[Drama 2019] My Country, 나의 나라

[Prettysup]

Official appearance of Lee Bang-won tonight

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

http://tv.jtbc.joins.com/photo/pr10011100/pm10054832/detail/15564

[0ly40]

preview oct 12

 

[anony12345]

I don't know what to make of this show so far - I love the action scenes and the production values, the long tracking shot in the first battle in episode 3 was awesome, but the most important part of any show that will keep you coming back is the story and characters and I'm not enamoured with those aspects at the moment.

 

Don't like any of the characters so far or the development we've seen - the second lead is just too straight forward at the moment and the main lead is coming across as a bit of a gary stu though there's obviously plenty of time for this to change. Really wish they had fleshed the story and characters out more before giving us all these big battle scenes as it is overpowering the most important aspects of the show and making them stick out as lacking for me (with the issue being the characters and the story are not bringing anything new so far). Vagabond has this exact same issue for me and it has led to me just not being bothered to watch the episodes as soon as they're available, only to kill some time if there's nothing else on.

 

Happy to see Jang hyuk though - Chuno still remains one of my favourite shows.

 

Also for such a big production I'm surprised about how quiet this thread is

[hyunxing XD]

the third episode has been the best so far for me. the battle scenes were great and i liked the moment between Seol and hee jae when she leaves ihwaru. However i agree with ^ that the characters werent given time to develop. Although i am expecting they will as the drama progresses. the writing is a bit weak compared to direction and cinematography and even acting. i am still enjoying every bit of it and despite little complaints i have here and there, the drama has not stopped capturing my attention or bored me as i watch it. i am looking forward to next episode 

[r047]

I agree with the above comments on the character development, we're used to getting to know the characters well before any major event, battle scenes in this case, however the pace of the drama is fast and for sure this means they have a lot to show and reveal since each episode so far has been packed with a lot, so I'm not complaining. However it's true that the thread is so quiet and I was expecting more discussion and sharing thoughts. 

 

Looking forward to the next episode. Though I'm still worried about the ratings, I'll still enjoy it! Btw can't stop myself from appraising YSJ, spectacular job, his eye-acting is awesome, definitely deserves an award end of year. 

[lollyminx]

I don't know what to think about character development here. On the one hand, I agree with you all when you said character development is lacking. On the other hand, I am still satisfied with the pace of the story. It may just be because I like the story, the visuals, and the actors here though, but I believe as the story moves along, the events will influence character development. 

 

Also, the female lead's acting is faltering again and it comes just when I'm about to cheer her on. Like when she left Ihwaru, I was like, "You go girl! We don't know what the consequence of you leaving will be, BUT YAAAAAS FOR NOT ALLOWING YOURSELF TO BE USED BY SEOL!" And then she comes out of the gisaeng house and then delivers acting while bidding goodbye to her friend that fails to connect me with her. She's a hit or miss for me so far, but I'm hanging on to her just cause her character arc seems interesting enough. I want to know what her position will be in the future. 

 

Can I just say, this series is making me read about Korean history lol I'm so curious about what's going to happen that I read about the Goryeo to Joseon transition. From my understanding, Seong Gye is going to be the next king, and his descendants will lead Joseon, and Bang Won's son will be Sejeong the Great, right? 

[byof]

This has been, by far, the weakest episode for me. 

 

We've had a 3 month time skip and Hwi's in the midst of a battlefield and we're being shown the grittiness of war. The action sequences are well choreographed but it really does fall flat as it was just only the end of the last episode he was imprisoned, thrown into war and now he's quickly become a badass in battle. We've been given too little context of the war in Liaodong and I feel like the battle scenes just loses a lot of it's excitement. The stakes are unclear, the unjust war isn't really being shown.

 

What I would've liked was to see a more of Hwi's journey from being a talented fighter green with war, his struggles surviving, some close calls before becoming truely battle-tested. I think it would've also helped to spend a bit of time to flesh out some of the low-born characters alongside Hwi at Liaodong, who were thrown into a similar position and a bit of their story. It would've made the battle scenes much more impactful and death squad clean-up of the advancement party at the end of the episode much more gut wrenching. Instead, we have a band of no names that we don't care about and a terribly incompetent leading military officer as a plot device to give Hwi a bit of a hard time and to show Hwi's leadership prowess.

