Saimdang, Bitui Ilgi

Saimdang is a stunning piece of art imitating life.

Surprise! She's real, and the broad strokes regarding her family life are true. The show treats her w/ the utmost deference. While it has the present & the past mirroring e/o, they limited the dramatic liberties when it came to Saimdang's life. Don't touch that dial: That European medieval court IS the start of this feature. We're in Italy. It's The Year of the Rabbit, 1519.

In a broadly sweeping statement, GRR Martin, GOT author, said: "There's only one thing worth writing about, & that's the human heart in conflict w/ itself." This is largely true. Each worthy story brings us new people & the Saim·D@Ⓜ nonsense!😉

Ok, that isn't what the title means. Saimdang is a talented, brave, determined, resourceful, & dignified woman who lives in the Joseon era, & DANG! They put her through it. The story opens up in current day & the show toggles backward & forward in time by way of ancient documents & paintings which aid in telling the story of what happened then. The main players from Joseon are reincarnated into current day🇰🇷, but they're dealing w/ issues that never die: Jealousy, revenge, fear, corruption, & most of all, pride.

In contemporary 🇰🇷, Seo Ji Yoon has been working towards her PhD in art history. Her advisor requests she authenticate a piece that he's already certified. He wants her to do the presentation. She is uncomfortable w/ this, though. She suspects the painting of the Kunlun Mountains could be a forgery. It's all true. Her professor has turned to the dark side & is using his position & power for money & more power. This starts an epic contest between them, & he plays dirty. Very dirty.

We'll follow the painting back in time to when Saimdang & Lee Gyeom, artists of extraordinary talent, are admiring it. They are teens & they've fallen in love. He's the king's favorite cousin. She's the granddaughter of a noble. Her grandfather has the painting kept in secret - just a byproduct of those times. The seeds of suspicion are sewn w/ the king, who moves to exert & maintain control over his cousin. He learns of their romance & opts to exercise his power to teach his cousin a lesson. He denies them marriage & marries Saimdang off to someone else - a lazy, fatuous idiot. She tries to make it work.

Counselor Min is the ancestor of Seo Ji Yoon's professor. They are both evil. Each is thoroughly enjoying (abusing) his power. Min is plotting against the country for more power, so we see where the professor gets it. Oh Yoon Ah is wonderful as Choi Whieum Dang (Mrs Min). Her performance is top level, but she doesn't appear in the present day story. The Mins make nothing but trouble in the past, & Professor Min is doing the same in current day. They're dangerous. People are dying.

The past & the present have many of the same characters, but not across the board. Seo Ji Yoon & Saimdang are married, but their husbands aren't the same. The same actor plays professor Min & weirdly plays the King, not Counselor Min, his ancestor. Our FL has the same friend in the past & the present. Song Seung Heon has a part in modern day but it's limited & he fades away - it's quite unexpected. This is something I've never said about a Kdrama before, as most of them should be shorter, but this one should have been an episode or two longer. The ending is not an ending, it just drifts off. Those are my main criticisms: There should have been more consistency of characters between the past & the present & the ending should have been more defined. Other than those issues, both the past & present involve complexity & intrigues & are quite exciting.

We spend more time in Joseon, & that's a good thing, b/c it is fabulous. Saimdang's husband never did provide & he eventually stops coming home. She needs to make a living. As an artist, she already has a love for paper. Emissaries from Qing (China) would travel all the way to Kcountry to buy it. When she learns that the 🇨🇳delegation complained about declining paper quality, she decides to make high quality paper herself. This puts her in direct competition w/ the Mins, as they are the main paper suppliers for the government. The process of making paper is not only fascinating, but also staggeringly difficult. Goryeo paper actually refers to Hanji paper & was manufactured in the Goryeo period from ingredients including mulberry & other trees native to 🇰🇷. A drop in quality becomes a huge issue in the show. As an aside, Goreyo is actually where the name Korea came from.

S gifts us w/ superb acting. Once again, the child actors are amazing. The two leads are magnificent. Their faces convey longing, love, discipline, & determination; they show us so many subtle expressions! Song Seung Heon is our ML, Lee Gyeom. He's in the running for my favorite. In Black-9, it's just not possible for a man to look more delicious in a suit. He's got a winsome, have-I-been-a-good-boy look about him. It's too adorable. He's steaming hot no matter what he's doing even though I prefer him w/out a beard. Lee Young Ae is our FL. I had just seen her in Inspector Koo-8.4 (she plays a slob who has been wallowing in misery but at the same time, she's a highly logical detective). These are completely different roles. I'm in awe of how she handled this part b/c so much of it was slight movements of the head displaying contemplation, control, & restraint. They are in love. After she was married off to someone else he left 🇰🇷 for yrs, but he came back to see that her husband doesn't deserve her. So they walk parallel paths while holding back longing & desire.

