A murder mystery with mystical elements
I have to recommend this drama - it's intriguing, beautifully shot, and located in a beautiful landscape with its own character and force. the music is beautiful too. Acting outstanding and great characters for all the supporting cast - none are simply there to perform a function and then evaporate - each is a defined person, which is lovely. All the cast, really, were stars - "supporting actor"? ... who - no, they were all substantial roles and some of them, heartbreaking.The landscape itself has a crucial role, and cannot have been easy to put onto film - kudos to all involved in capturing a sense of this mountain - though I suspect it is a pale shadow of the real thing.
Well produced, obviously, and well written, though the plotting depends a little too much on concealing information for a later reveal and on time-slips, which could also be confusing.
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The Writer & Director - Nuff Said
Knowing that the writer of this also wrote Signal and Kingdom you should know what to expect: a moving, deep and well written story that moves very slowly, developing characters and building tension. This alone negates any review less than an 8.5.This drama in particular suffered from what many other great shows suffer from: a plague of whiny antifans that for whatever political reason took every chance to nitpick it nonsensically for the entire duration on the message boards even after they had long dropped it. Complaints about CG- I didn’t hear any complaints on 2 other dramas I am currently watching that had terribly rendered CG animals. But here, nobody would shut up about it. If I had to say anything negative about it, I would say there were times it felt a bit like an ad for parks and services, but nothing experience breaking. It also suffered from releasing on a Chinese network which brought in a lot of haters, and didn’t help by creating confusion over which networks were airing it- it aired on Viki late.
The acting was top notch. There was very little romance or romantic tension so don’t expect it. Just a great little mystery will a cool supernatural twist. It will constantly keep you guessing. Highly enjoyable from beginning to end, with the beautiful backdrop of Jirisan. A very different drama experience compared to any of the other offerings this year, and easily one of the best.
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This review may contain spoilers
Well written piece on rangers and poorly executed thriller mystery.
The drama did a lot of things well, but failed in a similar number. The plots surrounding the daily work and the challenges of rangers, the team bonding - all done in an excellent manner that made me care about these characters and their struggles. On the other hand, the whole supernatural murder mystery was so mediocre and poorly written, I am surprised it came from the same author as Signal.What was the problem with the mystery? Starting from the bad pacing - sometimes we had a whole episode focusing on the case, sometimes it was completely overshadowed by other issues and not addressed at all. It never felt like a big part of the overall plot, never made me curious what the truth is behind the past events, nor who the killer is. By the end, when the story was finally explained, all I could think was: ok. It’s not like with the revelation of the murderer everything in the plot clicked into the right place, all hints made a complete picture. We were told close to nothing during the show, so the end fell flat.
What I enjoyed about the drama were the characters. Seo Yi Kang is for sure one of the more exciting characters to watch. Her determination and skill set made me want to root for her. Not to mention her amazing chemistry with Kang Hyun Jo. Being on the subject of the characters, Hyun Jo was such a waste of Joo Ji Hoon’s talent. He barely felt like a supporting character.
That said, the show was carried on the backs of the supporting cast. For me, the fun part has been to watch the rangers just do their work, bicker and interact with each other as they perform their duties. What I find curious - with the majority of the rangers being male, the writer decided to kill the few female rangers we were able to see.
The performance that stood out the most to me was Oh Jung Se’s portrayal of Jung Goo Young. The only storyline that truly made me feel sad, the only character I wanted to see happy, the only part of the plot that I was able to connect to on a deeper level. Yes, I had fun watching others too, but the depth of emotions they were able to evoke in me never got even close to Oh Jung Se.
Production value was obviously high. The shots of the mountain were breathtaking and a true feast for the eyes. Some initial CGI and green screen were questionable, but the use of special effects was better executed later on. Is the show being beautiful enough, though? Technically speaking, I can search for YouTube videos of the mountains and get a similar experience.
Overall, I feel like Jirisan ended on a disappointing note. It did not mix well the realistic approach of the rangers’ experience with a serial killer on the loose supernatural plot. I don’t even want to think about Disney ending with everyone being cured of whatever problem they had.
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9/10 would reccomend.
Story :I really like the story. It shows 2 mountain rangers of Jirisan and a killer in the mountain. I really like the multiple 'present' trope . Did I ever get bored? Maybe, not really. Hyunjo as a ghost roaming the mountain was a really good idea. The scene were Hyunjo was trying to grab the microphone and speak to Yigang was so emotional tears were pouring out of my eyes. Also I don't know why everyone's complaining and saying Signal was so much better. We got robbed bla bla bla. I haven't seen Signal but I don't know why y'all are upset. Probably because of thr multiple present bit, but it won't be good if they pulled that on this storyline. Because just no...
Acting :
So good could never get a better fitting cast than them.
OST :
Comeon u know the answer Yours by Jin and the other songs were so good I'm an army btw.
Rewatch value :
I don't rewatch mystery because yeah I just don't but I really would on this one the plot isn't all tied up agaisnt the mystery so you'll totally see me rewatching it.
