The Return of Iljimae
| The Return of Iljimae | |
|---|---|
MBC TV | |
| Release | January 21 – April 9, 2009 |
| Related | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 돌아온 일지매 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 돌아온 一枝梅 |
| Revised Romanization | Doraon Iljimae |
| McCune–Reischauer | Toraon Iljimae |
The Return of Iljimae (
MBC
from January 21 to April 9, 2009 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 24 episodes.
The series is based on comic strip Iljimae, published between 1975 and 1977, by Ko Woo-young which was based on a
Joseon era. MBC bought the rights to the comic strip for their adaptation, which was to star Lee Seung-gi in the title role of Iljimae. However he pulled out and was replaced by Jung, which makes him the third Korean actor to play the hero following Jang Dong-gun (MBC, 1993) and Lee Joon-gi for Iljimae (SBS, 2008).[5]
Plot
Iljimae (Jung Il-woo) was born out of wedlock and his father was a high-ranking noble official while his mother was a lowly servant. To protect the honor of his father's family, he was abandoned as a baby and tucked underneath an apricot tree. Thus he was given the name Iljimae ("branch of plum tree").
Iljimae was adopted by a family who lived in the
Qing
Kingdom. After tracing his roots back to Korea, his father rejects him once more. With a heavy heart, he returns to his native land and unleashes his anger upon the ruling class to fight injustice and tyranny for the sake of the commoners. Wherever he appears to uphold justice, he leaves behind a single branch of a plum tree.
Living an isolated existence and hiding his face behind a mask to be a hero to the people, in Iljimae's life there is one woman who reconnects him to the world: Wol-hee.[6]
Cast and characters
Main cast
- Jung Il-woo - Iljimae, a hero who appears when the world needs justice.
Although he is a handsome man with delicate features, he also has a strong sense of justice and chivalry. His first love dies tragically and after living an aimless life due to his broken heart, he meets Wol-hee, who is very similar to his first love. He becomes a legendary hero in the kingdom but his destiny is one of loneliness and heartbreak, making him a lonely and melancholy hero.[6]- Cha Jun-hwan - young Iljimae
- Yoon Jin-seo - Dal-yi / Wol-hee
Iljimae loves her for his entire life and she loves him back unconditionally. She is ahead of her times and displays a strong, charismatic personality and a burning defiance against evil people. She takes control of her destiny but in Iljimae's presence, she turns into a shy woman.[6] - Kim Min-jong - Koo Ja-myung, underneath his charismatic demeanor he has a sad past.
A sharp thinker, he rises through the ranks in the government as he distinguishes himself as a capable investigator. He falls in love with Baek-mae, Iljimae's mother, at first sight and continues to love her for his entire life. Guilt-ridden for compromising his principles by helping Iljimae escape from prison, he committed suicide.[6] - gisaeng. Though she is from the servant class, she learns how to read and write by watching the privileged children learn the alphabet. She writes poetry. She has inner beauty as well as beautiful looks. Though she sets strict limits on what she will tolerate in a relationship or friendship, she has a warm heart but keeps that side of her under wraps most of the time. She comminted suicide upon hearing that her son had been sentenced to death. Unbeknownst to her, Iljimae has escaped with the help of Ja-myung, but he arrived too late to stop her.[6]
Supporting cast
- Kang Nam-gil as Bae Seon-dal
- Kim Ja-jeom
- O Yeong-suas Monk Yeol-gong