 

And on the other side, Nam Son now a high ranking military officer is also being sent to Liaodong for where he'll inevitably cross paths again with Hwi.. And he professes his love to our FL lead before his departure. I mean, sure, there were clear signs of attraction from him alongside Hwi, but it felt like we needed a bit more leading to this scene for it to work. Otherwise it's just a love triangle just for the sake of having a love triangle and to set up upcoming drama between our main characters. I had similar gripes with the fast development between Hwi and Hee-jae but that at least that had more weight to it and several scenes behind it. I think the only proper dialogue  between Nam Sun-ho and Hee-jae we were given leading up to this confession was when Hee-jae was delivering the letter to Nam Jeon and they had a chat before going to see Hwi kick down the door of the military exam registration. 

 

Overall, the pacing for this episode was way too fast for my liking. The world, the characters are not getting enough time to breath and it really did fall flat. It's a shame as production values are quite good. I really do hope that the rest of the series doesn't continue with this trend and that this episode's pacing is necessary to set up the real meat of the story. Im just a sucker for visually aesthetic period pieces and I want the writing to be good with it lol. 

 

Also, is it just me or is the timings of the inserts songs been especially jarring this episode?

[Prettysup]

So I was curious and went to research on the war we see in ep 3 :

 

In 1388, General Yi Seong-gye was ordered to use his armies to push the Ming forces out of the Liaodong peninsula, which Goryeo considered as its lost territory from the Goguryeo period. Yi Seong-gye opposed the northern expedition, but General Choi ordered the invasion nevertheless, supported by the King.

 

Upon reaching the Amrok River and realizing that the strength of the Ming forces surmounted the forces of Goryeo, General Yi made a momentous decision that forever altered the course of Korean history. Knowing the support he enjoyed from high-ranking government officials and the general populace, Yi Seong-gye decided to return to the capital, Gaegyeong, and trigger a coup d'état. This incident later became famous as the Wihwado Retreat and became the first sign of the change of dynasty.

 

 

[Prettysup]

BTS pics shared by the little actor

 

 

And new stills for ep 4 tonight

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

[anony12345]

7 hours ago, byof said:

This has been, by far, the weakest episode for me. 

 

We've had a 3 month time skip and Hwi's in the midst of a battlefield and we're being shown the grittiness of war. The action sequences are well choreographed but it really does fall flat as it was just only the end of the last episode he was imprisoned, thrown into war and now he's quickly become a badass in battle. We've been given too little context of the war in Liaodong and I feel like the battle scenes just loses a lot of it's excitement. The stakes are unclear, the unjust war isn't really being shown.

 

What I would've liked was to see a more of Hwi's journey from being a talented fighter green with war, his struggles surviving, some close calls before becoming truely battle-tested. I think it would've also helped to spend a bit of time to flesh out some of the low-born characters alongside Hwi at Liaodong, who were thrown into a similar position and a bit of their story. It would've made the battle scenes much more impactful and death squad clean-up of the advancement party at the end of the episode much more gut wrenching. Instead, we have a band of no names that we don't care about and a terribly incompetent leading military officer as a plot device to give Hwi a bit of a hard time and to show Hwi's leadership prowess.

 

And on the other side, Nam Son now a high ranking military officer is also being sent to Liaodong for where he'll inevitably cross paths again with Hwi.. And he professes his love to our FL lead before his departure. I mean, sure, there were clear signs of attraction from him alongside Hwi, but it felt like we needed a bit more leading to this scene for it to work. Otherwise it's just a love triangle just for the sake of having a love triangle and to set up upcoming drama between our main characters. I had similar gripes with the fast development between Hwi and Hee-jae but that at least that had more weight to it and several scenes behind it. I think the only proper dialogue  between Nam Sun-ho and Hee-jae we were given leading up to this confession was when Hee-jae was delivering the letter to Nam Jeon and they had a chat before going to see Hwi kick down the door of the military exam registration. 

