Mr. Sunshine

Indeed a Masterpiece.

This was a complex and sophisticated story but it was not hard to understand, I really enjoyed watching this and I'm glad it was not a waste of time. Every episode felt like a movie thus this is not a bingeable show. Mr Sunshine is not for everyone, it's really mature, detailed, slow paced and long. To my surprise I never got bored watching this I was so invested in it. The best thing I like about this drama is the character development as well as the characters. Every character was unique and developed in some way and it was interesting watching their relationships blossom. As for the two leads considering their age gap, they had amazing chemistry. You would feel every emotion while watching this. I cannot necessarily rewatch the whole thing, this is one of those dramas that I love but I can't bear to rewatch. Do I think it needed 24 episodes? no but each episode led up to something thus it was worth the watch.

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if one wishes to explore the artistry of South Korean cinema, this series is a must-watch!

So, what can be said about this magnificent series, one of the masterpieces of Korean cinematography? Let's start with the incredible Lee Eung-bok, such a brilliant screenwriter! I am absolutely a fan of her work. The script is the heart of any film or series—if the foundation is weak, what can be built upon it? Here, the plot is breathtaking, and the character development is masterfully handled with precision and depth.

We grow attached to all the protagonists, and despite the dramatic and often tragic themes, the series beautifully portrays love and sacrifice. It shows to what extent true love can give up everything for the survival of the beloved—whether it's a child, a soulmate, or even one’s homeland. Sacrifice is at the very core of this story.

Through three male characters from different social backgrounds, we see contrasting paths:

One, a former slave who became an officer—a righteous man, yet one who denies his cultural roots and struggles with his identity.

Another, born into poverty, who took a harsh road and became hardened—a mercenary, valuing neither his own life nor that of others.

And the third, a noble-born, a wealthy libertine who seems carefree at first but rebels against his family in his own way and lacks true purpose in life.

All three are tied by a red thread to a courageous, idealistic young woman who fights for her country’s independence.There is also a metaphor through the heroine, who represents Korea and its people (rather the ideal): educated, fighting, loved by all, and for whom people are willing to die. As the series unfolds, we watch her grow, losing some of her naïveté while inspiring change in these three men.

The entire cast is phenomenal, with even the supporting actors leaving a strong impression. The dialogues are well-crafted, and, of course, a special mention must go to the highly talented director, who masterfully balances emotional moments with lighthearted and touching scenes. The cinematography is stunning—the colors, the transitions, the framing—all beautifully executed.

And finally, the music! Absolutely breathtaking. The instrumental pieces, the piano moments, the songs—all perfectly harmonized with the story.

In short, if one wishes to explore the artistry of South Korean cinema, to understand what they excel at, and to discover a historical drama with a feminist touch, this series is a must-watch!

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One of the most hectic & hard dramas to make are the historical ones due to the setting & environment they have to make & did marvelous job with this one.. it reminded me a lot with bridal mask as both have the same setting.. but I don’t know why I had the feeling from the beginning what ending would be like & I was right with hunch.. for me.. I actually didn’t like the romance between the two leads as much as I loved the relation between the three men.. their enemy / friendship feelings between them were amazing whichever actually drove me to watch until the ending..

The characters & acting were marvelous, Lee Byung Hun is great in any role he does & he did his role perfectly & it’s suited him perfectly.. but Gu Dong Mae won my heart fair & square.. his acting, his role & his background story were all great that touched my heart.. it’s my first time seeing Yoo Yeon Seok & he actually win a spot in me with his great acting.

My only problem were Go Ae Sin character.. I don’t know exactly what it was but I found her character the least interesting in all.. Kim Tae Ri is a great actress & she did her best in this role but I feel that her age wasn’t suitable for this role especially with her baby face which made her look more younger.. I believe that Ha Ji Won would suit this role more action wise & age wise.. she is one of the top actresses who aces action roles most.

I believe that this drama can go shorter as I skipped many scenes which didn’t affect the story.. also I found the middle part were lengthy & a bit boring because of the fillings.

In the end I didn’t regret watching it.. the ending was full of tears with me but I knew it would end like this.. a memorable show indeed..

