Hwarang

Don't watch this with the intent to learn about history.

                                          Hwarang OST: Yang Yoseob- Divine Intervention

Synopsis:

A nameless peasant (let's call him dog-bird for now) and his friend Moo Myung have entered the capital of the Silla kingdom in search of Moo Myung's long lost sister, Kim Aro. Moo Myung accidentally sees the face of king Jinheung, and is thus killed by a swordsman. Jinheung is kept in secret by his mother, queen Ji So, who claims to do so for his safety. Bird- dog vows to avenge his friend's death by finding the man responsible, who is, of course, Jinheung.

Before Moo Myung dies, however, his long lost father, Master Kim Ahn Ji finds him and dog-bird. Master Ahn Ji informs dog-bird that Moo Myung's actual name is Kim Sun Woo. Dog-bird is injured and suffers from fainting spells. Master Ahn Ji takes care of Bird- dog before letting him leave the capital. During a birthday parade for the hidden Jinheung, dog-bird witnesses the swordsman who killed Sun Woo and attempts to attack him. Dog-bird is captured and almost killed, but Master Ahn Ji stops this by claiming that dog-bird is his son, Sun Woo. Master Ahn Ji is placed imprisoned in Sun- Woo's place.

Queen Ji So is planning to arrange a group of young and handsome warriors to protect her and Silla, called the Hwarang. She wants the sons of noblemen to become Hwarang, but the noblemen refuse to submit their sons. Queen Ji So blackmails Master Ahn Ji into submitting Sun Woo as a Hwarang. Other noble sons are also blackmailed into the Hwarang. Many of them fought among each other before being forced to live together in a new Hwarang training facility.

Aro had believed her brother to be dead for a long time, and now must accept that the new man entering her life, is in fact her living brother. While he (Sun Woo) trains with the Hwarang, Aro is serving as the Hwarang's primary physician. During this time, she falls in love with him. However, she is conflicted over these feelings for someone who is supposed to be her brother. Sun Woo feels conflicted, as he has fallen in love with her, as well. King Jinheung hides himself under the identity of  Kim Ji Dwi, who has also joined Hwarang. Of course, he has also fallen in love with Aro, but she doesn't return his affections.

Through training, the Hwarang ease their animosity towards one another and begin to bond. Rumors begin to spread that the hidden King Jinheung is within the Hwarang. Members guess that it is either Sun Woo or Ji Dwi since they cannot trace either member's background. On an ambassadorial mission to Baekje, the Hwarang are cornered by Baekje's cruel crown prince. Sun Woo claims to be Silla's king in order to protect the rest of the Hwarang. Queen Ji So blackmails Sun Woo into claiming King Jinheung's identity for now. Angered by the inability to reclaim his throne, Ji Dwi eventually announces to the nobles that he is King Jinheung.

Sun Woo, however finds out that he is also a royal. He is Silla's crown prince Kim Hwi Kyung's son, which makes him just as eligible for the throne as Ji Dwi/Jinheung. Master Hwi Kyung plans to make Sun Woo the next king. This pits Sun Woo against Jinheung, especially as Sun Woo learn's Ji Dwi's true identity as the person responsible for Moo Myung's death. However, Sun Woo and the rest of the Hwarang eventually support and protect Jinheung's ability to become the true king. Sun Woo and Aro spend the rest of their lives together.

Reaction:

My attention drifted in and out of this drama. By the time it ended, I couldn't remember what had happened for the last 20 episodes. Though this was mostly due to the fact that it took me so long to finish. I just couldn't find the motivation to watch the last couple of episodes.

Moo Myung's death gave Hwarang a much darker and serious tone than I had anticipated, but that didn't last very long. Plus, I can never take a character played by Lee Kwang Soo too seriously. Then I was pleasantly surprised by the playfulness as the Hwarang began to bond. There were so many anachronistic elements, like the architecture and behavior of characters. But it seemed like the drama was well aware of its historical inaccuracies and played with that instead of taking itself too seriously. My absolute favorite part of the drama was when our main Hwarang gang choreographed and performed their sword dance. It was so goofy and ridiculously out of place; I loved it.

Moments like those, when the Hwarang were together, were the best parts of this drama. I didn't care for the romance at all, which is part of why I lost my motivation to watch. Aro and Sun Woo were interesting characters on their own, but as soon as they began to develop feelings for each other, I lost interest. Aro was crying all the time and didn't have the opportunity to show any other emotion than sadness and conflict. Sun Woo was full of angst and spent all of this time brooding. It got to the point where I didn't like either character or their relationship. If anything, I enjoyed watching the budding romance between Ban Ryu and Su Ho's sister the most. They were far more adorable than Aro and Sun Woo.

I also think the plot was paced very poorly. To be honest, I can't remember the key plot points between episode 13ish to episode 18ish. Some of the most important moments of the show, including Jinheung revealing himself and Sun Woo discovering his own lineage were pushed until the last couple of episodes. There should have been more time given to Sun Woo to process information that completely changes his existence. There also should have been more time given to Jinheung and Sun Woo to untangle their disputes, since Jinheung is the man Sun Woo had been searching for for so long, to avenge his friend's death. There was too much going on at the end of this drama and not enough going on in the middle, which is where I was lost. I just wanted to watch Ji Dwi and his (Park Hyung Sik's) cute little face.

I did like the absolute ending, in which King Jinheung finally established himself as the rightful king. Sun Woo had challenged him before, but he eventually supported Jinheung, as did the rest of the Hwarang. They all stood by him and protected him, which I think was the best way to end this drama. As I said before, the best moments came from the Hwarang bromance.

I don't think Hwarang was an absolute failure, as it did have its bright points. I was also fascinated at a glimpse of history I've never seen before, despite it's obvious inaccurate depiction. However, it was a commercial dud in Korea, as was Moon Lovers. Thus, I think it's safe to say that we won't see a similar type of drama being released for quite some time.