Chuno
It's been a while since I've watched any Korean dramas, much less a sageuk or period dramas. Last time I did it either on the horror stories, epic length period drama and some others; though some didn't manage to follow constantly due to tv being controlled by kids. I think I conidered it my luck that I manage to see Chuno while it still airing in KBS World.
Chuno/The Slave Hunter
Chuno follows the story of Lee Dae Gil, a man of high birth whose family was ruined when Keunnom, a slave, burnt down his house and escaped with his sister, Eonnyeon, who was in love with Dae Gil. Driven by his desire for revenge, he survived his harsh years on the street and made his name as a slave hunter, dedicated in his pursuit to find Un Nyun, his first and only love. Song Tae Ha is a General of the Army who became a slave after being falsely accused of a crime he did not commit, and finds himself on the run from Dae Gil's relentless pursuit. Both men become entangled in a love triangle with Un Nyun, who is no longer a runaway slave, but Kim Hye Won, a nobleman's daughter.
That's the basic premise, though I don't get why some sites I see state Keunnom as Won Ki yoon.... cos that's like the name of the con-government slave from Eopbok's faction XD
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Aside from the political plot in the story, can't help noticing that yet again fans were too obsessed with pairings and on who should be with who, which end with the unfavourable character being bashed badly. Or how some argued the other character being underdeveloped or underplayed, I mean...
Let's take Daegil. He's the dark, gloomy slave hunter who originally was a nobleman; presently searching for his lost love. Sounds romantic, yet one should never have forgotten that he was a vengeful character. Sure, he helped some odd runaway slaves he recaptured to escape but that didn't remove the fact that he was ruthless as a chuno. Quite a change from a nice lil yangban. So much that Eopbok wants to kill him. That reputation did not seem just as a decoration since looking at his fighting style, it should say enough. And while his love for Eonnyeon may be praised, the fact that he outright ignored Seolhwa's obvious shine on him despite giving her mixed signals is just no good.
And his love for Eonnyeon bordered towards being obsessive; to the point he felt she should always be faithful to him and that he 'owns' her and now wanting to let her have her own new happy life while he remained suffering, that's unhealthy. (Scared me at times.) He barely gave a thought on how Eonnyeon would have been coping with her life after her escape from his clan how he could justify what she could or could not do with her own life's decisions? And while some of the things Cheon Jiho had done to trick Daegil using Eonnyeon's name was bad, it was clear that both he and Jjakgwi was worried about his obsession with Eonnyeon.
While his character had its growths here and there, he's not that typical protagonist either. And who said all protagonist must have the girl in the end? Life don't always worked out like that. And while he disses Taeha when he fervently try to evade talking about HyeWon's true identity, he himself also was no different. His values changing regardless, he did impose his values strongly on others and only believed his opinions stands correct. I don't see any of that justifies if he should have gotten the girl or not.
That aside, Daegil's character growth was still great and the fact he finally acknowledged that Tae Ha was the one who saved him and Eonnyeon during the raid during the was with Qing shows how much he'd changed from that vengeful character he'd become onto whom he originally was but better. And his self-sacrifice for the sake of his loved ones is nice too.
Talking about Song Tae Ha, I always loved him from the very beginning. Not because he's handsome and noble, but I guess I always had a pension for military characters. I came past some posts about people not liking Tae Ha and saying people who do only did because he's a nobleman and handsome and that he's stiff. But I see that as just some fangirl rant-bashing because Hyewon/Eunyoon end up with him rather than Daegil. (Hahaha this is so rehashing Tennant-bashing, but instead of DT it's Oh Jiho) But yeah, he's the classic knight character, isn't it?
I feel that bit on Taeha being stiff and oblivious to romance (as reasons he shouldn't get HY/Eonyoon) a bit farfetched. I mean, he's a military officer and general to boot and had been one for many years; he should have trained himself to be able to separate his personal and state matters. He was used to lived in that kind of disciplined world. While Daegil still lived in a sheltered nobility life, Taeha was already in the military. And while he had married before; as a soldier in the battlefield, he can't be showing off his emotions so much would he? Knowing what effect such attachment may affect his fighting ability. Doing that might spelled death. You can't expect soldiers who bore their own responsibilities in the battlefield to be fluent in the art of romance, would you? That skill's not so useful in battle unless you're an infiltrator or spy.
