Meu País: A Nova Era (2019)

The storyline was okay for me. It would've been a great storyline if the ending was great. I won't give it away. The two main male leads, Yang Se Jong and Woo Do Hwan had their ups and downs but ended up being bros. I love the way they portrayed their characters. I must see more of these two. Woo Do Hwan definitely has those eyes I love! Yang Se Jong has that toughness about him which I love. I didn't feel the romance chemistry with YSJ and HSH. I did love the first 3 episodes. I love the camaraderie with the 3 others member, protecting and fighting to protect Hwi. I love how they were in front of the gate in tears!

Leia Mais

" My Country : The New Age " was overall okay.

What I really liked about this drama was the bromance. The main leads had chemistry and their stories were tragic and had intensity as fate kept pushing them apart. However, their story kept falling into the same trope over and over again and it just got predictable. Also, the story felt like it was missing something and therefore sometimes it was just dragging.

Still, the performances were great from everyone. Seol Hyun was actually a nice surprise, as after Orange Marmalade I was afraid that her performance won't be good enough for her character. But she did a great job and she looked professional. But, the early romance was just weak and her character, even though she started as a dynamic, strong one, ended up being there to fill in the emotional gaps between the all men story. Also, and this is just a detail but still, some hairstyles were simply bad, looking all fake or ridiculous.

So, overall, six and a half out of ten.

Leia Mais

"We all have a country we wish to protect."

Story: 7/10
Plot - This drama is a good portrayal of what people can do just for their ambitions or desires. Parents are capable of discarding their children and vice versa. Greed for power is something which makes us blind to what we already have and the ones in power, end up destroying nations for it. Well, its a strong plot but what made me rate it so slow? Unfortunately I didn't like the execution of it. The characters and the story both had potential before it started falling apart after 6 episodes. The story was scattered all over the place in my opinion. The plot only moved when someone died but otherwise, it seemed to be staying still. There was no character development, none. All I felt was that if characters made some progress, next moment they took tons of steps back. If I'm to summarize it, tons of people were after the throne and revolting all over the place. There's too much of slaying and stabbing if you'd ask me.
Characters - I loved most of the characters but I didn't like Seo Hwi's. At the same time, I was glad that the writer didn't make romance the main element for the show. If you're here for Seo Hwi x Seon Ho then don't get your hopes up because they have few brotherly scenes together. As for the side characters, they were a nice distraction. They were more lively than our main leads. One character which stood out the moment he was on-screen was Lee Bang-won before his character become victimized to the writing. Those who've seen the drama would know what I'm talking about.

Acting/Cast: 10/10
The only part that made me keep going till the very end. I love Woo Do Hwan and Yang Se Jong and them together in this was what pulled me in like many others. Woo Do Hwan didn't disappoint, like always. For Yang Se Jong, he's done better. But, Jang Hyuk was the best, hands down. His portrayal of Bang-won was....perfect. He played most complex character of the show and nailed it.

Music: 9/10
Overall music was really nice. Enough to make me go search for the whole album, which is a rare thing in my case.

Re-watch Value: 5/10
Nope, never gonna happen. Too darn depressing to watch again.

Leia Mais

this is my first review but as I was watching this I knew I had to write one for the first time lol

I should note before I begin that 1. Although I've watched a fair few amount of historical dramas, I don't have anything to compare My Country to because I've never watched any historical dramas quite like this one (e.g six flying dragons). 2. Like many other people I'm sure, I put this drama on my list because of Woo Dohwan so I may show some bias (?) I only realised when I started watching it that Yang Sejong played the main character which was a very pleasant surprise :)