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...along with the rest of the characters (R.I.P).

I came for nuest's "and I", stayed for the show.

The actors were amazing and went above and beyond expectations. Later on I found out the main actors are pretty good well known actors (western action film star and the handmaiden cough cough) also the supporting actors are amazing as well. I didn't know that about them but luckily kpop exists and it's what brought me to check this show out in the first place.
So the music was a A+ for me. There's definitely a few that make me want to cry along with the scenes.

At first I really loved AeShin and Eugenes romance, but Dong Mae was such a good runner up (lol). It kind of breaks your heart that he lived the way he did. I also fell in love with Hina! Kim Min Jung needs more roles like these.
I read about how the accuracy of the history might be off, but who cares? It's a good fiction story anyways, even if they got a few details wrong lol.

I didn't give it a perfect 10 because a few things made me go, "but wait, couldn't they have just done this?" or "that doesn't make sense!" etc. For example, the train... also, dong mae- why u HAVE to fight the musin society? and the hotel- couldn't they have just- anyways. You get what i mean.

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It`s been a while since I`ve watch something like this, seriously. I didn`t think Korea could put anything better tan Warrior Baek Dong Soo but this definitely goes hand to hand, Korean Historical dramas have some magic to it that you don`t really get from other series and this is no exception.

Writting: I`m on episode 8 and I`m truly amazed with the writting and the plod, there seems to be no word in the dialog that is unnecessary or misplaced, they all fall in place beautifully, the romantic lines melt your hard, the dramatic parts really move you and all the tension between the characters you can really feel, i think this is where this series truly excels

Acting: acting is superb, specially since I'm not korean so I don't know if its a natura representation of how they are, but they can definitely transfer your emotions. I can relate to the characters and my favorite so far is the yakuza, something tells me he will end up sacrificing himself at the end, well executed.

Plod and storyline: I`ve seen a lot of people say is its slow and that first chapter is confusing, and well i agree that it can be, but not in a bad way as everything reveals its self as you are watching and in that sence i love it, as you are always looking for answers and thinking and then you get supprised as the story seems cleaver. I also like the character development although at episode 8 there still a lot i want to know about the main characters, but i think it contributes to the mystery.

Music and visual: stunning, its like you are watching a realistic paint from Miguel angelo, and Korea (if everthing was filmed there) its beautifully it really make you go there in this part i think is superior to Baek Dong Soo. and music is spot on, it complements the beautiful scenery without been overwhelming

overall I'll give a 9.5 up to episode 8. fully recommended if you are looking to see thru cinematography which require you to do some thinking and be patient as things start to unravel, not your american show where they pack a livetime in 40 minutes, Koreans seem to like to take their time to explain things and to create an ambient, that why they are so worth watching

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This drama was heartbreaking. I've been crying for the last couple of episodes because of it. This drama started of really good and really caught my attention. However, episodes 9-18 were not the best. Those episodes had interesting scenes, but it got boring. I'm really giving this show a 9/10 because this isn't some simple drama. It definitely is not for everyone. Episode 20 onwards were magnificent. I fell in love with all the characters; Eugene, Ae shin, Hina, Hui sung, Dong hae and more. I don't see myself watching this series again, because I don't think I can put myself through that sadness again. All actors and actresses were absolutely amazing and I'm really happy to have watched such an amazing show.

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Mr. Sunshine is one of those rare dramas that feels like a full cinematic experience. It’s not just beautifully shot—it’s powerful, emotional, and quietly devastating in the best way. The story unfolds during a turbulent time in Korean history, but it’s told through such a personal lens that you can’t help but get attached to every character.

Eugene, Go Ae-shin, Gu Dong-mae, and the rest of the cast aren’t just characters—they feel like real people trying to navigate love, loyalty, and survival in a world falling apart. And honestly, the writing is so poetic at times, it almost hurts. This show doesn’t hand you a happy ending, but it gives you one that feels right.

The production quality is top-tier. Every frame feels intentional, and the score? Absolutely haunting. If anything, the only reason this isn't a 10 for me is because the pacing can drag a bit, and some secondary plots don’t hit as hard. But when it hits, it hits.

