Dear Hongrang

Dear Hongrang - it's a must watch

I recently watched Dear. Hongrang, and I’m still trying to recover from the emotional rollercoaster it took me on. This drama is truly something special. While it has action and intensity, at its core, it's a deeply emotional story — one that stays with you long after the final episode.

The tragic ending broke my heart in the best possible way. It was beautifully written and powerfully executed, leaving a lasting impact. The chemistry between the main leads was absolutely stunning — you could feel every emotion they portrayed, from tenderness to heartbreak.

I also have to highlight the main OST — it’s just breathtaking. The music perfectly captured the tone of the drama, especially during the most emotional scenes. The background score elevated the entire viewing experience and made the emotions hit even harder.

The cast gave outstanding performances, and the storyline was rich, thoughtful, and unforgettable. If you enjoy emotional dramas with incredible acting, a powerful soundtrack, and a story that truly moves you, Dear. Hongrang is a must-watch. It’s beautiful, heartbreaking, and simply unforgettable.

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What a fab cast!

If you are looking for a sweet, easy to watch drama, this is not it. It’s a very condense, intense, spiral drama that will take you with the characters.

Massive shout for the writers and the director - it cant be easy to pull this one up - there are not that many characters’ lines that could carry the story - and by exposing bit by bit from each line they built a glorious picture.

Lee Jae Wook for me was the weakest of the line - and not because he was bad, but because eve try one else was so exceptionally good. Kim Jae Wook was mesmerising - he always excels in complex characters, especially if there is an element of disorder or trauma! Jo Bo Ah also delivered a solid performance and brought to life a girl, who really wanted to love and be loved.

The drama didn’t offer many explanations and left the viewer to fill the gaps, which I like - it’s like you watch many versions of the story.

All and all, very enjoyable - prepare some handkerchiefs tho..

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affraid at the begining but love it in the end

I love watching series with Lee Jae Wook. He is very talented actor, with great skills, a great kisser in his generation, and the historical dramas are perfect for him, is totally made for historical dramas. With every glance, every word, he captures the soul of the character, translating emotion into something deeply human and unforgettable.

He SLAYED in this one.

I watched till the end for him, for the music and for the cinematography. I don't regret watching it, but I will probably not rewatch as I did wit AOS, which I have seen 5 times. The theme was so creepy, cruel and dark for me, with annoying evil characters, was not my cup of tea.

The music and sound effects in this series harmoniously resonate with the storyline, the scenes themselves, the visuals, the actors' performances — everything is so incredibly well-balanced! For me this one, When Life Gives You Tangerines and Pachinko are incredibility epic as cinematography.

Jo Bo Ah was great too in her character. Sim Jae I annoyed me a lot in the first episodes, but I find her character very strong, brave, maybe too naive, balance for how much she was enduring from her supposed family.

And I hope to see Kim Jae Wook more but with normal characters, because he's already had too many roles as a psychopath, a traumatic roles for me. He is sooo talented.

Great chemistry between FL and ML, beautiful capture of their love.
Still didn't understand who was the White Man.

I hate Sim Mu Jin, is the worst, a psychopath, as the prince and the shaman. So much symbolism with what is in real life. He did not know what love is.

The OST is 1000/10.

The end it’s realistic, painful, and beautiful.

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Amazing

I don't know why this show doesn't have better reviews. Honestly, this is the best korean costume drama ive seen in so long. The cinematography and the musical scoring was absolutely breathtaking. The actors did a great job as well. Although it was a bit strange how At 1 point she thought hongrang might be her real brother and kissed him, but I feel like she knew that it was not her brother, it wasnt made clear though,but other than that, the show was so amazing. The only part I really did not like of the show was the witchcraft demonic sacrifice theme that they did on some of the later episodes, but I just fast-forwarded that Everything else is just so beautiful and even though it was a sad ending.I'm glad he got to die in her arms and we got closure.I would definitely rewatch this again.It really shocked me how good it was since there's only an eight star rating. Breathtakingly beautiful show 🥰

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A Beautifully Heartbreaking Ride

This drama is a deeply emotional journey, woven with a gripping storyline and a well-crafted script. It's been a while since I've seen something this sorrowful yet captivating. The narrative is rich with love and action, keeping you emotionally invested throughout.

