Dear Hongrang

A big emotional story packed into 11 episodes

May 2025
Wow. What an emotional ride. A trigger warning has to come early, as there are some quite harrowing scenes involving children.

Some light moments in earlier episodes, but this isn't fluffy; on the contrary, it is very dark, and very bloody.

The most dangerous things in dramas (and often reality), are power, money, love and jealousy. These are the driving forces behind this story, with a bucket load of revenge.

It's a twisting tale, mostly fast paced, with some epic sword fights. No particularly out of the ordinary characters ~ a cross section of classes, some really vile people, and a smattering of lunacy.

LJW and JBA are well cast; I liked both characters a lot, they gave believable performances, which really dragged me into caring about them and their happiness.

Kim Jae-wook has a role in this and is excellent, too. He really can act, seeing as his character didn't figure in all scenes, yet his presence never felt far away.

I wanted justice, and some characters really deserved to suffer far more than they did.

There is a lot of tragedy attached to this story, but it isn't depressing.

Plenty of action, thrills, and a moving love story within the main one. There were moments when I gasped, and shouted "No!!!" Not something I do often. Got angry and loathed several characters; something I do do often 😉🤭

The romance aspect felt quite sudden, kind of going from 0-60, with an aspect of mild incest (which in honesty wasn't believable), was shoved in. I'm not sure that fit, for me, but I understood the justification, as it affected the decisions Jae-yi made.

If you're anything like me, you'll need at least one tissue, at some point. It isn't perfect, but I sat through it in 2 evenings, and was glued.
Together with so many scenes getting a reaction out of me, a great cast and acting... that's a more-or-less perfect watch in my eyes. Highly recommended.

I loved the soundtrack, too; even the 'incidental' music.
화화 (花火 Burning Petals) - 4BOUT (어바웃) [per YouTube] was my favourite.

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I honestly don't know where to begin with my review. I just laughed, cried and frustrated at the same time.
I wished there was more from what was lacking but I think if you add too much sometimes you loose the essence.
It captivated me from ep 1 to last episode, it was moving at its own pace , the OST is something that I even listen to when I want something to keep me cool.
I have loved him from Alchemy of Souls and boy did he not disappoint me , I even wished to see him and Jo Bora again in another drama.
Overall , I loved it though there are some loopholes there and there I still love it.

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Worth Watching Sad Series

I'm sure you read the synopsis already so I'm just gonna write my thoughts. The drama was a very painful one, the torture and trauma and the separation was very sad to watch but I love how the main characters always try to save everyone that needed it. I felt like the romance happened way too fast but its understandable why they feel in love. Other that I thought that it was
a very romantic story and worth watching. I was kind of upset that the SML became evil but its understandable cause love can make people do crazy things.

I love a good ploted drama with a sad ending because those kinda of dramas makes you feel a type of way and makes you remember it longer compare to a drama with a good ending, I always feel like happy endings never make me satisfied. Im always like, damn thats it.... and then feel disappointed if it was a crappy happy ending. Lol

I haven"t watched a lot of k dramas this years but out of all of the ones I've watched so far I think this series was one of my top 5. Again only for me😉. I truly recommend this drama tho. 👍

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

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Swallowing Gold

The drama encapsulates the meaning behind swallowing gold. Most of the characters had a greed for something.
Hanpyeong had a desire for immortality.
Yeolguk had a desire for guild power and money.
Yeonui had a desire for control.
Mujin had a desire for his love, the FL.
ML had a desire for taking revenge AND his love. He wanted the best of both sides.
All of these desires led to each character’s demise, fulfilling the original meaning of the title. It did feel like the romance was just for ML’s plot, but I guess it was necessary.
it would’ve been easier for the characters to find out about the painter if they’d just interpreted “ㅡ” as “Hana” instead of “il”.
ML is ML because he did not have a name of his own till the end (ToT).

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Compelling, moving drama

Dear Hongrang - what a compelling show!

Lee Jae Wook shines in his superb acting, supported by a great overall cast, such as Jo Bo-ah and Jung Ga-ram.

I found the show very moving it how it depicts the cruelty done to and subsequent revenge of Hongrang. It never becomes sentimental despite the deep drama, which is a rarity in current period shows. The relatively modest amount of episodes makes it action packed with a good pace.