STORY: As I've said just above, I have not watched any historical drama quite as political, action-packed and violent as this one so my opinion on the story is based purely on my first viewing with no comparison. To put it simply, I absolutely loved almost every single aspect of the plot. The politics were a bit hard to follow because I know close to nothing about actual Korean history, but I still enjoyed what I understood of it and found it all pretty interesting.
This story is very heavily centred around the friendship between our two main leads, Seo Hwi and Nam SeonHo. I was a bit worried towards the beginning that this would just be about the two close friends drifting apart and Nam SeonHo's (played by my bby boy Woo Dohwan) gradual transition to villainy. But I couldn't be more wrong..I truly underestimated how close they were and how loyal they were to each other from the very beginning. I think this one thing said by Munbok (Hwi's friend) summarises their relationship pretty well: "I think Hwi and SeonHo were the sun and the moon in their past lives. That's why they seem so inseparable". The bromance is sTRONG in this one (and I mean like possibly one of the strongest I've ever watched which is quite the feat because I feast on bromance all day every day) which brings me onto my next point. The Romantic interest.
Hee jae is established to be Seo Hwi's love interest pretty early on. Personally I didn't really see much chemistry before they unofficially got together but that's beside the point. Although I really admired Hee Jae's independence, strength and smarts, I feel like the romance aspect of this show was a tad lacking. I was never invested in their relationship but I'm pretty sure the writers intended it to be like that because the bromance over shined them completely. Honestly I felt like Heejae's character was established so that the writers could go ham with Hwi and Seonho's relationship and avoid getting shit on by conservatives for making Hwi and SeonHo's relationship too close to romantic. She's like a "These two main leads are closest friends and they both care about each other most in the entire world but don't worry they're both straight" insurance.

ACTING: The entire cast did absolutely amazing. Jang Hyuk's portrayal of his character gave me chills on more than one occasion and Yang Sejong's own personality translated perfectly into Seo Hwi's. For an idol-actress, Seolhyun also did pretty well over the course of the show, but I can't really help but wonder if she could've had better chemistry with Yang Sejong. Woo Dohwan did not disappoint at all either and I can proudly say that Nam Seonho is one of my favourite characters and I caNNOT WAIT for him to complete his military service omfg.

MUSIC: THE SOUNDTRACK IS BEAUTIFUL. THE OPENING THEME IS BEAUTIFUL I COULD LISTEN TO IT ALL DAY EVERY DAY IM NOT EXAGGERATING.

THE CHARACTERS: Honestly I could go on about this for days but I think I'll just cut it down (because Im getting tired) and say that every single character has so much depth and was so well-written. I've probably rooted for every single character at some point in the show.

The high production value for this show is probably one of the best parts about this drama. Literally ten minutes into it, after watching that killer opening sword fight war scene I knew I was going to enjoy the drama just because of how engaging that fight scene was. From beginning to end I can say that I never once skipped any fight scene even though they happened at least once every episode.
I think I can say that My Country The New Age is probably my favourite saeguk drama and I'll be thinking about this one for weeks.

Leia Mais

Far away from flawless, but still wonderfully heartwrenching

This drama has so many flaws, starting with the weak female lead, due to both bad writing as well as a weak actress. Then the absolutely useless romance, which no one asked for and no one wanted, the twisting of historical facts, the plot which did not make sense half of the time, the deadly battlefield wounds which would have killed everyone else except our leads of course (they must have like a 100 lifes).

But dear drama-god, I still fell hard for this one… the morally grey characters, the character development of Nam Seon Ho, the heartwrenching moments, the battlefield scenes, all the fake blood (so much fake blood!), the costumes (!!!) and of course the complex bromance… from wanting and trying to kill one another to saving each others asses every single time risking their own life under the most miraculous circumstances. And don’t get me started about the acting of Woo Do Hwan and Jang Hyuk! I expected nothing less than a perfect performance of Jang Hyuk of course, but wow Woo Do Hwan outplayed himself and nearly everyone else too! And yes I am a sucker for heartwrenching dramas, but this one really made me cry every other five minutes after the 10th episode and left me feeling devastated to no end. I still cry listening to the OST Wild Road of Kim Jae Hee.

Leia Mais

Second viewing reveals so much more!

This first time I watched this drama, I absolutely enjoyed it. But because I was new to Korean history, I didn't understand a lot of the subtext, or the historical context. I loved the drama ... and I was mostly focused on the two main characters, whose story is very engaging. The show - even without the context and subtext I now have - was worth watching again, and now, a year later I am mid-way through it a second time, and this time, it's blowing me away!

Watching it a second time, my perspective has shifted dramatically. Understanding, now, who Lee Bang Won is, historically, my attention is somewhat drawn away from the two main characters, and riveted on the performance rendered by Jang Hyeok. WOW! I have seen this character portrayed by other actors ... all really good performances, but Jang Hyeok's performance is stellar.

