Premiere Watch: Dear Hongrang » Dramabeans
Premiere Watch: Dear Hongrang
by stroopwafel
Time slot: Friday
Broadcaster: Netflix
Genre: Melo, mystery, sageuk
Episode count: 12 (single drop)
Reasons to watch: Danger is brewing in the newest Netflix original series, and at its center is Lee Jae-wook. Set centuries in the past, the story begins with the disappearance of a young boy named Hongrang.
Born into Korea’s wealthiest merchant family, his disappearance upends the family and none of their efforts to find him–or confirm his death–ever succeed. In the intervening years, multiple pretenders have tried and failed to convince the family they were the true Hongrang. So, when Lee Jae-wook pops up 12 years after the disappearance, it’s not surprising that some of his family members are skeptical when he declares himself the true Hongrang.
The big surprise is that Hongrang’s mother (Eom Ji-won) embraces him immediately and is convinced her baby boy has returned. Chief among his doubters are Hongrang’s older half-sister, Jo Boa, and their adopted sibling Jung Garam. The new Hongrang is experiencing some convenient memory loss but comes equipped with some impressive fighting skills. He’ll need them since he manages to fall into dangerous situations as often as a second male lead gets rejected.
The new Hongrang doesn’t just have swordsmen to worry about, his half-sister Jo Boa is determined to expose him as the fraud she believes him to be. But as they spend time together, she starts to feel something for Lee Jae-wook that is distinctly inappropriate if they’re actually siblings. If that’s not Games of Thrones-esque enough for you, Jung Garam has been nursing an unrequited crush on Jo Boa for years.
I have so many questions. The first one: Why is Eom Ji-won so convinced that Lee Jae-wook is Hongrang? (Let’s hope for Jo Boa’s sake that a mother’s instinct is wrong here.) At any rate, I’m happy this is a single drop because I want all the answers ASAP.
TL;DR: A complicated tale full of tension, sword fights, and a brooding Lee Jae-wook in hanbok (plus a very messy family).
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