One of its standout elements is the OST — so powerful and moving that I found myself watching episodes just to hear it again. The cast delivers strong performances, bringing authenticity and depth to every scene. It's a drama that tugs at your heartstrings and stays with you long after the credits roll.

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GREAT DRAMA!!!

I just finished watching and let me say, it was such a gripping, story. I cried so much!!! I didn't expect it to end the way it did. All of these actors did an amazing job!!! Lee Jae Wook is so good. Anything he's in, I will watch. The other Wook, Kim Jae Wook... DAMN!!!! he didn't come to play! He was something else in this drama. As I stated before hand, all of the actors did great. Can't list them all. If you want to know if it's worth watching???? Yes, most definitely. Don't sleep on it. I usually don't watch historical dramas because most of them end up being silly. However, the only other historical drama I watched was Kingdom, and Ashin that was part of Kingdom, Queen Woo, and this one. If I had to rate this drama, it's a 10 for me across the board

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My first impression is that this is such a well made work. But it gave me the feeling that I could guess the plot in a single breath just by watching the first scene. However I think it was done on purpose that they don't try to make it as a mind blowing surprise. this drama doesn't offer insane plot twists. That even you can guess it just by looking at the list of the casts. And I don't see it in a bad way. This is a typical show that can survive even with the reveal of a plot twist, imo. I'm just glad that it felt like it has been a while since I watched a seriously produced historical and it's beautifully well-done.

It's screaming kdrama produced by netflix coded. The visual is a work of art. And the cinematography, directing, editing, etc are well done. But there's just always something missing about western washed kdrama that I don't know how to explain it. Maybe it lacks of the raw emotion, because I can't fully sympathize with it. And sometimes I wonder why the story is directed to a certain way. Had they have more episodes, they could explore the rawness like in usual kdrama, that would make the viewers more attached to the characters.

What makes the show gripping is the intensity and the delivery of the plot. To be honest my slow brain cells needed sometime to finally digest that this drama is very symbolic and uses analogy cleverly. I wanted to give this 8.5 but once I understood their story telling it's a 9 for me. That was my original rating after I finished the show. Honestly this deserves higher than that by the quality of the production alone. and it didn't seem fair if I only gave it 9 compared to my other shows I have rated, so I added 0,5 points to my overall rating.

The osts aren't just songs. If the universe could make some noises, it'd sound like any of the osts. the songs are dedicated to the broken hearted souls and ode to the heaven. It feels like it contains loneliness and hope. the osts made the show more majestic. they complimented the beautiful cinematography, the story and the journey of the characters. the songs must be the echoes of the universe, nobody could convince me otherwise.

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⚠️SPOILER ALERT!⚠️

~ characters and acting ~

💔
"It's said to be fake because the original exists." They weren't just talking about about the paintings in the warehouse. Paintings are used as an analogy for hongrang(s). Which made me believe that deep in her heart, what Mrs. Min cared the most was that the one in front of her had to be her son. Because he was the one who was there within her grip. Even if he wasn't real, for her he was the original Hongrang. Just like how she treated those paintings.

everyone in Hongrang's life was not fine, but her mother was super crazy. but you'd understand why she grew old to be such a twisted human. the actress crazily nailed every character's craziness. Uhm Jiwon is such a monster diva!

💙
And I'm not sure, is it too wild to think this way? but could the body painting be interpreted as symbolism of a SA? "Hongrang" repeatedly expressed how disgusted he was of the painting in his body and it made him like he was no longer human. And the painter said something about how he was already apart of him and that their souls already intertwined or something like that.

hongrang wasn't just physically broken but he was also once lost his soul. he left to the nothing land with one way ticket. he was all ready for the worst scenario as he was never properly felt like he was alive. but it changed after he connected with Jaeyi. She made him felt something. She made him felt like a human. She made him afraid to lose himself.

at first I couldn't resonate to Hongrang but through the end he made me attached to him. and Lee Jae Wook played his character really well scene by scene.

❤️
If we're talking about the literal ending, Jaeyi found Hongrang in every from. It's just like what they promised. She found him in every innocent kid she sheltered. She found him in those java sparrows. And in the end she saw him as the brightest star in the sky. They were never separated and always together. Just like what Jaeyi said that they went back to their respective places. Where Jaeyi belonged to his side and Hongrang belonged to her side.

