The Jingbirok: A Memoir of Imjin War (2015)

This drama is 100% politics but I loved every minute of it. It's a tragic memoir of the Imjin war. I loved Ryu Seong Ryung & Lee Soon Shin - they were my favorites on this drama (and their close companions). I liked Gwanghae during the first half but by the second half I was disappointed with his actions... :/
A great drama however, if you don't mind watching one that has zero romance. I cried a few times while watching it and cried at the end too :'( It's more sad b/c you basically see history take place before your eyes :'(

This drama follows the writings left by Ryu Seong Ryung about the Imjin War that he titled 'Jing Bi Rok' - and we watch this unfold before our eyes, the invasion of the Japanese army, the fights in the court, the actions of King Seonjo as he tries to hold onto his power and suspects everyone. The righteous leading of Ryu Seong Ryung & his followers, the Bravery & Heart of Lee Soon Shin, the anger of Prince Gwanghae, the secret "peace talks" between Wae & Ming, the deception of the envoys, the patriotic spirits of the Righteous armies, the punishment brought out by Seonjo b/c of his fear of praise being taken away from him....the Japanese internal struggle with each other, and Toyotomi's crazy greed for power.

Ryu Seong Ryung is a character I admired throughout the entire drama & I respected anyone who followed him & believed in him. Lee Soon Shin a man who no matter who asked what of him would only do what he felt was right - he never brought harm to his men. He was upright, brave, unyielding and strong of heart - another man to be greatly admired - without him who knows what would have happened in history... I loved his friendship with Ryu Seong Ryung ^^ Both of these men are so brave - they go so well together - definitely the best of friends <3 While watching King Seonjo all I could do was shake my head at his childish, and petty ways.... and there were several other great characters throughout the drama :)

Actors I have to give a shoutout to:
~ Kim Sang Joon (Ryu Seong Ryung), Kim Suk Hoon (Lee Soon Shin), Kim Tae Woo (King Seonjo), Jung Tae Woo (Cheon Ri), Choi Chul Ho (Lee Hang Bok), Noh Young Hak (Prince Gwanghae), Lee Kwan Hoon (Shin Myeong Chul), Nam Sung Jin (Lee Deok Hyeong), & Jeon Kwang Jin (Song Hee Rib) ~

I for one would re-watch this drama if time allowed. If you like historicals - especially factual based historicals then you should enjoy this one as we watch history unfold.

The only OST I remember is just an instrumental that came on at the beginning and during the drama - nothing spectacular but it fit very well with this drama.

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I love it. I watched again. I loved again. Yi Sun-sin or Yi Soon Shin is my hero. When he died I tried to stop.
The actors are excellent.
Kim Sang Joong as Seo Ae Ryu Sung Ryong
Kim Tae Woo as King Seon Jo was perfect. I hated him. Great actor.
I hate violence. But I enjoyed when Admiral Lee or Yi Soon Shin attacked the Japanese fleet. I ended asking kill, kill, burn, murder all. Revenge, Revenge.
The Japanese baddies were shown in comic way.
I heard the Koreans when watched demanded apologies from Japanese people. The problem wasn't the Japanese people or the Koreans. The sin or guilty belong to their corrupted elite.

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Swordless

I found the beginning to be quite poor, it took a handful of episodes before the drama started going. By then, most viewers would have dropped it already. A good initial hook is necessary, especially for a longer drama. The storytelling was as shallow as a kiddie pool. It felt like they were trying to cram an unedited history book into it. The drama really needed to be shorter with a better structure because the potential was already there. The characters were as two-dimensional as stick figures, most of them were unable to convey the necessary emotions to the viewer. It would've been awesome to bring Japanese cast to play the Japanese. One thing the was missing was its own signature OST to match the atmosphere.

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