Korean Action/Romantic/Historic Drama - The Return of Iljimae (The best one today)

My fascination with “the Return of Iljimae” began in 2009, when it first aired on WMBC.

One of the reasons I kept returning each week for more is because of the unforgettable love story between Iljimae and Wol-Hee.

Wol-Hee is Iljimae’s second girlfriend. She resembles Dal-yi (played by the same actress) a mountain girl, Iljimae’s first love, who is wrongfully accused of high treason and put to death. Wol-Hee falls in love with Iljimae at the first sight, however, at the beginning, Iljimae only sees her as a replacement for his lost love Dal-yi.

Compare to Dal-yi’s sunny, open personality, Wol-Hee, being a noble, is more reserved and steady. She is a smart young woman, and assists Iljimae on several occasions, helping the poor and rounding up the thieves. She is also against violence while Iljimae believes that punishment is the only way to correct wrong doings. In episode 13, Iljimae stops himself from taking the life of a corrupt official and set the man’s house on fire instead to teach him a lesson. This simple change of mind demonstrations Wol-Hee’s influence over Iljimae, her constant worrying over his safety changes the way how he acts. He thinks more vigilantly when she is around. She is his equal partner, the one, who brings rationality to his life.

Iljimae on the other hand, has more complicated emotions. Traumatized by the loss of his first love, he uses Wol-Hee to ease his sorrow. Like wind, he comes and goes with no string attached. In this unbalanced relationship, Wol-Hee is bound to get hurt. Iljimae finally learns how much she means to him after she jumps off a high cliff. Her assumed death causes Iljimae to make serious of mistakes. Grieving for her death, he embarks on a totally different demeanor, vicious almost, killing without pause or mercy, which endangers his own life. When Iljimae wakes up from a near fatal gunshot wound, he sees Wol-Hee alive, taking care of him. The first thing he does is to promise that he will never kill again, since god has given her back to him (talking about the power of love).

I have seen many love stories, and this one is really special, cute, realistic and memorable. A good drama knows how to capture audiences’ attention. This is an excellent example of mixing serious plot with action and romance, and the best way, in my opinion, to unfold a hero’s tale.

Below is a link to one of my favorite songs featured in "the Return of Iljimae", with some wonderful clips from the drama. Hope you enjoy it!

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