- Lee Kye-in as Jeol Chi
- Lee Hyun-woo as Cha-dol
- Jeon Soo-yeon as Soo-ryun
- Park Chul-min as Wang Hyoeng-bo
- Lee Ki-young as Park Bi-soo
- Lee Jung-yong as Yang-po
- Kim Yoo-hyun as Princess Mo-ran
- Moon Heo-won as Shim Chan-kyu
- Baek In-cheol as Son Seok-joo
- Kwak Min-suk as Kim Ja-jeom's servant
- Jeong In-taek as Choi Se-woon
- Yeo Min-joo as Choi Kyung-ok
- Seo Hye-won as Choon-wol
- Choe Myeong-gil
- Harisu as Ki Seon-nyeo
- Park Hyuk-kwon as Lee Myung
- Cha Jun-hwan as Young-yi, Iljimae's son
- Lee Ga-hyun as Bong-hee
- Jeon Hae-ryong
Special appearances
- Lee Young-hoo as Princess Mo-ran's father
- Chun Ho-jin as Hong Taiji
- Maeng Sang-hoon as Iljimae's adoptive father
- Lee Ho-jae as Kim Joong-hwan, Iljimae's biological father
- Jung Joon as Kim Joon-seo, Iljimae's stepbrother
- Kang Shin-il as Kang Se-wook
- Jung Sung-il as Kotaro
- Sandara Park as Rie
- Park Chan-hwan as Rie's father
- Yoon Yoo-sun as Rie's mother
- Hwang Jang-lee as Miyamoto Musashi
- Lee Do-yeop
- Oh Chang-seok
Episode ratings
| Date | Episode | Nationwide | Seoul |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-01-21 | 1 | 18.5% (4th) | 20.1% (3rd) |
| 2009-01-22 | 2 | 17.1% (4th) | 18.4% (3rd) |
| 2009-01-28 | 3 | 16.6% (5th) | 17.1% (4th) |
| 2009-01-29 | 4 | 15.1% (5th) | 15.6% (6th) |
| 2009-02-04 | 5 | 13.7% (9th) | 13.7% (11th) |
| 2009-02-05 | 6 | 15.3% (10th) | 15.2% (9th) |
| 2009-02-11 | 7 | 10.7% (11th) | 11.5% (9th) |
| 2009-02-12 | 8 | 13.1% (10th) | 14.1% (10th) |
| 2009-02-18 | 9 | 10.0% (13th) | 10.6% (12th) |
| 2009-02-19 | 10 | 11.0% (11th) | 12.1% (11th) |
| 2009-02-25 | 11 | 10.8% (11th) | 11.6% (11th) |
| 2009-02-26 | 12 | 10.5% (12th) | 10.5% (13th) |
| 2009-03-04 | 13 | 8.9% | 9.4% (16th) |
| 2009-03-05 | 14 | 9.1% (16th) | 9.7% (14th) |
| 2009-03-11 | 15 | 8.1% (20th) | 8.2% (18th) |
| 2009-03-12 | 16 | 7.6% | 8.4% |
| 2009-03-18 | 17 | 8.7% (19th) | 8.8% (17th) |
| 2009-03-19 | 18 | 8.5% | 8.7% (19th) |
| 2009-03-25 | 19 | 6.9% | 8.0% |
| 2009-03-26 | 20 | 8.5% | 8.7% (19th) |
| 2009-04-01 | 21 | 7.8% | 8.5% (16th) |
| 2009-04-02 | 22 | 8.2% | 8.8% (17th) |
| 2009-04-08 | 23 | 7.5% | 7.8% |
| 2009-04-09 | 24 | 8.2% (18th) | 8.9% (16th) |
| Average | 10.9% | ||
Source: TNS Media Korea
International broadcast
Before it began airing in South Korea, broadcast rights were sold to Japan for US$1.32 million (or approximately US$55,000 per episode).[7] It aired on cable channel KNTV from November 1, 2012 to January 8, 2013.[8]
References
- ^ Han, Sang-hee (January 13, 2009). "Young Star Jung il-woo Returns With Iljimae". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
- ^ "Moon River Interview with Jung Il-woo". MBC Global Media. January 29, 2009. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ Choi, Ji-eun (October 30, 2009). "INTERVIEW: Actor Jung Il-woo - Part 1". TenAsia. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
- ^ Choi, Ji-eun (October 30, 2009). "INTERVIEW: Actor Jung Il-woo - Part 2". TenAsia. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
- ^ Garcia, Cathy Rose A. (July 11, 2008). "Retrospective on Comic Artist Ko Woo-young". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on May 11, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Moon River". MBC Global Media. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
- ^ "Return of Iljimae sold to Japan". Dramabeans. January 13, 2009. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
- ^ "韓流No.1 チャンネル-KNTV". Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
External links
- The Return of Iljimae official MBC website (in Korean)
- The Return of Iljimae at HanCinema
- The Return of Iljimae at IMDb