Haechi (2019) User Reviews

Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 7/10 · 7 May 2019]

Haechi was lengthy but had a nice set of characteres that supported the drama well.

First of all, there were too many characters, but they eventually teamed up for a common cause and it was easier to keep up with the story after that. The story itself was a bit slow at the begining, as the characters were introduced. Then, it was kind of boring and I almost droped it, as it seemed like just another historical drama about corruption and those old mean rich men who just can't make peace with the main character. However, the story picked up eventually. The twists were good, the characters interesting and the drama and action scenes just enough to keep the interest high. However, I found the romance unnecessary, as the story focused more on the political aspect than the love story and thus the later felt like it didn't fit the plot.

So, seven out of ten.

Great beginning, end was repetitive and dragged a little. I still finished and enjoyed it though!

[chloerem · 7/10 · 7 September 2021]

Several others have mentioned this, but the light and colors were disappointing. It gets better but so many of the episodes in the first half of the show are so dark you have to turn your screen brightness all the way up. There's also a lot of distractingly shaky camera work. Visually, not great. However, the first half of the show had me bingeing. I loved the characters and plot. The actor who played Prince Milpoong was especially impressive- I will never be able to watch him in anything else. Also, (MINOR SPOILER) a minister has character development and isn't just pure evil, which is so rare it became one of my favorite plot points.

Unfortunately, after the characters overcome the first two or three big issues the show starts to drag. It seemed like the writers had to get to 48 episodes so they had to make up a bunch of roadblocks for the leads. It ended up feeling repetitive and the prince and moon soo were yelling for half the script. Additionally, Go Ara's character disappears halfway through the show due to an injury. She comes back after 8 episodes or so as a completely different character. The romance suffered because of it and felt awkward and not very well developed.

So - I'm giving it a seven because I liked it enough to recommend to my sister and I LOVED the acting and all of the leads. It's unfortunate that Go Ara was injured - I think it affected the plot a lot. I skipped through a lot of the last episodes.

I'll be doing a lot of research on King Jeongjo now and I'm now watching Dong Yi :)

Amazing Journey. The People's king

[faithinjeshua · 10/10 · 2 December 2020]

I had a soft spot for Jung Il Woo ever since THE RETURN OF ILJIMAE/ Moon River. After Haechi, he is currently my favorite actor. And Haechi is one of my favorite dramas of all time.

I had rewatched this so many times. Some dramas, no matter how good, gets boring after a rewatch (I am thinking of Crash Landing On You). But Haechi... The more I watch, the more I understand. And I continue getting inspired.

I do love underdogs who triumph against all odds. And our Prince Yi Geum was truly an underdog, looked down by many nobles as a half-breed prince.

SPOILER ALERT:

He himself thought he was a nobody, without purpose in life. He was very smart though, and he wanted to help his younger brother (the only one who treated him with respect) become king. But when this brother dies before him, realizing his lack of power to protect his loved ones, he decides to gain that power by dreaming big dreams. He decides to become the next king.

He knows he can't become a king on his own, so he starts gathering support around him. He faces many obstacles and most people mistrust him at first. But he doesn't get offended at their distrust. He is able to put himself in the other person's shoes and comes up with ways that may benefit both parties. Instead of demanding trust, he appeals to their sense of honor and love for the country.

And little by little, so many of his enemies, they start breaking down before him. You can literally watch so many of the adversaries become speechless at some of the prince/kings' actions. So many times, faced with life and death situations, instead of running away, he confronts the problem head on with so much courage, people end up, not just admiring him, but loving him.

He never took the easy way out. Once he decided to become the king, he wanted to understand the heart of the lowliest of his people. So he would put himself at risk for their sake. He thus inspired those around him to dream big, and his friends returned their love for their master, sacrificially.

At the end, one old adviser does tell the king he is too idealistic and that fair policies are unrealistic, due to fail. But he still encourages the king to fight the good fight all he can. "Your Majesty, I pray you continue dreaming for a very long time. I feel like you can do it, since you are surrounded with many dreamers who support you."

