At first I thought "Hwang Jin Yi" is something similar to "Memoirs of a Geisha"; depicting a bitter life imposed to a talented woman and how she overcomes her obstacles... (catching story for watching once only)..but it was totally different. I don't know much about history and culture of Korea in detail, but what I really liked about it was focusing on a different aspect of a kisaeng's life, as an artist.
Unlike the similar versions of such stories, it didn't highlight the topic as a a huge catastrophe and make a fuss about it. Of course there were some tragedies in between, but they didn't make the story banal.
Ha Ji won is one of my favorite actresses though in most of her roles (mostly including super strong women with high level of perfection), I've seen some traces of aggression and you feel like the character is always on guard. But in here I think she really made a good job. I've read that Hwang Jin Yi herself is a legend with an enigmatic character (like many other artists; I think it's in our genes perhaps :D), but besides the constant proud perfectionist hardworking character she wanted to be, the actress performed the weak parts all humans have and the delicate aesthetic part sweetly, from the time she was a naive sprout to the point she blooms.
I think the fact that they also focused on the lives of supporting characters was quite helpful; too much attention to the main character would make it tiring, besides when you have to take some time to consider different point of views, different reactions and different influences on different people, it will help you develop your own perspective in a various ways instead of staying a relatively passive audience.
Another perfect part of the drama was the music, quite enjoyable indeed!
Overall, it is worth the time.

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