The acting wasn’t the best but somehow the writing and the directing was so tight that it didn’t matter. Joo Won portrayed Lee Kang-To fabulously but I felt Jin Se-Yeon was very wooden as Mok Dan.
The story was very compelling and I was moved to tears many times.
This is one of the best KDrama I’ve watched so far.
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This review may contain spoilers
Fun turned farcical.
At first, this drama's promise is simple: delightfully corny entertainment against an intriguing historical backdrop. With swift efficiency, it sketches characters with touching - and even thought-provoking - conflicts tied to the troubled times it takes place in. Curiosity piqued, hope soon follows: could this overdramatisation serve in painting a more profound picture of the period and its people?Alas, the hand that deftly outlined this compelling context proves just as quick in quashing it, soon unveiling where its true loyalty lies: with cheap writing and unsavory values.
In the 30s, as Japan controls Korea, a masked figure mocks the occupying force and sows seeds of sedition among the subjugated locals. On the trail of this heroic figure, we find our own: an ambitious and ruthless Korean man enrolled in the imperial police. Though disowned by his countrymen and distrusted by his colleagues, desperation to escape poverty drives him. By his side, few friends, with one of interest: a gentle Japanese teacher, admirative of Korean culture albeit from a typical military family. It is a straightforward and effective setup, rife with turmoil and torn identities.
Yet in spite of its solid concept, Gaksital suffers from an incredibly incoherent narrative in which no character, no development, no situation ever arises from a sensible perspective. Rather, it sticks to a shoddy script which substitutes itself to the laws of space, time, human physiology and psychology. What the script dictates becomes reality, in a bizarre and mystifying parody of verisimilitude: the plot, all-powerful and arbitrary, bends the characters' intelligence and psyche, teleports them where it needs, heals or breaks them as necessary, grafts the required emotions onto them and discards any and every element in its way, including what was previously established.
Thus, our very nominal hero swings from an extreme of frustration and violence to one of rebellion and selflessness, while very flimsy justifications are given: familial duty, inherent goodness and empathy, innate Korean pride… none of it seamlessly reconciles with his early rage and disdain, the sheer magnitude of his misdeeds; none of it accounts for the injustice of a society that pushed him into this traitorous impasse. Instead, the narrative childishly posits all crimes as forgiven through acts of zealous patriotism. So the Korean characters, despite their past grudges and jealousies, despite the many doubts they should harbour, happily embrace each other as comrades, no question asked.
More egregious is the case of the hero's Japanese friend, falling victim to what amounts to a personality transplant. He, too, converts from one excess to another, from cordial to cruel, in a mirror yet not less inexplicable trajectory. Familial duty once again gets invoked, plus a dash of genetic evil - how to view it otherwise, when all Japanese are evil minus one, granted with the dubious privilege of idiocy? -, in a manner that vexes reason. We should believe, yes, in the triumph of filial devotion in a man with strained relations towards his relatives; and we should believe it strong enough to shatter friendships that he cherishes more than family. In this contrived way, he rises as a villain against our hero: their rivalry, instead of heartbreaking, seems phony.
To seal the deal, so to speak, the drama employs romance: a rebel woman loved by both men. As one has come to expect from fictional heroines, the poor soul turned out to be another sham - a passive object the men strive to possess and passed on between them, captured, freed, captured, freed! a fate she endures, patiently worrying for the men close to her when she's not tasked with the brave, rebellious act of… cooking for said men. Already, the insignificance of her role appals; the blend of romance utterly infuriates, for what is there to admire, to adore? What Gaksital puts forward as explanation leaves one stunned: our love story stems from a teenage crush. For both suitors and the lady involved, the great basis to their infatuation comes from the very first flutter of fascination felt for the opposite sex. The series holds this as not only plausible, but so powerful it absolves of abuse inflicted without knowing the other's identity; so powerful it becomes obsession and trumps, just like filial devotion, friendships that were made tangible.
