İyi Seyirler Dileriz.
Hero (2009)
Hero
히어로
(Nov 2009 – Jan 2010)
who’s in it
Lee JunKi (Iljimae, Time Between Dog and Wolf)
Uhm KiJoon (World Within)
Yoon SoYi
Baek YoonShik (Harvest Villa)
what’s it about
If politicians represent the will of the people and the media serves as the voice of the people—what happens when things get lost in translation? In an ideal world, a politician is a servant of democracy and the role of the media is to be an unbiased watchdog for the truth, but society isn’t perfect and neither are the people in it. This is a truth of all nations, of course. Corruption cannot be denied, we must accept that pockets of wrongdoing must certainly exist in all areas of our modern life, especially in our politics, for we are all human beings and that makes us weak to greed, lust and jealousies. Certainly it is true that individuals can become corrupt but the landscape as a whole can still be free of dirt, but what if the problem is systemic? What happens when many powerful arms join forces in that breach of trust with the public they serve? Do they become unstoppable? If our world leaders, our press and our law moved against us as one unit to pursue their own agendas, would there any hope for the average citizen to find justice against them?
That is the question Lee JunKi finds himself facing in this comedy that wants to make you laugh, but also wants to ask some somber questions. Lee JunKi plays a struggling, celebrity-chasing tabloid reporter for Monday Seoul, but he has a dark past and yet a better reason for pursuing journalism, and it isn’t to hit on kpop idol hotties like KARA. When he unwittingly gets involved in the vengeful affairs between an organized crime boss just released from prison after 15 years and an old high school rival and fellow newspaper man, this paparazzi guy begins to realize it is time to remember why he became a reporter in the first place.
Opposite our goofy, rule-breaking reporter in every way, Yoon SoYi plays a straight-laced and conservative lieutenant of a criminal investigations unit who dislikes Lee JunKi on first sight. Needless to say, as their respective pursuit for the truth merge as one unified goal, these two realize there is a broad gap between the justice told to the public and the injustice that lies just behind that false screen.
commitment
16 episodes
network
MBC
wildcard factor
This one’s a feel good drama that provides way too much expository dialogue...a lot of deep thinking is not required to follow along, as everything is spelled out every step of the way, and depending on your point of view, this can be considered a good thing or a bad thing. What would be a good comparison? I would say…it feels a lot like a satisfying Disney movie where good people go up against some really bad people, and against the odds, they are able to make a meaningful difference in the world.
first impressions
What is it with Lee JunKi and totally damaged characters hemorrhaging on the inside but smiling on the outside? I tell you what, I dunno and I don’t care why he gravitates toward these Robin Hood/Iljimae-esque roles because God bless him for it, as this is my favorite type of dark hero on him. He was pure melodramatic awesomeness in Time Between Dog and Wolf…here, he completely sheds that cool super spy image and adopts a less machismo one, a somewhat wimpy sort of fellow that isn’t his usual archetype. It’s impossible to ever completely forget that it’s Lee JunKi we’re watching, naturally, because Lee JunKi is Lee JunKi (I mean, it’s like someone handing you a piece of chocolate and telling you it’s supposed to be a zucchini), but for the first time I saw less of action A-List Hallyu superstar Lee JunKi and more of a normal guy, one that isn’t immune to moments of sniveling and cowardice. And I liked it.
I wasn’t a fan of this drama’s rather exaggerated start but I found the story of the abandoned crime boss and his quiet determination for justice rather mysterious enough to continue onto the second and third episodes. I was fairly positive I knew where this show was going, but it was engaging enough to keep me from turning it off. I’m not sure this one is for everybody, it certainly doesn’t feel like it’s going to be one of those change-my-life type of offerings, but I can see an abundance of heart about to come just around the corner.
Quickly, I will add, I wasn’t sure how I felt about last-minute-casting Yoon SoYi and her portrayal of the female detective as yet. I thought her performance was a little on the weak side, but she seemed capable enough to improve once she became more comfortable in the role…
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