As to him taking priority on the Royal Successor as well as his mission over Hyewon, people tend to forget that he's a former Commissioner of the Military Command/General. And he was close with former Crown Prince Sohyeon and confessed that he took care of the Royal Successor as much as he would his own son. And it was a time of political turmoil--you can't expect him to completely throw all of that and be completely lovey dovey with Hyewon? And just because at times he had had to choose between Hyewon and the young prince, doesn't mean that he cared less of one when he chose another. Heck, even his decision of marrying Hyewon properly got objections and people feeling he's softened up--you'd expect him to abandon his duty?
And lastly, I saw a post bashing Hyewon/Eonnyeon. Sigh.
Just because she chose to remain with Tae Ha instead of with Daegil after she found out he was alive. What? You expect her to throw herself onto Daegil right away despite the fact she's a married woman? Or you'd expect her to remain loyal to Daegil's ghost despite her growing attachment to Tae Ha? You expect her to forget Daegil completely as she had chosen Tae Ha? What silliness. I like Hyewon being with Tae Ha rather than with Daegil. Especially after the revelation that she and Daegil were half-siblings. Since it makes sense the alarm Keunnom let out as he asked Eonnyeon if Daegil had touched her. I don't really fancy incestuous relationship after all. If they were siblings by name and not by blood that's make it different... but if they were siblings even at the faintest hint, nope. Even if the link only exist through Keunnom, it's still a link.
I don't get some people's fascination on incest. It's not hot or anything. It's the same whether it's with a parent or siblings. It's unhealthy. I like Tae Ha with her since by being with him Hyewon had inevitably became Tae Ha's support. This rang especially true after Tae Ha lost all of his subordinates. I can't imagine what'll happen if she wasn't by his side.
Plus such sentiments aren't exactly accepted in those times. As well as the discrimination between classes and gender roles.
And I liked the change that she had gone through just by being by Tae Ha's side. Because she had traveled with him all that time, she had picked up on how to fend for herself while protecting the young prince. And she became more like a proper yangban with the same air as Tae Ha had. Rather than just pretend. And while some may disliked her for appearing to be a weakness to Tae Ha since he would always stand before her to protect her, that was a better decision for her instead of taking cover away from the main fight. Since that would made it harder for Tae Ha to protect her and the prince and would provide a chance for the enemy to take her hostage against him. (Plus in the early parts she still should have that surpressed mindset that had been thrust to her as a slave. What civilian would be used to see so much bloodshed up close let alone a former slave?)
That said, people that cried out over the portrayal of women in the show should calm their tits down. Since during that period where it's mostly male-dominated certainly you won't be seeing a lot of strong-willed women let alone educated and independent ones. Unless they're royalties and nobilities... or trained assassins. And courtesans and simple-minded and meek women exist during that kinda period as it is what the times back then dictated women should be. Women in those periods aren't encouraged to be showing them any better or equal to males, that usually are looked down upon. You can't be crying out on the show about being accurate over the portrayal of the society of old. Fictional stories aside... this was based on a historical period. That said, people forgot about Chobok. That's one rare gem since despite her status she was quite smart. And she did have a lot of guts and will to break away from the social bindings~
That aside, one other side protagonist that should not be forgotten was Eopbok. And strangely enough, although Eopbok never directly meet Tae Ha; he ended up indirectly avenging the many deaths of Tae Ha's allies and subordinates by killing the Left State Councillor who had done so many vile things for his own purposes. As well as killing Scholar Jo who had betrayed his faction. And while the three of them weren't directly allied, their fates had strangely crossed each other. Eopbok's thinking about having changes to the system oddly resonates with Tae Ha's thinking and somehow you wondered if both of them had ever met prior. And it was nice that Eopbok had his own love story.
People say Daegil's end was heartbreaking but personally, I cried more during the final moments of each of Taeha's subordinates (esp. Hanseom) while trying to fight off their enemies to their deaths. And it's interesting that Daegil seemed to take over the position Hwang Cheolwong used to be when he used to fight alongside Tae Ha. And while people argued that Daegil should have end up with Eonnyeon because he had faced a lot of adversity, if judging from that; Tae Ha deserved it more. The only few people Daegil had lost had been his family, Cheon Jiho... and Choi and Wongsun end up not dead. While Tae Ha had lost his family, his men, mentor, master, alies, friends... and being betrayed by former friends; even if he's a soldier trained to face such adversity that's not something you face so easily. You'd want Taeha to at least get a happy ending... (and Daegil with Seolhwa, yet we won't get that~)
And the contrast of character between Daegil and Taeha was nice to see. And haha... this post end up being a sort of character study. I'd type more... but those thoughts might just end up in my fanfics. Nicer in that form~
This entry was originally posted on Kaleidoscope World.