As we witness these baffling developments, we must also wince from the poor logistics of them! Torture is but a scratch: no amount of beatings, whippings, slashings or bombings is able to diminish the characters… unless, of course, it befalls a doomed secondary one, then the body suddenly succumbs for quick shock value. Time flows in debatable measures, dilated as much as can be in order to let the hero get away, swaps clothing, then sneaks back; the police always vanishes and tarries when the good guys need a moment to flee. Likewise, intellects fluctuate to a concerning degree - the beatings, perhaps? - as friends and foes ponder on the very evident clues before them or abruptly connect two inconclusive pieces of information.
And that is, still, far from the complete picture, teeming also with a conveniently appearing horse, flushed out rebels freed after a good session of torture - this will teach them? -, a secret independence movement recruiting in the open and a villainous organisation which actions and goals, by the end, made neither sense nor a captivating antagonistic force.
Consequently, on screen, the actors embody not human beings but puppets: uprooted from their personal history and material circumstances, untethered from their relationships or beliefs, thus unsettled in their quirks and what could constitute their personality. Constantly diminished by the erratic script, the often capable performances of the (main) actors never fully convince, only entertain. How could they? On a whim, their characters switch from sweet to violent, indifferent to affectionate, sly to silly and back again, and back again, in a revolving motion that leaves their already poorly sourced motives in shambles.
Damning it further are the continuity errors and set oddities cropping up between every other sequence: to close one's eyes on the miraculous healing power of our heroes is one thing, to have it highlighted through wrongly placed wounds is another… the details, one by one, add up: differently positioned props between cuts, misadjusted or unbloodied clothing, styles of questionable accuracy, various cheesy effects, the obviously limited backlot and not less confusing layouts of interiors. What would have been forgiven elsewhere, here chips at it more - puppets or perhaps worse, characters of cardboard hastily shipped from room to room, dents and flaking visible.
Insult to injury, the series boasts a miserably high number of episodes for what it knows to offer. Deprived of the strength of nuanced characters yet unable to provide rich intrigues, the almighty plot runs in circles: a few key situations, ad nauseam - a damsel to distress then undistress, a round of our male duo warily eyeing each other, Gaksital! saving the day, rinse, repeat… a permanent standoff, as no radical measure can be utilised before the very last episodes. It feels long and tiring, the beginning thrill fading more and more as episodes pass and neither bring something new nor build something of value.
Gaksital keeps a pretense, one aligned with not only mediocre writing - a lesser crime - but also a deeply conservative worldview.
One slavishly devoted to the authority of the father, his ideals, his beliefs so that honouring his memory and avenging him is a foregone conclusion; and that his political embodiments, as absolutely wise elder teachers, generals or monarchs, deserve the same unquestioned respect.
One blind to the complexities and flaws of Korean society independent to colonial matters, thus portraying a simplistic heroic unity against a villainous Japan; so that the complicated feelings one might develop because of poverty, hierarchy and prejudice are handwaved; and that all characters fall between a caricature of either good or evil, depending on nationality, with no nuance of ideology or morality.
One disdainful of women, their roles, their intelligence, so that they become accessories or fantasy to men, pitiful objects to protect, possess or destroy; and that they happily comply or keep quiet about their fates, always irrelevant and powerless against the politics and the narrative. This, despite their constant and even formative presence in all of these men's lives! laughable.
Hence, a charade: unconcerned with the flawed humanity of its protagonists, unbothered by the superficiality of its arguments but oh, so satisfied with its little patriotic demonstration. Setting aside any expectation of inventive fun and meaningfully crafted narrative, some enjoyment can be derived from its performances and overall ridicule… not enough to wish it on anyone who isn't a die-hard fan of the main actors, though.
