No, I’m not going to review ‘The Heirs’ or ‘You Who Come From the Stars’ yet. Maybe next week or so. Instead, I’m going to write about the drama that I almost didn’t watch- ‘Master of the Sun’.
Cast
So Ji Sub – Joo Joong Won
Gong Hyo Jin– Tae Gong Shil
Seo In Guk – Kang Woo
Kim Yoo Ri– Tae Yi Ryung
SBS official site
Thread on soompi
I had a hard time trying to decide if I should watch this. I’m not a great fan of ghost story and watching it during the seventh month last year added to the creepiness. And… whispering ‘So Ji Sub isn’t exactly high on my candy list.’ He’s a great actor but he doesn’t quite ‘electrified’ me.
But then, my friends all started watching it…and the buzz got louder.
So I watched the first 2 episodes.. and got scared out of my wits by all the ghosts popping up everywhere.. I fast forward most of it and contemplated if I should continue. But there was a good chemistry between Gog Hyo Jin and So Ji Sub. Plus I’ve never seen So Ji Sub in such a character (I seemed to remember most of his characters as mafia type). And so I went on to the third episode and then the forth and before I knew it, I couldn’t stop.
I can’t deny that the storyline is unusual, amidst the usual fare of saeguk, secret births, revenge….
Gist
It was a dark and stormy night….when Joong Won’s secretary spotted Gong Shil standing by the side the road. He thought he had seen a ghost. He wasn’t too far off. Gong Shil has a special ability… she is able to see spirits and ghosts…against her will. As a result, she is forever in a panicky state as they are attracted to and follow her all the time, forever asking for help. She sees them in the day time and in the night time, everywhere and anywhere. There is no respite for her at all. But during that chance meeting with Joong Won, she discovered that the ghosts disappeared from her sight when she touches him, thus providing a safe haven or a kind of bomb shelter for her (as she calls him).
Joong Won decided to engage Gong Shil to help him locate the missing family heirloom that was supposedly used to pay for his ransom when he was kidnapped during his younger days. And thus their fate become intertwined. And the cool, aloft, selfish and money-minded Joong Won slowly melts under Gong Shil’s bubbly, eccentric and warm influence.
Together they solved a few mysteries and helped a few lost, sad souls along their way. And finally, they untangled the knot in his heart by solving the mystery behind his kidnap and the death of his girlfriend.
Overview:
Ghost stories are not uncommon… but to come up with an interesting one that will hold everyone’s interest with the right chemistry amongst the cast is more difficult. What was even more commendable was the fact that the two main leads were not young idol stars. Gong Hyo Jin and So Ji Sub are two veteran artistes. So Ji Sub- perhaps most well known for his drama, ‘I’m Sorry I Love You’. Gong Hyo Jin’s career span more than 10 years and her roles are often diverse, the last most well known drama being ‘The Greatest Love’ with Cha Seung Won.
The development of the Gong Shil and Joong Won was gradual and well developed. It wasn’t one of those I-Love-You-Till-I-Die and I-Cannot-Live-Without-You kind of love story. Which was nice because not all love stories have to be so intense.
The different stories involving various ghosts (including a dog ghost!) allowed the characters to develop nicely including all the supporting cast like Joong Won’s aunt and her very much younger but no less cute husband.
The stories were varied. From the ghost of an old man who harboured longings to be a woman and did not know how to tell his only son to the sad state of three neglected children ghosts to the scary womaniser ghost who almost stole Joong Won’s aunt’s soul.
I especially find the lingering spirit of the teenager who waited to give a bunch of green roses to his first love bittersweet.
What I also enjoyed was also the fact that none of the second leads were protagonists. There was only one evil character in the drama and she didn’t appear until much later and didn’t do much harm either (at least not to Gong Shil).
I like Seo In Guk’s performance and especially his chemistry with Kim Yoo Ri. The latter was a spoilt but cute actress/ model. She was really adorable with her never-give-up attempts to win her man, Kang Woo over. Although I thought she was going to be the evil second lead at the beginning, I’m glad it didn’t turn out that way. This was the first time I was watching Seo In Guk and though I am impressed with his voice (he is the winner of Super Star K Season 1), I’m now just as impressed with his acting. His looks aren’t too bad either. Hehe!
The supporting characters like veteran Kim Mi Kyung who acted as Joong Won’s aunt was a nice touch as is Lee Jong Won, his secretary. They all complimented the show and gave a nice warm fuzzy feel to the drama.
The drama attained an average of 20% during the airing, which is considered pretty good.
Master of the Sun seems to have a rather unusual large number of music videos.
Hyolin
ONE TV Asia is currently running a contest. Just watch the channel, answer 2 questions and you could stand to win an autographed polaroid of Seo In Guk. Check out the details here. Contest ends on 16 March, so hurry.
The Master’s Sun is now showing on ONE (StarHub channels 124, 820 and 823. SngTel mio channels 513, 604 on Sundays, 8.45pm. There is also an article on Seo In Guk in the Life section, Straits Times today (13 March). Hmmm… Can ONE bring Seo In Guk to Singapore?
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