Five Stars all the way. I feel like this is so underrated because it does not use the usual cliches. And it's a little hard to understand who is who at the beginning. But like a fine wine, the taste lingers for a very, very long time.

CHEERS TO HAECHI! Hail to the King!!!

Love all of it

[misyelhasanah-06139 · 19 October 2019]

Very enjoy the story of prince yeoning to proof himself that he is suit to be a king

Classic in the making

[betsie-27814 · 10/10 · 11 October 2020]

Haechi is drama intense drawing in viewers with never ending, intrigue, action and plot twists of fighting and backstabbing. Never a dull moment. "Political" views seen by these factions are still relevant in today's society. Haechi most certainly stands along side classics such as Nirvana in Fire, which is one of my fav's.

The hero - Jung Il-woo's versatility and acting chops shine throughout this drama. I've seen some of his other works but this drama brings him to forefront. He should play more of these.

Hats off to the director, writers and other cast members whom also contributed to this well played period piece that carries us into the Joeson Era.

Deliciously evil is Jung Moon Sung - whoa I've worked in the psych ward and he definitely fit the bill !! His character did everything to appease his deranged father of becoming king or king material at least. This actor did extremely well in portrayed such a frayed persona. Loved Moon-soo and Dal-moon!

So I highly recommend this drama to anyone who enjoys historical shows

Not so interesting plot

[lmerana · 3/10 · 20 March 2020]

I usually liked historical because of treason and conspiracy plot but this kdrama did not offer that much. I tried to watch at least the first three episodes and then watch the last one. I think it is important to keep viewers interested in every episode and this kdrama did not deliver much.

Realization is extremely mediocre

[soulardalexis · 4/10 · 1 June 2019]

The scenario is certainly very well written, but the realization is extremely mediocre. The management of light and colors seems to have been totally neglected by the director.

The dark scenes are very numerous, which I hate particularly. In the age of HD TVs and images, and even ultra HD, visual quality is an integral part of the show. Fortunately, most directors of Korean drama perfectly measure this criterion. But apparently not Lee Yong Seok.

In nocturnal scenes, the light must be artificially increased in a judicious way so that we can enjoy fairly bright images, including faces, but not only, the sets must also be visible with their colors so that the images are beautiful . Lee Yong Seok seems not to have understood this.

The colors of the clothes are also neglected compared to other Korean historical dramas of the Joseon period. For example the clothes of the nobles are dark, those of the police too. It does not matter that the color does not scrupulously respect the historical notion, the images must be bright and beautiful.

Lee Yong Seok did not understand the importance of the visual beauty in his work. It's really unfortunate, because screenwriter Kim Yi Young has proved his talent with Dong Yi and Yi San, among others. Dong Yi was made in 2010, but the achievement is excellent, the management of light and colors is infinitely better than in Heachi. Same for Yi San. And this is not the only example of Korean historical drama where light and colors are very well mastered, there are for example The Crowned Clown, Queen For Seven Days and others.

Unfortunate letdown

[Park_Min · 4/10 · 23 December 2023]

The drama had so much potential, but never managed to break through. The pacing was inconsistent for its elongated cool-down periods and its redundant flimsy 24 episodes. One moment you're going at a steady pace and the next, you're like, "Come on, let's get moving!". These long breaks in between didn't even serve a meaningful purpose like to develop the characters or build up for what's next. It should've been cut down to 10-12 episodes while cutting off the nonsense and focusing on the politics. The story slowed down and became less interesting in the 2nd half when the prince went into the palace. On another note, Go Ah Ra, she didn't fit her role at all, too fragile and soft looking. Strangely, her character (Yeo Ji) got demoted to a guest character in the 2nd half, little to no contribution or screen time. If I have to take a guess, the character didn't really fit the narrative to begin with, so it was hard to keep her around in the 2nd half, which also explains the attempted romance, the writers were desperate.