 

Overall, the pacing for this episode was way too fast for my liking. The world, the characters are not getting enough time to breath and it really did fall flat. It's a shame as production values are quite good. I really do hope that the rest of the series doesn't continue with this trend and that this episode's pacing is necessary to set up the real meat of the story. Im just a sucker for visually aesthetic period pieces and I want the writing to be good with it lol. 

 

Also, is it just me or is the timings of the inserts songs been especially jarring this episode?

 

Good post - I agree with all of it. I like Woo Do Hwan and Jang Hyuk  so I'm hoping the show doesn't fall flat and the writing picks up.

 

The point about the too much happening without giving the characters and story to breathe is spot on, it feels like one big scene after another with some exposition inbetween given half the effort and time as the battle scenes.

 

We're still pretty early on but the start has definitely dampened the expectations I had for the show

[rocher22]

Its a little weird to watch a drama where WDH's character

is a bad guy. But, ok.

Anyway I like Sunho's scenes, he looks so handsome and

powerful on screen.

So does Hwi just the other way.

I like that Hwi is not alone and the tattooed warrior is helping him.

There are also those two who have already accepted that Hwi is the leader.

 

 

[r047]

Let's hope we get to see a thin rim of light by the end of this episode, by Hwi reuniting with Yeon, or at least Heejae, he deserves at least this happiness, in the mid of all those fierce moments. 

[rocher22]

HJ seems to have a crush on BW. 

For some reason I like the chemistry between those two.

[r047]

Started to watch this drama solely because of YSJ but wow, I didn't imagine I'll be drawn to it this way, it keeps getting better every time and I believe the real story starts next week, how can I wait till next weeek! 

 

And yes, I did say I want Hwi to meet with Yeon but this wasn't the meeting I wished for  poor Hwi, what a life he's living.

 

It's good to see Jang Hyuk having more scenes, I still remember he's the first actor which made me start watching Kdramas.

 

Will wait for the subs to share my thoughts. But I'm happy to see much interaction on Naver, I can't even catch up with comments. Happier even to see 'My country Sejong' trending 

[fiesty8001]

1 hour ago, rocher22 said:

HJ seems to have a crush on BW. 

For some reason I like the chemistry between those two.

Don't love this development too much. BW is about to slice these cute kiddos.

I don't know to which extent the director is planning to be faithful to the true events of history. JH is too old to play LBW and these kids are too young to play princes. 

[lollyminx]

1 hour ago, fiesty8001 said:

Don't love this development too much. BW is about to slice these cute kiddos.

HAHAHAHAHAHA It's hilarious how you put it  but yeah, I was also reading about the historical background of this series and saw what Bang Won did. I guess he made up for it by being sperm donor so Korea can have Sejong the Great? 

 

I am currently watching Episode 4 on Netflix. I might sleep mid-way as it's 3 AM here but I will continue in the morning. I'm relieved Sun Ho wasn't able to go through with striking the sword. There is still hope.

[byof]

I just finished Episode 4 and it's late. I have to say I liked this episode much more than the previous... other than the fact that the soldier in red, who was leading the death squad, took a cold blade straight in the chest from Hwi and just miraculously wakes up from it. To top it off he then later proceeds to takes two more arrows in the the torso from Hwi, rips it out and he's as good as new.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 12, 2019 by byof

[lollyminx]

The medic is becoming one of my favorite characters in this series.  I laughed so hard when he cried at the dining table when they were offered food because he hasn't sat down to eat food for so long. 

[r047]

Btw, I don't know much about how the ratings affect dramas out there in Korea, specially given that the drama airs on a cable channel, is 3% considered ok? I mean it's a huge production and all the cast are doing a great job, they deserve the best. 

[hyunxing XD]

i liked episode 4 more than previous one. first off, the characters are finally growing, sunho and hwi are sorting out their emotions for eachother. i like the new formed friendship/companionship between HJ and mom of two kids. I loved the scenes of HJ, BW and them together. i wanna see more of them but i am afraid they will just end here.  the scene between yeon and sunho was also heart breaking and when hwi meets yeon. overall i think the earlier complains of characters not given room to breathe should be rectified after watching this episode