Jirisan (2021)

The Mountain Is Calling And I Must Go

I put off watching this drama for ages because while it sounded interesting, the synopsis was also quite vague and I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I am officially kicking myself for delaying even one second. It has been so long since I've watched a drama that captured me the way Jirisan did. The story, the acting, the music, everything just came together almost perfectly, for my taste at least, and created such an amazing experience. I truly don't remember the last time I obsessed over a drama like this, analyzing all the events and who the murderer could be. I loved every second of it.

The story is overall pretty solid. In general, its a murder/mystery with some supernatural elements thrown in. Its a bit murky in the beginning, there are a few inconsistencies like they hadn't quite worked out all the kinks in the story and how they wanted things to flow, but after the first few episodes, it seemed to find its stride. The time change was also a tad confusing initially, bouncing between 2018 and the present, but once I got used to it, I didn't have any issues following. The whodunnit aspect of the story was quite fun initially but did start getting just a tad wearing toward the end with the shots that kept making you second guess who you thought the killer was. At that point, it really wasn't necessary since you either knew or you didn't. The pacing was good, I never got bored and as I said, once it found its stride, it stuck to it.

The acting was superb. Both Ji Hyun and Ji Hoon were phenomenal as Yi Kang and Hyun Jo, respectively. Their chemistry was fantastic. They just played off of each other so beautifully. And while the rest of the supporting cast was also wonderful, I really have to comment on Jung Se. The man can act. He is just so good and so believable there were a couple of times when he had me in tears solely because of his acting skills.

I really enjoyed all the characters and even with a relatively large cast, I felt that they overall did a good job with allowing the viewer to get to know everyone as much as possible. The one character I would have liked to have gotten to know a little more was Hyun Jo. Probably because she was so tied to Jirisan, we got a very in depth look into Yi Kang as she grew up. I have no objections to that, other than a few scenes were repeated more than once which probably wasn't necessary, as it did show her character growth over the course of the drama. That being said, I would have liked to see more of Hyun Jo's past, his family, how he grew up, etc., as a way to get to know the character better and as a contrast to Yi Kang.

One of the things that I appreciated about this drama was the lack of romance between the leads. Not every drama needs it and I really loved their camaraderie and friendship and seeing it grow. And by the end, when there's a hint that there might be more from the way the two of them are looking at each other, I honestly couldn't protest because they did such a good job of building their relationship up. I like that it was left up to the viewer as to where things may have gone from there, whether they remained friends or took things to the next level. And I actually liked the ending. Yes, it would have been nice and less abrupt to see them going through their recovery, but there was something about them seeing each other and not needing words to communicate that just summed up their whole relationship so perfectly.

On the topic of romance, I did adore Goo Young and Yang Sun's romance. I liked both their characters individually and when they got together, I thought they were perfect. I was so sad when they didn't get the happily ever after that they deserved. That being said, I was super happy at the hint at the end that he may find happiness with Hyun Jo's sister. I was literally cackling as he took off running from her.

The various villains were all interesting, believable, and, in some ways, relatable in their own ways. Sol, of course, was the most interesting, and I really appreciated the way his childhood was used to shape him and turn him into the person he became. Obviously his reasoning for killing people was absurd and made no sense, but that it made sense to him and in a believable way was appreciated. It was sad to see how the people of Black Bridge Village ruined not only his life, but also their own lives through their greed.

The cinematography was absolutely stunning. I now have an overwhelming desire to go visit Jirisan. It just looks like such a beautiful mountain to explore.

I actually really enjoyed the music for the most part. Again, in the first episode or two there were a couple of choices that I wasn't overly impressed with, but as it progressed, I felt it became more consistent. In particular Falling by Kim Jong Wan has been playing on repeat for several days now.

As I said, I absolutely loved this drama, but naturally there were a few things that weren't quite perfect. As I mentioned, once you get into the story a bit, it becomes clear that the first episode or so wasn't fully thought out. It's eventually revealed that Hyun Jo's visions are related to the murderer as he's killing off the the former residents of Black Bridge Village. However, in the first episode, he has a vision of where the kid is even though he has nothing to do with the village. Not a huge deal, just a bit of a plot hole/inconsistency. The CGI was pretty bad at times. Again, first episode, there's a rock fall that is some pretty bad CGI. Considering how they made the rest of the weather and disasters seem more or less realistic for the most part, those few times where the CGI was off were quite obvious. There were more deaths than were strictly necessary, in my opinion, particularly women. This drama definitely had a more male heavy cast, so the fact that three of the four main/supporting women were killed and really only one of the men is kind of sad. I understand why they didn't/couldn't do it, but there's a part of me that would have liked a little more of an explanation for how and why Hyun Jo ended up as he did as well as why sometimes people could see him and other times they couldn't. Was he really like some kind of Angel of Death or was it something else? Not really a negative there so much as it would have been interesting.

