The Moon That Embraces the Sun

* So heart wrenchingly emotionally charged. What great actors. So much crying and beautiful poetic language. I'm reading the subtitles. I tell myself that I'm going to stop watching these Kdramas but I can't help myself. Once I have a little peek I have to go all the way. Day and night and day and night I'm glued to my computer no breaks and hardly any food.. Laughing and crying. I tell myself over and over this time I'm not going to cry I'm going to harden up. Next thing tears rolling down my cheeks and I tell you this one was one of the best or worst. Which ever way you look at it. At least the ending was pretty happy apart from one of the best characters dying the kings brother who loved the king wife. The story is a fantasy historical so the authors were able to make the end a bit happy not like those historicals based on fact. You know that they are going to die in the end because that's a fact of life we all going to die in the end. I flick quickly pass the torture scenes but I love the sword fights and the kungfu fighting. Romantic scenes more up to your imagination. Least the kissing is better in this drama but most of these dramas kissing is just lip pressing bit amusing really.

I am finding this show good in storyline and visuals, but excruciatingly slow and painful to watch. Each episode could be cut in half and still achieve the same goal. The switch of characters in the time jump baffled me as they looked nothing alike and it took me 3 slow episodes to figure it out. While i feel like I've complained a lot, the storyline is good and interesting and the costumes and sets are beautiful. I just wish i didn't fall asleep midway through every episode.

sure, a fairy tale. a Korean one, with the entire flavor of spices and scents and beauty and bitter joy. with slices of drama in brilliant clothes. with delicate romanticism and links between so different worlds. but, in same measure, chronicle of a fight. for love. and for self definition. the young king looking the right manner to solve the crisis. the young woman looking be herself and, in same measure, the good answer to the challenges around her. so, a film who preserves many ingredients from the historical films from South Korea cinema. but , in same measure, who remains special. for its delicate and precise use of poetry

Who the hell decided to cast Han Ga-In as a grown-up Kim Yoo-Jung ? It was a terrible mistake and totally destroyed the show! With all due respect to her, she looks nothing like Kim Yoo-Jung and frankly her acting was mediocre at best. Funny thing is, Nam Bo-Ra would have been so much better for this role as one could easily believe thats a grown up Kim Yoo-Jung. Han Ga-In would have suited much better as a grown-up Joon Bo-gyeong.

It was a great storyline but the bad casting spoiled the show for me. I still gave it 6 because of Kim Yoo-jung in first 8 episodes and wonderful performance by Kim Soo-Hyun as the King in remaining episodes.

This is a powerful historical drama and love story, combining myth, shamanism, Confucius thought and a glimpse into some aspects of an ancient society. Very well-done and most compelling. Having lived many years in Korea/Japan, it gives me more insight into the depths of Korean history and society, the script they used, the food they ate, how they treated each other. I am dying to get back to Korea and see the people, experience the amazing cuisine of many small dishes of various fish, vegetables, rice, and visit the temples.

By studying this series, one can gain some good understanding into the Confucius thought that Korea adopted as its "religion" for hundreds of years, and gain some good insight into the people today.