If you haven't seen this show yet, I very highly recommend it.
Don't miss what I missed - and keep an eye peeled on Jang Hyeok, while also enjoying the other aspects of the story. I'm at episode 14, the second time around, and I can't wait to sit down and watch some more!! 😀

Leia Mais

Easily the best historical drama I've watched

If I could give this drama more stars than 10, I would. At first I was hesitant to watch this drama because I was only familiar with Yang Se Jong (out of the main cast) at the time it aired and I'm not the hugest fan of historical dramas. But after I had seen dramas with Jang Hyuk and Woo Do Hwan, I decided to give this another go in 2020. I was so glad I did.

While viewing this drama, I felt as though it had a very modern feel to it, despite the fact that it was set way back in history. The soundtrack and the beautifully shot action scenes is what drew me in to the drama. I also loved the wardrobe, and the color scheme of red and blue to show the different sides of the main characters. This drama ultimately excelled because of its casting which I felt like was tailor made for the characters in the drama. Each actor did such an amazing job at bringing their character to life. The two actors who stood out the most to me were Jang Hyuk and Ahn Nae Sang. Jang Hyuk played the charismatic and power hungry prince. I was always torn between loving him and hating him. Ahn Nae Sang played the despicable father to Woo Do Hwan's character, Nam Seon Ho. He really captivated the screen in all of his scenes.

As a Woo Do Hwan fan, I have to say he killed it in this drama. Although I paid attention to some of the other characters more, I still loved his performance and appreciated the purpose Seon-ho had in the story. Nam Seon Ho is probably my favorite role of his because of the multitude of emotions he was able to show with sometimes just his eyes.

While the plot revolved around Yi Bang Won scheming to take the throne, I believe that this drama was ultimately all about relationships, which is why I loved the story so much. There were so many connections that were showcased throughout this drama: father-son, friend-friend, boyfriend-girlfriend, brother-sister, king-subjects. I usually watch dramas for entertainment, so they rarely make me stop and think about my life. However, My Country left a huge impact on me. Each character had their own vision of what "their country" was to them, on a more literal level, and on a more philosophical level. This drama caused me slow down for a moment and take a moment to step back and breathe. I never had cried so much while watching a drama. This drama is not for the faint of heart, so have your tissues ready.

Note: There were some drawbacks to the drama. I was disappointed in Seolhyun's character, Hui-jae. I felt like she was underutilized and spent most of the drama worrying about Seo Hwi. In the beginning, I felt like she was doing everything because of Hwi and didn't have any of her own ambitions or desires. Luckily she transformed when she became allied with the Queen. Her best moments were when she was defending Ihwaru as well as carrying out her duties as the head lady. Despite all of that, I wish her character had more to add because I felt like a lot of her story happened off screen. Another thing that didn't make sense was the fact that the characters suffered grave wounds but were seemingly fine the next day. For me, this was just a detail issue rather than a weakness of the plot. Lastly, some of the time skips seemed abrupt because some moments were missing that caused me confusion for part of the episodes. For example, the queen had died during a time skip but it wasn't really fully explained until a little later.

Leia Mais

A drama full of complicated relationships

Completed - 2/24/2022

I can't help but compare this drama to "Six Flying Dragons" which I have watched 29 of 50 episodes and then put on hold. There are a few common historical figures but with very different personalities. The production value and acting of both dramas are of high caliber. With my experience with “Six Flying Dragons”, I also realized that I cannot binge-watch this drama. This drama is intense with too much going on. The episodes are quite long as well (about 1 hr and 15 mins) and I lose focus and get bored when I binge-watched almost half of the show. I had to slow down and watch 1-2 episodes a day.

There are many different complicated relationships in this drama: Bromance, friendships, camaraderie, romance, father-son, and siblings.

Seo Hwi + Seon Ho (Bromance) - The friendship/bromance between our two male leads is different from other bromances I've seen. We actually don't see many scenes with Seo Hwi and Seon Ho together - mainly the first and last few episodes. They have been friends since childhood and through thick and thin. Their friendship is deep, even though they are from very different backgrounds and have very different life experiences. Throughout the drama, you can say they both have a common goal, but they go about achieving that through very different (bloody) means. They harbor sadness, anger and seek revenge, while pushing away the other's support and care. It's quite a push-and-pull relationship. They seem to hate each other at times, but in the end, they never kill each other when given the opportunity. The love has always been there, buried under their hardened hearts.

