A Korean Odyssey (2017)

Honestly I would not recommend this drama to anyone. This drama was a real let down for me as I expected much from the cast especially Seungi, but ultimately I was wrong. His acting along with Hongi’s were horrible and honestly a distracting, it felt like both were just reading off the script and their acting felt forced. I only stayed because of Yeonseo who didn’t disappoint me and it felt like she was hard carrying the drama as mostly everyone’s acting was horrible and the plot and story was really predictable and it seemed like it was a bit repetitive in some scenes

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This is the first Drama that has made me go through the whole range of emotions form sadness to happiness to anger to excitement to fear and so on. I actually cried on in some scenes and on others I had a lump on my throat. I have to say personally I have Not read the novel on which this is a modern take so I can only base my review on what I have seen. But in general a film version tends to fall short because of missing details etc
Going off of that I really enjoyed it and it was worth the long episodes since they are a little over an hour. I have to say that the greatest character development would be for Song O-gong the great sage equal to heaven. He turned from a selfish jerk and a nut job to a jerk and nut job who would do anything for the one he loves. I have to admit in the very first episode as soon as they showed the evil spirit i turned the whole thing off because I got scared I'm a big chicken but it was totally worth it. Especially for the kisses!
I've seen quite a few c-dramas and the kisses are always luke wam at best but here Lee Seung Gi turned up the heat and Oh Yeah Seo was Responsive!! can you believe it?! this is the most responsive female lead that I have seen and maybe this is rated MA which for me its like what ok??... it could be because Western movies that are MA you can bet you will see everything and I mean butts and boobs will be the norm but all I saw for O-gong was a shoulder hump
Since I'm not familiar with what actors are a thing now in Korea or anything I got a feeling that they had a small cast I mean there was a character that was super important and it was basically the same person that being said I really wished Richie could have had more time with PK and Jade Dragon thats love. Basically everything that happened or didn't was because of love. I'm hoping there will be a season two and if there isn't I am also good with the ending since "Whenever you are scared, distressed or in danger call me and I will come"

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Brilliant

This series was.... BRILLIANT. It had action, comedy, romance. It out you in your feelings, EVERYTHING. The actors did such a great job here. They all brought their own personality to the characters and gave them life. Hell even the bad guys you will love. Lee Seung Gi did such a great in his role. I don't know how a man can deliver such mean lines and still make you swoon. The Devil King was amazing too and just hilarious.
The soundtrack was amazing. If you didn't play When I Saw You hoping to see that sexy monkey standing behind you, you didn't watch this series right!!!! Rewatch value? Hell to the yes.

Overall this was such a cool show that kept you entertained and engrossed in the story. You didn't get bored once. Episode 20 was such a great closure to this series. It made me feel better after what they did to me in 19.

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Honestly, seeing the reviews and overall rating I expected it to be goofy. But I like goofy stuff from time to time and I was looking for something to spend an hour on, so I played the first episode, ready to laugh at the silliness. It was around 1 pm.
Then I just played the second one, because I was curious how will this one play out.
Then I convinced myself that it’ll probably have like six episodes (somehow I forgot and didn’t check later), so oookay, I can binge watch it till evening.
... and then it was 3pm in the next day and I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest and I just need to see the first episode again, because I don’t want to leave the world and characters just yet.
A few days later I showed the drama to my mom and we ended up watching it all in just three days.
And now I enjoy my flashbacks whenever I listen to “If you were me” in instrumental version. Music in the drama is very good!

In the beginning I enjoyed the humor and really could feel the main character. I laughed at small silinesses (ultimate kabedon to name one), but I couldn’t help being dragged more and more into the characters.

I get it, it’s my flaw - I crazily enjoy urban fantasy / adventure plots with bits of romance spreader here and there, like Noragami. I just enjoy watching characters slowly getting to know and like each other better.

And that is what Hwayugi is for me. It doesn’t revolve (too much at least) around oh so complicated feelings of the main characters, and when it does, it works it naturally into the plot. I really liked the fact that I never thought “WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID, JUST TELL X TO Y AND EVERYTHING WILL BE RESOLVED” (since this trope always makes me gesticulate angrily towards the monitor). If a character was hiding something important, it was always understandable and I couldn’t just overlook their feelings or point of view.

And I think that this “groundness” of the show is what really made me watch it all in one sitting, spending friggin 25-26 hours looking at the screen. I never once felt that characters are irrational, that they are doing stuff not because this is something they believe in, but because plot needs it. I feel that their actions always had a logical explanation.

I also feel obliged to mention that I don’t cry on any dramas, animes or whatever. Even when characters face awful endings, lovers get separated and this cute character sacrifices so someone else can live (I’m not talking about any particular show, don’t worry) I watch it with poker face. I can sometimes get a bit emotional, but crying? Meh, they are actors anyway.
Not with Hwayugi, though. I was really surprised when I realized I’m crying over piece of fiction, and believe me, I cried a river there. What it worse, when I was rewatching it, I would start tearing up whenever I saw something leading to what I knew was a sad ending. Even my mom was surprised that I actually can feel so sad because of a drama.

I really loved the characters. As I mentioned twice, I could really understand their reasoning and didn’t feel like anything was “for the sake of the plot”.
Lie Seung Gi’s character was a perfect “bad boyfriend”, switching between caring for Sun Mi (main lead) and trying to kill her.
Oh Yeon So’s character, on the other side, was a perfect mix of care, independence and low(ish) self esteem. I felt like her fatal flaw was dreaming of true love, what greatly impacted her relation with Oh Gong.

I know though that my opinion is separated. This show is very similar to Goblin in many aspects and when I talked about both dramas with my friends who have seen both, everyone agreed that Goblin was better and made them feel more. In my case it is the opposite. Nevertheless, I do not know what I missed in either of these shows to have this opinion.

