Hong Gil Dong v Iljimae: Deathmatch

[dangermousie]

So, finally, I could no longer contain myself.

This year, two dramas about noble (character-wise), Robin-Hood-type rebels in Medieval Korea came out, one (loosely) based on the first Korean-language novel, and one (loosely) based on a very famous early comic. They did (and are doing) well and are full of handsome men, pretty women, politics, fighting, and some rather odd hats.

They are Hong Gil Dong, written by the Hong Sisters (My Girl, Delightful Girl Chun-Hyang etc) and starring Kang Ji Hwan and Sung Yuri and Iljimae, starring Lee Jun Ki, Park Shi Ho, and Han Hyo Joo. So I thought it would be fun to compare.



1. THE HERO:

Now, every story of a noble robber needs a hero who will swish his cape (or in Hong Gil Dong’s case, flick his sunglasses) and befuddle the rich while helping the poor. So who do we have?

BACKGROUND
Hong Gil Dong A despised slave offspring of a high-ranking minister and a slave woman, Gil Dong has been denied any opportunity to exercise his ability, and opens the story by being a drunk, womanizing lout. But we all know there is nobody as zealous as the newly converted.

Iljimae A beloved son of a high-ranking aristocrat, Iljimae forgets his identity and becomes a son of a peasant when his family is eradicated. But those pesky memories…it’s like tough stains, you can never fully get rid of them!

Winner Well, neither is a picnic, but I’d say Hong Gil Dong, if you are looking for ‘suckiest background.’ At least Iljimae had some time as a loved and pampered child, and his new ‘Dad’ is lovely.

FAMILY TRAUMA
Hong Gil Dong Where do we start? Slave. Mother beaten to death for trying to run away with him so he’d have a decent life. Not allowed to be educated. Has to call his sibling and father ‘My Lord’ his whole life. Half-brother who hates him and treats him as a thing. Father who has no problem ordering his execution even though he knows he is innocent, because it’s politically expedient. He keeps hoping for family affection and gets nothing. The heroine is probably the first time since his Mom died that anyone had ever loved him. Etc etc etc.

Iljimae As a seven-year-old has to watch his beloved father die in front of his eyes and cannot make a sound or he will be killed himself. Has to renounce his mother and stone her. Looks for his lost sister everywhere but…Adopted Mom is a bitch, too.

Winner Surely, I should be saying ‘loser.’ Tough call but I’d say a draw. Both boys need years of therapy.

OH BROTHER WHERE ARE THOU?
Hong Gil Dong Half-brother who is useless and snivelly and humiliates GD and tries to get him killed. Shining moment comes when he calls GD ‘brother’ for the first time in his life in order to distract him and stab him. On the plus side, not too bright.

(because I don’t want to put a picture of the dolt)
Iljimae Half-brother who is hot, decent, and competent, and also likes to exercise sans shirt. On the minus side for our hero, he is very bright and he is gunning for the mysterious violator of law-and-order, Iljimae.

Winner That depends on your criteria: whether we are going by ‘good to have as someone trying to catch you’ or ‘not an embarassment at Thanksgiving dinner.’ I have to go with Shi Ho because his shirtlessness compells me.

IDEOLOGICAL POSITION
Hong Gil Dong Somewhere to the left of Che Geuvara.

(Would Che approve of such PDAs?)
Iljimae Luckily for him, seeing it’s a medieval world, wanting to overthrow the bad nobles and put good ones in their place instead.

(Guevara would, however, approve of such economy in clothes. They save peasant labor, or something).
Winner Purity of belief is all well-and-good, but as a prospect of longevity, I’d have to go with Iljimae.

FIGHTIN’ SKILLS
Hong Gil Dong Crazy fighting skills which can defeat almost anyone.

Iljimae All that plus an invisibility cloak.

Winner Hong Gil Dong. Man doesn’t even use a sword until near the end and still beats them all. Also, Iljimae, shame! You shouldn’t steal from children, return Mr. Potter’s cloak to him ASAP

HAIRSTYLE
Hong Gil Dong Curls. Whyyyyyyyy? Have you seen how hot Kang Ji Hwan looks with straight hair?

Iljimae Straight long hair.

Winner Is it even a question. Iljimae.

YEARBOOK QUOTE
Hong Gil Dong “Perhaps I've always had a weakness for lost causes…once they're really lost.” (Gone with the Wind)

(this picture is here for the hot)
Iljimae “Hello! My name is Inigo Montoya! You killed my father, prepare to die!” (Princess Bride)

(this picture is also for the hot)
Winner: You like them idealistic or vengeful? Take your pick. If I had them around, I wouldn’t be wasting time on talking.

2. THE WOMEN IN THE LIFE

What is a hunky angsty hero without a pretty heroine at his side? A star of an art-house movie, that’s who. And why would we want that?