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Mysteru drama with backforth plot, not confusing,, but curiousing
Mystery drama with a back and forth plot, but not confusing, just make you curious, from the beginning the drama makes us wonder why this is like this , why is like that, is he the mastermind or is he the mastermind?, Even though the plot goes back and forth now and in 2018,2017,1991,1995, but the story is pretty clear, just curious,,not twisting brain,,, and actually i already guessed who the killer from the storylineWhen I saw them climbing the mountain, all I thought was "aren't they tired?" ,, but they did not disappoint their tiredness, the editing was also quite good, everything should be displayed is shown,, only LYS ..... Where is she?
And the soundtrack Even it's not much, it really gets the point of the feeling,,, mystery ost, and the last eps gugyeong ost
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OST IS PERFECT ⭐
Tbh...I started watching this drama because of BTS JIN'S OST YOURS..However, I found out that this KDrama has amazing plot and storyline that keeps you hooked!
Very well drafted and nice OST by Jin! (Yours)
I liked every episode..it wasn't like the other kdramas, no unnecessary drama, every scene had a meaningful essence! I like it a lot!
Thanks to BTS Jin for introducing me to this KDrama..
Jun Ji Hyun's acting also amazed me.. I wish to see BTS Jin someday in a Kdrama like this...
Very well scripted.. I'm happy with the outcome!
Give a listen to Jin's ost Yours please!
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Where Grief Hangs Low Like Morning Fog
I went into Jirisan expecting a mystery, maybe a thriller with sweeping shots of cliffs and peril. What I didn’t expect was grief — not loud, not devastating in a single moment, but grief that settled in slowly, like mist gathering in the folds of the mountain. The kind that stays long after the trail is empty.The pacing felt deliberate, sometimes frustratingly so. Episodes moved like weather — still one minute, roiling the next, then still again. But that uneven rhythm worked on me. It gave space for loneliness to take root, for silence to say what words couldn’t. Each pause felt like a breath held before another climb, another call, another loss.
Jun Ji-hyun and Ju Ji-hoon never reached for melodrama, and that restraint deepened everything. There was so much left unsaid between them — pain, guilt, tenderness that never tipped into confession. It didn’t need to. Their grief wasn’t performed. It just existed, constant and heavy, like the mountain they kept returning to.
And while the cinematography was breathtaking — vast ridgelines, shifting light through endless trees — it was the rangers who became the real landscape for me. Watching them walk into danger again and again, not for glory, not even purely for duty, but for something deeper, something unspoken. Sometimes guilt. Sometimes hope. Sometimes just the stubborn knowledge that if they don’t go, no one else will.
The timeline jumps got messy. The mystery lost urgency at times, looping back on itself until it frayed. But by then, I wasn’t watching for the puzzle. I was watching for the people. Their choices. Their small, weary victories. Their grief, which never fully resolved but kept moving anyway, step by step up the trail.
Jirisan wasn’t a thriller at its heart. It was an elegy. A quiet prayer for everyone left behind, and for those who go looking anyway, knowing some people can’t be saved but refusing to stop trying.
By the end, I wasn’t just thinking about the mountain. I was thinking about every silent place inside us that no one else sees. And the people who choose, day after day, to walk into that silence for someone else’s sake.
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Ouch, A Complete Mess
Jun Ji-hyun could not have picked a worse script for her comeback drama. When I saw the previews, I expected a more action-packed adventure, with Jun Ji-hyun as a bad-ass female lead. Instead we get to see her rolling around in a wheelchair for half the show. So disappointed because Jun Ji-hyun is one of my favorite actresses and this show just wasted her talent.The filming of every episode almost made me ill. Drone shots, zooming, panning, sideways shooting, the director tries to check off every cinematic shot he could think of. Sure, some of it works but most of it is overkill.
I sure hope Jun Ji-hyun goes back to rom-coms because that's where she thrives.
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Somewhat suspenseful ?
I don't know how to describe this at all. The drama went back and forth in time, so as to tell the story, so if you weren't paying attention, you would have wound up confused. 🙄I'm not sure why the ratings were so bad, but I would ask that you watch this and make up your mind if you liked it or not.
The story itself is about the ML who joins as a new recruit. He was from the army and became a ranger to safe people after he lost one of his team mates in the mountain. The FL is a lone ranger, teamed up with the ML as her partner. She had a love-hate relationship with the mountain.
People were being murdered on the mountain, and it was made to look like an accident.. The mystery of who was the killer wasn't very surprising but from the storyline it took them quite a while to figure the who-done-it😂 Maybe that's why there was a lot of critism and would be directors..
For me, I enjoyed the scenery and the action!
