Amazing cinematography, plot and acting also very good.

Movie is not perfect but the cinematography is to be praised for. For me, it's one of the best aspects of the movie. I also find the movie's concept of where an ancestor is buried on having an impact to their living descendants' life and fortune
It shouldn't have been a spoiler if you know the real history that Heungseon's son became king, but as I chose to ignore the real history, Heungseon being revealed to be a cunning man planning to take the opposite sides of Kim Jwa Geun and the royal king to fight for his own son to be king is quite a surprise.
Another great plot twist that I didnt expect was the irony of Kim Jwa Geun being buried by his son. Here is a man who would do a lot of evil deeds, like burying his dead dad above royal tombs, for his family's fortune, only to have his own son kill him since son feels a greater fortune for him i achieved if his own living father is buried (dead) in the best place as well.
I watched this since its the last Moon Chae Won historical work I haven't seen, and though her scenes are minimal, she's really good in playing her part as a gisaeng. Indeed, she also excelled in her heavy scenes, especially her death scene. But, of course, the best actors in this drama are Jo Seung Woo and Ji Sung. It's so great to see Baek Yoon Shik as a villain again here, I loved his special appearamce in Tree with Deep Roots. Kim Sung Kyun, Yoo Jae Myung and the rest of the cast are also great.
Music is not memorable but fits well in the movie.
Movie is an 8.5 for me.

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Very Unique

Story:
It is a great story about Joseon minstrels made more interesting in the historical background of this movie. I love how this movie is made to look like we're watching an actual Korean play. I love how the King is being humanized in this movie, showing some moments between him and a character the audience is supposed to care about, Gonggil. A lot of people mention that this movie has homosexual tendencies, and while I do agree, I'm not sure if I see it on Gonggil's side for either the King or his friend Jangsaeng. For sure, I feel Jangsaeng has some sort of feelings for him (we see him getting jealous as the king spends more time with Gonggil) and the king is definitely attracted by Gonggil's physical beauty. I supposed knowing about Gonggil and Jangsaeng's background (like their family, how either of them relate to each other's past), would help us understand whether Gonggil has attraction towards Jangsaeng or even the king, But I still give this story good points despite that since we don't need to know exactly what Gonggil feels, it is enough for the audience to know that he sincerely cares about Jangsaeng at least as a really great friend (and also somehow can understand the king's attraction to him). (9.5/10)
Acting Cast:
I noticed that all the actors seem to act as if they are in a Shakespearean play (maybe because of the way some lines are presented). Everyone is really great. Particular highlights for me are Jung Jin Young as King Yeon San and Lee Joon Gi as Gonggil, but Kam Woo Sung and the rest of the cast also did great (10/10)
Music:
Music is not very much memorable but it really fits well with this film. However, the song "Fate", which is not in the movie but is eventually associated with it, is really good and I really love it. (8.5/10)
Rewatch Value:
I usually don't give higher scores on rewatch value as most films/dramas require people not knowing everything for them to appreciate it, but I'm giving this film a perfect (10/10) for rewatch value because I feel like there are many scenes that can be understood and analyzed more for more interpretation upon rewatch . (10/10)
Overall: (9.5/10)

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Show is quite enjoyable but there are too many imperfections.

