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This review may contain spoilers
Tragic, epic, visually impressive.
"The Slave Hunters" is a cinematic-style KDrama, almost like a movie for the big screen. (It would definitely be an experience on the big screen.) In any case, "The Slave Hunters" has a lot to offer during ist 24 episodes.
There is strikingly selected staging of the landscape. Korea presents itself self-confident with its countless riverscapes and deltas, its mountains and coastal regions. The viewers visually accompany the protagonists on their long journeys across the country.
The accumulation of well-trained, well-structured torsos of the male actors is also characteristic for "The Slave Hunters". There's a lot of work involved, and it's appropriately staged here in numerous shots. Why not?
In connection with its sporty mimes, "The Slave Hunters" also comes up with a variety of brilliant, sometimes spectacularly choreographed fight scenes. Above all, Jang Hyuk once again sets quite a monument with his versatile martial arts skills.
The KDrama also presents - if you like - some Joseon-style parkour. 'Chase' thus gets a nicely invigorating touch. (Side note, in case you don´t know: Parkour is a special form of athletic movement art - a mostly urban steeplechase that has become fashionable in the last few decades. Individuals choose the most effective way to get to their destination, and that's hardly ever the predetermined path. Rather, the urban or natural landscape is re-perceived with regard to potential obstacles and evaluated as to how these can be creatively overcome on the individually chosen route, for example by jumping, somersaults or the like.)
The KDrama also stresses the subject of fatal love triangle in its complex emotionality. Eventually, there are also more love stories in the side plots. Yet, to be honest, the romance aspect should not be your reason to watch... The complicated dynamics might drive you crazy at times, so does the rigid play of the ex-and-again-general.
After all, the story mixes a good pinch of humor with profound wisdom. Surrounded by all the muscle-packed, fast-paced spectacle, the question of how a just society can be achieved is examined, i. e. whether it can ever be achieved at all. As soon as people gain power, won't they always tend to turn their fellow human beings into slaves, chattel or lackeys? And: will a changed political system change the people? Or do people have to change for the system to change? As a premise it is stressed that slaves are also human beings, e. g. that it actually starts with an attitude, that one should not deny any human being to being a human being - certainly not according to their genetic origin. "Slave Hunters" historically refers to the beginning of socio-critical Yangban movements against practiced slavery.
At the same time, the KDrama shows life under simple/poor living conditions - unembellished in all coarseness, e. g. ugly, blustering, brutal, unkempt and uneducated, but still warm-hearted. On the other hand, the fine silk clothings and the well-groomed, educated demeanor of the nobles and officials cannot hide their emotional coldness and corrupted souls.
All in all: It is not surprising that the KDrama in average thrilled more than 30 percent of the South Korean population and received numerous respectable awards and even international nomination. Above all, Jang Hyuk, for whom his role seems to be tailor-made. He fights, jumps, sprints, barks, laughs, cries, digs into the deepest depths of his soul and on top of that presents profound street smart and wise philosophies.
"The Slave Hunters" has a charm of its own. It´s tragic, epic, visually impressive.
---------------- Side Note: --- historical background ----
The historic frame refers to the time of King Injo in the 17th century as well as his son and Crown Prince Sohyeon. As a result of the submission after the second Manchu invasion in 1636, the Crown Prince (together with his wife and other officials) went to Shenyang practically as a hostage of the Qing. He spent his time there working diplomatically on peaceful relations between the Joseon and Qing dynasties.
His commitment also brought him to Beijing, where he became familiar with Western culture through his acquaintance with Jesuit missionaries. However, his father did not like Sohyeon's diplomatic commitment and open-mindedness at all. He feared that after his return and accession to the throne, he would want to reform Joseon with Catholicism and Western values. Prince Sohyeon's sudden death is interpreted by historians as deliberate poisoning. There is some evidence that his own father was behind this. Sohyeon's wife was executed for treason and only the youngest of his three sons survived their exile on Jejudo.
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Acting/Cast: What can I say? I fell in love with Jang Hyuk through this drama. He bears the mark of a true actor in his role as the angst-revenge driven Dae Gil. His was a very challenging character and he pulled it off PERFECTLY! He spoke with his eyes, his expressions and his intonations had thoroughly pulled me into his world of slave hunters and his misery of loving and yet being unable to love. Oh Ji Hoo as Tae Ha (righteous, dutiful, loyal) and Lee Dae Hae as Hye Won (meek, fearful and a woman with a secret) were also perfect choices. Even the dudes who acted as slave hunters, mountain brigands, slave rebels and evil ministers were wonderful in their roles. I seriously could not find any fault in the acting and cast of this drama.