The characters are all varied motivations & struggles. His majesty is particularly complex & fascinating. We learn what an awful life he's had. He's been very alone. He does things that don't make sense. He's got bad people in his ear & seems to be listening to only the wrong voices.

Corruption is front & center. Government corruption is never NOT a thing, but we also see corrupted goods in the past & corrupted education in current day. It seems obvious that we live in a time when our products, food supplies, government agencies, & who knows what else, are corrupted. We see depression of the poor in S. Those in power put efforts into more money & more power, not looking out for their fellow man. Weak rulers, who care more about holding on to power than morality, allow this to happen.

Saimdang's hubby is weak, lazy & incompetent, but worst of all, he's completely selfish. All those traits go together, don't they? Once children were involved there was no question about her path. Yet, the longing for the better man is portrayed quite well. Her husband felt inadequate - he WAS inadequate. Instead of trying harder, he went to a mistress who 'made him feel like a man'. Lots of things happen & it's one scrape after another, but the most difficult scene might be when Saimdang apologizes to her worthless husband. She initially did not recognize how he might have felt, she admits. "Of course I am angry. However, I didn't allow for flaws, I also wasn't considerate, therefore you felt disrespected & became very lonely.' That is next level writing. The husband is a slug. So, she mostly treated him like a slug. He never lifted himself from his sluggishness but slithered down further. When it comes to apologies that are owed in the marriage the lion's share would be on him. 80%? 90%? Something in that zone. He never apologized, but that just proves what a waste of a human he's chosen to be. Her apology was about her dignity. It's the most problematic yet poignant point in the show & I'm still mulling it over.

The family scenes are CUTE. Her hubbo's a feckless oaf, but she manages a smile once in a while, especially for her kids who are darling. She cracked a smile that didn't involve the children in ep23. It didn't look like it was going to happen, so it was a bit shocking.

When Lee Gyeom returns to 🇰🇷 he sets up the Jian Art Ctr. The amusing artists are a bright spot (many are clearly g@y). The scenes from The Art Center are a much welcome relief from the heavier & more distressing things going on. The pepper. My biggest takeaway is the pepper. Gyeom is going on about how delicious it is & how expensive, too. It was worth more than gold, by weight, at that time. Of course, somebody sneezes.

There's a seamless flow to this, like brush strokes across a looking glass. There's plenty of drama & anxious moments, the overall feeling is one of serenity. Saimdang kept her composure & found serenity wherever she could. When she found it, she shared it. There's a fair amount of action, including a fantastic sword fight in ep12. The art, sets, & wardrobe are wonderful. Ms Min's gowns are gorgeous. The colors are what really stand out. She grew up in rags, but made up for her lack later.

To say that the ending is bittersweet doesn't quite cover it. It leaves us wanting. The story is beautiful but the sadness, though lovely, is what lingers. Like an ice cold IPA on a hot day, the bitterness is still refreshing b/c the story is just that good.

As always, he breathes out love, protection, & longing; she fills herself w/ him, & their spirits fly united as wings on a Jian bird, part of a whole that one day may come together: "Even if you & I are parallel lines that will never meet for the rest of our lives, it is My Wish to walk alongside that path w/ you forever."

QUOTES🗣

Looking at a good painting can purify & cultivate the mind.

Appearance is just pretense.

Courage is fear that has said its prayers.

Our two Souls therefore, which are one, though I must go, endure not yet a breach, but an expansion like gold to airy thinness beat.

〰🖍 IMHO

🎬85 🖊〰85 🎭90 💓82 🦋67 🌞80 🎨84⚡80 😅50 (the Mr, fop-hubby, mostly. & the Jian crew) 🎵/🔊83 😅50 😭50 😱20 🤢3.4 🤔50 💤20 🔚67

Age 12+ a guy gets pierced with a sword & blood gushes.

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 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..

This series it's just so powerful on different ways, I learn so much from it, I now have a different perspective about life, love, family, dreams, art and even about Korea itself. This is an excellent storie with excellent characters, amazing actresses and actors, you got to empathize with almost all the characters on so many different ways like it's mind blowing and the end is just so heartbreaking and at the same time so suitable.

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.