Tree with Deep Roots

Only giving this kdrama an 8 cause I absolutely love Lee Soo Hyuk! This kdrama was quite slow but he was fantastic in it, the music was good, and it had a lot of potential. Just not a favorite. Only watched it for my guy;)

an admirable craft. first for the subject who use love,politic and crime in a wise manner. than - for performance. the romanticism is present but it becomes pillar for a seductive story about the use of power. the atmosphere, the script, the acting - all at high level. not a surprise - the Koreean cinema has precise science to give more than soap operas or basic series. but this case can be a splendid example of historical movie in film noir clothes. not for subject itself but for the powerful-delicate questions who defines it. for the art of characters nuances making. and, sure, for the ability to use the history in a special manner for seduce and for build large image about its bricks.a different revolution. a challenge. and a fight. that is all. but the essence is more subtle.

It's about the king who did methodically create the Korean alphabet in the 1400's. In this story the opposition to his intent is fierce. In fact, his alphabet remained controversial for several centuries. The first few episodes of the series are simple-minded and the dialogue seems silly. I almost stopped watching. The story soon gets more compelling and the dialogue more natural. Although some in the +main cast+ are given noticeably little to say but just have to try to look attentive; good humored; worried or sorrowful; wary or alarmed; or wise. The story is suspenseful and exciting. The martial arts scenes are creative and fun, as is the soundtrack. The discussions are interesting about whether +the people+ should be trusted with the power they might gain (over their government) from reading and writing. The mayhem that is the conclusion came about two episodes too late in my opinion and also didn't give me the satisfaction I would have preferred. It has faults but I recommend it as well worth watching. 7 + 1/2 stars.

For some reason, I found this drama a bit long winded and hard going. I loved Six Flying Dragons, which in a way precedes this story, being about Sambong and the Secret Roots (or Hidden Roots in that drama), which is central to this story. Great cast, some overacting at times, I felt. The latter episodes were by far the best and very moving at times. If the overall pace had been a bit faster, I probably would have enjoyed this more. Pleased I watched it.

This drama is the story of King Sejong and his ambition to create a simpler alphabet then the Chinese system which requires knowledge of hundreds of characters. He created Hangul which is the Korean alphabet which was far more basic and simpler to learn and thus giving access to reading to lots more people. The drama shows a compassionate king who believed that knowledge is power and struggled for a long time to create a simplified alphabet. The problem is that there are many factions who wish to stop him developing a system of educating the masses including even those closest to him. An enjoyable interesting period drama with twists and turns which is worth a watch.