Music: I absolutely love the OSTs in this drama. I listen to them frequently in my walkman. I think this in itself tells you how wonderful I think of them. What I absolutely love was how each OSTs are perfectly coordinated with the scenes and feelings in the drama. Whenever I listen to the OSTs, they reminded me of the drama and the unforgettable scenes in the drama.
Rewatch value: I had rewatched parts of this drama twice. I am not a fan of rewatching dramas as I am a very time poor person but for this drama, I actually rewatched a number of parts that I absolutely love. I must admit that I had never rewatched any dramas entirely, not because they are not worth rewatching (how I wish I have the time and luxury to rewatch dramas!).
Overall: This is my advice to you who had not watched this drama..... go and get a bag of chips or popcorn, a box of tissue and maybe a pillow (because it is quite addictive and you might just decide to skip sleep to finish this drama in one go) and just WATCH THIS DRAMA. You'll never regret it! :)
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Thematically, there are some interesting ideas thrown around about slavery, class, progress and authority but the writer seems unsure of exactly what he wants to say about them. The show is built around the awfulness of slavery, but it also depicts most of its slave characters as gullible fools, reinforcing the negative stereotypes stamped on them by the powerful. Folks respond to injustice with violence and/or flight, but neither tactic really seems to get anyone anywhere. There is a lot of stunning footage of running and fighting, but little clear sense of how the audience should feel about these choices. Are we supposed to applaud them? Reject them? Realize that the situation is a hopeless mess? And what is a viewer supposed to conclude from the fact that when change does happen, it results from factors almost totally removed from the actions of the central characters?
Good acting and striking visuals keep Chuno entertaining, but the narrative muddle weighs it down. There are some powerful moments, but the script never matches the dangerous, high-flying verve of its knife-wielding leading man.
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It's full of great actions, some daebak fighting scenes (even if it took me some times to accept the fact that it was mostly like a choreography than like a real fight, I finished to really appreciate the beauty of those scenes), the characters were great, especially Daegil and his buddies, loved so so much Wangson and the general Choi (one funny, carefree but with a friendly side, one serious, proud but with a cute childish side), each other character had a little something that made me react (in a good or in a bad way) and they were so true that I sometimes can feel that they could be real, the music made me travel, dream and was always really well choose for each scene, the story was absorbing even though I missed a real ending for some second leads, I also missed a real link between the two main stories (The one with Daegil and Song Taeha an the one with the slaves).
About the two main leads, first, Daegil... He's so powerful in so many ways, his story is deeply moving and he managed to become one of a great person, with a bad boy side but a heart bigger than anyone ! I was so touch by each little action, each little detail that no one can see but only discover later.. Even if he might look like a bad guy, an unscrupulous person, we happen to realize little by little that he has the most generous and amazing personality ! And no one can miss the fact that Oh My God, he's freaking gorgeous !!!!!
Song Taeha, I first liked this character so much, his good personality with many principles. He's the opposite of Daegil, like the bright side and the dark side. But he's in a way too ideologically bound that he didn't fit in this world. I had times when I hate what he said or how he acted, like a narrow minded person but I never really dislike him.
Those two guys were perfect for this drama, perfect for each other and I liked their actions, their fights and their talks.
A real bonus for Wangson, the general Choi and Seolwha who made this drama funnier and greater to watch !!!
Another bonus for the ending of each episode with this daebak music and this beautiful painted picture !
I'm gonna miss so much Daegil, Taeha, Wangson, General Choi, Seolwha, Chobok, Keutbong, Baekho... And this music !!!!!! Now that I finished this drama, I feel like a void inside me and can't stop listening to the music just to stay in the same mood !! kekeke
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If you care about the look of a drama, the music, and the acting - then this is for you. I am a non-Korean living in America and I was worried about getting into the "sageuk" (Korean historical) dramas. However, Chuno is called a "fusion sageuk" because it isn't just guys standing around in traditional clothing spouting monologues. The music mixes between modern rock and old Korean. The lead actor, Jang Hyuk, will rock your socks off. At no time did I feel like I was watching an "actor" play Lee DaeGil, a man who straddles the line between likable and unlikable but always manages to capture your attention, he WAS DaeGil. What complex and interesting characters they put on screen! And if you are a girl, the men are incredibly good looking and frequently half-naked and fighting, so there is a lot of abdominal muscles to enjoy along with amazingly choreographed fight scenes lovingly filmed in slow-motion with a top of the line camera so everyone just looks GLORIOUS...
The cliffhangers at the end of each episode will make you forsake work and school for days. You become so invested in Lee DaeGil's story that you have no choice but to follow him until the end.
Watch this drama - you won't be disappointed (except for Lee Dae Hee's character (Un Nyun), then some disappointment comes with the territory).
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Try to take a look at history. When you live in an extremely corrupt society, the idea of changing the world usually ended up like what happened in this drama. The so called revolutionists are mostly like either Song Tae Ha, who was pretty much clueless about what to do, or who fell to the temptation of power.
