Dong Yi (2010)

The plot seemed like it was is the right place from the beginning but by the time I got to episode 57 I was burnt out from the drawn out scenes and long stares that just kind you guessing why it had to be so long to begin with. I’m saaaad because I don’t have the patience to finish it and I’m sooo close to the end. I’m glad other people were able to finish watching and give high ratings.
I just don’t understand some parts of it. (Spoiler alert) why is the son of the man who was murdered working with the people who plotted and killed his dad? In what universe, does that make sense? (More spoilers) I liked that the king and Dong had a special friendship/relationship but I felt like the story kept returning to that and the whole issue of which prince to help and which one to put to the side. And Dong trying to stay out of anyone’s way while the King keeps pursuing her and making other people jealous and start hating on her.

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A Tale of Epic Proportions

This is such an epic. Starring 2 of the best actors of all time in Korea, Han Hyo Joo and Ji Jin Hee, the chemistry between the leads are just astounding.

You just got to love the pure, sincere love that the King has for Dong Yi. It's just so sweet and innocent at times. The best part is seeing how no matter what sort of rumours or lies being spread, the King's trust in Dong Yi never wavers. That's really the best part of the drama.

The supporting casts, from the deceased Queen Queen Inhyeon to Jang Ok-jung were all excellent in their roles. The scheming villains were portrayed wonderfully and the storyline is just superb.

Despite the obvious length of the drama, the gripping scenes coupled with the tension up until the very last episode managed to keep me on my seat.

A tale of love, endurance and courage for the times.

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DON’T let the number of episodes chase you away.
It is a very easily watchable sageuk (historical k-drama) that you might love.

The character of the king was very fun and lovable unlike usual kings in other sageuks.
And Dong Yi is a very lovely person.
I love how she carried herself with such noble grace.
And you don’t know whether to sympathize with or hate the bad people.

It very enjoyable overall.
And it keeps you wanting to watch more. It doesn’t get dull.
You may want to skip the first five episodes if you’d like to jump straight into the plot. Don’t deem the drama worthy or unworthy based on the first five episodes skip them to get to the main plot.
A drama worth investing your time in.
It keeps getting more interesting.

Exciting, sympathetic and made me cry.
It knows how to frustrate the viewer then satisfy them.

Really romantic (innocent but lovely).
I got tired at some point during the dragging part, but it was all worth it.

Watching a real sageuk like Dong Yi put to shame 98.5% of the modern historicals and fusion sageuks.
It was a beautiful journey.

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Not often do my dramas get such a perfect score. This was my first historical, so it may be biased. So. that said.
My Likes:
1.Character Development. No character was perfect. No one. Even the villianess was painted in such an empathetic way, down to her tragic end, that you couldn't hate her, and I even admired her for all that she had achieved (albeit using awful tactics) but she was still human, and a mother.

2. Dong Yi while sometimes seemed perfect, she wasn't. She was still flawed. She deceived others. She lied. For a good reason, but she still lied, and damn was she smart and strong! It was nice to see her development from scared little girl to naive but smart woman to a formidable opponent of Consort Jang--reaching a point where she was finally like I Am going to Take You Down

3.Every single supporting character was well written, down to a T. Chun Soo is my man!

4. The romance between the emperor and her developed nicely, but I would have liked more skinship scenes.

5.The comedy scenes were wicked funny

6.The brother of Consort Jang was arguably the most obnoxious detestable person around

7.So many FOILS in this show, pay attention, and every thing has a meaning, down to the end--no plot holes. Nothing is not eventually addressed. And don;t get me started on Babagee (I would randomly yell that at the t.v. because her father's storyline was so friggin tragic and over the top but I loved it)

My Dislikes:
1.The final episodes--i was kind of scratching my head at her decision after the epic climaxes (no spoilers) and then she kind of becomes a mother theresa and I was like whaaat?

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Dong Yi (2010) - of course another Han Hyo Joo drama that is why I watched this one. I did like this drama honestly even if she was not the female lead, still I am happy that she is the female lead. This historical drama is one of the reasons why I started liking historical dramas. Dong Yi has a good plot and transition that I came to search what really happened in history of Korea all because of this drama. I also like Jin Hee’s portrayal as king . Even though this is a historical drama, I like the fact that the first parts of the drama is not that serious, though eventually it did get serious. I like the conflicts and I was affected with how the drama unfolded. Pretty much a recommended drama.