Obviously this drama is fiction, none of the events actually happened, but I really have to applaud the productions attention to detail and their authenticity. Watching it gave me a whole new appreciation for what rangers do and the level of skill, both physically and mentally, that they must have and maintain. They are truly amazing human beings. Huge respect for them and the work they do.

Normally a drama like this is a one and done. You've seen it, you know who the murderer is, you know how it all turns out, and the mystery is gone. I don't feel like that's the case with Jirisan. I have a feeling this is one of those dramas that you keep picking up on new things each time you see it. And if nothing else, the cinematography makes it worth watching again. But even more than that, I think the characters themselves will keep coming back to watch again, to see them grow and know that even though in the end everything's not perfect, it's still a happy ending.

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A documentary like thriller.

This drama is kinda like a documentary because it shows a large part of the wilderness and history of the area but then it’s also like a thriller as it takes us right into the minds of the people and actors in this drama. It just hooks you in. It is so outstanding. I have loved it from the very beginning . It’s a mystery, thriller. There are so many well known actors who are awesome in this.

What is happening in this area is that many people go missing. It is popular for a variety of reasons. Hikers, Trampers, sight seer, plant collectors, snake collectors, suiciders and even murderers who cover their murders by making it look some kind of accident. This is whom the lead actors are looking but it is very difficult for them,

We are only in episode 5 and my goodness what a shake up there has been in this short time.

This is so very stressful but so incredibly superb. Cinematoloy is stunning. Scenery takes your breath away.

So many tragedies one after another, Reminds me of our cultural saying"I am the river and the river is me. I am the mountain and the mountain is me”. She tried to leave but the mountain keeps calling her back.. Come home!! Come Home!! I feel like that.

Every time an episode end I can’t help but think. So good.

This drama is not for the faint hearted. Lucky none of of my fave actors are in it or I’d be distraught. I can watch like an ordinary viewer thinking that this is a documentary and I’m seeing it as if it has already happened and this is a reenactment. That is my way of thinking about it. I love it so much. One of the more written scripts. Congratulations writers I don’t often say it so treasure my words.

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For national park enthusiasts, with a dash of spiritual fantasy

Loved this drama for portraying the daily work of rangers at national parks, and the charms of Jirisan, but having mixed feelings on the spiritual fantasy part of the ML’s soul remaining on Jirisan.

I enjoyed hiking and have done some hiking at national parks before, and of course visited the parks’ visitor centres at the start of the hike for hiking permits (if needed), and to meet our hiking guides. But I have never thought what the daily work of park rangers comprised of, nor have I seen any show on the daily work of park rangers.

Thus, this drama is an eye opener for me. The park rangers don’t just man the information counters at the park’s visitor centre, but are also involved in the education of visitors on park safety and conservation, check that the amenities in the park are weather-worthy, warning signs of impending heavy rain, snow are put up clearly, patrolling, and the arduous work of evacuation and rescue operations.

I enjoyed those parts of the drama on the natural disasters and rescue operations of trapped or injured hikers - those are done meticulously, portraying the perilous rescue operations in the midst of extreme weather conditions, not falling behind western movies on disaster rescue operations.

The mystery part involving the murder cases on the mountain adds to the mystery of nature and Jirisan. But, gotta deduct 0.5 point for the spiritual fantasy part of the ML’s soul remaining on Jirisan. For me, the spiritual fantasy part dented the credibility of the dangers of Mother Nature at Jirisan and the arduous rescue operations. I strongly feel that using a more credible way to crack the murder case would serve better for an otherwise enjoyable disaster docu drama of movie film-quality.

p/s:
1) I hope I will have the opportunity to hike Jirisan and witness its majestic sunrise one day.
2) Love the two leads, especially the FL Seo Yi Kang, and only realised recently they were both casted in Kingdom - another fave drama of mine.

