Hong Chun Gi (2021)

Charming but Ridiculously Ridiculous

Watching the series made me feel like they were trying to fool me. It is a fantasy drama but i feel like even the creators werent taking it seriously.

Let me talk about the good things:
1. The art. The focus on artworks made me appreciate traditional Korean (and asian) paintings. I love how they showed the details and the skills it take to create these masterpieces. The painstaking strokes and technique in painting the kings portraits are absolutely stunning to watch;
2. Good, if not above average special effects;
3. The cast. Kim Yoo Jung and Ahn Hyo Seop are not particulary great but are still charming. The real revelation for me is Kwak Shi Yang, he is just captivating to watch as an antagonist.

What about the bad:
1. "Convenient" plothloles. They created story obstacles but they also created very convenient solutions - kind of like a loophole to get out of these problems. Uncontrollable demon? Lets give them a ring for it. Lost sight at the most crucial part?Lets give them a magical being to give them extra power. The family is to be publicly executed? Lets magically bring back an ailing king to put a stop to it. These situations, among others, dont feel like twists, but lazy and random resolutions to conflict.
2. Main character is blind but actually moves like he isn't, he can even ride horses for crying out loud. He puts on a mask and walks around like he's normal. Plus, he IS a stargazer, an astrological reader who can accurately predict the future by watching the stars, because why not, they think we'd believe it, even if he is blind.
3. The rudest most entitled #metoo normal girl in a korean historical drama. Like when she was to lose in the painting contest and she cries foul and asks why, like a spoiled kid in tantrum
4. They pretended that you can hear brushstrokes when somebody paints and you can tell what is being painted. Come on!
5. I feel like they wasted the chance to use the royal shaman into something better or even sinister. She was neither good nor exactly bad but I was kind of expecting her to do something grand in the final ritual, She was there to salvage her reputation and save the kingdom only to suddenly die without really doing anything.

First part of the show, specially the first episode got me hooked, however halfway through the series, i was just there just to finish it like watching a drama so you can submit a report for it. Halfway you'd realized you know where its going and everything, and i mean everything became predictable.

Will i rewatch? No. Will i recommend? Not really, there's a whole lot of other better dramas out there.

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This is a very pleasing drama with a touch of Korean mythology. For anyone who've watched Goblin before, some of the mythological entities in this drama would certainly be familiar to you such as Grandmother Samshin as well as a goblin, though they won't be the same one as with the former's depiction.

I have to say that the love story setting was a very intriguing one, not to mention the idea that one could use an enchanted portrait to seal an evil spirit that possesed a person granted that it was painted by a painter blessed by the heavens was fascinating. In a way, this reminded me of a similar idea from Joseon Exorcist (in which they used mirrors instead) as well as few other similar dramas dealing with demons and such. To which, I'm really glad that this drama was able to aired completely without having to face the issue that caused Joseon Exorcist to be cancelled.

The CGI effects and cinematography that was shown in the drama was really done well and beautifully made. The paintings and the many magical scenes involving the different deities and demons were so beautifully drawn, it was really a delight to watch the drama based on that alone. I really love how the drama depict scenes of how Cheongi's painting came to life in a very supernatural way that sets it apart from other normal paintings.

Kim Yoojung as Hong Cheongi really brought out the sweetness and innocence of the character as she strive to get people to approve of her artistic talent enough that she was later tasked to repair a portrait once painted by her father. Yoojung also brought out Cheongi's earnestness and desperation as she hoped to save Ha Ram who was possessed by the Demon.

Ahn Hyoseop on the other hand, turned out to look pretty good as a scholar who seem to be supernaturally handsome. He really did look like someone who wasn't quite from this world so it really fit his character. Considering this drama should be his first attempt at fusion sageuk, he really did well in portraying the character. Hyoseop and Yoojung really looked good together and made a very beautiful pair. As the drama tend to have a lot of focus on the eyes, you really can't help finding a strange interest in people's eyes. Especially Hyoseop and Yoojung's eyes whenever their eyes were depicted as normal or when the eyes were sightless or when it was brimming with supernatural energies.

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