Anyway, if you like watching an adventurous drama that fiddles with quite a few genres, if you enjoy kind of a “push and pull” romance and you appreciate when fantasy is a bit more grounded in reality, I couldn’t recommend “A Korean Odyssey” more. Just prepare to deal with bits of cringy CGI.
I know that this show will stay with me for a while.

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what did we have ??

So what did we have in this fantasy drama, there was a promising fantasy plot in the first ten episodes, funny with hints of a developing romance. A promising casting of talented actors, but at the same time, as the episodes continued, there was also an expectation of the development of the characters. Jin Sun Mi, remained melancholic throughout the drama, all she seemed to care about was whether Son Oh Kong would continue to love her after he took off the bracelet.
In my opinion, the drama could have been shortened, there was no justification for making 20 episodes. (It gives the impression that the writer wanted to emphasize the characters of the women, as weak women who depend on men
I agree on one thing and it is also sad, and that is that humans bring about the destruction of the world because of a desire for power and control.
**** The effects were at a very moderate level.
A drama worth watching mainly because of the casting of the actors, the potential, and the funny parts

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I've seen some other reviewers have negative opinions on how long this drama is and my biggest pet peeve is a long, boring, drawn-out drama, so those reviews made me even more hesitant to watch this. But I remember feeling so excited when news of this drama being produced first aired so I decided to take the plunge and watch it, and I'm really glad I did. This isn't the best drama I've ever watched, it's not legendary or perfect or probably even one of my favorites but, it's super interesting, and every episode left me wanting more (yes all 20 episodes) even to the point where I desperately wanted another season, and I'm the type of person that likes their dramas short and sweet (8/10 episodes). The supernatural adventures and ghost hunting aspects + the side relationships where really what drove this story forward and made it so interesting. The main relationship between Lee Seunggi and Oh Yeonseo wasn't bad perse and I literally love both actors so much and think they can have insane chemistry with others (i.e. Seunggi and Suzy in Vagabond and Yeonseo & Lee Hanui in Comeback Ahjussi), it's a shame they just didn't seem to have that spark with each other. Their relationship was cute but I found the side relationships much, much more fascinating.

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This is good drama and I would definitely recommend it to someone who enjoys fantasy and romance.

What I liked about the drama is the initial plot, it's super interesting and there are times where you don't always know where it's going. Personally though my favourite part were the characters. Son Oh Gong is not only hilarious but he really grows throughout the show. I thought that Jin Sun Mi was such a relatable character, she's been on her own for so long (and because of that she is able to deal with most of the problems by herself) that when Son Oh Gong comes she falls for him but also she's aware that she shouldn't feel that way. Overall the characters have such a fun relationship with each other and Son Oh Gong and Jin Sun Mi have great chemistry and are a super cute couple and I could not praise the actors enough especially Lee Seung Gi for there performance. Even the sound track is amazing.

However there are a couple things that I didn't like. I did think that the drama dragged in areas and could have been finished in 18 episodes instead of 20. this in turns makes me less likely to re-watch it. it also has (potential small spoiler) an open ending which I'm not a huge fan of. But other than that I find it hard to fault.

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STORY: Well, I really love genre's such as fantasy, supernatural with romance in it and I did liked this drama and it was a good rendition of the Journey to the West. Well, the story was great from the beginning but honestly I hated the ending so much, it needs a season 2 or atleast a special episode to have answers to the question, I did not like that the ending was hanging!!!! I was crying T_T!
CAST: The cast was a plus to me because I love Lee Seung Gi ever since My girlfriend is a Gumiho and Gu Family Book and it was the first time for me to see this Oh Yeon Soo acting and she did really well and plus she's pretty too! The chemistry was great as well (you can see it in their kissing scene), also I liked the supporting characters especially Ma Wang, I think he was the one with the best character development in this show.
MUSIC: Well, I really love their songs and everytime I remember Hwayugi the songs keeps on replaying on my head over and over again, I even had all of the song on my phone! hahahha whenever I go on a trip it was one of my go to songs LOL!
REWATCH VALUE: Yeah, for me I would rewatch this just because I love the interaction of Ma Wang and Son Oh Gong!! HAHA (sometimes I even root for the BROMANCE rather than their leading ladies, HAHAHAHA - sorry I have this thing for yaoi lol even in Goblin too the bromance is strong on that one as well)
OVERALL: 9/10 - I was a bit conflicted on what overall score to give, I would have rated it higher had it had a better ending than that... it would have been lower if not for Ma Wang and Oh Gong LOL

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Proming plot, Great acting by Lee Seung-Gi with a few minor issues

This series falls into the well-known k-drama category of fantasy with elements of religious myths and tales, so if this is your thing you will probably quite enjoy the ride. Starring established actor Lee Seung Gi, it was actually the first work of his that I ever watched and his acting was a revelation for me, as well as, I feel like, one of the main selling points of the drama. The plotline starts off very promising and develops quite naturally as the episodes pass, keeping you invested and guessing 'till the very end, which is something I quite appreciate in dramas like this. The main romance doesn't feel forced and the relationships between the characters actually seem realistic, despite them actually belonging in a fantasy realm.
The only problem I had, really, with this drama is the length of it. I feel like 20 episodes is a lot, considering the story felt like it was dragging a little after the first half and featured a few unnecessary parts, in my opinion. Also, I have to say that the main actress, though quite looking the part, felt a bit stiff to me, especially when unavoidably comparing her acting to Lee Seung Gi's.
Overall, I quite liked the series, the production was very well done and the plot is worth a watch, though I wouldn't include it to my list of favourites ever.

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