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Just Wonderful

Okay, in the beginning I came here for Bae Soo Bin (Cheon Soo). I immensely enjoy his acting. But then I discovered Ji Jin Hee (King Suk Jon) who was just absolutely captivating. I’ve watched a ton of these historical dramas and I have to say the chemistry between the ML and FL in this series is off the charts. In their moments of happiness and levity your heart just soars….such joyful moments on the screen. Moments many of us wish we were experiencing in our own lives. What would it be like to have someone, your Beloved to be that Loyal….to be by your side thru terrible lows? To be willing to sacrifice everything they are for you? This is what Dong Yi is about. It is also about how respect for each other and choices they make that might not be where you want to go at all, but because you love them, you grant them that freedom of choice and support them in those choices.

This series is about Trust. Will you trust someone when everything points to the contrary? Will you believe in them just because they ask you to? How many of us can say that their family or friends would trust us even if their lives would be in danger to do so?

The Korean dramas always have a way of fostering compassion for even the most nefarious deeds that the characters commit. This series is no different. It is written in such a way that you can really understand why they do what they do. Sadness comes as we realize that this is a mirror reflection of our world right now also. People with tunnel vision making bad decisions.

This series is 60 episodes. It bogs down in the middle a bit. But persevere because it is worth slogging through repetitions of the same misfortunes….it does get better. Hang in there.

My only negative is that I cannot fathom why the director had three of the characters be so ridiculous. You know who they are when you watch this. It ruined those scenes entirely. What was the director thinking, to create such over the top clownish characters? Those scenes were really irritating.

I will rewatch at the minimum, the scenes between Dong Yi and The King. Bae Soo Bin did not disappoint….Perfect acting as usual. I also really enjoyed Jung Jin Young as Seo Yong Gi, the police commander; and Jung Sun as the Eunuch to the King.

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This ought to have a higher average rating because it’s just so good

More recent Korean dramas rarely exceed 20 episodes and so when I realized Dong Yi was 60 episodes long, I nearly skipped it. Well, thank God I didn’t because this series was a little bit of heaven that ticked every box of tropes I want in a historical drama. The icing was having Ji Jin Hee as the gorgeous Emperor. My oh my, I practically swooned whenever he came on screen not only because of his excellent acting but also for that chiseled face. He and Han Hyo Joo had an insane amount of chemistry that practically sizzled. Yes, I like me some unequally yoked lovers. An Emperor falling in love and marrying a servant? Sign me up please.

More than this, there was enough palace intrigue and harem shenanigans to keep the pace moving swimmingly; also, and for once, a Korean drama actually had an ending that didn’t rip my heart out. What more could I ask for?

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This review is also based on a re-watch after many years so I'm showing it as completed but dropping it at episode 20 now only because it doesn't feel fresh this time around.

The first few episodes were a bit lackluster as the tragedies were done in an over-simplified and overly dramatic way. But it does start to pick up in quality once the king comes into the picture. What makes this series a bit different from some in this genre is that although there are the usual politics, it doesn't feel quite as heavy. It helps that there are plenty of humorous characters and moments to help break up it up. There is also a unique incorporation of a women-only investigative team, so there is some "detective" aspect to it as well.

The majority of the actors does a great job in their respective roles. I want to list them all to emphasize this but there's just too many. Instead I'll discuss the only actor that was obviously mediocre, and she happens to be one the series is titled after.

The Dong Yi character stayed relatively flat even when her status changes and although I think this was intentional, it gets old. This may not have been as glaring if the actress was better with micro-expressions or was more versatile with them. She makes the same few expressions ALL the time no matter what the situation is and it becomes more and more noticeable. It didn't help when they used a freeze frame of her with her usual eyes wide opened at the end of most episodes. Why they thought this would be a good cliffhanger is beyond me.

The other aspects that are off is how no one ages appropriately and time skips are pretty abrupt. As an example, one minute someone stated they were pregnant and minutes later, the baby was in their arms. Some portions of the episodes are binge-worthy and sometimes there is a a bit of a drag but it does move along.

Don't let this deter you from giving this one a try though especially if the female lead doesn't bother you as much as it did for me. Although she was a bit mono-toned, she's surrounded by many interesting characters that make up for it.

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It's a great series and my mom, sisters and I enjoyed it very much. Quite entertaining. Though based in real history, the series weaves a heavy fancy yarn which makes it pretty hard to believe. My teeth still ache due to the final syrupy. The life of a saint is uninspiring. And that’s what they wanted to make out of a virtuous girl to the point of sanctity. The unrealistic end doesn't help the general theme. Dong Yi's angelical personality makes her acting bland and colorless. A better-defined character and richer acting in our opinion, in spite of being the villain and her rival in the movie, is the one of the condemned Jang Hee- bin (Lee So Yeon.

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