The beautiful music fits like a glove and elevates the show, it is that good (do listen to it while the end credits roll over your screen. I added 1 point to the total score for this :-)

Thoroughly enjoyed all of it, thanks for a great watch!!

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A Gripping Sageuk - 10/10 Must-Watch!

Just finished the drama and honestly, Mu Jin didn't deserve such a respectable death. He lost my respect the moment the words "I don't need your consent" escaped his mouth and he stabbed In Hoe!

Other than that, excellent drama! You cannot go wrong with Lee Jae Wook and a sageuk. The actors played a commendable role in portraying their characters. It felt like you were supposed to feel certain emotions towards specific characters just the way the writer intended you to feel.

The story started on an exciting note, although the first few episodes were pretty slow in building up the plot. But right after episode 2 or 3, I remember just binge-watching the whole drama!

DEFINITELY A 10/10 DRAMA FOR ME!

Although I would've loved if the story delved more into the artists’ part and the significance of their paintings, or more about the Snow Man (whatever creature he was). Other than that, I really loved seeing the most hated characters getting the rightful deaths lol.

LEE JAE WOOK'S FIGHTING SCENES, CINEMATOGRAPHY, AND OST ARE WHAT HAD ME HOOKED TO MY SCREEN! <3

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One of The Best

I'm crying, literally. I just finished the drama and I just sat there and cried for like hours and so. It was such a good watch yet painful in many ways.
Oh gosh, the story was new and great, very great ,beyond great. And the chemistry between Lee jae wook and Jo bo ah is really, i thought nah it's gonna be a normal historical drama but no, it wasn't, it isn't. And it is phenomenal. For me yea, i loved it a lot, the plot, the acting, the characters and how they were represented every single details involved, i loved everything, every bit every moment. It was crucifying to watch him suffer the pains tho. It hurt , really... But overall a really good watch. Especially the osts, oh my god, they nailed it. The osts were the best I've heard in a while. It made me so fueled with emotions based on different scenes and just , ahhh it just was amazing!
I hope in some alternate ending they get to be together...

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Favorite Jae Wooks, Big Love, Crazy Villains, but the Show Needed More Cooking to Gel

As another reviewer mentioned, this show contains my two favorite Jae Wooks, too. I wanted to like it so much more. I don't know what happened here, but this should have been a strong 9.7 show, but fell short of the goal. Overall, I think that it just wasn't "baked" enough. Maybe they were under short production timelines, but I think that they did not spend enough time to lock down exactly what type of movie this was going to be so that the actors could deliver a consistent performance across the cast and/or the director could provide the right guidance. Maybe they were talking past each other, as we say.

And, as others have mentioned, maybe the script needed more time allotted to further digging into the emotional side of the human tragedy. (I felt like I had plenty of exposure to the abuse, that's for sure, and plenty of exposure to the fight scenes.) Coming from a book (which I haven't read), I can see how the story was complicated. It was probably a long book. In the book, there were probably good ways to tell which faction each of the similar looking middle-aged men belonged to. I really found it difficult, especially with the (beautiful) movie-type dark lighting and similar realistic costumes. I do think that it might have been possible to streamline the story. I understand that false trails and dead ends are needed to develop any good mystery, but with so many story lines running at the same time, it felt a bit over-the-top.

If they really wanted the whole show to feel over-the-top, they could have been a bit more clear about it. There were a few key moments, quotable lines that made me think that it wanted to be like a Clint Eastwood "Spaghetti Western" revenge movie, that it was purposefully supposed to be exaggerated. It is listed here in MDL as a melodrama, after all. But this stylization was not strongly consistent throughout the episodes. It also went big on the fighting scenes (mostly swords) in a Japanese martial arts overkill fashion, but the fighting scenes were all fairly consistent in style and lacked the gruesomeness that was quite front and center in the torture and abuse scenes--scenes that, with a slight adjustment, could have been as iconic as James Bond strapped down and headed into a buzz saw, or the scenes from the movie "Seven." Can anyone un-see those? I still get nightmares. (I mean, if you start the series with villains losing eyes and limbs, it should remain clear to everyone where we're headed, right?) One thing did become fully clear as the episodes progressed: the typical story of nearly everyone being "evil." Oh, except the man who we are led to believe may be Hong Rang's father, who after 11 episodes of silently following orders, ended his story arch with a tear in his eye. ("and...Scene!" Very Spaghetti Western).

