Țara Mea: O Nouă Eră (2019)

At the start of this drama I really liked it the casting was great the story was not bad but towards the end it felt not as enjoyable to watch maybe because of some of the decisions the charscters made or something but the main issue of this drama is the ending when yang se jong's character died and the his and seolhyuns character did not get together finally in the end, it was disapointing but hey im not the one that wrote it. And if i would make some changes it would be that yang sejong's character lives and him and seolhyun get married and just live a quiet life, maybe that would have made the drama have a more peaceful ending and putting everybody's emotions to rest.

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"My country" is not a drama for everyone, Aside of that, for me was so good and addictive, First of all we have all these well-written characters, I literally love them all even the "bad" ones, Yet the strong thing about this show is definitely the relationships between them, We can see tragic friendships, Tragic loves, Tragic families, Even tragic enemies, The sad thing is that the keyword for this drama is tragic.

The cinematography was on point and I felt like I was inside the drama, I enjoy the fights scenes (They were amazing), Now talking about the story, I can describe it as something strangely beautiful and tough, The scrip give us powerful lines and conversations that I keep thinking about.

To finish the review I really want to give an applause for the actors woo do hwan and jang hyuk ( Also for all the cast), They portray their characters as if they were them, It was magnificent.
Everyone should give a try to this wonderful drama!!

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Strong acting,

The drama takes us on a story that spans over quite some time, so be prepared for some timejumps.
It is a story of friendship, differing beliefs, romance, politics and war.
It will most likely play on your whole emotional spectre – be prepared to shed a tear or two.

There are some quite beautiful scenery, and the acting as I remember it from the main leads is strong; both in fight/action scenes, and in other scenes.

If you are "on the fence" when it comes to historical dramas, this might be a bit on the heavy side for you, but give it a go anyway.

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A Tale of Epic Proportions

My Country: The New Age is a Korean drama that takes viewers on an unforgettable journey set during the turbulent transition period of the late Goryeo Dynasty to the Joseon Dynasty. As a history enthusiast and avid K-drama lover, I was immediately drawn to the series, hoping for a captivating narrative, well-developed characters, impressive production quality, and an enchanting soundtrack. While the drama excels in many aspects, it does suffer from a few shortcomings.

One of the standout elements of My Country: The New Age is undoubtedly its intricate and engrossing storyline. The drama skillfully weaves together historical events with fictional narratives, creating a captivating tapestry that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. The pacing is well-balanced, allowing the plot to develop organically while maintaining a sense of intrigue and suspense. The intricate political machinations, power struggles, and deep-rooted friendships add depth and complexity to the story, keeping the audience invested throughout the drama's run.

The characters in My Country: The New Age are multi-dimensional and undergo significant growth and transformation. Seo Hwi (played by Yang Se-jong) and Nam Sun-ho (played by Woo Do-hwan) deliver stellar performances, effortlessly portraying the complexities of their respective characters. The evolution of their friendship amidst betrayal, heartbreak, and loyalty is a standout aspect of the drama, leaving a lasting impact on the viewers. The supporting cast also shines, with notable performances by Jang Hyuk as Yi Bang-won, the enigmatic and ambitious prince, and Kim Seol-hyun as Han Hee-jae, a resilient and determined young woman. The chemistry between the actors is palpable, and their emotional portrayals truly immerse the audience in the story.

The production values of My Country: The New Age are commendable, showcasing meticulous attention to detail in recreating the historical backdrop. The costumes, set designs, and cinematography transport viewers to the era, making every scene visually captivating. Additionally, the visual effects employed throughout the drama are seamless, seamlessly blending with the narrative without overpowering it. From intense battle sequences to quiet moments of reflection, the production team has done an exceptional job in creating a visually stunning world.

The OST of My Country: The New Age is a beautiful companion to the drama, effectively capturing the emotional essence of each scene. The music enhances the storytelling and adds depth to the characters' emotions. Memorable tracks like "Someday, The Boy" by Kim Feel and "Drunk on Love" by BTOB leave a lasting impression and perfectly complement the narrative.

While My Country: The New Age boasts many strengths, it does have a few shortcomings. At times, the pacing can feel slow, particularly during certain political subplots, causing the story to lose some momentum. Additionally, some viewers may find the complex web of relationships and political intrigue overwhelming, making it challenging to fully grasp the nuances of the narrative.

Overall, I would give My Country: The New Age a solid 8.5 out of 10. The story is captivating, the actors deliver exceptional performances, the production quality is impressive, and the OST is emotionally resonant. The chemistry between the characters, particularly Seo Hwi and Nam Sun-ho, is palpable, leaving a lasting impact on the audience. While the drama may not be without its flaws, it remains an engrossing historical tale that deserves recognition. With its rich storytelling, exceptional performances, and rewatch value, My Country: The New Age is a must-watch for fans of historical dramas and those seeking a riveting and emotional journey through the annals of Korean history.