Seo Hwi + War Comrades - Seo Hwi and his friends provide some comic relief and lightheartedness in this drama. They bicker and beat up each other all in the name of fun and friendship. Without them, this drama would be too dark and too heavy.

Romance - Do not come into this drama because you want a lot of romance. Romance is only a very small part of this drama. Because this drama covers such a long period of time (many years), it cannot devote too many episodes on Seo Hwi and Hee Jae’s initial attraction to create a strong foundation of the romance. Therefore, it seems like they fall in love too quickly. We do see a few romantic and heartfelt scenes, but those are far and few between. On the other hand, the other pair, Moon Bok and Hwa Wol, provide comic relief. They seem like an unlikely pair but they are so funny and cute together.

Father and Son: Seon Ho and his father (Nam Jeong) have a love-hate relationship. Seon Ho found his father’s actions despicable and wanted to take him down. On the other hand, Nam Jeon seems to despise his son and only wanted him as a replacement for his dead older son. But in the end, do they truly hate each other? When there’s a chance to kill each other, can they really do it? Similarly the King and his princes also have some complicated relationships. The princes seek the throne, yet could they really kill their father for it? Will the king kill his sons to keep his throne? Without giving away spoilers, there’s a lot of internal struggles and is also a big part of the political drama.

Siblings: The princes might not want to kill each other for the throne. But circumstances might push them to do so. There are complicated feelings and internal struggles. On the other hand, we also see the tight bond between Seo Hwi and his little sister, Yeon. They have relied on each other since their father’s death, and the love they have for each other is deep. It’s no wonder Seo Hwi will go through hell, pushing his dear friend away, in order to seek revenge.

Other Observations:
1. Seon Ho is the saddest character. He goes through his journey of revenge and bloodshed mainly alone. At least Seo Hwi has his war friends by his side. Seon Ho has none. I think I enjoy Seon Ho’s journey and character development more than Seo Hwi’s.
2. All the characters must have 9 lives. They got slashed and stabbed by swords and arrows so many times, and they still recovered at lightning speed to be stabbed again.
3. Seo Hwi cries a lot.
4. But then, this whole drama is full of non-stop suffering and bloodshed.
5. I never saw Sambong’s face. I was hoping Kim Myung Min, who plays Sambong in “Six Flying Dragons” might show up as a cameo.
6. I like the OST. It’s quite unique for historical drama with what seems like a mix of different genres.

Leia Mais

Tragically beautiful

I was thoroughly confused when I watched the first episode. I had no idea what was going on, who was who and ofcourse I had to do some digging to make some sense of it. This show did a good job with narrating faction - fact+fiction. Blended well, it’s hard to differentiate between good and evil. Especially Bangwon. He’s grey through and through. Having said that Namjeon is black through and through(God I hated him).

What was wonderful was the ping pong that Hwi and SeonHo played between good and evil. Seonho is such a tragic character, who suffers
endlessly with his father and his choices and his fate that I just wanted him and Hwi to sort it out and be BFF’s again.

This show keeps you wondering which way it’s going to go, and then ends in a heartbreaking manner, but the journey to that is completely worth it.

Leia Mais

Gosh, this is an intense and nerve-wracking drama – but worth it. It is exciting, maybe even restless, from the beginning to the end. The drama captivates you with intriguing characters, incredible acting performance and stunning cinematography. Yes, it is heavy, so you need to know for yourself if you’re ready for this blow of emotions.

The title already sets the tone for this story – a war of different beliefs of the meaning what is “my country”. Two childhood friends – willingly or unwillingly – are caught in the middle of it. Although the fight about the throne is somewhat prevalent, the story centers on the childhood friends and their different paths. It is set right from the start that they will eventually face each other as adversaries. You’ll find yourself anxiously awaiting whether these two will reconcile at some stage. It’s nice that the story overall follows a continuous path forward, without too many dragging side stories or unnecessary events. Yet, the leaps of time in the latter part of the drama came rather abrupt for me – it made me wonder what the main characters were doing all this time (especially Hwi and Hee-jae seemed further apart). On another note, it is interesting that they revived some scenes, for example Seon-ho waiting for Bang-won in the palace, and conversely Bang-won waiting for Seon-ho at a later point in time (“Is this a coincidence?” – “No, I was waiting for you.”). This gives an opportunity to reflect upon the course of events and how the characters have changed so far.