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Confusing watching

Many other reviewers have written fantastic in-depth reviews so I'll keep this short. I wish this show would make up their mind. It comprises action, mystery, supernatural, and crime. What exactly does it want to be? There is so much flitting back and forth between two timelines that it's confusing.

This could have been a great action show that highlights and gives insight into the important work of mountain rangers - episodes around finding missing people, stopping mountain-related crime (eg trespassing, illegal logging, etc), and saving people in danger. That is, make the series semi-educational in the vein of what Forecasting Love & Weather did for the Korean Meteological Administration or what Where Stars Land did for airport operations. (I do have a beef with Where Stars Land and the ridiculous turn it took but that's another story). But it had to attempt to be different. There is no need to because the subject matter itself, Jirisan and its dedicated rangers, is already unique and different to so many other dramas, so focusing on that is enough.

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Mysterious & Beautiful Mt. Jiri

JIRISAN was a wholly original drama and was as mysterious as it was mesmerizing. Honestly, the cast is really great, BUT I must say, it is Mount Jiri that is by far the true star of this series. Jirisan, the place, is truly breath-taking and incredible. I found it difficult not to be distracted by the rolling landscapes in the background of any scene taking place out doors.

That aside, this series was incredible for many reasons, such as cast and acting performances, such as Ju Ji-Hoon (of Kingdom/ Hyena fame) as Kang Hyun Jo the newbie Park Ranger and Jun Ji-hyun (of Kingdom/ Snow Flower and Secret Fan/ Il Mare fame) as Seo Yi Kang, or "Demon Seo" the veteran Park Ranger. They are partners that grow into a unique relationship while working with one another through many mysteries that take place on Mount Jiri. Many of the side cast is memorable as well, and you gradually begin to care for them. All very believable characters.

My few complaints is at times it felt a little lacking in terms of the main paranormal plotline and the ending felt a bit abrupt to me. Maybe there will be another season coming?

For a thriller, it is a bit slower paced, but I appreciated the pacing, allowing the mystery to slowly unravel and reveal itself, all the while exploring both mountain and human psyche alike. I have never seen a K-Drama quite like this one. Perfect setting, wonderful concept, great writing, excellent cast, superb cinematography, realistic costumes and settings, interesting mysteries, great bunch of characters, awesome music. Everything was really on-point. Overall, Jirisan was a great drama.

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It relieved my curiosity at least..

I already know some (maybe very little) details about this drama before I started watching it. Like about the character Sewook (which is played by Yun Jion, which is also the exact reason I really started this drama... phenomenal acting by the way, really wished he would've gotten a little bit more screentime, and wished that things were different for his character) Back when this was still airing, I didn't watch it but only just see people in the kdrama community talk about this. I have heard about the "bad" cgi, and honestly, safe to say my curiosity about the very cgi in question is anwered, and i totally understand the complaints. The animators might've been rushed to do it, or not? Who knows, really... But I think that flaw was a little saved by the plot. I personally really think the plot is good. Of course, throughout I was thinking how it would be if they had written some scenes differently, how it would be if the plot was slightly different to my own personal preference, and I think it could do better, but it was already pretty good. It got me pretty invested for the past three days, and it's worth it. The fact that I'm curious enough to finish the whole thing is enough to be considered good in my book (i guess, there may be some exceptions) but yeah. The ost was pretty good too, I think they fit the drama pretty well.

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The real mountain guardians are going up to take care of mountains

"Murders disguised as an accidents in the mountain"

Mountains, natures, disasters, rescue operations, thriller, and teamwork, all in one series. Thank you for the roller coaster of emotions and mind games. It has low ratings here in MDL but if you give this a try, you might like it especially if you like landscapes, natures, and excellent cinematography. The fact that it is a mystery, fantasy drama, I think the series didn't justify the "fantasy" one. I think, the series is good without attaching fantasy element to it. Nevertheless, it's a slowburn series, and I literally don't have any clue who is the killer until ep15 came, and I think some characters here deserves praises also.

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YES!

This show is, simply put, captivating.

The directing was fantastic, the film and sound editing flawless (weird green screen moments non-withstanding) and the natural beauty of the mountain was utterly breathtaking. Such a visually stunning place! This show was definitely a treat for the eyes and ears.

The story wasn't what I first thought it would be, but nonetheless, I found myself deeply invested. Deaths disguised as accidents, preternatural abilities, multiple red herrings... Not to mention the insanity that were the episodes with the forest fires and floods. Watching this show was most certainly not a relaxing experience!

