If I'm being perfectly honest I mostly watched because Go Ara was in it, I loved her character, she was easy to fall in love with. But wow, the rest of the cast floored me. The drama and intrigue was off the charts. Jung ll Woo was amazing, you really felt his burden and sincerity throughout. Kwan Yool was hilarious as well. I also have a soft spot for Nam Ki Ae as Queen Inwon, what a sweety and what a wonderful smile.
I actually really loved, especially toward the end, the relationship between Jung Moon Sung's character Prince Milpoong and Bae Jung Hwa's character Bok Dan. I know I was supposed to hate them but I just felt sorry for them, it just seemed so tragic.
The story was fantastic and you really were on the edge of your seat from week to week. I just loved the ending.
I definitely recommend this drama!
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Don't hesitate just watch this great drama. You can feel that you are living in Joeson Era, You can feel the emotions specially when the king are talking to his people, you can feel the love and care for his countryman.
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I had to say that I had no regrets for starting to watch this drama. As was common when it comes to sageuk or historical dramas, it's usually the political intrigues and conspiracies that tend to wear you down, especially when it involves the battles to gain control of the political powers and the throne. But strangely enough, I didn't have much difficulty while watching this drama. Because rather than allowing himself get swept by the palace intrigues, Lee Geum strive to overcome every obstacles by working together with his trusted comrades and subjects.
And I suppose it also had to do with the fact that there wasn't anyone in this drama who were truly black or white, or completely evil or righteous. Also, I like the fact that political elements in this drama were not written too depressing and the politicians weren't just scheming against each other but they do earnestly want to do what's best for their country, even when they might get swept easily by false rumours or lies. Or make decisions that don't often end up being a good one.
And I like the fact that the drama's core plot were mostly centred on Saheonbu and how in reality, it was very difficult to judge between right and wrong. Yet, even with that odds we ended up rooting for Lee Geum to gain the public approval as King and gain support from all of the political parties.
I really love the analogy using the legendary creature Haechi and how trying to judge between what's right or wrong may seem simple in theory yet hard to implement in reality. And I like how in the end, life and politics were shown to not always be either black or white and that making a slow progress might not really be such a bad thing.
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So worth the watch.
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Thoughtful and Princely Yi Geum/King Yeongjo
I really enjoyed watching "Haechi". It is showing realistic dramatization of history with so many intrigues and dirty politics. The Yi Geum/King Yeongjo character looks thoughtful and princely as well as noble and scholarly. The Yeo-ji character is so lovely as well. Both first leading characters, Yi Geum and Yeo-ji have a good on-screen chemistry. I do like watching "Haechi" as it is not about a king that already has an empress and many consorts and concubines but still falling in love with "a new girl in town" that have been portraying by so many historical K-drama series. I am hoping to see more of historical K-drama series that is realistic as this "Haechi".Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
There are some notable moments from Haechi which means this one is still worth to watch. To be honest, Haechi’s story wasn’t that gripping at the beginning. Even the cliffhangers were lousy. But somehow it piqued my interest.As an avid fan of historical drama, I could sit for hours to see politics around Joseon era.
The thing about Haechi is, there is this HUGE relief and true happiness when I saw the last episode because I’ve been 'following' a very tiring bumpy journey of the main character. He had been walking through the most awful road before he got to rule his kingdom. I think this is my first time watching how the main character suffered so much to get an ally and came from nothing to be one of the best kings. His scene was mostly ‘powerful’.
The bromance was kinda stealing. The jokes around them were done well. The best moment was in the last episode. I wish we got more hilarious scenes of them.
On the contrary, there are way too many things that hit me wrong.
First, it failed to make me ‘connected’ to each character except the King. I didn’t fully care or hate the other characters. When the scene was building up the situation to make the audience “sad” or “angry”, they cut the scene and change to another one. Like wtf. Was it because of the duration limit? Idk man but it happened way too many times. Comparing to the last episode, they could totally prolong some scenes so we can live into the characters’ world. But, nope. They decided to just make a series of events without putting so much heart into it. I came for the history (regardless of how accurate the story is). I came for Yi Geum. For Jung il woo! so I stayed.