Regarding the ending: I kind of expected Hwi and Seon-ho to die at the end but I didn’t like the decisions leading to their deaths. Hwi has experienced it multiple times – his father killed himself honorably and yet his children were treated like they weren’t legitimate, Nam Jeon promised that Yeon would be safe if Hwi killed himself but he still gave the order to kill Yeon. Now, when it is evident that Bang-won has just broken his promise to Hwi because he sent his men after them, why try to seek out Bang-won which is your sure death, only to make a new promise with an uncertain outcome? After everything that has happened, is being at the mercy of those in power the lesson learned? Why not retreat and make a move out of strength later on, rather than a move out of desperation? I can understand that the writers wanted to bring it to an end and present us the grand finale. Hwi and Seon-ho die a martyr’s death and Bang-won is lonely and remorseful (though this remorse will probably fade away after some time). Surely, Bang-won manages to keep the final promise, otherwise the story wouldn’t be able to justify Hwi and Seon-ho’s death.
On the positive side, Hwi and Seon-ho don't die as enemies. Eventually, they are able to find each other and re-establish their friendship. I like the message Seon-ho gives in his final hour: that he was too greedy to change his status and the world around him that he harmed and neglected what was really important to him. Also, Hwi realizes that he was so blinded by revenge and drawn into Bang-wons struggle for power that he overlooked that his friend was alone in his darkest hours. Their friendship is the most precious relationship in the drama. Sadly, their reunion only lasts for a short time, I hoped that we could see a few more moments in which they would talk about everything that has happened, their feelings and thoughts. As this series is one huge bloodbath and political battleground, the human aspect would always come a bit short.

Regarding the characters, most of them are unique and have their own story to tell. I particularly like the ambiguous characters because they are the most interesting ones (especially Seon-ho and Bang-won). Depending on the perspective from which you look, the enemy will change, which makes the story multilayered. The boundaries between good and evil are generally blurred, only Nam Jeon appears as a clear evildoer because he has no bad conscience at all. He is the most difficult opponent because he is the father of one of the core characters, Seon-ho. Hence, Seon-ho can’t help but have mixed feelings about him (until Yeon dies), he hates his actions but it also feels good to get recognition from him and be accepted as his son.

Hwi is the clear hero of the story - he is caring, loyal, sincere and righteous. He suffers from injustice and has to endure the worst. From mere survival to avenging his sister and fighting for the “country of the abandoned”, he has come a long way. At some point, rage was eating away at him so that he would become emotionally numb, only Nam Jeon’s death could serve as salvation. Although he realized that he is only a tool for Bang-won, he still trusted him. This rendered a situation in which he and his friend had to die. Although it’s a good thing to have faith in people, it was still somewhat foolish, considering what he had to experience. Not sure what to finally think of him, seems like he is one of those too-good-for-this-world characters after all. Acting-wise, Hwi is played with devotion, you can feel his pain and desperation as well as his enormous willpower. Yang Se-jong portrays Hwi very naturally and with ease. His chemistry with Woo Do-hwan is undeniable – Hwi and Seon-ho’s bond always seems strong, whether they are together or apart.