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Torturing Drama but Amazing Acting
I honestly started off this drama because i was bored and wanted a yandere character, i remember picking it off a few years ago and dropping it in the first few episodes. But honestly i still gave it a chance, Idk what to say apparently interesting story about war and its hardships. It is kinda biased on nationalism on Korea's part tho. In terms of characters, I told myself if this guy became the Yandere character i will give this drama 10/10, and yes I gave it that. I cannot believe it. Never heard of this type of a scenario ever before and I've read so many yandere stories. It's amazing how someone's persona can change so much due to trauma.Amazing acting of Park Ki Woong, good god he sold it, this man did it. The main lead is very good as well, everything is good except the female lead, idk it's just she is not enough for this type of story. Ueno Rie is so much better to be honest. There are many plot holes in the story mind you, especially when coming to the romance. There should have been much more romance to be honest. Ik so many peeps hate the yandere character but to be honest, I pity him an absolute lot. At a certain point I wondered what on earth he was fighting for and did he have a heart at the end, looks like he did apparently. It's crazy how war can rip off friendships and relationships, as a victim myself from a war ridden country for many years, I can contribute to this fact.
The music is probably what made me going from the first few episodes which were boring af, amazing OST's in this drama. The side characters were pretty handsome af too, I think some of them were handsome than the main leads haha. Overall, an overbearing torturing drama with a true portrayal of what war does to people and their relationships. Fell totally in interest with the complex character of the yandere here, it does not fail to disappoint.
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You should watch it.
It’s now been several weeks since I finished Gaksital, and I’ve been thinking about how to write this review since well before the end, but nothing has been coherent. I’ve got eight pages of notes, many of which are repetitive; hopefully this will make sense.To be honest, my expectations starting out were already sky high. City Hunter and Healer are two of my favorite dramas of all time. Going into Gaksital, I was promised action sequences, secret identities, and a superhero story. There was no way I wasn’t going to like it.
In short, Gaksital is a lot of things, not all of it good. If you asked me to list what this show does right and wrong, the latter list might be a lot longer. It’s remarkable how some technically good dramas fail to get my heart, but Gaksital for all its faults is one that I think I’ll remember for a long time.
The Story:
At its heart, Gaksital is a simple story about a man and a movement. But while the big picture is uncomplicated, the smaller character stories and their relationships are all tangled. It’s a wonderful mess, because part of good storytelling is good character development, and Gaksital had a lot of that planned for us.
Gaksital is quite literally, a big story. I don’t just mean that it’s epic (although it is). At 28 60-minute episodes short, this is officially the longest kdrama I’ve ever watched in full. Was it tightly written? No. Could it have been several episodes shorter? Maybe. Did I love it despite those things? Duh.
I felt like I was reading a book. The story takes its time to set itself up, which I actually wasn’t sad about. I knew vaguely where it was going, and I was more than happy to let it take me along for the ride. It didn’t go exactly where I wanted it to go in the middle, and it was occasionally repetitive, but ultimately Gaksital was never boring.
Characters:
The great thing about Gaksital is that we start out with all our main characters in place. They’ve got their goals and agendas. But it’s never static. Their attitudes towards each other are ever changing, but they’re still recognizable as the same people at their core.
We open with Kang-to (Joo-won) being terrible. He’s hated by the Korean people, but he’s hard to hate as a hero, because we know he’s working his way up in the world in the only way he knows how: by siding with the Japanese. And among the Japanese police, he’s somewhat an underdog, having worked his way up from the very bottom because of his heritage. The show sets up a moral conflict within him so well. Hating his actions but also being on his side was my favorite aspect of the opening episodes, because he wasn’t good, but he was fighting against a bigger bad.
The thing about morally gray characters and questionable pasts is that it gives a layer beneath the surface. We understand the bad guys that much better, because our “hero” understands them. I get to watch a man’s motivations and actions totally change while it was apparent that he’s still the same person on the inside. While Kang-to was never unpredictable, he had the moral conflict that makes the anti-hero story so compelling, and Joo-won didn’t hesitate to show it to us, even though the writing wasn’t always there.
Most of the rest of the main cast is similarly layered, but I do want to express disappointment with the female lead, Oh Mok-dan played by Jin Se-yeon. Ultimately Mok Dan isn’t a strong character. She’s a strong person, I’m sure, but she doesn’t have the same depth as the rest of the main cast. She plays her role and plays it well, but often is reduced to a plot device, which is sad. I wonder if she would’ve been more compelling if she had been played by a different actress, but I don’t think there was ever much to her character in the writing to begin with.