HEROINE AWESOMENESS:
Hong Gil Dong Yi-Nok. A swinder with a heart of gold, good fighting skills, and enormous appetite, she is a street urchin who is actually a long-lost aristocrat. She can bring cheer to any situation, allow Gil Dong to be human and vulnerable, and is not just willing to try to die for/with him (impressive) but do the much harder thing of watching him be taken by the Government for torturing and possible death and cheer him on with a smile because she knows it is what he needs.

Iljimae Eun-Chae. The only nice one in her snobby, selfish aristocratic family, Eun Chae cares for the poor, protects her half-brother, does what’s right, and is generally a wonderful woman. We haven’t seen too much of her yet, though.

Winner Yi-Nok. She is one of my all-time favorites. We’ll see if Eun Chae outawesomes her as she develops.

THE DOOMED LOVE WITH THE HEROINE
Hong Gil Dong Where do we start? Not only is he a slave and she is a super-aristocrat, she is also destined to be Queen, his Daddy killed her whole family, she tries to kill his father etc etc. Can we say doomed? Oh God, they make me cry. And then laugh. And then cry again.

Iljimae She is an aristocrat and he is a disgraced son of a rebel aristocrat, who’s lost his standing. Also, her Daddy is partially responsible for his family’s ruin.

Winner Hong Gil Dong. Though Iljimae is still running and there is plenty of time to give me shippy angst I crave.


OTHER GIRL AND CRAZINESS THEREOF
Hong Gil Dong Crazy, selfish, immature, controlling, insane. I run out of adjectives for my hatred of arguably the worst ‘other girl’ ever. What can I say when he introduction involves her contemplating killing a pet bird because it isn’t doing what she wants?

Iljimae Bong Soon is a swindler with not-too-much heart but a lot of quick get-rich schemes. She is benign enough, just hide your money.

Winner Unless you like the female version of Satan, I suggest you go with Iljimae.


3. BAD GUYS, ALLIES AND OTHER FUN

Yeah, those other people you might notice on the screen occasionally.

BIGGEST ENEMY
Hong Gil Dong The mad, evil King. Sort of. Rather the Establishment and Feudalism. Good luck fighting that!

Iljimae Evil ministers who killed his family.

Winner Iljimae is much more pragmatic in his choices, but Gil Dong’s are more fun to hate. Draw.

ALLIES
Hong Gil Dong A gang of kung-fu-awesome thieves

Iljimae Friends and other thieves in training.

(I don’t have an allies picture, so have this instead)
Winner For now (unless Iljimae brings in super-ninjas) Hong Gil Dong. Those people have SKILLS.

SECONDARY GUY
Hong Gil Dong A rightful (or is he?) heir to the throne with emo moods, girlish face, and fabulous hair.

Iljimae An angsty illegitimate son of an aristocrat (and an unknowing half-brother of Iljimae) who harbors forbidden love for the woman he thinks is his haf-sister, and likes to do archery shirtless.

Winner Sorry, Emo Prince, but it’s Iljimae’s Shi Ho.

MENTOR
Hong Gil Dong Crazy, and food-fixated, but kung-fu powerful monk.

Iljimae Crazy, and money-obsessed, but kung-fu powerful fake monk, who used to be an assassin.

Winner They are both crazy and poorly groomed, not to mention bug**** insane. Draw.

FAVORITE HANGOUT
Hong Gil Dong Brothel.

Iljimae Casino.

(this is too high-class but it’s the only pic I have)
Winner pick your poison.

OVERALL WINNER?
Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Comments

[filmi-girl.livejournal.com]

OVERALL WINNER?
Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

I agree with your final outcome.

Iljimae has it over Hong Gil Dong for me so far just by the amount of shirtless sporting events.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

LOL. That is true, Iljimae is hard to beat on that front. To be fair to HGD, they did film in the winter (plus, Kang Ji Hwan has a distressing predilection for keeping his clothes on. Whyyyyy?)

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

Heeeeeee........ this was an awesome post. Iljimae and HGD seem to have a lot of similarities!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Your icon makes me want to cry :(

I like Iljimae, not as much a sHGD, but it's fun anyway.

[bae-mac.livejournal.com]

OVERALL WINNER?
Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Agree!

Hmmm...Iljimae...should I watch it? Anyway, the lead guy, is he the same in My Girl?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yup, the lead is the same. I like the drama so far.

Btw, re US movie. No idea, sorry.

[sodahands.livejournal.com]

OVERALL WINNER?
Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!
WORD!

I think Hong Gil Dong's crazy other girl could've been interesting but yeah, she really deserves the hate.

But HGD totally wins it for me.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it wins for me too.

[joonni.livejournal.com]

Also, Iljimae has a alter ego, while Hong Gil Dong is just Hong Gil Dong. I almost didn't watch Iljimae because his alter ego is annoying.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, his alter ego isn't my thing: too goofy.