Seon-ho is sharp-witted, determined and audacious. Similar to Hwi, he has to carry a heavy emotional burden at young age (his mother’s and half-brother’s death and not being officially accepted into the family). He is ambitious and wants to grow his power to change his status and that of others suffering from the same discrimination of being a love child. When Seong-gye receives the information that his father Nam Jeon bribed the examiner, Seon-ho has to make a decision: Turning your back on your family and the prospects that come with it or turning your back on your friend. Due to his aspiration, he chooses to become complicit in his father’s crimes and sends Hwi off to military service. After Hwi’s return, even though Seon-ho wants to protect Hwi and his sister, he still makes use of them for his own purposes. Yeon’s death is a major turning point which irreparably damages his relationship to his father. It’s also an incident from which he cannot recover as it destroyed the only pure thing in his life. Being left alone in his crisis, he becomes even more cold and ruthless in his actions. He comes to understand the selfishness of those who have power and that to them, others are just pawns who can be used and readily discarded (his father serves as the best example). With his father’s death, his world is shattered into pieces, with nothing left but self-doubt and resignation. Due to the humiliation by Bang-won, Seon-ho prepares for a desperate last battle. When Hwi reaches out to him and includes him into his world, he is willing to follow Hwi wherever it will lead him, even death. Although he has always felt that his place is alongside Hwi and Yeon, he has suppressed it the whole time. He has finally come to this realization and is able to change his path. Sun-ho is probably the most tragic character who also undergoes the largest character development. Woo Do-hwan is amazing in portraying this torn and lonesome character. This is truly a role in which he can shine. No matter what kind of emotion and its gradation – subtle or pronounced – he nails it all. Moreover, he is able to show off a dark vibe that captivates the viewer.

Hee-jae is an intelligent and courageous girl who shares a similar sense of righteousness like Hwi. However, her actions don’t always seem so intelligent, most strikingly is her letter in the second episode which leads to the informational leak of Nam Jeon’s bribe and eventually to a disastrous outcome. Furthermore, she tells the queen that Ihwaru doesn’t take sides but she readily sides with Bang-won to pursue her personal revenge goals. Although she marks those actions as “in private”, it still affects those working at Ihwaru. It seems that she actually wasn’t ready for the responsibility given to her. Her desire for revenge also makes the story appear bloodier than is good, I think it would have been better if she acted as a counterpole (probably the writers wanted to make her look “strong”). Maybe because of this pervasive thirst for revenge, the relationship between her and Hwi seems rather like a military alliance than a love relationship. Both of them would follow their own goals and occasionally help each other. Due to a connection that leads to the past (Hwi’s father protecting her of assassins), Hee-jae is convinced right from the start that Hwi is the love of her life (the love triangle dies early, but at least they didn’t make Sun-ho pursue her unreasonably). Yet, I felt that there wasn’t a large enough emotional foundation for that and even in the course of the series I couldn’t really see this relationship growing. Compared to Yeon and Seon-ho’s relationship with Hwi, her relationship with him was rather weak. In the end, her character could only watch from the sidelines as she wasn’t able to attain the influence she maybe wanted to have both in politics and in her relationship to Hwi. Regarding the acting, I think it was adequate given the limitations of her role.

Bang-won’s character is strong-minded, ambitious and wary, and he has his principles he abides to. Similar to Seon-ho, he has an ambivalent relationship with his father. His father uses him to kill his opponents and pave the way to the crown, yet his father doesn’t acknowledge his efforts and reward him the way he thinks he deserves. Instead, his father brushes him off and treats him as one of his subjects who have to serve him contently. Slowly, Bang-won comes to the bitter realization that he is not only unable to attain the fatherly affection he longs for but that he is also not part of his father’s vision of the future kingdom. Driven by political survival and his aspiration to gain his “rightful place”, he decides to go against the king and his allies. Due to his vision of the “country of the abandoned” and his sympathetic manner, he is able to win Hwi over to his side and puts him under his protection. When he realizes that he cannot fully control Hwi, he is willing to discard and even kill him. In the end, he proves to be ruthless and to fight solely for his own ambition to become king. It didn’t surprise me that he was responsible for Hwi's father's death (even though he might have been a bit too young at that time to scheme it?) as he was a potential adversary of his father, yet it did surprise me that he didn’t trust Hwi anymore and readily abandoned him despite what was connecting them. Jang Hyuk does a brilliant job in portraying Bang-won. He displays Bang-won’s merciless and playful sides extremely well and his charisma makes you root for him in the drama.

Regarding the cinematography, it is stunning and you can see the effort put into it. From the happy moments to the desperation of war, everything was shot very well. Surely, the amount of blood being spilt and the fast recovery from stabbing wounds was kind of unrealistic, but you’re willing to accept it for drama purposes. The music was ok and generally suited the drama well. Interestingly, one song is in German, its melody is very sad but the words sound so weird that it is irritating (even though I’m German myself I had to look up the lyrics to understand what she was singing).

That was one long review, but sometimes you need to write it down to be able to process it ;)

Leia Mais