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The Mountain Is Calling And I Must Go
I put off watching this drama for ages because while it sounded interesting, the synopsis was also quite vague and I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I am officially kicking myself for delaying even one second. It has been so long since I've watched a drama that captured me the way Jirisan did. The story, the acting, the music, everything just came together almost perfectly, for my taste at least, and created such an amazing experience. I truly don't remember the last time I obsessed over a drama like this, analyzing all the events and who the murderer could be. I loved every second of it.The story is overall pretty solid. In general, its a murder/mystery with some supernatural elements thrown in. Its a bit murky in the beginning, there are a few inconsistencies like they hadn't quite worked out all the kinks in the story and how they wanted things to flow, but after the first few episodes, it seemed to find its stride. The time change was also a tad confusing initially, bouncing between 2018 and the present, but once I got used to it, I didn't have any issues following. The whodunnit aspect of the story was quite fun initially but did start getting just a tad wearing toward the end with the shots that kept making you second guess who you thought the killer was. At that point, it really wasn't necessary since you either knew or you didn't. The pacing was good, I never got bored and as I said, once it found its stride, it stuck to it.
The acting was superb. Both Ji Hyun and Ji Hoon were phenomenal as Yi Kang and Hyun Jo, respectively. Their chemistry was fantastic. They just played off of each other so beautifully. And while the rest of the supporting cast was also wonderful, I really have to comment on Jung Se. The man can act. He is just so good and so believable there were a couple of times when he had me in tears solely because of his acting skills.
I really enjoyed all the characters and even with a relatively large cast, I felt that they overall did a good job with allowing the viewer to get to know everyone as much as possible. The one character I would have liked to have gotten to know a little more was Hyun Jo. Probably because she was so tied to Jirisan, we got a very in depth look into Yi Kang as she grew up. I have no objections to that, other than a few scenes were repeated more than once which probably wasn't necessary, as it did show her character growth over the course of the drama. That being said, I would have liked to see more of Hyun Jo's past, his family, how he grew up, etc., as a way to get to know the character better and as a contrast to Yi Kang.
One of the things that I appreciated about this drama was the lack of romance between the leads. Not every drama needs it and I really loved their camaraderie and friendship and seeing it grow. And by the end, when there's a hint that there might be more from the way the two of them are looking at each other, I honestly couldn't protest because they did such a good job of building their relationship up. I like that it was left up to the viewer as to where things may have gone from there, whether they remained friends or took things to the next level. And I actually liked the ending. Yes, it would have been nice and less abrupt to see them going through their recovery, but there was something about them seeing each other and not needing words to communicate that just summed up their whole relationship so perfectly.
On the topic of romance, I did adore Goo Young and Yang Sun's romance. I liked both their characters individually and when they got together, I thought they were perfect. I was so sad when they didn't get the happily ever after that they deserved. That being said, I was super happy at the hint at the end that he may find happiness with Hyun Jo's sister. I was literally cackling as he took off running from her.
The various villains were all interesting, believable, and, in some ways, relatable in their own ways. Sol, of course, was the most interesting, and I really appreciated the way his childhood was used to shape him and turn him into the person he became. Obviously his reasoning for killing people was absurd and made no sense, but that it made sense to him and in a believable way was appreciated. It was sad to see how the people of Black Bridge Village ruined not only his life, but also their own lives through their greed.
The cinematography was absolutely stunning. I now have an overwhelming desire to go visit Jirisan. It just looks like such a beautiful mountain to explore.
I actually really enjoyed the music for the most part. Again, in the first episode or two there were a couple of choices that I wasn't overly impressed with, but as it progressed, I felt it became more consistent. In particular Falling by Kim Jong Wan has been playing on repeat for several days now.
As I said, I absolutely loved this drama, but naturally there were a few things that weren't quite perfect. As I mentioned, once you get into the story a bit, it becomes clear that the first episode or so wasn't fully thought out. It's eventually revealed that Hyun Jo's visions are related to the murderer as he's killing off the the former residents of Black Bridge Village. However, in the first episode, he has a vision of where the kid is even though he has nothing to do with the village. Not a huge deal, just a bit of a plot hole/inconsistency. The CGI was pretty bad at times. Again, first episode, there's a rock fall that is some pretty bad CGI. Considering how they made the rest of the weather and disasters seem more or less realistic for the most part, those few times where the CGI was off were quite obvious. There were more deaths than were strictly necessary, in my opinion, particularly women. This drama definitely had a more male heavy cast, so the fact that three of the four main/supporting women were killed and really only one of the men is kind of sad. I understand why they didn't/couldn't do it, but there's a part of me that would have liked a little more of an explanation for how and why Hyun Jo ended up as he did as well as why sometimes people could see him and other times they couldn't. Was he really like some kind of Angel of Death or was it something else? Not really a negative there so much as it would have been interesting.
Obviously this drama is fiction, none of the events actually happened, but I really have to applaud the productions attention to detail and their authenticity. Watching it gave me a whole new appreciation for what rangers do and the level of skill, both physically and mentally, that they must have and maintain. They are truly amazing human beings. Huge respect for them and the work they do.
Normally a drama like this is a one and done. You've seen it, you know who the murderer is, you know how it all turns out, and the mystery is gone. I don't feel like that's the case with Jirisan. I have a feeling this is one of those dramas that you keep picking up on new things each time you see it. And if nothing else, the cinematography makes it worth watching again. But even more than that, I think the characters themselves will keep coming back to watch again, to see them grow and know that even though in the end everything's not perfect, it's still a happy ending.
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