Hongrang accompanied Jaeyi wether he was alive or not. But in a delulu interpretation, that means he could be alive. Jaeyi considered herself married to him the moment they runaway together. And Jaeyi puts her hair in a bun, like other Joseon married women.

Jo Bo Ah is a real artist. She was so dedicated at her work.

💚
My favourite character at the beginning was her older brother, surprisingly. I enjoyed his complexity. There was something about him, as if his character was shining. But just like other typically kdrama with short episodes, they pushed the SML to the big stage from the beginning. Then they cut his spot light without giving the room for the audiences to proceed.

I'm glad that in the end instead of embracing the darkness, he embraced her younger sister like the waves trying to embrace the land and shielding it from the emptiness.

I've never been impressed with characters portrayed by Jung Garam in other shows before. But he made me noticed that he's a really good actor.

🖤
Would his skin itch if he played a boring role?

It seems like taking a challenging roles is his actual comfort zone. What's really challenging for Kim Jae Wook is the opposite, to play a plain vanilla character. well at least his character is serving the bath up scene. Maybe everyone already know but I just want to say that Kim Jae Wook always delivered.

Does anyone think the butterflies in his room showed at the beginning meant something? I tried to count several times and thought about it but I couldn't think of a sensical thing to connect them with something.

❤️‍🔥
A professional new talent?

Kim Ba Da who played as Du Ryeong was just insane. His experience in the stage plays really showed with his acting. He was on fire. And I've never seen him so it's a fresh to see him here. Please somebody cast him as a leading role!

🌀
Their father was just a sht. Tho the Park Byung Eun did a good job to bring his character out.

At the beginning I was confused and mistook him for someone else. Every older character look alike. I appreciate that they're trying to be as close as possible to the customs from that period by portraying characters with moustache. However, normally it's hard for me to recognise people's faces and identifying their characters. And the moustache made it even harder.

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Does the romance good?

At the beginning, way before the show started, I felt that people who stated that the romance is weird were the weird ones. However as I followed the story, some parts of the romance did make me uncomfortable. I wasn't uncomfortable due to the trope, but the execution. I don't want to elaborate, many people already talked about it. and if you watch this, you'll understand it. Maybe it wasn't that weird according to the society of that period. But I couldn't help myself to be judgmental in the end.

However the leads served one of the most beautiful spicy scenes in history.

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Hauntingly beautiful

I personally like saeguks so I watched this . Ngl the plot felt weird at first but when u keep watching it gets better and somehow gets u hooked . This is one of those drama which SHOULD have been at least 16 eps. The romance build up needed a lil more time but was understandable if u can connect with the characters.
Cinematography,ost and action scenes were top notch. Jo boah ATE as jaeyi , LJW never disappoints and KJW oml he was on different level on the last episodes. Personally didn't like the love triangle but it added some volume to the storyline. And ofc the ending,it was beautifully painful.

Would I recommend? Yes 💯

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A Beautiful Love is born within a tale of Torturous Depravity and Revenge

At first the story and its main plot is hard to follow. It weaves in and out giving us details to set the stage of what climaxes in the last 4 episodes. I have to be honest and say there were times where I didn't stick with it. Mainly because the writing and this "weaving" in and out the main plot to establish the cast of horrible villains was confusing. Scenes would change suddenly without much transition. Certain characters were meant to throw us off. This provided twists and turns, but it also made staying with the main plot frustrating. Luckily I came to MyDramaList and read a couple of reviews that said to stick with it to the end. I have to say, although this started somewhat slow, it ended with a bang. You won't regret watching it to the end.

What did I like most? The acting was amazing. The actors were put into the right roles, and really brought their characters to life. The ML and the FL had amazing chemistry. The production was top notch, especially the lighting and music which added drama when it was needed. I loved, loved, loved the costumes!! For a period piece, it was nice not to have to see the usual palace apparel. This was still set in the Josean era, but the series was about a wealthy merchant family. Most of the actors were servants to this family, merchant trades people or guards. There was a lot of white and cream colored garments, that looked to be made of cotton or linen which was more true to that period (as opposed to the polyester palace garments that are suppose to be silk). The hats and head pieces were amazing. After seeing so many Kdramas set within the palace, it was nice to see a period piece set outside the palace walls.

As slow as this started out, by episode 8, I was glued to the story. The last 4 episodes reveal what everything was leading up to, all the pieces fell into place, and I was on the edge of my seat until I was crying at the end.

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