The Romance:
I dunno, it was fine. This show isn’t a romance, and it doesn’t pretend to be. I believed it, and it got me in the heart, but ultimately romance and love is all a vehicle for something else. It’s often what drives the characters. Gaksital isn’t about people falling in love. It’s about people being in love and the terrible and great things they do because of it. I felt like the romance served its purpose, but this will never be a couple I think about later.
The OST:
I’m not normally one for romantic angst, but I kind of loved it here mostly because my favorite song would play every time the characters were sad and pining. As a whole, the OST was great, and it always fit the mood. The action sequences and the dramatic moments all had their music. It took me so long to find the album on Spotify, but I have now and I’m happy.
The Cast:
First and foremost: Joo-won. I’m officially obsessed with him. While I have little to no interest in his other work, I’ll probably watch everything he puts out in the future. Joo-won is so great in this. Even when his hair is weird and his eyebrow is ever furrowed, there’s something about his energy and the directing that makes him magnetic on screen, and it’s a pleasure to watch. I started going through Joo-won withdrawal even before I finished the show, and Imma be watching all his 1N2D episodes on YouTube so hopefully that’ll tide me over until Alice comes out.
The thing about Joo-won in this role is that even when I didn’t like him, I still liked him. I was always with him, and I could feel what he was feeling. It’s not unique to him, but with the heightened emotions in this show, it was super noticeable.
Park Ki-woong: This guy is great. Or maybe his character was great. But he was great in this role; that’s undeniable. Talk about perfect casting. He’s so likeable until he’s not, and I loved watching his arc. I started Kkondae Intern as soon as I finished this, because I missed him so much.
Jin Se-yeon: I mentioned previously that I wasn’t really a fan of her performance. But I found out later that she was only like 18 at the time, and now I feel untalented and lazy, but such is life.
The Hair:
I had a lot of questions, and some issues. Maybe it’s a 1930s thing. Maybe it’s a 2010’s thing. Either way I often had problems with Kang-to’s hair. There’s one segment of episodes where it was good. Gaksital’s hair was always on point though. Perfectly windswept. Perfectly badass.
A brief description of some less-good things:
This writer has a love for setup that goes from intriguing to borderline frustrating. The characters are all smart and take their time to plan their actions, but I wanted to shake them into acting faster.
This show could have been a really great character study, but I feel like some of the development happens too fast to feel genuine.
There’s a revenge plot in here that feels half forgotten about for most of the drama.
Yeah, the bad stuff doesn’t matter anymore. I love this show.
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at first, I wasn't so sure to watch this because of the 28 episodes but don't let that number fool you too
from start to the end I loved it and actually, It made me search for the last 100 years in Korea and I learned a lot
one of my favorite things was the powerful acting I mean the male leads amazed me at all time but for me, the female lead wasn't as strong
and the music was just spot on and grate
so honestly it was a great drama to watch the story was strong and for 28 episodes it was pretty ongoing
and as much as I'm trying to find something I didn't like I can't think of any
so if you looking for something great to watch I absolutely recommend this drama
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But what about the problems with the show? For more on that, please check out my review of this show via the link.
https://youtu.be/iLxv5-Sn3qo
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This review may contain spoilers
A unique K-drama with action, romance and tragedy!
Like most Kdramas I found that this one started strong but as always dropped off towards the end.To sum it up, the positives are that it has deep, complex characters that are neither evil or good. This makes it really interesting. It also has amazing action scenes accompanied by epic music and nail-biting cliffhangers. Also the romance, although criticised, is very sweet. The acting, especially of the two MLs is extremely good.
The negatives; a lot of repetition, the drama could've been a good 5 episodes shorter. Whilst I understood why Mok Dan died, I think the last episode ended too ubruptly to really feel it. I also think Shunji's death was anticlimactic, they missed the opportunity to really add some drama to it in my opinion.
