Iljimae (일지매)

I recently picked up a really good Korean period drama, Iljimae -- loosely based off the manhwa by Ko Woo Yung (고우영) -- which is about a thief who steals from the rich to give to the poor, while searching for the man whom murdered his father. Though some (or most) of the special effects are so-so, the overall plot is quite good. The drama begins with illustrating how badass of thief and fighter Iljimae is in showing off his agility, skill, speed, and smarts for about 12 minutes where he infiltrates a tight-security nobleman's home and steals something from him, leaving behind his signature painting of plum blossoms. After his great escape,

The story of Iljimae is set during the Joseon Dynasty around 1632 - 1649, with references to the Coup of 1623 that happened around three or four years prior to Iljimae's birth. The current emperor, Injo, is an insecure ruler who will stop at nothing to protect his station, even resorting to having his closest comrades -- the ones who participated in the rebellion that dethroned Gwanghaegun -- murdered.

The timeline of the story's history begins around ten years after the Coup of 1623 with the image of a perfectly peaceful, happy noble family. The patriarch, Lee Won Ho, is sitting in the garden with his son, Lee Geom (also romanized as Kyum), and both are admiring the tree blossoms in full bloom. When Lee Won Ho asks his son why he favors plum blossoms, Geom answers that they are not as extravagant as cherry blossoms, but not as sad as pear blossoms. The plum blossoms will later serve as his signature, and source of his rogue name, "Iljimae."

Meanwhile on a hill not far from where the Lee family resides, Emperor Injo, dressed in noble civilian clothing, has met an old, blind seer whom provides him with the prophecy that during his monarchy in the palace, someone will appear and rattle the very foundation of his rule. The only line provided at this time is that something red will appear -- foreshadowing Iljimae's signature -- the rest of the vision, which is revealed in later episodes goes along the lines of "another king will appear in the future and the people will revere him. Two suns will shine down from the same sky." Injo, desiring for no one else to know about this prophecy, orders for his chief assassin, Sa-cheon, to kill the seer, his family, and all the villagers from where the blind man lives. Injo proceeds to resort to any method in maintaining his sovereignty, including the assassination of his younger brother, Lee Won Ho, whom he considered as a threat to his position.

Lee Won Ho is convicted of treason after a fake revolutionary letter is planted beneath his house, and he is murdered by the emperor and his assassins soon after with them passing it off as suicide. The entire Lee Clan is imprisoned for their relations to a traitor, but only Geom is able to escape, due to his father locking him up in a chest and the thief, Seo Dol, bringing the chest -- with Geom inside -- back to his place away from the household. Geom is later hunted down by the assassins and imperial guards, until an unfortunate boy is killed in his place and redeemed by Geom's mother as though he were Geom during the marketplace parade, in order for her to protect him. Geom however is forced to throw a stone at his biological mother as though they were not related, and due to the stress and trauma, he later collapses and loses his memory. Na Seo Dol, feeling responsible for the downfall of the Lee Clan -- since his adopted son planted the fake letter in order to save Seo Dol's life -- takes Geom in and raises him.

Thirteen years later, Geom is now known as Yong (or Ryung depending on romanization), and he is an irresponsible, playful mischief-maker on the streets causing much distress to his adoptive father, Seo Dol, and adoptive mother, Dani. Though everyone close to the Na family knows that Yong is adopted, Yong believes himself to be their biological child and so does everyone else outside of the Na friend circle (this was done so Seo Dol could protect Yong better). However, after a hunter in the mountains recognizes Yong as Geom, the hunt for Lee Won Ho's sun begins again and Yong is subjected to much danger, which eventually triggers various memories from his childhood leading to him regaining his memory later on.

Upon remembering his past, Yong sets off to find the rest of his scattered family while still living as the playful and useless son of the Na family. However, because his loved ones kept getting hurt due to their relation to him, he cannot ignore his situation any longer and goes to search for his father's killer by raiding the house of the wealthy in hopes of finding the sword that cut down his father as Iljimae the thief.

Iljimae is a reasonable 20-episode series. I think episode 13-15ish could have been shortened somewhat, 'cause I know 14 dragged a bit and maybe if they had shortened that episode, the final episode would have been even better (and the epilogue portion would have been longer, but whatever). Overall, I really liked it though there were some parts that could have been less ... ridiculous, but hey we're talking manhwa situation right? Anything is possible ^_^; Out of a lot of Korean dramas I've seen though, I really liked this one a lot.

The lead is played by Lee Joon Ki (이준기), whom is one of the most beautiful, effeminate looking men ever. The first time I saw him was in "The Emperor and the Clown" where he played a beautiful minstrel whom enchanted the king. The onscreen kiss between the tyrant emperor and effeminate clown (though it was like 3 seconds long) caused much stir and interest in the movie (by pretty much all yaoi-loving fans out there), and really brought the actor into prominence. In Iljimae, he looks more like a man, but he is still very pretty. In a way, he reminds me of Matsuda Ryuhei, whom was very effeminate and beautiful during the "Gohatto" and "Aoi Haru" days. Though if I had to pick between the two, Lee Joon Ki's much better looking than Matsuda Ryuhei ^_^;