I decided to watch this drama because of Moon Chae Won. I had liked her for so long as an actress and my love for her regained after watching Flower of Evil. But I realized except for Princess's Man, Painter of the Wind, Innocent Man, Flower of Evil, Brilliant Legacy, and some clips of her It's Okay Daddy's Girl and My Fair Lady; I haven't seen her other filmograohy. I decided to give Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter a go since Moon Chae Won wears hanbok in this drama, and I love seeing her in hanbok.
I rate the story only a 6.5. The positives of this show is that there is a plot twist that makes this drama interesting, and from the title of the show, the plot twist is not obvious. Seeing the title and short summary of the drama, people would think it's just about a fairy and the show's goal is only for the fairy to find out which of the two guys is her husband from years ago. However, as the story goes on, we discover that the dramas is also about friendship, acceptance, loyalty, and valuing yourself as much as about romance. The character of the professor, I didn't expect at first how his background gave so much twists to the story. An additional plus in the show is that the cute and lighthearted moments between the fairy and either of her two love interests, or the love interests with each other is good and enjoyable to watch. For the negatives however, there are some plotholes. I didn't understand why the fairy has to appear as an old woman to most people. Nor do I understand what kind of relationship should you have with the fairy for someone to see her young. The female professor for example, saw her as old at first then saw her young later (was it because she was getting to know the fairy more since the fairy is becoming more involved with her male professor friend?). I'm also confused as to why the villages in Gyeryong (Kim Geum's mom for example) didn't know the fairy and her fairy friends since it is such a small town and the fairy friends live in that town most of the time. And the most annoying thing is the lack of explanation for fairy's kids. How and why are they reborn as cat and worm/dragon (plus for the dragon/worm I didn't understand how the barista fairy said that all the powers of the world is in the egg of that dragon)? Do they die and live again for the hundreds of years their fairy mom waits for her husband? And last thing I'm wondering is what will happen to the fairy and the husband she chose after they got married? Is he coming back with her to the fairy world or is the fairy and her kids transforming into real humans to stay with him there (how weird is it that the young husband has a 20 year old looking daughter)? There's no rating for visual effects here, but I'm just gonna include it for the story's rating and gosh, the visual effects and CGI are just below average. I could have rated this show lower but since the plot twist of the drama as well as the morals plus lighthearted moments are really good (plus Moon Chae Won in hanbok is just so wonderful to see), so a 6.5 should be the fairest rating I can give to the story.
Actingwise, I give this drama an 8.5. Moon Chae Won as the fairy acted just good enough for her role. Her crying scenes are my most favorite of hers actingwise since she's really good in it. Her character of the fairy does not demand much of her acting skills though, thus despite being her usual good acting self, she doesn't come off as particularly impressive. But she's good enough and she embodied the character of the good hearted beautiful fairy well. Yoon Hyun Min is really impressive. For me at least, his character is the one that requires the most acting skills. His role of professor has such a complicated background and past, it's difficult to express the emotions of a character that had to overcome such difficult past. Fans of Yoon Hyun Min could really enjoy this drama if they want to focus on his acting instead of what happens to his character. Seo Ji Hoon is Kim Geum is also good, he was charming and was able to portray the character well. Rest of the cast is great. Surprised to see Ahn Kil Kang from Queen Seon Deok in here as a funny fairy. Due to his serious character in Queen Seon Deok which has remained in me for so long, it was really hard for me to imagine him in a comic role. But after watching him here and in Iljimae (which I just saw recently), I'm starting to think comedy might be one specialty of his.
The music is good but not particularly memorable, It doesn't affect much my enjoyability of the drama so an 8 should be a good rating.
5 for rewatch value. I don't think I'm gonna rewatch the drama again, but I might watch in the future some of my favorite scenes.
Overall a 6.5 rating for this drama.

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Moon Embracing the Sun, 2012's highest rated drama in Korea. While I don't find the plot the best, the fantastic chemistry and acting in the first few episodes, actually makes one curious to discover what happens to each of the characters as the story goes on.
The costumes are very well detailed. I really love all the costume designs. My favorite however was the costumes for the child cast particularly young Heo Yeon Woo and young Yoon Bo Kyung's costumes.
The acting of the child cast is fantastic. Best actors are Yeo Jin Goo, Kim Yoo Jung, and Kim So Hyun. Though I don't really ship them or their characters, Yeo Jin Goo and Kim Yoo Jung look beautiful together so I understand why people want their characters together. Not to mention the way they were able to act out the emotions of their characters are fantastic. Kim So Hyun, is also excellent in showing the complicated feelings of an insecure girl with a selfish love suddenly turning to the other side. I also really like the acting of these young actors: Lee Tae RI, Jin Ji hee, Seo Ji Hee and Jo Min-Ah. Lee Tae Ri, in particular is the better of the two Yangmyungs for me, he was excellent in showing a smile in his face while being sad as he hopelessly shows love to Yeon Woo. The only thing that is lacking in his performances for me is showing some tears when his character is supposed to be literally crying. And of course, the senior actors like Kim Young Ae, Jung Eun Pyo, Ahn Nae Sang, Jeon Mi Seon, Yang Mi Kyung Kim Eung, Soo, and Sun Woo Jae Duk, can always be trusted for giving a good performance. As for the adult actors (those that grew up from child characters), Kim Min Seo is the best for me since she was able to express well the complications of her character Bokyung. While the rest of the actors are quite good and even some are excellent in showing tears while crying, their performances just didnt really touch me. I commend them for trying their best though.
One actress I really dislike though is the adult female lead Han Ga In. I just couldn't stand her performance, the way she delivers her speech is so bad. Her acting skills are so bad, can't help but compare it to Kim Yoo Jung, who was so excellent in the role. I'm not someone who would criticize looks, but to be frank the mole in her nose also distracted me. To be honest, I couldn't understand why she was cast. She's popular, but she's not the most popular actress of her age (if they want to get an actress her age) nor was she someone who had experience acting in sageuk. With all my criticisms of her however, she did quite impress me in one crying scene (when Yeon Woo remembered who she was), so I will give it to her, but for me it is not enough for her to deserve this role.
The music in this drama is really good. The love theme: Back in Time by Lyn perfectly fits the sad love of the characters in this drama. The instrumentals are great too.
Overall this is not the best drama, but it has a lot of elements that will make many people love. If you want a sageuk focusing mainly on romance, then here's your drama.

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Very Enjoyable

It was really enjoyable. Yeo Jin Goo was amazing in differentiating his acting for the real king vs the clown vs the clown playing the king. I love Lee Se Young's subtle performance too, she's really fit playing royal women as seen in both here and the Red Sleeve. Kim Sang Kyung and the actors for the villains are also enjoyable.
I think some people who were drawn to watching the drama because of Jin Goo's double role might be disappointed since the real king died in episode 7, but the plot of the drama plus the acting of the actors should be a good reason enough to continue.

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