Overall it's definitely worth a watch, I just feel as if it was missing something to really to make it stand out in my mind as one of the best kdramas which is a shame since it definitely had the potential to!
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AN HONEST REVIEW
Just finished watching this but man I was shocked when I saw here mentioned that this is based on a manhwa. (Gtg check it's manhwa)So, anyways, if anybody is interested in the history of Korea, then give this one a try. This is my first kdrama under the hashtag- Japanese rule. I've seen mostly historical kdramas but they were mainly under the "3 kingdoms of korea" period. Tho amongst all the historical ones I've watcher, this one here easily takes the cake for one of the best ones out there because of its complex storyline. Sucha a complex story. Kudos to authors (and also a big frustrated F*CK YOU too for that bad ending & because at some point this drama became so suspenseful that it was choking me). Now onto whether I would recommend this to others? Mhm... can't say yes, after the abrupt ending scene... but the drama overall was good. If you're someone who's run out of material to watch, give this one a try. If you wanna try smth new? You can give this a try. I could've given this one's story a 7/10 but that ending put me a bit off so I have to give this one's story a 6.5/10 because well... I fell in love with the setting & the cast... the acting done here is super good so.. I can't really say I hate this whole drama because of the "rushed" (for a lack of better word) ending & for most of the part it really did kept me hooked up so... Watch this if you're curious (like me) about this.
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Korean Zorro
This is as corny of a drama as you could hope to find. It's Korean Zorro, fighting against the Japanese occupation. The FL is wandering around getting herself and everyone else into trouble and then the ML has to rescue everyone again and again.I kind of laughed at the exaggerated acting at the very beginning (people get killed, I'm not proud to say I laughed, but I couldn't help it, the acting was so over the top, so very corny). The FL, well, she was missing both a personality and a brain, so it was hard for me to care about what happens to her. The ML was not helped by the cheesy lines he was given, nor the fact that his main job in his role was to fight.
The SML, in contrast, had time away from shooting guns, where he could really display his inner termoil, and that was what made him the most rounded character in the entire drama. I'd have shot the FL in the very first episode, buddy, so I can understand why you had enough of her by the end.
It's about 75% fight scenes, and the rest is the ML rescuing people whilst pretending he isn't rescuing people. If that sounds appealing to you, go ahead.
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from the story value i gave the rating of 10, well it's the typical hero plot and it's not new were the protagonist started as an antagonist, i knew i've watch something like this before. but because im a fan of old things, like watching jang geum, dong yi and the likes so i gave this 10, and i am very curious on what is life of koreans during japanese occupation, since in my country we had been occupied by the japanese too until we are saved by the americans during those times, so i am very curious to know too how is it for the koreans.
for the actors who played the role, i am mainly focusing my attention to the lead roles like joo won and the girl mok dan, can't remember here real name, shunji's brother and shunji. joo won's acting in my opinion is superb, the way he acts as the bad guy during episode 1 made me hate him soo much that i actually had goosebumps on that particular scene, where he was on a horse telling orders from the midgets to face the other way and draw their swords cause the joseon people won't grieve the death of that prominent person. he can actually act people seriously. mok dan, is she a new actress? i don't know but i have this feeling that her acting is lacking somewhere, her facial expression for me is lacking. same goes to shunji, and he looks like that japanese mc. but for shunji's brother i like him i like how he acts the baddest, and his facial expression the way he lift his eye brow make me want to puch him that much, his stupid ego and all. and tsk tsk i forgot kang to's brother, how can i forget him, his an old actor right so no wonder he portray's the role very well, but since im not really a fan of his, im kind a like don't like him that much, he made kang to's life miserable, that's my opinion only.
im sorry i can't focus on the music yet, so i gave it 8.
for the rewatchable, im not a fan of repeating, so i don't want to repeat it again. it's the kind of story u woundn't want to repeat because it's full of sorrow.
over all i love it, so i gave it 10. ^^
it's 9 episodes so it's still far, my opinions might change in the future...
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