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The story of this one is unforgivably dumb

Up to about the halfway point I really enjoyed watching this k-drama. Great actors and acting, good cinematography a decent script. But then the story really took a nosedive and I started loathing My Country for all the things that just did not make any sense, the gratuitous killing of main characters for the sole purpose of generating an emotional response, etc. At that point, given the opportunity, I would have strangled the writers of this drama. Rather than simply murdering the main villain which would not have been a problem and would have solved all problems, the protagonist's elaborate plot to get the villain into trouble involves stabbing himself, putting a couple of arrows into a collaborator, etc. This insane plan actually works out, ... for about a millisecond, before the villain is back in villain action. Not surprisingly, and for no apparent reason the hero dies at the end. Come on! I hope that this review contains enough spoilers to deter many of you from wasting your time on this k-drama.

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Easily one of my favorites!

So I'm honestly gonna keep it brief cause haha I suck at making to much detailed reviews. But I will give my up most honest and as complete as possible feedback. So in terms of storyline, I can say out of most shows Ive watched that follow this era and theme, it's easily climbed my top three favorites. The story was pretty complete and kept my attention, even at the beginning while everything was still unfolding. The skips in time I felt were very well placed and didn't leave to much to wonder, they didnt come at akward places where it would cause confusion or I mean I didn't for me it everything works different for others. The actors I felt were very well picked, they fit the appearance, themes and personalities quite well so I can't complain to much there. The rewatch value... oh boy, it's there, it's a show I could VERY easily watch again. . . however the ending was definitely not the ending I expected or was wishing for. It was a very bittersweet ending, it very much made my heart ache and my stomach sore from the amount of tears I had to hold back for I would have cried loud enough to wake my entire household haha. Despite its ending through I can be honest enough on just how much visual value this show has. The romance wasn't over bearing, the family drama was believable, not to much and it had enough comedy, I have more than enough funny lines to remember and laugh at. All around I feel it was a very balance show that still made me cry more than a few times and I very highly recommend it to anyone that just loves a good old fashioned historical Korean Drama. Overall I still would give it a 10 out of 10

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Até onde você vai pela sua crença?

My Country: The New Age é um drama que faz um retrato 50% fiel aos fatos históricos e 50% fiel ao que o roteirista queria. A trama é intrinsecamente muito redonda, desde que boa parte de sua base provém de fatos históricos, onde na realidade não há distinção entre bom ou mal. Planificando todo o drama nós podemos perceber as linhas tênues construídas entre o bem e o mal, os personagens redondos — não são bons nem ruins — e o poder das relações humanas.
A verdade é que My Country não é um drama feito na intenção de documentar um fato histórico e sim de ilustrar (muito bem ilustrado) o poder que as relações humanas tem no mundo ao nosso redor. Somos colocados na pele de dois protagonistas de realidades diferentes, com angústias, medos, ambições completamente paralelos. Os personagens da trama são extremamente redondos e tornam a linha tênue entre o bem e o mal cada vez mais embaçada.
É nesse sentido que eu gostaria de destacar o personagem interpretado pelo Woo Do Hwan, Nam Sun Ho. Parece que os roteiristas investiram bastante nele, pois o personagem possui uma construção muito bem estruturada. As nuances, características e singularidades de Sun Ho foram muito bem interpretadas pelo Woo Do Hwan, tornando extremamente fácil empatizar com ele, afinal quem nunca quis passar a faca na garganta né?
Eu sinto que 90% dos personagens dessa trama não podem ser encaixados em rótulos de "bom" ou "mal". Não há vilões e heróis, há apenas humanos lutando pelo que acreditam. É nesse ponto que notamos como cada um toma decisões diferentes, sejam elas as piores ou as melhores. Cada um tem seus pontos de vistas diferentes.
Um detalhe interessante que não pude deixar de notar foi o fato de que Seo Hwi, Nam Sun Ho e Lee Bang Won são personagens com muitas semelhanças entre si, desde pontos em suas personalidades como de pessoas que eles têm ao seu redor, como por exemplo cada um dos três ter um companheiro fiel à si que o acompanha e protege até a morte.
Infelizmente nem tudo é perfeito, em My Country: The New Age, é desenvolvido um romance secundário entre Seo Hwi e Han Hee Jae. Sinceramente eu não assisti quase nenhuma cena deles dois, percebi que o romance deles não acrescenta em absolutamente nada na história, é fútil e desnecessário, nem todo drama precisa de um romance, especialmente quando já temos na história inteira o drama de dois amigos, que se tornou imensamente mais interessante que esse casal.
Me sinto um pouco triste com o fato de que o começo de My Country foi ótimo, as personagens femininas tinham relevância, eram fortes e necessárias para a história, no entanto o drama foi rolando e essas personagens se tornaram cada vez mais apagadas e inúteis. A presença delas se tornou tão indiferente conforme algumas foram morrendo e outras onde o roteiro simplesmente resolveu torná-las apenas alguém que fala muito, mas tem pouca importância. No final a Hee Jae só parecia ter ficado na história porque tinha um romance com Seo Hwi.
Apesar de tudo, esse drama me entreteu bastante. Os episódios eram frenéticos e diferente da maioria dos dramas, não era uma coisa arrastada e chata. Foram 16 episódios que eu assisti sem dormir, foram 16 episódios onde eu pude ter uma visão ampla até onde alguém pode ir por um amigo querido, por uma ambição, pelo orgulho e pela sua crença.