In my opinion, Lee Dae Gil and Song Tae Ha represent the saddest members of the privilege middle class. They are two sides of the same coin. One was idealist when it comes to life meaning, but secretly feared that his life was actually meaningless. The other was a nihilist, but secretly still desired for life meaning. The reason why they hated each other was because of envy one another. It wasn't just because they shared the same love interest. Tae Ha envied Dae Gil for being able to accept the meaninglessness of life. To Tae Ha, Dae Gil was his worst nightmare. The one who exposed his biggest fear that all his struggle was meaningless, that he should just run away and live a peaceful simple life. A conversation with Dae Gil might lead to existential angst, which is why he hated this guy. On the other hand, Dae Gil envied Tae Ha that he could still see a meaning in his life, but he was mad at Tae Ha for not being able to abandon his quest for a meaningful life in exchange for a happy life with his family. Because Tae Ha had everything Dae Gil wished to have, but he kept choosing the other option.
At the beginning, Song Tae Ha appeared as a Gary Stu perfect gentleman, but he turned out to be the real embodiment of the uber-privilege upper middle class. While Dae Gil, too, represent the middle class. Their story are sad and fascinating, but their struggle was actually nothing compared to the slaves. Changing the world had to be about them, but the story of the group of revolutionary slaves are a mere subplot compares to the story of Dae Gil and Tae Ha. Tae Ha and the gang just kept talking about changing the world while nothing they had done actually changed anything. It was only right that these slaves who actually barely had any relation to the 2 leads to bring down the bad guy.
The more corrupt the society, the more you would find people like Dae Gil and Tae Ha. I had several friends who are just like Dae Gil. They told me exactly what Dae Gil had told Tae Ha about his silly idea of changing the world in the exact same manner that Dae Gil did. But even the slave, Eop Bok, chose what could be considered a stupid decision for the sake of giving meaning to his life and the life of his compatriots, never mind someone like Song Tae Ha who was told he was destined for great things. Perhaps running away to live w/ Jakgwi's group or abroad was really the best decision, but for Tae Ha, it was a humiliation, the last resort. Unfortunately, the way he said it I really really think he couldn't stand to live in Joseon any longer. He indeed said he despised the corrupt court too much.
The acting was great. Unfortunately, imo, Oh Ji Ho was simply overshadowed by Jang Hyuk. There are times when I think he had to be more intense. This made Dae Gil way more fascinating compared to Tae Ha, which, imo, not true. Tae Ha was actually an equally fascinating character if we don't include the Jang Hyuk factor into the equation. I actually can relate with Tae Ha better than Dae Gil.
Another complaint of mine is the show spend too much time with the side characters such as the jumos and the perverted painter. Those parts are boring which is why I don't give the story a perfect score.
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The story is phenomenal, never once was I bored. The story has something for everyone, be it comedy, action, intrigue, romance. While, there were parts of the story, that bothered me, it was needed to make the drama flow better. This story was simple, yet at the same time complex, kind of paradoxical.
Acting:
Jang Hyuk as Lee Dae Gil was absolutely brilliant. At times I found myself crying with him, laughing with him, wanting to kick his behind. At the beginning he wasn't the character/actor who kept me coming back, because well I couldn't stand him, but the more I watched, perfect.
Oh Jo Ho as Song Tae Ha reminded me of what a man with honor is. While he could seriously put the hurt on someone, he wasn't greedy about having the power to hurt/control people.
Lee Da Hae as Hyewon, I can't really say anything because I don't like her, throughout the entire drama she annoyed me to no end, but the drama wouldn't have been complete without her.
Those were the "main" actors, but I feel one of the supporting actors deserves a mention...
Ahn Suk Hwan as artist Bang, he brought comic relief, that was much needed in this drama. No matter the role he plays, he performs perfectly.
The music was perfect, it wasn't all slow and boring. It mixed old music with newer styled music very well.
Overall, if period drama's are your thing, watch this drama. The only thing that kept me coming back in the beginning was all the muscle, but I am female, so that would attract me. I have a hard time picking period drama's, but once I pick one, I have to finish it, and am usually disappointed, but this one has by far surpassed any and all period drama's I have watched. So much so that I actually sat here and tried to formulate my impressions into words by typing this review.
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So far it is.......... FCKING AMAZING !!!
The two categories I hate are usually action and historical because I am usually into cute romance comedy dramas and I thought this would be a sad serous drama with lots of fighting. There is lots of fighting in this, but they are so BAD ASS its so exciting to watch. The thing they do in this though is they balance out the romance, action, and comedy really well. Half the time im luaghing my ass off and the other half im like "holy sht" how are they not killing each other filming this.