The FL had a solid hold on her character's development arch, but she felt too brittle to me and too old for the ML (or the ML was too young for her) even though she was emoting like the Energizer Bunny. I didn't see her relax into a deep and sensual love that really would have driven home the reckless and desperate nature of the two leads. Again, could time or rehearsals have built this up? Probably. On the other side, the ML did much better in lending heart to the love scenes and developing the love story. He really brought the sexy to this (Much appreciated!), but his portrayal of the continuing story arch seemed a bit odd. I was bothered by his repeated wide eye movements, which I don't recall him using much in the past. Maybe he had too much botox and couldn't frown? Maybe he was foreshadowing the health problems that oddly showed up at the end? The facial expressions as the show progressed just didn't seem natural or realistic for a man who was supposed to be a stone-cold killer. I would think that not too much should have confused or alarmed him by that point. Yes, this could have been an attempt to show an awakening of a formerly dead soul, but, sorry, for me, they were excessive.

In the final climactic couple's scene, the FL really brought it home as it was exactly what she is best at. Yet, our ML needed a bigger build-up, something, something more in the script build-up or camera angles or dialog coming into the scene, something to bring the weight of the moment home for me. Some angsty crack of the voice? (If you have seen the movie "Midnight Cowboy," you have seen a good build up to a weighty final scene.) Really, I think a different FL may have created a better pairing that would have unlocked deeper emotions more naturally. Don't get me wrong, the FL is a GREAT actress and did a fabulous job in nearly all the scenes. It was the combo that felt off. The storyline/dialog/scenes of why they were supposed to have liked each other was there (maybe more so to justify his feelings than hers), but ultimately it was the softness, the deep ache, the hunger, that I couldn't see in them combined. I thought getting together was supposed to "unlock" them, but I didn't feel it that much, nor did I feel--as a couple--the desperation. It was probably a pacing or camera angle/close-up thing. It could have been a weather thing: the quilted hats and jackets during the wedding led me to believe that they had started filming in frigid temperatures. I don't know enough about filming to know the cause and solution.

I do think that the other Jae Wook, playing the increasingly indifferent and delusional Prince, brought his character home, given the fine line that the producers and directors seemed to try to walk between realism and "Kill Bill" Korean action mystery. (In my mind's eye, though, as I watched this, I kept seeing the scenes drawn in a manga in big, bold graphic images, rather than with realism.) As I write this, I am starting to think that the production team just wasn't experienced enough or give time enough to get everything to hang together as needed. I think this had the potential to be a block-buster in the Princess Bride (non-comedy) category. Sigh....

Finally, usually the music has something to do with creating the emotion. Honestly, I didn't notice the background instrumentals, so they must have worked, but I know the theme songs were fantastic! I don't know what the lyrics mean, but the songs sound wonderful, if modern. I will likely buy the soundtrack if I can find it. SO, I will rewatch, fast-forwarding to the relationship scenes to get a better grip on the love story. Maybe I was too distracted by the gore and double-dealing to see the subtle beauty before me.

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A Sensual Love Story

Hongrang (whonglang) is an excellent Mystery Action Thriller Romance Drama. Hongrang carries a twist that defies plot twists. There is fire red Ambient Music with lyrics or Gentile Ballards for this excellent OST, which also has a great dramatic score. The music pushes the boundaries. There is great cinematography, with beautiful visuals. Hongrang is about a long lost son who disappeared years ago, who suddenly shows up in the village to claim his inheritance. Who is he really? The mystery evolves into a sizzling love story. The pace was quick and perilous, making the viewer feel that the principal characters are continuously in danger. That action was thrilling (There is sword fighting). Hongrang has a really heinous villain. It would be a spoiler to name this person, since there are twists in the storyline. Hongrang is excellently cast, with everyone pulling their weight. The cast is anchored by Lee Jae Wook (Extraordinary You), Jo Bo Ah (My Strange Hero), and Jung Ga Ram (Love Alarm). They all gave great performances.

Personal note: I have defended Jung Ga Ram since his first lead appearance in Love Alarm. He gives an excellent performance in Hongrang too, playing the second lead. Jung Ga Ram’s acting showed such maturity and emotional range, as did all the principal actors.

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