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too slow pace drama and too long

Well, the first 10 episode is so slow paced that I almost dropped the drama. It was very boring but I sticked to it as it has really high rating. Then I got hooked and like the story but again from 17 episode I got bored and had to skip sceen to finish the drama. I have to say 24 ep is to much specially if its really slow pace.

It is really sad story of Joseon and the people that tried to change the faith of their country but sadly they had to suffer 40 years under Japans ocupation and after that their country was divided.

The last two episodes are really emotional as you know their deaths will not change anything.

Overall its nice drama but its too long.

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so slow

I watched this drama because it has so many good reviews, it was well watched and just known as one of the top dramas in the kdrama world (not to mention that literally everyone is in it in some way or another).

It started well, the historic background really gripped me and made me watch further. The main story as well as the sub plots were all very interesting and made me want to find out what would happen next.
But then the story started to slow down, like reaaaally slow down.

Before I get to the rest of the story, I just have to say the main love story just did not convince me at all. Their scenes were poorly written if you ask me because at some point they were just in love and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why it happened or when. And their scenes were unnecessarily dramatic. Their long gazes, the dramatic music... it would work if I had been convinced from the start but I wasn't so it was just boring and skippable. However, the last episodes changed a bit and from the moment they get fake married, I really like the couple. Their heart wrenching ending also made me bowl. But again these were the last episodes.

The rest of the story is kind of the same. Starts interesting, especially with Eugene assassinating that minister, the smuggling of that one patriot etc. but then the story sort of forgets it's potential for exciting moments. There were some funny moments, some interesting ones but they hardly kept my will to finish the show intact. I honestly only finished it because of the historic background which was really interesting, especially in those last episodes. And there we are again, those last episodes saved the show to me. They were exciting, the love story was finally interesting, things started moving along and I finished those episodes with no problem.
Also, someone here said the historic background doesn't feel as meaningful for a global audience but I fully disagree. The story about the rebels was my favourite and it was incredibly touching to see how many people from different life paths all came together to try and save their country. I feel like I learned a lot and was just moved by the resilience Korean people showed in the faces of their oppressors.

All in all, this drama was okay. The cinematography is amazing, the casting was obviously great and the OST has some gems. But it should've been shorter, 24 episodes all longer than an hour is just way too long to keep the audience gripped (although many would disagree i guess). But I still think if you have a good attention span that you should watch it.

Some other things that annoyed me:

- Hina finding out about her mother's death. I don't know why the minister had to use her only to tell her her mother passed away. I know he gave his reasoning but it felt dry and just lazy idk
- all the men being in love with one woman while not even properly knowing her and who she is. Very unnecessary.
- we get zero closure for Hotaru. Plus we don't really learn anything about her until the end and the story felt cliche when i feel like it could've been way more meaningful to the whole plot. Idk she's just there and then she's not and that's just lazy writing to me.
- Hina dying??? like I know she wanted to but then she didn't want to but then she did? It would've been a lot more meaningful to let her die in the hotel or let her live. The way it happened was only so that she could confess to Dongmae which at that point felt unnecessary. Why did they even start that love line?????
- Dongmae having 309403924 battles and dying several times until actually dying like ??????
- the French... girl

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Mr. Sunshine? It should have been Mr. Trample on my feels

This drama's been on my watchlist since forever and I never got round to actually watching it. Why? Because I didn't think it would pull me in the way it did. I didn't know much about the Japanese annexation of Korea and I was never in the mood for all the drama that was going to come with it. Or a harsh truth.

But I'm glad I finally got to watch it.

Like I said, I didn't know much about that part of Korean history and I was swept away by how the drama told its story. In the beginning we follow a young slave boy who comes home and watches his parents be punished by their owners. The family that owns them is vicious towards their slaves and treats them like assets rather than people. Young Yu Jin has to watch his father being beaten to death and his mother trying to sacrifice herself in an attempt to save Yu Jin from ending up dead as well. He has to run and get away from his home as far as possible. And so he does. Broken and exhausted, Yu Jin manages to board a ship headed to New York and starts a new life there. He becomes a soldier in the American military and changes his homeland from Joseon to America.
Almost 30 years later he get deployed to Joseon in a time where Joseon is being ripped apart by influences from outside. Americans are stationed there as well as the Japanese and the French. The country has been opened up to the world outside and more and more koreans are adapting a western lifestyle by cutting their hair, wearing foreign fashion and eating foreigner's foods. There's also industrialization. There's a tram going through the city, there's electricity and talks of a railroad being build.