My one gripe with it was the lack of romance. Such a waste considering the magnetic chemistry between the leads! When they were together nothing else mattered. Also, emotionally, the whole show have hit so much deeper if they'd been romantically involved. A romance plotline doesn't always make a story better, but it definitely would have in this case, so I still can't believe the didn't fully take advantage of what a wonderful duo they'd casted for the main roles.

But besides that, I've got no complaints. This is a great show and a must watch.

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A drama that make you fall in and out of love with Mountain Jirisan

First of all I would like to scream how perfect and talented my baby Jihoon is ✨ (along with the other actors ), I honestly started watching the drama because of him, Oh Jungse and Mr. Sung dongil - as I don't really like TVN's thriller productions, but lately it leveled up the game and I started liking the works it does - but to my surprise ever since the first episode the story has got my attention and I finished the drama in two days no joke ✨✨
The story line isn't our typical thriller storyline, instead it shows the real life of the Rangers up there, their work life, love life, family life etc etc
Every single actor delivered their character perfectly that it made me believe they were what they are ✨✨
As a light romance drama fan I liked the cute romance stories that happened here and there in the drama, and every duo is unique ?
Let's talk about Oh Jungse because he is one of my favorite support lead actors of all the time, he really really really deserves all the success because he is a very good actor ! The way he portraited the feelings and emotions of his character is unbelievably skillful!!! I cried, smiled laughed even before he did ! His story was one of the sweetest yet realistic stories I have ever seen in dramas.
Coming back to the main story, The way this drama made me fall in love with Mountain Jirisan is wow, all thanks to the direction and editing team! They made sure Jirisan looks as beautiful as it is! But they also showed that mama nature is as scary as it is beautiful! Caps down for all the real rangers that are facing this dangerous job to save people and make their journey on Jirisan or any other mountain safe and enjoyable for them.
The actions of the drama are never boring, it will keep you wanting for more - I wished it was more than 16eps- the last two episodes made me an emotional wrecked ball but it deserves all the tears and smiles and laughters❤️
Thanks for the actors, directors and everyone who made Jirisan ✨❤️❤️

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Amazing cinematography!

I find some of the reviews here really really harsh! I agree that the plot is unnecessarily convoluted and confusing and I did not much care for the mystery element of the story. However, this is a solid, entertaining show with amazing production values and a highly unusual setting. I'm surprised no one mentioned the beautiful cinematography, so far! The images of the mountain, the forests, and those sweeping (drone?) shots zooming up those moutain ravines or following a convoy of fire trucks in the night.... Those shots were amazing! The shots of the forest fire were also brilliantly done, everything looked so real, it was really suspenseful watching the rangers working in such a dangerous environment.
It all looked very real and it must have been a difficult, exhausting shoot for the actors - all of whom I really admired!

As other reviewers have mentioned, the real star of this show is nature and the beautiful scenery where the show is set. If you like this sort of thing, you'll enjoy the show. If you're main interst is following a riveting who-dunnit thriller/murder storyline this show might leave you a bit disappointed...

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A sloppy mess for an interesting setting

It became quite apparent right off from episode 2 that this was a massive flop. The drama would have worked wonderfully and masterfully as a movie or at least as a 3-4 episodes short drama, otherwise, it's absolutely riddled with problems in its current condition and format. The unique setting and scenery weren't enough to help its case. It ingeniously transformed the art of storytelling into a chaotic, avant-garde mishmash of disjointed scenes that left me pondering the deep mysteries of life, such as whether the writers had ever heard of structured narrative or if they were just operating under the belief that plotlines are mere suggestions for lesser beings. Each plot twist, if one could even call them that, was a tantalizing leap into the abyss of narrative incoherence, leaving me on the edge of my seat not in anticipation, but in a desperate attempt to maintain my balance amidst the swirling vortex of plot holes and character motivations more elusive than a unicorn at a camouflage convention. I can't thank the creators enough for their valiant efforts to reduce character development to a cryptic crossword puzzle that nobody asked for, but we apparently all deserved, according to them. I wish to see better attempts going for a similar setting and theme from more competent creators. It's hard to recommend this drama unless you're a diehard fan of some of the cast members. Jun Ji Hyun disappearing for ~5 years then coming back with this project was nothing but a disappointment. It made it harder to be excited for her next project "Polaris (2023)".

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