Dear Hongrang

The More You Watch, The More You Love

OVERVIEW:

Dear Hongrang (Tangeum) is a sorrowful and gripping exploration of obsession, grief, and the violent yearning for belonging. Draped in mystery and laced with the emotional decay of a fractured household, the series begins with a tragedy and unravels into a slow-burning, multilayered descent into personal and political ruin.

At the center is Hongrang, heir to a vast merchant guild, who vanished mysteriously at the age of eight. His disappearance shattered the already fractured household. His mother, Min Yeon-ui, spirals into madness and addiction, while his father, Sim Yeol-guk, steps in to lead the association and, believing his son is dead, adopts Mu-jin, a shrewd and loyal orphan trained to be the new successor. The only one who refuses to stop searching is Jae-i, Hongrang’s half-sister, marginalized in her own home but bound to her brother by a childhood bond so deep it haunts her every step.

Twelve years later, a mysterious young man appears, scarred in all the right places, claiming to be the long-lost Hongrang. Yeon-ui is ecstatic. Jae-i is unconvinced. Mu-jin is threatened. What follows is not just a battle over inheritance, but over truth, memory, and identity.


COMMENTARY:

I didn’t expect Dear Hongrang to get under my skin the way it did. At first, it felt like too much, and suddenly, I was in it. Heart clenched, eyes stinging, trying not to see myself in people I didn’t want to relate to.

What hit me the hardest was the quiet collapse between Jae-i, Hongrang, and Mu-jin. It wasn’t loud or clean, but was the kind of heartbreak that just sits in the room with you.

Jae-i reminded me of what it’s like to be strong only because you have no choice. The way she holds herself - stiff, careful, almost too proud to admit she’s tired - I’ve seen that posture in people I love. I’ve worn it. And when she starts to let someone in, when her shoulders drop just a little, when her voice softens, I felt this stupid lump in my throat. Because I know how hard that is. To trust again after everything’s been taken from you.

Hongrang… god. He doesn’t even have to say much. He walks like someone who doesn’t expect to be missed. There’s this heaviness to him that made me uncomfortable at times, like watching someone who doesn’t believe they’re real anymore. But when he’s with Jae-i, when they just look at each other, it’s like the world pauses. It made me think of all the people I’ve tried to reach who were already halfway gone. People I wanted to save. People who maybe didn’t want to be saved.

And Mu-jin. I don’t think I was ready for Mu-jin. His pain is so quiet, it’s easy to miss, until you realize it’s everywhere. I saw a part of myself in him that I don’t like talking about. That feeling of being overlooked. Of loving someone who’s already looking past you. He doesn’t rage; he just aches. And I know that feeling too well. That desperate, silent kind of love that you pretend is enough, even when it’s killing you.

The show is gorgeous, sure - the forests, the candlelight, the jewelry, all of it. But that’s not what stayed with me. What stayed was the silence between scenes. The long stares. The unsaid things. The kind of tension that feels exactly like grief: stretched out, dull at first, then suddenly overwhelming.

Dear Hongrang wasn't trying to shock. It was trying to sit with me. Like grief does. Like guilt does. Like love does when it turns into something heavier. It’s not a drama about getting revenge or solving a mystery. It’s about what happens when the person you were dies, and you’re still here, expected to keep living anyway.

Every character in this show is holding on to something already gone. And maybe that’s why it wrecked me. Because I’ve done that. I’m probably still doing that. And the show doesn’t tell you it’ll get better. It just tells you to look at it. To let the ache exist. To stop pretending you can fix it by going back.

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Mystery sageuk falls flat with underbaked story elements

Lee Jae Wook once again returns with a sageuk k-drama but this time not as an heir of a mage family but of a wealthy merchant. One might think this is just a repeat of his role in Alchemy of Souls but that is completely untrue because in Dear Hongrang, he presents himself as the long-lost son of the merchant family or so we thought.

It doesn't last long though until we discovered the truth. Kudos to Jae Wook's composed and guarded personality it was truly hard to decipher if he's just a charlatan or the real Hongrang.

The mystery surrounding Hongrang's disappearance got me hooked, however, little did I know the writer failed to put some effort in writing the background story about the child-snatcher creature. I actually expected some fantasy elements to unfold to create a more rich and engaging narrative but it turns out there is barely witchcraft involved? Perhaps I got this wrong because this was not explained clearly at all.

Jo Bo Ah plays the role of Hongrang's stepsister, Sim Jae I, who carries the guilt of her brother's disappearance and never ceases to look for him. Bo-Ah consistently acts out the misery and despair she felt in the household ever since her little brother brother never came back. Her family alienated her especially her stepmom who is distraught as ever and blames her for Hongrang's disappearance.

Jae I thought her sea of sorrow would finally come to an end when Jae Wook's character claims to be as Hongrang. With just one glance, she argues that he's just another fake in contrast with the physical evidences.

Now that I think about, I feel like this Hongrang was not thoroughly assessed at all compared to the previous wannabes. I would just like to think that he certainly pulled some strings to easily match Hongrang's physical attributes.

In the first episode, Jae I was shown running away from thugs and gamblers after tricking them to earn some money to continue looking for Hongrang. However, this aspect was never brought up again and it left me wondering how Jae I deceived these delinquents every single time. This would have added more depth and strength to Jae I's personality. Not that I dislike her fear towards her stepmom and her yearning for her little brother, it's just that I believe her character could be so much more–be the stubborn and headstrong sister than this damsel-in-distress she came to be.

As the largest merchant family in the Joseon era, we also had a glimpse of how influential and powerful Hongrang and Jae I's family is. A tangled web of deceit and betrayal is just a normal day for them. I enjoyed this portion of the show because they made parallels and metaphors about authentic and imitation paintings which feels like a hindsight to Hongrang's true identity.

You can't talk about Dear Hongrang without mentioning the fiery chemistry between Jae Wook and Bo Ah. Though they are step-siblings, some tension is formed between them because as Bo Ah doubts Jae Wook's character. This strong dislike gradually morphs into confusion and attraction. This is a huge dilemma for Bo Ah since the little brother who is very dear to her is now someone she sees as a man. All of Bo Ah's pent-up emotions left her distressed and overwhelmed more than ever. Meanwhile, Jae Wook is the very flame that beckons the moth, kindling the fire in Bo Ah's heart. They were supposed to have a siblings bonding time in the woods but Jae Wook being the horny and flirty man that he is made it more sensual and flirty. This scene was definitely an unforgettable moment in the show.

I was ecstatic for the ending because I would finally learn all the answers and secrets everyone is hiding. However, the resolution is the weakest point of the show. I was expecting they would have connected the plot points effectively but lo and behold everything went down the drain and felt rushed. There were too many loose ends to tie up, too many unanswered questions and too many WTF moments. I'm well aware that some explanations don't need to be spelled out and they are often up for viewer's interpretation. However, how are we supposed to connect the dots when the information that is doled out is inconsistent and ambiguous. It feels like the story never truly addressed the mystery and solely focused on Hongrang and Jae I being star-crossed lovers.

To sum up, what appears to be an intriguing mystery sageuk ultimately falls flat due to underdeveloped story and messy finale. With all that said, I still believe this is worth watching as I once again get to witness Lee Jae Wook's versatile acting and impressive swordmanship and of course, his face card that never declines which erases some of my criticisms about this show.

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