Saimdang, Bitui Ilgi

This series was really a life changing experience to me. There is so many lessons you can grasp from this wonderful and overwhelming series. Lessons about true love, loyalty, cooperation, hard working and life in general. Soundtracks are out of this world, I really enjoyed them and they add a very powerful dramatic touch to the scenes. Lee young-ae...Oh God!! she's so beautiful and talented actress as well. I could just stare at her heavenly face for days. She looks amazing, especially when she dresses in those beautiful traditional costumes. She made me cry everytime I saw her into tears and I'm sure everyone did, I mean how can one resist? In general the series was so enjoyable and the scenario was so good and well developed. The only thing that I didn't like is some dialogues especially at the end of the series which did not rise to the occasion, I have to say this because sometimes you have some beautiful scenes and crucial events but the dialogue does not really suits those settings, or maybe it's just the way I see things, it's my opinion at the end of the day and it maybe be wrong and I hope it is just not to arise doubts among people who want to watch. I highly recommend this wonderful series, it's really a wonderful experience to have..

My review is a simple one. The storyline for me was majestic from the plot beginnings to the end. My only dislike was the scenes with the simpleton concubine & Saimdang's husband. These ludicrous segments could have reduced the run time for sure while portraying the husband as weak-minded, simpleton, henpecked male. I wouldn't have liked the weak husband's mindset to take things his wife worked so hard to achieve to keep her children & the vagabonds success on the rise to become more respected as a society. He should never have taken all of Saimdang's paintings from her home to be sold by this gold digger without her knowledge. The weak husband should've been strong enough to tell the simpleton vagabond hands off his true wife's successes.

Other than this irritating addition to the storyline I continue to embrace the brilliant storytelling with the final wish that Saimdang would have made the extra effort to be with the very handsome Lord (Guyeom) forever - they both were so right for each other. Her children had already seemed to like & accept him as a good person. I hated seeing him bugged-eyed & crazy looking when only trying to do the right thing for her and the monarchy's government.

Accept my 10 stars for this magnificent & epic story. Thank you.

I agree with many that some side plots could have been cut, and for me the two villains became so over the top they were tedious. But the rest of the cast, writing, direction snd OST kept me interested and engaged. I learned a lot I didn't know before which is always a joy of watching Korean and other international films. Also, I cared about the main characters and their companions, and loved this series so much I added it to my list of favorite KDramas. Recommended.

The drama, on paper, had potential. A mix of historical and contemporary narratives sounded intriguing, but the execution fell flat. The pace was slower than a snail's crawl, and the plot dragged on without significant development. The portrayal of the female lead's life in the past often felt overshadowed by the mundane occurrences of the present, causing a lack of focus and direction in the storytelling. While attempting to blend history and modern storytelling, the transitions felt disjointed, leaving me disconnected from the characters and their journeys. The drama's portrayal of the protagonist's life and the historical context lacked depth and failed to evoke a genuine emotional connection. The overall quality felt subpar-amateurish directing and filming made it hard to believe people were doing their jobs professionally. It's like they were clueless and just pretending. Such a shame that a big budget ($18+ millions) ended up wasted on this drama. The poor broadcast ratings weren't surprising at all. They even chopped off two episodes, probably to cut their losses. It's almost like Lee Young Ae went on a very long hiatus to the point, when she returned, she no longer had any negotiation power and her agency just picked up whatever project they managed to get.

This is classy stuff. It took a year to make and marked the return of the brilliant. Lee Yeong-ae after 13 years. The production, cinematography and scale can't be faulted but the script flags about 1/3 of the way through only really picking up again towards the end. There is nothing missing (except perhaps some better comedic relief) but it is very drawn out at times. The music is very good and the costume designer created bright designs that really worked.

Personally I would have liked to get a better idea of her place in art history, not just be told. Shin Saimdang was brilliant. This is not a biopic and the whole love story is fiction. In fact she had eight children and the relationship with her husband is all wrong.

Hye-soo Park and the teenage Lee Gyeom were really convincing as the young lovers.

Still the acting is superb and the ending worth waiting for. The time slips are very cleverly done and work well. Enjoyed it but too long.