Lee Chun *at first I thought he was mean but after a few episodes I started to really like this character*, and King Taejeong - I was impressed with his role as well *can't wait to see him again in GKS* :)
Music: ... I honestly don't remember any songs... but all the background instrumentals that I faintly remember were nice and well suited.
Re-watch? Yes, I would re-watch this drama, but none too soon ;) and I recommend it to Saeguk lovers, Song Il Guk/Lee Je Hoon lovers and Science/Astrology lovers alike ^^
The only flaw of the drama (according to my taste) was Princess So Hyun - I didn't like her at all - or the romance they tried to push for - even if it was very sidelined to the rest of the story. I could have done without her.
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What I like:
The cinematography is gorgeous and beautifully shot, there are many beautiful sceneries, the use cgi to illustrate and explain example how youngshil's clock works. There are a few moments in the show that are unexpectedly funny that makes me laugh out loud.
Nice cameos from the 2008 drama actors are in this drama. (you will recognize them if you have watch the 2008 drama)
Music is nice and blend well with the scenes.
Issues I have: (yes, I have a lot of issues)
The show title is called Jang Young Shil , you would thought the show main focus would be on the main character but no, its the same issue I have with The Great King Sejong drama, the show as well focuses a lot of side characters. Especially the political parts which I would never fully understand if I had not watch the 2008 drama. The difference is this drama side characters plot / story doesn't have direct impact / consequence to the main character's story in addition most of the side characters are one-note and bland which only added to unnecessary screen time, making the story very messy.
Even though Kim Sang Kyung and Kim Yeong Cheol have reprised the same characters as the year 2008 drama, the characters they are portraying are quite different from this drama. I feel their acting in this drama not as strong as the previous drama.
The main character Jang Young Shil, there's not much character development from start to end, which is a huge issue to me because if the character has no much depth then it is flat. I'm sure a lot of people have watched the first Iron man man movie, imagine Tony stark's character and personality is the same even after the things he had gone through throughout the movie. The drama will tend to show his almost finished invention without explaining how he makes it, comparing to the first Iron man movie again, it's as if the movie show the finished product of the iron man suit without the scenes of his thought process and trial-and-error into making the suit. I also do not buy into the close friends relationship with king Sejong and Young Shil by comparing with 2008 drama, you will see what I meant.
The princess sohyun character is unnecessary in the show, think her character is only there to serve as a love interest, there episodes she is not in it I don't feel I am missing that character.
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Political intervention
A boring start, it certainly took some time to get going. Even then, it wasn't a smooth sailing after that. Whenever the drama managed to pick up a good momentum, they shove in a massive intervention with their palace politics. Disrupting the flow and the main attraction of the drama. Like pulling the sheets away on a cold winter night. Which is why this was its biggest problem, being wrapped around politics instead of giving it its independence. This was easier for the writers so they don't have to go into too much details and technicalities, instead auto generate some mindless palace drama to fill the gaps. I found the ending to be quite distasteful to this man's journey.Was this review helpful to you?
According to actual history, Jang Yeong-sil was imprisoned for a long time. However, historians do not know how or when he died. Nothing about his life was recorded after he was thrown out from the palace. With this being said, out of all the Monarchs of Korea "Sejong the Great (Unitary dynastic period: Joseon 1392 – 1897), is my favorite. This is one of the best historical drama I have seen. It provides the viewer with actual Korean history and is very educational. I strongly recommend this drama to all viewers and those who are interested in Korean history as well.
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