The characters are all lovable and very interesting. I usually skip scenes when it is not on the main characters, but all things each character is doing is very entertaining. There are boring parts when the old farts are talking politics, but unlike in some dramas where they talk forever they are pretty short in this one.
As for the acting, I thought it was very believable and done very well. Also the girls are hot. As for the guys I don't think they look that attractive, but im a dude. While watching on viki the girls seem to be drooling over them though especially when they are shirtless base on the comments. I had to turn of the timed comments at times due to it just being "so hot" every time.
The sound track in this is amazing. It is so varied, unlike in some dramas where you find yourself listening to the same dam thing. In this drama you will find things from a sweet calming music to rap to rock, etc. It is just so varied and when they play each piece they actually fit the scene. Like in fighting or chasing parts they may play a fast paced rap scene. This was a first for me hearing rap play in a k drama so it was really fresh and I really liked it.
As for the ending of each episode they are so fcking annoying, I mean they make me stay watching for so long. Like wtf I need to exercise today. I do end up just watching and to balance out the no exercise for the day I just tell myself " don't eat now I can say fck them calories I got none to burn ". If it was school time right now I would definitely skip. I already can barely study, and with this sht in my mind I couldn't even think of studying.
As for right now I would definitely recommend this drama ( based on the start ), but I will finish it first and edit if needed, hopefully it isn't gonna disappoint me.
Ep 22- still loving it, lots of sad parts though, but still maintains the comedy to balance out your rage. Which is fantastic for me because I can't handle being pissed off again and again like some dramas make me.
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Story
Definitely unique and original! it really is different in every aspect!! It has romance but not the kind that we are used to see in dramas. Though the main point of the story is the romance it's not the kind that comes into your mind when you 1st read the word romance. The story does not cover the process of them falling in love but the consequnces of that love. Therefore it does not have romantic scenes but memories and flashbacks of what they had and this is one of it's uniqueness. A love like no other a devoted man that is torn between resentment and hate and love and yearning. The story also does not address "revenge" in the way it is usually addressed in K dramas. Finally, it is the only drama that addressed the "slaves" side of the story in those times (Maids is also another drama that talked about slaves but it is in no way can be compared to this one).
Acting
WONDERFULL, AMAZING, OUTSTANDING, INCREDIBLE!! Loved loved loved JH!! This is his best ultimates performance It does not get any better than that!! and the rest of the cast they all were amazing!! My only disappointment is LDH. I used to love her in (My Girl) which was 10 years ago I think and I remember very well that she used to be very a good actress but here she simply sucks. She's actually one of the things that irritated me in this drama (she was supposed to be a slave yet she's the only one who had clean face and full make up on!!) she cared so much about her appearance than making the character believable!! and to add to that her acting was really horrible I wish I can find even stronger word than just horrible. But on the bright side she wasn't given that much screen time or dialogue so THANK GOD. I can't believe this is the actress I used to adore. Nonetheless she did not matter the one who really matters here is JH and I'll say this again JH DID AN AMAZING JOB as
Lee Dae Gil (one of those characters that you will forever remember).
Music
One of the best OSTs I've heard in dramas, all of it no exceptions!! The kind of OSTs that is hard to forget.
Rewatch
Possible but not for me.
Overall:
If you are looking for originality, looking for something different, worthy of your time, and specially If you are sick of the recent ones and miss the old good stuff which made you fall for dramas in the 1at place (which is my case) then I suggest you give this a try. However if you are looking for romantic love story with romantic lovey dovey scenes, love triangles, dark revenge etc... then this is not the drama for you and one more thing I'll let you on Two small but essential tips:
1)One of the best endings ever made in dramas.
2)Hot guys everywhere with chocolate abs (6pack) exposure (all over the screen!! you will find it hard to focus at first) XD
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The sageuk of all sageuks. Grand, sweeping, unforgettable.
Chuno (The Slave Hunters) will stand amongst the best of the best for years to come. It has a stellar cast, acting, story and pacing. It has well-choreographed action scenes as well as an OST that is both haunting and heart-pounding. The production is gorgeous and cinematic. All characters are provided with layers and depth—with shades of goodness and darkness—to an extent I haven’t seen in other dramas before.Chuno already has all the elements of a guaranteed epic: politics, drama, multiple interweaving storylines, character growth and heroism. But the combination of unique subject matter (sageuk from the perspective of the commoners, NOT the people in power), directorial execution, and Jang Hyuk elevates it to something else entirely. If this is your first introduction to Jang Hyuk, it might possibly ruin you for his other excellent portrayals because his Lee Dae Gil casts such a big, lasting shadow. He imprints himself in viewers’ hearts the way he keeps Un Nyun in his.
Absolutely recommended for jaded k-drama watchers and for those who are looking for a story with substance and heart.
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