SPOILERS= God Emperor of the Sea [discussions]

[origami]

Hi,

this is the best new drama that I've seen. New KBS Epic along the lines of Admiral Yi. I think it's better.

Kind of reminds me of Lord of the Rings in terms of scope and epic scale.

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Update:

Gee, after all these years, the show's finally on US TV! Hope you guys enjoy it like I did.





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edit.

There was a long discussion at runboard. I can't find it now.

www.runboard.com/bcjkdramasincalifornia.f2

[seven stars]

Thanks Origami.

There has been much discussion about this drama at several places on this message board. I'm pleased to hear that you are enjoying Hae Shin. I can't wait to view it myself.

[moreshige unlogged]

The first few episodes of Hae shin were excellent but then it just became a very long drawn out love triangle...so I eventually stopped watching it. IYSS had the opposite effect. It started out slow and tedious but the later episodes were just astonding.

[galacticchick]

Hooray! This drama will be airing after Secret on AZN. I'm not usually into historical dramas but this one sure has captured my attention (at least if it's the same one I'm thinking of.) The one with the guy from My Green Prairie, Inyoung from My Sweetheart My Darling and Middle Son from Who's my Love.

[chigirl68]

MAAAN I wish KBC would air this. I want to order a set from ebay but even at a final charge of 40 something dollars, I have to wait a bit. Let me know how it is Galchick.

[galacticchick]

chigirl68 said:

MAAAN I wish KBC would air this. I want to order a set from ebay but even at a final charge of 40 something dollars, I have to wait a bit. Let me know how it is Galchick.

Will do, although I can't find the darn link where someone put up a lot of cast photos. So now I don't know if this is the one that I am thinking of or not. I have to check with the Wiz.

[chigirl68]

There are some pictures in this thread

[mikey]

galacticchick said:

Hooray! This drama will be airing after Secret on AZN. I'm not usually into historical dramas but this one sure has captured my attention (at least if it's the same one I'm thinking of.) The one with the guy from My Green Prairie, Inyoung from My Sweetheart My Darling and Middle Son from Who's my Love.

“Haesin” (translated literally, “The Sea God,” though it seems that the English version is invariably called “Emperor of the Sea”) was one of the greats of 2005. However, I don’t remember In-young from “My Sweetheart” as being in EOTS (and it’s been so long since I saw “Who’s My Love” that I can’t recall the middle son, either).

But yes, it does feature the actor who played the car salesman in “On the Green Prairie” as the lead character. And Chicago viewers will also recognize the actor who plays the drama’s lead antagonist (Song Il-kook) as the younger Mr. Han from the drama “Bodyguard” (he was the 20-something bad guy who had the hots for Han Go-eun). And no doubt Chicago fans will also recognize the show’s only female warrior as actress Kim Ah-jung, who’s currently appearing as Jong-nam in “The Bizarre Bunch.” Almost the same character, too, except that in EOTS she carries a sword.

I should emphasize that, for me at least, EOTS did get off to a terribly slow start, and I found myself just hanging in there for the first 10 episodes or so. And the character “Joong-dal” (apparently added for a bit of comic relief) was so obnoxious that I felt he ended up detracting from the drama as a whole.

Didn’t matter, really, since come about episode 12 (can’t remember exactly offhand) “Emperor of the Sea” absolutely caught fire for me, and it became so good at times that I could hardly contain myself as I awaited the next week’s episodes. I think you’ll really enjoy it.

[seven stars]

Thanks for the primer Mikey.

What is your feeling about the casting of EOTS and the performances of the actors?

[mikey]

Well, of course, much was made of the original casting of Choi Soo-jung as the lead character. He’s a great actor, but he was awfully old for the role. And, indeed, I found his age a bit distracting in the early episodes. But, as the character aged, the actor began to fill the role much more effectively. And, honestly, after a few episodes, I found myself getting engrossed in the storyline, and pretty much forgot about the age issue anyway.

The casting of Song Il-kook as “Yum Moon” (the lead character’s archrival) was a last-minute change, as the original actor slated for the role got caught up in some kind of draft-dodging scandal. As it happens, Mr. Song’s performance turned out to be perhaps the highlight of the drama series. It’s hard to imagine how anyone else could have done better.

And I shamefully neglected to mention veteran actor Kim Gap-soo, whom Chicago fans will surely recall from the historical drama “Age of Warriors,” where he played the notorious Korean dictator Choi Choong-hon. Here, he plays “Master Yi,” a merchant who acquired most of his actual wealth engaging in pirating activity. He’s perfectly suited for the role, but gets overshadowed by Song (who plays his protégé).

Acting – except for the obnoxious “Joong-dal” character - ranged from good to (in Song Il-kook’s case) downright terrific. No real losers in this crowd.

Remember, though, that this is NOT an Age of Warriors/Immortal Yi Soon-shin style of historical drama, and if that’s what you’re expecting, you’ll be disappointed. KBS admitted that the show is – at best – 10% historical fact, and 90% fiction. The love triangle between Jang Bo-go, Yum Moon, and Lady Jung-hwa was entirely made-up – and yet, it surely helps broaden the viewership base, especially for K-drama fans who might not be so much “into” your typical Korean historical drama. And the martial arts fighting scenes also stretch the limits of credibility – not quite the “swordfights in the trees” kind of thing we saw in “Damo,” but still a bit exaggerated from what one might expect in a real-life battle.

Since I enjoy both historical and contemporary K-dramas, I had no problem adapting to “Emperor of the Sea,” but I realize that some of the Korean history purists (understandably) did object. But hey, give it a shot! If it turns out not to be to your taste, you can always give it up midway, right?

[galacticchick]

I think I am confusing EOS with another one. I think it was Choko who had provided links for the one w/the cast members I mention. Was it something like Kingdom of 1000 years or something like that? Aigu, I can't remember. Either way I'll give EOS a shot.

[JP Paulus]

I was just glancing through my cable guide, and noticed the show is now on AZN, starting to!

yea---back to watching Korean shows!

Now if KBS would only show something....even a repeat from years ago!


p.s. Is Emperor of the Sea a good one for couples?? What i mean is...i'm into only the Historical dramas, which usually deal with politics as well as characters. My wife wasn't all that interested. But she really got into Dae Jang Geum with me (which was also light on actual history, but was well acted & a joy to see, for both of us). Would EoS be comparable?

[JP Paulus]

Anyone else following this show? It just started on AZN, and i think i plan on following it...(about 10 weeka, 5 episodes a week)

i've only caught the 1st 20 minutes so far....nice big epic battle in the front, and the opening scene if episode one was dramatic...higher quality than i've seen before...kinda reminds me of the show i can't remember, ran for 26 episodes...

[cyuser]

I have seen this drama on and off when I was in Korea ...
I highly recommend it .. It gets better!

[mikey]

jp said:

p.s. Is Emperor of the Sea a good one for couples??

While I never got to see DJG, I think Emperor of the Sea is a great one for couples. I thought that the drama's fictional love stories (which historical drama purists naturally pooh-poohed) were nicely done.

Still, it took me a long while to really begin to love this show. As I recall, the first episode, starting with a battle scene (one that gets repeated again around episode 25) then jumping to the very beginning, then jumping ahead several years, really had me confused and frustrated.