The story is about a man fighting against the selfish and corrupt government to save the ordinary peasants. Iljimae was abandoned by his birth father and adopted by a Chinese couple. He returns to Korea to find his birth family and realizes how unjust the world really is. He watched as his first love, Dal Yi, was wrongfully put to death. Iljimae then vows to help the commoners from the corrupt government officials.

Related Content

• 
  Ha Ri Soo (Unknown)

  Unknown Role

  Edit
• 
  Jung Il Woo (Il Ji Mae)

  Main Role

  Edit
• 
  Kim Min Jong (Ku ja Myeong)

  Main Role

  Edit
• 
  Yoon Jin Seo (Wol-Hee)

  Main Role

  Edit
• 
  Lee Ho Jae (Kim Joong Hwan (Iljimae's biological father) )

  Supporting Role

  Edit
• 
  Park Sandara (Rie)

  Supporting Role

  Edit

• Apr 26, 2012 24 of 24 episodes seen

  iindu
  12 of 14 people found this review helpful
  Other reviews by this user
  • Overall  8
  • Story  8
  • Acting/Cast  8
  • Music  8
  • Rewatch Value  6

  'The Return of Iljimae' has many strong points, and in many ways is more complete story-wise than the other drama 'Iljimae', but I wasn't entirely happy with it.
  
  Having watched 'Iljimae',I must say, there is very little in common between these two dramas, other than the 'Robin Hood' nature of Iljimae and his rather misfortunate connection to his parents.
  
  The return of Iljimae has a broader framework,is more well written, and explores the identity of Iljimae as a hero of the times, working against injustice than for any personal quest. I felt that the story and the characters were more complete in this.
  
  The action sequences are good. There must have been plenty of rope and pulleys used in the making, as Iljimae and numerous others are always flying and leaping about in these scenes.
  The episodes are all interesting, and keep you moving forward without boredom.
  
  Regarding the cast: I had wanted to watch this initially for Jung Il Woo, and he didn't disappoint. He is good as Iljimae, truly the 'pretty girl-like-boy' as often referred to in the drama (I loved his ponytail hair).
  The supporting cast is good,with many strong performances except that some secondary characters were made annoying by over-acting.
  
  Despite all this, I didn't feel really satisfied with this drama. There wasn't so much plain fun or happy-energy associated with it.
  
  Iljimae's character is mostly solemn/sad/serious/angry. Very rarely do we get to see his smile, let alone hear a laugh. There are so many things happening, we can near feel him carrying the burden of the world on his shoulders.
  The romantic relationship is developed on realistic terms, along the sidelines of the plot.
  The ending too, although happy, has a solemn, contemplative feel to it.
  
  To sum up, although lacking in story and character development, character Iljimae in the drama 'Iljimae' evoked more happiness than the one we find in 'The Return of Iljimae'. read more

  report I found this review Helpful Not Helpful
• Jun 25, 2011 24 of 24 episodes seen

  blackstar_aria
  11 of 17 people found this review helpful
  Other reviews by this user
  • Overall  5
  • Story  4
  • Acting/Cast  7
  • Music  7
  • Rewatch Value  1

  If you watched "Iljimae" with Jun Ki and liked it you probably wont like this one. This is not a sequel to Jun Ki's Iljimae, this is a different version of the same story. Return to Iljimae seems to stick really close to history and drifts far from the fantasy that I loved in Iljimae.
  
  
  
  This version also tells its story by frequent flash backs and moments in the past, which until you get the hang of it makes it difficult to follow. The story divulges into to the past of all its characters, thus dragging out the series and can sometimes seem to beat a already dead horse.
  
  
  
  The quick action is left to a minimum in this version, and Il Woo just wasnt as charismatic as Jun Ki was.
  
  
  
  -Bottom line "Return to Iljimae" seems to be a true history piece, slowly dragging you behind the main character. Can easily be fast forwarded . On the upside Il woo is cute when he smiles and this one seemed to have a larger production budget.
  read more

  report I found this review Helpful Not Helpful

• Pass the Love Around. Be the first to make a recommendation for this show