In “Hong Gil-dong, the Hero!”, we meet the illegitimate son of a nobleman. His father is a man with a prestigious position who serves the king in his court. His mother was a slave and despite the fact that Hong Gil-dong is intelligent, strong and athletic, and also handsome, he was still a lowborn.
Because he was the son of a slave woman, his father could not or would not make any effort to ensure that he had any knowledge and skills that would help him survive in a world where he was placed at a disadvantage because of his birth. He could not be educated and he could never serve as a government official or even a foot soldier. No matter because a humble monk met him and trained him.
Becoming a legendary hero was not Hong Gil-dong’s plan. He planned to go live in the Great Qing (China’s last imperial dynasty, ruled by the Manchus from 1644–1911). He could carve out a new life there because nobody would know who he is or that he is the illegitimate son of an aristocrat. Yet he became a hero in Joseon. How did that happen?
In Joseon, Hong Gil-dong would be considered a runaway slave and if he was caught, that would mean death. But the least his father could do for him was allow him to leave. He almost left for Qing twice! But both times, something happened that prevented him from leaving.
FIRST TIME: Hong Gil-dong found a man in the forest who was near death and took him to the temple because he knew the monk who lived there. The dying man was the head of a band of thieves. He told him to be sure to tell them not to meet at a certain place because it was a trap and they would all be killed. Hong Gil-dong was reluctant and did not want to get involved. But rather than get on the boat to Qing, he had a change of heart and stayed behind to save their lives. The thieves were grateful and told him to call on them if he ever needed help. Little did he know he would have to ask for their help later on.
SECOND TIME: The first time was easy but the second time was much more complicated. His father’s lawful wife and his legitimate son (his half-brother) arranged to have their own home robbed and planned to blame Hong Gil-dong. They thought the plan was perfect. But on the same night the house was to be robbed, another group showed up and they planned to rob the house too. Only they were not looking for money. They were looking for “The Evil Slayer”.
That was the name of the sword owned by the late king. On that sword, his will was inscribed. It said to crown his son king and make peace. The king’s son was Prince Lee. People thought he died in a fire at the palace with his mother. But the young prince was saved and lived in Qing until he grew up to be a young man. He returned to Joseon intending to take back the throne.
Hong Gil-dong did not know he was set up to be framed for a crime he did not commit. But he also did not know that his father was hiding the late king’s sword. The father had committed treason and placed an illegitimate king on the throne. The king had given the sword to his closest friend and he murdered his friend and stole the sword. Both the thieves who came for money and the group who came for the sword showed up at the house, at the same time. There was total confusion.
The thieves ran away with what they could and one of the things they ran away with was the late king’s sword. That theft cost them their lives. The group of men was led by Prince Lee, the legitimate heir to the throne. They took the sword and killed all of the thieves because they did not want any witnesses left behind. Finally, Prince Lee had his late father’s sword and planned to go to the palace so he could take his rightful place.
Meanwhile, the Royal Investigation Bureau is hunting for Hong Gil-dong to arrest him for theft and murder. Hong Gil-dong is trying to find a way to clear his name, while Hong Gil-dong’s father is trying to find out who has the sword. Prince Lee is supposed to be dead but who else would want that sword besides Prince Lee? If the prince is alive and has that sword, then Hong Gil-dong’s dad is a dead man walking.
Hong Gil-dong doesn’t know who the other group was that attacked and killed the thieves, nor is he aware of his father’s treachery and treason. The only thing he does know is that one of the men in the unidentified group was injured in the commotion.
Assuming that it was another group of thieves, Hong Gil-dong went to every band of thieves searching to find the injured man. None of the thieves were injured. But to find that out Hong Gil-dong had to beat them all up! After winning the fights with the thieves who tormented the common people, everybody started rumors praising him as a HERO!
Hong Gil-dong never planned to be a hero. He was just trying to get to the truth so he could clear his name. The rumors about him spread like wildfire! Eventually he did cross paths with Prince Lee. But the prince was not concerned with clearing his name because regaining the throne was more important!
Hong Gil-dong knew where Prince Lee stayed with his men. His plan was simple. He knew that the prince’s men had explosives in the building and he planned to blow the place up! There was no way the Royal Investigation Bureau could ignore an explosion. They would have to investigate meaning, the prince would likely be brought in for questioning. Hopefully, all of the truth will come out because the prince will have to admit his part in the robbery and murders.
Hong Gil-dong had no idea that the injured man he confronted was Prince Lee. He just thought he was a merchant. It was an unexpected way for their paths to cross. But their relationship would become a part of the history, legend, and folklore of ancient Korea.
My personal rating is 8.5 out of 10 stars.
You might disagree with my rating. Frankly, some reviewers disagree with me.
Complaints included being too silly to take seriously TO annoying and childish female character TO love the male lead actor but hate watching him in Hong Gil-Dong, etc.
Of course, some think it’s better to read the story than watch the K-drama series as “The Story of Hong Gildong” is a classic in Korean literature. There are always those who say the book is better than the film adaptation.
Finally, reviewers preferred “The Rebel” (aka “Rebel: The Thief Who Stole the People”), which is also about Hong Gil-Dong. It was released in 2017, and has 30 episodes, and Viki viewers rated it 9.6 out of 10 stars. (NOTE: As of May 2024, this Korean drama is still on my watchlist and I plan to publish my review soon.)
But I say, don’t judge this series by the first episode. Episode 1 almost threw me off because it seemed so silly. It was obvious that the scriptwriters took some “artistic license”. For one thing, the music and the dancing were not even from the Joseon Dynasty. The style was very Western.
Even so, the first episode did introduce the main characters and got the storyline started enough to make you curious to know what the rest of the story was going to be and how it would all end.
The monk who raised Hong Gil-dong also understood physiognomy. In other words, he could read faces and when he read Hong Gil-dong’s face, he said he had the face of a hero. He had the face, but would he live the life?
So you wanted to know how he would become a hero. Hong Gil-Dong wasn’t the only one who had a face reading. Another character had the face of a queen even though she was just a poor herbalist, who was always hungry! As the personalities of the characters developed and you learned their backstories, they started to grow on you. You had to know how their stories would end.
In many K-dramas, the name of this legendary figure is mentioned. He has often been likened to Robin Hood. Because he is a legend his personality is larger than life and historical sources indicate that there was a bandit named Hong Gil-Dong. But the inspiration for the hero of legend was Im Kkeokjeong (aka Im Geo-jeong or Im Geo-jil-jeong).
Im Kkeokjeong is a real historical figure who led a peasant rebellion in the 1500s and he is linked to Hong Gil-dong and Jang Gil-san. Together they are referred to as the three great thieves of Joseon. When Jeon Woo-chi’s name is added, they are considered as the four great thieves. Sadly, life was so hard that they started killing the rich and giving food to the poor. Hence, the comparison to Robin Hood.
쩐자. “[Hong Gil Dong] ‘Wishing for You’ Park Hyo Shin (Jang Keun Suk).” YouTube Video. YouTube, December 28, 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6R01cxrlJg.
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