The Rebel ~ Some are Born to Be a Mighty Hero

“The Rebel” (aka “Rebel: The Thief Who Stole the People”) is a 2017 Korean series, 30 episodes, categorized as Romance, Action, and Historical or Costume and Period Korean drama; and streaming on Viki and KOCOWA+.

SUMMARY: The story of a young man who was born as a “Mighty Child” and went from being a peddler of beauty products for women to a fearless legendary hero of the people.

♦ I Don’t Want to Be King or Noble. I Want to be a Rebel!

In “The Rebel”, Hong Amogae is a slave with the mind of a genius and the heart and soul of a gracious leader who cares for the people who choose to follow him. He had great physical strength, though he didn’t boast about it or show off. For an uneducated man who could not read – he was VERY SMART! He had natural skills and abilities when it came to being business savvy.

If he told his master he could take a box of almost spoiled dried pollack and sell it for 10 rolls of cotton cloth, he could do it! If not, he’d bring back something the master would think was an acceptable substitute or better – like maybe SILK instead of cotton. Hong Amogae was also a humble and honest man. The only thing he wanted was for him, his wife and his children TO BE FREE!

Hong Amogae had three children: two sons – Hong Gil-hyun and Hong Gil-Dong; and a daughter, Hong Uh-ri-ni. His beautiful and loving wife died shortly after giving birth but her death was caused by the greed and treachery of Hong Amogae’s master and his wife. They schemed to steal the money and property he had worked for to pay for his family’s freedom. He made sure those cruel people paid for their crimes.

After that, since Hong Amogae was now a free man, he struck out on his own, taking his children, and building a village. It was a community of commoners, former slaves, and former “bad” bandits (who used to be thieves until he directed them to a better path). Everyone in the village respected him and they were loyal to him because they trusted his leadership. Their lives were simple but they were happy and content.

• Like any good parent, Hong Amogae wanted to direct his children to the right path and hoped they would achieve a better life than the one he had to live. He tried to pave the way for them only to discover that they didn’t want to go “his way”. They wanted to choose a different path for their lives.

• Like any wise parent, Hong Amogae realized that his dreams should not be forced onto his children. As long as the path they chose was honest and honorable, then let them walk that way. Although he was somewhat surprised at the path Hong Gil-Dong chose. Selling beauty products for women? (O.o)

You don’t understand. Hong Gil-Dong is a “Mighty Child”. That kind of child is born once every century. They have superhuman strength. Strong as a bear and fast like a tiger. He can even sit down with a tiger and talk to the animal with no fear of being mauled. Surely a person born with this awesome gift was born for … for … (???) … something other than selling beauty products for women. (O.o)

Nevertheless, Hong Gil-Dong’s father allowed him to choose his path. Hong Gil-Dong thought peddlers lived the best life. They got to travel around to all of the Eight Provinces of Joseon and it was fun too! Little did his father know that ultimately the life path his son had chosen would lead to him becoming a legendary hero: a rebel who won the hearts of the people. (He won their hearts. He didn’t steal their hearts. Minor technicality.)

• SIDE NOTE: The king was not pleased. Not only was he angry that the child of a lowly slave had captured the hearts of “his subjects”, but his concubine, Jang Nok-Soo, was Hong Gil-Dong’s first love and she still had a place in her heart for him. That meant that every time the king went into the bed chamber, Hong Gil-Dong was there too! That would piss off any man – king or pauper!

Anyway! The moral of the story is: As long as their children are not obviously choosing a path of destruction, wise parents should always let their children decide how they want to live their lives.

Main Characters:

• Hong Gil-Dong (played by Yun Kyun-Sang, “Pinocchio”, “Six Flying Dragons”, “Mount Chiak”)
• Hong Amogae (played by Kim Sang-Joong, “The Banker”)
• Song Ga-Ryung (played by Chae Soo-Bin, “When The Phone Rings”, “Rookie Cops”, “I Am Not a Robot”, “Hijack 1971”)
• Lee Yoong (played by Kim Ji-Suk, “Chuno (The Slave Hunters)”)
• Jang Nok-Soo (played by Lee Ha-Nee, “Fiery Priest”, “Knight Flower”, “One the Woman”, “Alienoid 1 and 2”, “Immortal Classic”, “Shine or Go Crazy”)
• Hong Gil-hyun / Park Ha-sung (played by Sim Hee-Seop)
• Hong Uh-ri-ni / Sang-hwa (played by Lee Soo-Min)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 8 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 8.5 out of 10 stars
• Viki viewers rated this series 9.6 out of 10 stars
• Google users shared a public rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is the same as the Viki viewers.

“The Rebel” is another series about the legendary Hong Gil Dong. There is a series released in 2008, “Hong Gil Dong, the Hero!” Most viewers seemed to prefer “The Rebel”. The main complaint about the 2008 series was that the female lead was annoying. (Honestly, she was kind of irritating.)

Pound for pound … the 2017 series is way better than the 2008 series. My opinion, however, others agree. One reviewer praised “The Rebel” as “the best sageuk drama of 2017”.

Additionally, “Rebel: The Thief Who Stole the People” won lots of awards. But the awards that pleases me the most is the one given to Lee Ro-Woon for Best Child Actor (2017 MBC Drama Awards). He played Hong Gil-dong as a child and he a sooooooooo good!

• “Hong Gil-dong is an iconic figure in Korean literature and pop culture who first appeared in the mid-19th century as the protagonist of an adventure novel, The Story of Hong Gil-dong.” REFERENCE: The Story of Hong Gil-dong – Film at Lincoln Center)

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Watch: “Rebel: Thief Who Stole The People” Releases Title Video And Trailer | Soompi

A Different Kind of Love Story in ‘Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People’ – A KDrama Review | seekdreamponder

Drama Review – Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People (MBC, 2017) | The cat that watches TV

K-Drama Review: Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People | the weaknd on Tumblr

TRAILER/TEASER:

KOREAN DRAMA UNIVERSE. “The Rebel Trailer.” YouTube, 4 Apr. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD-GFZmKjnE.

♦