Bulmyeolui Lee Soon-shin

I tell my friends that the best show on TV right now is a 100+ episode costume historical series --in Korean with subtitles-- and they just roll their eyes. But this show is extraordinary. Besides being a gorgeous production, the plotting is tight and fast and the acting absolutely top-notch.

I've watched other Korean historical dramas,including Age of Warriors, which I also enjoyed. (A number of actors overlap between the two series.) Yi Sun Shin seems to me the best of a very good lot. It combines historical sweep and spectacle with human scale story-telling and considerable depth of genuine emotion. It addresses the strength and weaknesses of the monarchy, as well as the day to day lives of Yi Sun Shin's rag-tag navy crews.

Some historians suggest that Yi Sun Shin was a finer naval strategist that Nelson, and this show brings across the kind of genius and self-discipline that makes that claim believable.

This drama was one of the best if not the best action movie based on a real life hero that I have ever seen! The acting is superb. I don:t know a lot about the actors in this drama or if they are big actors in Korea but they all touched me. Kim-Myoung was outstanding as Yi Soon Shin as were all the other actors in big and small roles.The music is so haunting and the way it was used as the background to the sea and land battles was unreal. The movie also delved into the everyday lives of the people of Chosum as well as into the workings of the King and his court. It is also a story of friendship, determination and love for country that is really the story behind the story. Thank you, this is just the opinion of a Big Fan in Delaware.

It would be hard to over-praise this magnificent series, and the entire production rose to the high level of Yi Sun Shin himself, the savior of Korea from invasion and oppression who has been called by Western historians "the Lord Nelson of Korea". He was, however, a better man than Nelson in many personal ways.

It's my understanding that this series, like the equally outstanding AGE OF WARRIORS and others, are created for young people as adjuncts to school history classes, which may help explain why the writing, acting, direction, costuming, and production values of the series are outstanding. On occasion the writers drift somewhat from history, but generally only when the details aren't fully known and dramatic license can be taken. As a historian I am persnickety about historical accuracy, and deplore the endless historical errors that have turned films like BRAVEHEART and TITANIC into ridiculous travesties. The televised story of Yi Sun Shin, from childhood to final triumph, is true to the meaning and purpose of this incredible man's courageous life story, and that's what counts.

Many Americans will be astonished to see that this series idealizes social justice and deplores the defects of autocratic government to a far greater degree than any current U.S. TV series, which look frivolous by comparison. It should make us thoughtful when we must watch a program made in Korea to learn lessons about democracy and economic equality.

The Immortal Yi Soon Shin is no exception. Even if you don't understand a lick of Korean, the dialect, or the culture, the acting is amazing! Not only is the acting exemplary, but the cinematography, uniforms, and action trump any drama in the United States. Watch it, you will love it! In the United States, the show has subtitles, so following the dialogue is no problem. If there were no subtitles, the acting is so prolific that I could probably surmise what is going on in the plot or the individual episode. I am hooked on this gem, and I have been watching it for a long time. Luckily, I found episodes of it online, and I cannot tear myself away from it, except maybe when nature calls.

This show is awesome!! This is the BEST show I have ever seen on TV or in the movies. And to know that it is actually a part of history is even better. The acting is excellent and the music is great! I only wish they would come out with an OST. Kim Myoung (YSS) is such a wonderful, moving actor! It's no wonder he won the 2005 Korean Drama Best Actor Award. He certainly deserved it! All the actors/actresses are great. This historical drama is a MUST SEE for everyone from beginning to end. My kids even enjoy it! It's that good! You go through so many emotions when watching this show! And the music during the battle scenes is awesome! It really gets you into it and fired up!