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Scintillating watch albeit weak plot resolution

My Country is a really entertaining watch for sure despite my average ratings. It’s knee smacking screen play , emotionally appealing and very easy on the eyes even with all the gore and blood .

I appreciated the entertaining first episode as first episodes for saeguks are notoriously known for being doze fests. I also liked how character driven this action piece was even with all the swords and blood. The friendship and military intrigues spiced with intense villainy were really nice to watch and kept me anticipating the next episodes. In fact -The first five episodes were all perfect with killer quotes that really set the mood for the show to be thought provoking and hinting at a profound watch but alas....

I advise those contemplating watching My Country to read up or at least brush up on the history of Goryeo and the transition period into the Joseon Dynasty . If you don’t - you may be a deer in the headlights especially post episode 5. ( watching Six Flying Dragons May help ) They throw around historical incidents like cheap candy with no context or reverance . I actually resented that aspect quite strongly . One point gone .

Furthermore- the insertion of romantic currency was weak , unimaginative and pointless. Romance does a lot to bring dimensions to not only characters but the story as whole.Unfortunately this was done poorly and ended up taking away from an already dynamic screenplay. There was a lot of romance story lines picked like a love triangle but poof! Drooped! Did Sun Ho like Yeon ? Who did Chi Do date? Where was Bang Won’s wife whom in history was quite instrumental? Etc. Two points now gone .

The portrayal of historical contributive factors to Joseon Dynasty became highly problematic in the end . For example- Gibangs were important as information safe houses and were quite instrumental in the founding of the Joseon nation . And this sense was achieved in some aspects but only for it be diluted into a personal dating service for a character was just nauseating . Three points gone .

The acting for the most part was the shows crowning moment . Jang Hyuk was spectacular with his fan and top knot although I think he was wasted . Ahn Nae Sung was just brilliantly horrible as the villain and Woo Do Hwan really acted his butt off ! I really hope he gets some award for his performance because he was VERY VERY GOOD. The Orange Marmalde girl was just marmalade boring with her dry toast love interest in Yang Se Jong who should stick to modeling . Other than those two - everyone was excellent!

As for the music - I really didn’t like it all. I get they made this drama for a younger audience and so on and so forth but EDM in a Goryeo fight scene was just whack . The songs are personally forgettable. 4 points gone.

Costumes were really good though . Apltly portrayed the times and military conquests. One always had to be battle ready and their clothes really showed this urgency.

OVERALL- this was a good show to watch live and I am glad I did watch it live because binge watching would not have softened the blows of the flaws. The plot resolution was slightly bad and the insertion of the plot twist in the last two episodes was very blindsiding to the viewer in a not so good way . It’s an entertaining watch though but should not be a first watch for a saeguk or a Goryeo - Joseon dynasty .

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This is my first proper review.

Within the first few minutes of the intro I knew this drama was going to be good with massive potential but the drama did not meet my expectations. The intro was a very strong start to this drama. The cinematography was amazing and the fight scenes were carefully planned out. Although this is a 'bromance' drama the 'bromance' was a bit lackluster in my opinion. The friends - enemies was way too quick so I didn't warm up to the 'bromance' or the characters yet throughout majority of the drama. The only character I thought was written well was Lee Bang Won (Jang Hyuk). I think Jang Hyuk - an experienced actor played a big part in his character being the most interesting on screen. The romance was very subtle of course since the main focus of the drama is the relationship between the lead guys but the romance was so subtle it wasn't needed. I like romance but if its going to be almost never there that whats the point in adding it to the drama?. I decided to give it an 8 cause believe it deserves a high score but I wanted to be emotionally invested in the characters. So many people were touched watching this drama but I wasn't. The lead actors have amazing potential I look forward to their future projects.

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Top 5 Sageuk of all time!

This is at the top of my list of best sageuks of all time! Maybe my favorite series of all time. Korean and American. I’ve seen so many sageuks, but this one has such a special place in my heart. It’s probably been two years ago since I first watched it, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rewatched it since then. It’s one of those that never gets old. I’m still so upset though that Hwi, and Seung Ho died, not to mention his little sister. My favorite part was at the end when Seung Ho told Hwi that he and his little sister were his country. I inwardly cried for probably two weeks over this series and that part in particular. I guess one of the greatest things about sageuks is they teach so many valuable lessons… mostly that of perseverance, endurance, honor, the strength and value of friendship, suffering well, and loyalty. This one does just that! And that’s just scratching the surface- There’s so many other great take-aways from it. ‘My Country’ you stole my heart and I’m forever thankful that you did. Thank you to the writers and to this all-star amazing cast! Each one of them were perfect in their roles and also in their acting! ❤️

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