Jumong

As a person who has watched many Korean movies, I find this one very special. Jumong changed my life forever and it can change yours too! Actors did a wonderful job in this movie they deserve more credit for. Let me repeat... WONDERFUL.There is a chance you will be more interested in Korean history after watching this movie as I am. You can just rewatch this series as many times as you want and you will probably never feel tired of it! Trust me I have been rewatching this movie for ages with no regrets or boredom. As a huge Jumong fan allow me to recommend for you "the kingdom of the winds" and "emperor of the sea". Watch Jumong and love him and have your life beautifully changed and accept my apology for my bad English. You will not regret watching this series so what are you waiting for?!

This entire series is an exceptional creative achievement in all respects. The screen writing, character development and cinematography all combine to make one of the best viewing experiences I have ever had. I first became addicted to the excellence of Korean film and television when I watched the superlative "Dae Jang Geum" (Jewel in the Palace) series. Jumong equals and possibly even exceeds that benchmark series. I have watched many Korean films and television shows, most of which are very good. Jumong is as good as it gets. The show is a loose dramatization of Korean history and the efforts of Jumong to unite the kingdom and then drive out invaders. The character development here is truly awesome with about 20 significant characters that the viewer will come to know very well indeed. Actor Song Il-Kook's charismatic portrayal of Jumong is right out of an Errol Flynn swashbuckling adventure. This actor has an on screen presence and possesses a supreme confidence that simply no longer exists in American cinema. Supporting characters So-Sun-Oh (Hye Jin-Han) and the androgynous and ever deadly Sayong (Soo-bin Bae) enrich this story beyond words. The plot is truly Machiavellian and develops in a way that often grays out simple good and evil. For those equestrians out there, and I know there are many, you are in for a treat. You will see work by all of the actors on horseback that has has not been seen since the heyday of American Westerns of old. Each actor was trained with and kept the same animal for the entire series and it shows. Song Il-Kook sits a horse like he was born to the saddle and the many riding scenes in this series demonstrate a high level of horsemanship. The costuming and the various scenes at court or in battle are something to behold. This is the very highest quality entertainment that the viewer will find anywhere. The entire series is well worth buying and keeping to watch again and again.

My kids go to a dual language program (Spanish English) plus we speak a third language at home. So naturally they are comfortable with movies that are in foreign language.

My son (8) developed his reading from this series (by being forced to reading the subtitles) no doubt and it is really nice to expose them to a different ethos and not the Hollywood formula crap. We are still on the 16th episode, so quite a few more to go.

The complex plot and the ambiguous morality at times is really challenging. The main actor a little weak I agree but maybe "he" will grow into it as well

Iranians like this series very much and they established a lot of contact with it.

As The title character, Song Il Goo is okay. But didn't make a great impression on me. Someone else compared him to Errol Flynn. I'm sorry I can't agree with that. I couldn't see any charisma in the actor at all. He was adequate, but that's really about it. But Luckily he is surrounded by a great cast. The best were probably Hu Joon Ho as Hae Mo Su, Oh Yun Soo as Lady Yoo Hwa, Jun Kwang Ryul as King Geum Wa (although I din't know what the laughing was about) and the guy who played the prime minister. But most of the cast were fine. I liked Han Hye Jin as So Seo No, Kim Seung Soo as Prince Dae So, and others too. At first I liked Bae Soo Bin as Sayong, and even thought he might have better in the title role. But on reflection , it was a rather one note performance. I did like the gay relationship though. The costumes were magnificent. The battle scenes were the best I've seen in a Korean costume drama. Although it was only from around ep 50 or so, that I thought that, or began to realise it. I'm not sure about the jumping around. If it's for a purpose fine. But some of the time, it seemed to be just for showing off. Some great horse riding scenes. Interesting to read from another review (same personwho mentioned Flynn,) on that aspect of the series. The costumes were absolutely magnificent. That was probably where most of the budget went.