It felt like Joseon changed overnight and all the traditions among the korean people had been forgotten instantly. I've been so used to historical kdramas that come with a set of cultural traditions like the hairstyles, the way they talk among social groups, the social hierarchy etc. etc. This drama shocked me to the core as I watched how much of those cultural things were taken away from Joseon as the Japanese hold on the country grew stronger and stronger. And I did what I should have done ages ago. I read up on this party if Korean history because I felt is was important to be able to fully understand the story. I'm not saying everyone who wants to watch this show should read up on it. It's a great watch on its own but the show touched something deeper and I wanted to understand what.

There were moments I welled up because of how huge the impact of it all truly was. And that's what I love most about the show. Not the romance. Not the acting. Not the characters. But the way they showed how dangerous it was back then. The variety of characters they used to show the impending doom was the cherry on top this pretty but sad story.

Yu Jin, the slave boy, returns to Joseon as an American soldier by the name of Eugene Choi. He's the acting American consul at the American embassy and captain to a squad of soldiers. He's a man belonging to no country if it comes down to it. America will say he's a Joseon man if things turn sour but Joseon will not accept a Joseon man from America and only see him as a foreigner. And thus he's the perfect candidate for the role of consul in a torn up country where things could go awry easily.
During his stay he meets Ae Sin, an assassin with the same target as Yu Jin. Both are weary of each other first but soon became fond of each other.
Ae Sin is a noble born into a wealthy family and enjoys life in luxury. Or so most think. In secret she's learned how to wield a gun and has become a vital part of the Joseon rebellion. She wants nothing more than protect her home country from those invading it. When she meets Yu Jin, a seemingly Joseon man, she thinks he wants the same but he doesn't care about Joseon. Until he starts to care for her, that is.

I could go one about all the characters that appear and made a deep impact on me as watcher. Even those I didn't much care for in the beginning made me feel all the feels at the end. This show was an emotional rollercoaster especially when it came to its close. It's not a show I will forget. It's become one of those shows that one must have seen when they watch kdramas. A classic if you will.

Positives:
- The story is told so well. There were a lot of moments I got goosebumps by how the scene was done or how the characters reacted. It all felt so real because I knew it was based upon a true story when it comes to the Japanese-Korea timeline. It made an even bigger impact when I thought about current happenings in the world. I felt very small all of a sudden.
- The main couple. I wasn't really familiar with Lee Byung Hun (other than watching Squid Game and not really paying much attention to his character there) and I must say his acting blew me away. Yu Jin too was a very real character to me. He didn't drop everything in order to save his girl but actually went into situations by thinking things through. The same goes for Ae Sin. She falls for Yu Jin, deeply, but she doesn't become this lovesick girl who only functions when her man is near her to protect her. Instead she becomes this badass gunner with a passion for Joseon and wanting to protect her home above all else.
- For once the American actors (or English speaking ones) were good at their jobs. I've seen too many kdramas with Englishmen in it to portray Americans and they always act like robots trying to mimic human behaviour. It always throws me off but in this drama I could finally enjoy some great American acting too.
- I loved how they added different languages in this and the ability of some of the characters to speak more than one language. It's accurate to the timeline but I'm really glad they actually included it into the show.

Negatives:
- The amount of times I thought a certain character to be dead only to have him show up in the next episode was maddening.
- For the amount of hours I spent rooting for Yu Jin and Ae Sin to have a life together, I'm really disappointed of the fact that there's no kiss between them. It's the only thing I wanted for them. The lovestory is great, don't get me wrong, but I longed for something more. The barely hold hands, they hug less than 5 times and they never go any deeper. I don't want to nag about it but I just feel like they could've done at least one kiss.

Overal I really recommend this drama if you're in for a slower paced, hit-you-in-the-feels, kind of drama.

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