Asian Drama

Jingbirok, the name of a book written by real-life Joseon historian and scholar Ryu Seong Ryong, detailing the Imjin War (1592-1598). The drama will be a telling of historical events with the scholar as the central character, in the same vein as "Jeong Do Jeon" (who influenced the founding of the Joseon dynasty). Ryu Seong Ryong was an official who served during King Seonjo’s reign in the late 16th century. He was a brilliant Confucian scholar who was put in charge of military operations during the Imjin War, and greatly influenced Admiral Lee Soon Shin.

Yeon Gae Somun is the general who killed the penultimate King of Goguryeo, Yeongnyu, in 642. It was a period of tremendous instability, both because of the pressure by Shilla, but also because the political situation in Goguryeo was very confusing. After General Yeon put Yeongnyu's nephew Bojang as his puppet on the throne following his coup d'etat, he tried with little success to calm down Yeon's two sons in trying to gain power, and started repressing Buddhism (the Kingdom's official religion) in favour of Taoism.

Jumong was the founder of Goguryeo in 37 BC. He was the son of General Hae Mo Su and Lady Yoo Hwa, and was raised by King Geum Wa who took him and his mother in when Hae Mo Su was believed to have been killed in an ambush by the Han Dynasty. So Seo No was a merchant's daughter who helped Jumong in realizing his dream to build a new country, and later became his second wife.

This drama is about the takeover of the Korean government in 1979 by Chun Doo Hwan.

Episodes: 41

Duration: 1 hr. 5 min.

Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

Aired On: Saturday, Sunday

As a fusion drama on the life of politician Kim Doo Han, the drama tells the life of Kim Doo Han with fact and fiction. Kim Doon Han is the son of the great general Kim Jwah Jin, who fought for Korea against the Japanese during World War II. After his dad dies, Kim Doo Han trains in kung pao and learns to be a leader against the evil Japanese. He finds his own position as boss of the Jong Ro area in Seoul, and vows to protect his own Korean people. Goo Ma Juk, the boss of Seoul, fights against Kim Doo Han in an attempt to hand over the whole Seoul area to the Japanese redevelopment project, pursued by Hyashi. Hyashi himself is a Korean but he ironically lives as a Japanese fighting his own people. Through these many barriers, Kim Doo Han struggles to keep the Korean culture alive, later on becoming a politician after the Korean War.