Chuno/The Slave Hunter
Chuno follows the story of Lee Dae Gil, a man of high birth whose family was ruined when Keunnom, a slave, burnt down his house and escaped with his sister, Eonnyeon, who was in love with Dae Gil. Driven by his desire for revenge, he survived his harsh years on the street and made his name as a slave hunter, dedicated in his pursuit to find Un Nyun, his first and only love. Song Tae Ha is a General of the Army who became a slave after being falsely accused of a crime he did not commit, and finds himself on the run from Dae Gil's relentless pursuit. Both men become entangled in a love triangle with Un Nyun, who is no longer a runaway slave, but Kim Hye Won, a nobleman's daughter.
That's the basic premise, though I don't get why some sites I see state Keunnom as Won Ki yoon.... cos that's like the name of the con-government slave from Eopbok's faction XD
-
Aside from the political plot in the story, can't help noticing that yet again fans were too obsessed with pairings and on who should be with who, which end with the unfavourable character being bashed badly. Or how some argued the other character being underdeveloped or underplayed, I mean...
Let's take Daegil. He's the dark, gloomy slave hunter who originally was a nobleman; presently searching for his lost love. Sounds romantic, yet one should never have forgotten that he was a vengeful character. Sure, he helped some odd runaway slaves he recaptured to escape but that didn't remove the fact that he was ruthless as a chuno. Quite a change from a nice lil yangban. So much that Eopbok wants to kill him. That reputation did not seem just as a decoration since looking at his fighting style, it should say enough. And while his love for Eonnyeon may be praised, the fact that he outright ignored Seolhwa's obvious shine on him despite giving her mixed signals is just no good.
And his love for Eonnyeon bordered towards being obsessive; to the point he felt she should always be faithful to him and that he 'owns' her and now wanting to let her have her own new happy life while he remained suffering, that's unhealthy. (Scared me at times.) He barely gave a thought on how Eonnyeon would have been coping with her life after her escape from his clan how he could justify what she could or could not do with her own life's decisions? And while some of the things Cheon Jiho had done to trick Daegil using Eonnyeon's name was bad, it was clear that both he and Jjakgwi was worried about his obsession with Eonnyeon.
While his character had its growths here and there, he's not that typical protagonist either. And who said all protagonist must have the girl in the end? Life don't always worked out like that. And while he disses Taeha when he fervently try to evade talking about HyeWon's true identity, he himself also was no different. His values changing regardless, he did impose his values strongly on others and only believed his opinions stands correct. I don't see any of that justifies if he should have gotten the girl or not.
That aside, Daegil's character growth was still great and the fact he finally acknowledged that Tae Ha was the one who saved him and Eonnyeon during the raid during the was with Qing shows how much he'd changed from that vengeful character he'd become onto whom he originally was but better. And his self-sacrifice for the sake of his loved ones is nice too.
Talking about Song Tae Ha, I always loved him from the very beginning. Not because he's handsome and noble, but I guess I always had a pension for military characters. I came past some posts about people not liking Tae Ha and saying people who do only did because he's a nobleman and handsome and that he's stiff. But I see that as just some fangirl rant-bashing because Hyewon/Eunyoon end up with him rather than Daegil. (Hahaha this is so rehashing Tennant-bashing, but instead of DT it's Oh Jiho) But yeah, he's the classic knight character, isn't it?
I feel that bit on Taeha being stiff and oblivious to romance (as reasons he shouldn't get HY/Eonyoon) a bit farfetched. I mean, he's a military officer and general to boot and had been one for many years; he should have trained himself to be able to separate his personal and state matters. He was used to lived in that kind of disciplined world. While Daegil still lived in a sheltered nobility life, Taeha was already in the military. And while he had married before; as a soldier in the battlefield, he can't be showing off his emotions so much would he? Knowing what effect such attachment may affect his fighting ability. Doing that might spelled death. You can't expect soldiers who bore their own responsibilities in the battlefield to be fluent in the art of romance, would you? That skill's not so useful in battle unless you're an infiltrator or spy.
As to him taking priority on the Royal Successor as well as his mission over Hyewon, people tend to forget that he's a former Commissioner of the Military Command/General. And he was close with former Crown Prince Sohyeon and confessed that he took care of the Royal Successor as much as he would his own son. And it was a time of political turmoil--you can't expect him to completely throw all of that and be completely lovey dovey with Hyewon? And just because at times he had had to choose between Hyewon and the young prince, doesn't mean that he cared less of one when he chose another. Heck, even his decision of marrying Hyewon properly got objections and people feeling he's softened up--you'd expect him to abandon his duty?