Second, the romance was really difficult to watch, to the point that I wish it was removed from the storyline entirely. The female lead didn't help either. I don't dislike her but she mostly ruined the whole romantic arcs with her awkwardness. Sorry for her fans :(
Third, characters’ flashback came late. Lee Tan’s flashback (his terrible childhood story) which supposed to undermine his motives, failed to make me feel the empathy towards him cuz it felt too forced. Cz I just didn’t care much about him.
Forth, DALMOON DIDNT NEED ROMANCE! The woman didn’t have chemistry with Dal Moon or Lee Tan at all!!! I think it’s miscast. Or I just hate that romance should be an overdramatized arc there :/
But, I must admit that the drama had grown on me without me noticing it. MY heart was full when I saw The King finally being loved by many. So proud.
I love the final episode. It erased the dullness behind.
Haechi left a good note on me.
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really good Sageuk drama!
I have watched a number of korean historical drama but so far, I feel like this is the best one. The romance was ok only so don't expect much from there. Go Ara started out as a feisty character and halfway she sort of faded away and somehow "lost her voice".Other than that, the main storyline was really good and it made me go read up on the main character in real life. Every episode kept me on my toes and I loved how the people around the king helped him. Jung Il Woo really does a good job here and his character is really likeable as he displays courage in the midst of adversity.
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This review may contain spoilers
Great historical drama
Likes:1. Jung il woo was terrific at portraying Lee Geum's journey from a young, carefree lowborn prince to a decisive and compassionate King Yeongjo. He must have been an amazing king if the drama depicted him that way!
2. Park Munso was an amazing friend and supporter to the King. I'm used to seeing Kwon Yul as scary so it was refreshing to see him be a nice person.
3. Minister Min and Jo bugged me because they kept putting Lee Geun down when they dont even know him. That he was able to change their minds and became his strongest advisers says a lot. I also loved their 1:1 on politics and the king.
4. Dalmoon!! His messy hair and his team!
5. 24 hours of non stop intense drama showing some of the key highlights/events in King Yeongjo's early term. I think episodes 15-18 were the episodes that really got me so hooked.
Dislikes:
1. Prince Milpung wont die!! He was a great villain at the start but that he kept escaping and getting mentally deranged saying things over and over again that it got boring. I wanted someone to just stab him to death please. And Yeon young and Wi Byeong Ju were annoying characters that should have died earlier.
2. Maybe it was because Go Ara got injured but her character was a badass but became dull and lifeless after her accident and she became a court maid. I loved when she was fighting and being funny but she always has this awkward /pained expression during the serious and romantic scenes. And the romance story with the king was totally unnecessary.
Rating: 8.5/10
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And Kwon Yool acting as protagonist... carefree but righteous is just so new to me... I’m so used to see him as villain...
And the villain is very effective... I really hate him but I somehow understand him towards the end.
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Classic in the making
Haechi is drama intense drawing in viewers with never ending, intrigue, action and plot twists of fighting and backstabbing. Never a dull moment. "Political" views seen by these factions are still relevant in today's society. Haechi most certainly stands along side classics such as Nirvana in Fire, which is one of my fav's.The hero - Jung Il-woo's versatility and acting chops shine throughout this drama. I've seen some of his other works but this drama brings him to forefront. He should play more of these.
Hats off to the director, writers and other cast members whom also contributed to this well played period piece that carries us into the Joeson Era.
Deliciously evil is Jung Moon Sung - whoa I've worked in the psych ward and he definitely fit the bill !! His character did everything to appease his deranged father of becoming king or king material at least. This actor did extremely well in portrayed such a frayed persona. Loved Moon-soo and Dal-moon!
So I highly recommend this drama to anyone who enjoys historical shows
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First of all, there were too many characters, but they eventually teamed up for a common cause and it was easier to keep up with the story after that. The story itself was a bit slow at the begining, as the characters were introduced. Then, it was kind of boring and I almost droped it, as it seemed like just another historical drama about corruption and those old mean rich men who just can't make peace with the main character. However, the story picked up eventually. The twists were good, the characters interesting and the drama and action scenes just enough to keep the interest high. However, I found the romance unnecessary, as the story focused more on the political aspect than the love story and thus the later felt like it didn't fit the plot.
So, seven out of ten.
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