(^m^)
Fyi, there was a little friction between us before we watched Gaksital. Ux had to intensively persuade U9 to watch the drama due to her lack of interest in sageuk.
Ux: Let's watch Gaksital.
U9: No way. It's sageuk.
Ux: It is? It's not!
U9: But there's horse in it.
Ux: ... (-_-")
Well, eventually she gave in and agreed to watch with Ux. It's not that easy for us to find the drama, so U9 kind of grumbled, "What a struggle to watch something with horse in it". But as she's watching it, she turned into the biggest fan of Joo Won.
Well, let's put our personal story aside and start to discuss Gaksital.
The drama is set during the age of Japanese colonialism in Korea/Joseon/Peninsula. Lee Gang To's misfortune has plunged him to be Lieutenant of Imperial Police and therefore many Koreans view him as a traitor. He has to fight the warrior of his own nation: Independence Army led by Dam Sal Ri, and Gaksital, a single fighter who protects the citizen from Japanese government's oppression. Gaksital always wears bridal mask while doing his act, that's how he got the nickname. Gang To, who's skillful in martial art, gave his best to arrest those "rebels". But fate has its own way to turn him from a vicious Japanese lackey into a decent Korean defender.
When we found out that Gaksital's story revolves around Japanese colonialism, we expected there will be a lot of Japanese language in the dialogue. But, as far as we notice, the Japanese characters -- especially the imperial officers -- use their "native language" only when they said "bakayaro" (stupid) and "hai" (yes).
(-_-)a
Sometimes we wonder whether this drama would lead to a massive protest from Japanese people cause some parts seriously discredit Japanese. We read the news that hallyu stars were avoiding Bridal Mask for fear of backlash in Japan. So why did Joo Won decide to take part in the drama? He said, "I think at the time I thought very simply. It was a situation in which the script had only been written to episode 4, and so, first, I thought it will be fun. Also, under the circumstances, there were a lot of people who made favorable comments about the original manhwa [the drama was adapted from the manhwa], and so I really wanted to do it. Actually, I found out later that hallyu stars were avoiding the drama because of their activities in Japan. But, it didn't occur to me to think that far."
So, it's not because of thorough calculation? Joo Won oppa... (-_-) We love you anyway.
So, it's not because of thorough calculation? Joo Won oppa... (-_-) We love you anyway.
We were also concerned by some of Korean independence movement which may be considered as terrorism, such as suicide bombing and robbery. But, we can't expect clean story for something on this genre, right? From Gaksital we learn what to suspect and how to deceive. However, it also teaches us that war will snatch away the essence of happiness. In the end nothing's left but sorrow and the remaining question, "Is that kind of life worth living for?"
This drama achieved the highest rating within its time slot. So, I think it's true what they say about historical drama as a rating monster. It has the power to completely draw the viewers into the story. We will find ourselves shouting on thrilling scenes or moved by their nationalism. No wonder Gaksital bagged many awards in 2012 KBS Drama Awards, including Excellence Award for Serial Drama Actor (Joo Won), Excellence Award for Supporting Actor (Park Ki Woong), Newcomer Award (Jin Se Yeon), and Popularity Award (Joo Won).
Gaksital got positive reviews from international viewers too. In 2012 Dramabeans Editor's Pick, Gaksital was deemed as the best drama, the best historical drama, the best action drama, with the best directing. They regarded Joo Won as the best actor and Lee Gang To as the best character. Park Ki Woong, who played the role of Kimura Shunji, was chosen as the best supporting actor and the best villain.
Ux gained confidence on her assessment skill because of Gaksital. Besides her sharp eyesight recognizing a rising-star-potential in Joo Won, she subconsciously has accurate judgment on acting ability -- which makes her considering a possibility to start an agency for talent search. In the midst of the drama, she confessed that she liked Ueno Rie (the second female lead) better than Mok Dan (the female lead). She's kinda disturbed by Jin Se Yeon's acting which probably still needs to be polished. Apparently, through many comments, many people agreed that Han Chae Ah acts better than Jin Se Yeon. Well, despite her lack of acting skill, people found Jin Se Yeon lovable. She's still young, anyway. So there's a long way ahead of her.