And lastly, I saw a post bashing Hyewon/Eonnyeon. Sigh.
Just because she chose to remain with Tae Ha instead of with Daegil after she found out he was alive. What? You expect her to throw herself onto Daegil right away despite the fact she's a married woman? Or you'd expect her to remain loyal to Daegil's ghost despite her growing attachment to Tae Ha? You expect her to forget Daegil completely as she had chosen Tae Ha? What silliness. I like Hyewon being with Tae Ha rather than with Daegil. Especially after the revelation that she and Daegil were half-siblings. Since it makes sense the alarm Keunnom let out as he asked Eonnyeon if Daegil had touched her. I don't really fancy incestuous relationship after all. If they were siblings by name and not by blood that's make it different... but if they were siblings even at the faintest hint, nope. Even if the link only exist through Keunnom, it's still a link.
I don't get some people's fascination on incest. It's not hot or anything. It's the same whether it's with a parent or siblings. It's unhealthy. I like Tae Ha with her since by being with him Hyewon had inevitably became Tae Ha's support. This rang especially true after Tae Ha lost all of his subordinates. I can't imagine what'll happen if she wasn't by his side.
Plus such sentiments aren't exactly accepted in those times. As well as the discrimination between classes and gender roles.
And I liked the change that she had gone through just by being by Tae Ha's side. Because she had traveled with him all that time, she had picked up on how to fend for herself while protecting the young prince. And she became more like a proper yangban with the same air as Tae Ha had. Rather than just pretend. And while some may disliked her for appearing to be a weakness to Tae Ha since he would always stand before her to protect her, that was a better decision for her instead of taking cover away from the main fight. Since that would made it harder for Tae Ha to protect her and the prince and would provide a chance for the enemy to take her hostage against him. (Plus in the early parts she still should have that surpressed mindset that had been thrust to her as a slave. What civilian would be used to see so much bloodshed up close let alone a former slave?)
That said, people that cried out over the portrayal of women in the show should calm their tits down. Since during that period where it's mostly male-dominated certainly you won't be seeing a lot of strong-willed women let alone educated and independent ones. Unless they're royalties and nobilities... or trained assassins. And courtesans and simple-minded and meek women exist during that kinda period as it is what the times back then dictated women should be. Women in those periods aren't encouraged to be showing them any better or equal to males, that usually are looked down upon. You can't be crying out on the show about being accurate over the portrayal of the society of old. Fictional stories aside... this was based on a historical period. That said, people forgot about Chobok. That's one rare gem since despite her status she was quite smart. And she did have a lot of guts and will to break away from the social bindings~
That aside, one other side protagonist that should not be forgotten was Eopbok. And strangely enough, although Eopbok never directly meet Tae Ha; he ended up indirectly avenging the many deaths of Tae Ha's allies and subordinates by killing the Left State Councillor who had done so many vile things for his own purposes. As well as killing Scholar Jo who had betrayed his faction. And while the three of them weren't directly allied, their fates had strangely crossed each other. Eopbok's thinking about having changes to the system oddly resonates with Tae Ha's thinking and somehow you wondered if both of them had ever met prior. And it was nice that Eopbok had his own love story.
People say Daegil's end was heartbreaking but personally, I cried more during the final moments of each of Taeha's subordinates (esp. Hanseom) while trying to fight off their enemies to their deaths. And it's interesting that Daegil seemed to take over the position Hwang Cheolwong used to be when he used to fight alongside Tae Ha. And while people argued that Daegil should have end up with Eonnyeon because he had faced a lot of adversity, if judging from that; Tae Ha deserved it more. The only few people Daegil had lost had been his family, Cheon Jiho... and Choi and Wongsun end up not dead. While Tae Ha had lost his family, his men, mentor, master, alies, friends... and being betrayed by former friends; even if he's a soldier trained to face such adversity that's not something you face so easily. You'd want Taeha to at least get a happy ending... (and Daegil with Seolhwa, yet we won't get that~)
And the contrast of character between Daegil and Taeha was nice to see. And haha... this post end up being a sort of character study. I'd type more... but those thoughts might just end up in my fanfics. Nicer in that form~
This entry was originally posted on Kaleidoscope World.