Hwarang (2016)

Lackluster Story for a Star-studded Cast

What immediately drew me to this drama was the cast. Go Ara has been a personal favorite for years, and Park Seo Joon is droolworthy eye candy and he delivers a great brooding type character. Being a SHINee and BTS fan was a huge factor as well.

At first, my interest was piqued. You see where the love triangle starts, the tension of the groups and the friendship that'll blossom into something great before crashing and burning because of the love triangle. None of that really happened. There were SO many plot holes. It was like the writers forgot what they were writing and were just scrambling on getting the cast as much screen time as possible. I finished the drama with so many questions.

The casting is wonderful. Everyone really seemed to mesh well and played their character well. There are the characters you love and the characters you hate. The eye candy did not disappoint, of course.

The OST is pop-y and catchy and what you'd expect with the cast they have. Some of the songs have been on my playlist for quite some time and this is my first time seeing the drama.

I would not re-watch this drama, unfortunately. The plot holes bother me. I mean honestly, it is really like they just forgot what they wrote and introduced something new. No amount of rewatching will answer the questions I have because the sloppy writing never answered them.

Overall, as a watch in the background while you knit, type, or do something mundane, it's a great drama. Have you seen the gorgeous cast? As a drama to get drawn into with a compelling story that wants you to quickly press next episode, this one just doesn't cut it.

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Hmmmm....

Granted I watched this years ago, when I was first getting into K-dramas. At that time, I only knew who Park Seo Joon was, and I watched it for him. I struggled with this one because it didn't seem to know what it wanted to be, it slipped from slapstick comedy to melodrama in the blink of an eye. Which wouldn't be too bad, but it was back and forth between the two for most of the show.

I loved the bromance aspect of it. I didn't buy the romance much.

Since I seem to be in the minority, if you haven't watched it, and are considering it, give it a go. There's certainly enough eye candy to keep a person happy!

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Expected more.

I went into the series expecting a historical drama about the Hwarang with a great plot, character development, plot twists, drama and history. I didn’t see any trailers, poster and all that so I went in blind. What I got was poor writing, no chemistry between the OTP, lot’s of silly over the top crying shots and characters behaving in a way that didn’t make sense foe their character.

Despite all this I really liked and enjoyed most of the actors their acting!

I loved Park SeoJoon in what’s wrong with secretary kim and she was pretty. I also loved Park HyungSik in strong woman do bong soon! Seo YaeJi was BRILLIANT in it’s okay to not be okay. I want to see more of Kim Jisoo, Minho and V!

I loved the setting, decor, clothing and hair. It all looked very beautiful, especially the Queens garments.

I also had hoped to see more of certain characters and their development. I loved seeing the relationship between the Queen and King Jinheung, I really hoped for a bit more there. Same goes between the bromance between the Hwarang and how they grew together as men. But too much time was wasted on the OTP being unnatural, too many silly crying scenes, no character growth for the female lead. The female lead really made me so frustrated most of the time. I skipped A LOT of those kind of scenes. I feel a little bad for Go Ara…

This could have been so much more. Guess I have to go find another historical/period drama to enjoy more.

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After watching this show I had this feeling I had already seen the drama before in the last couple episodes...and I think it is just because I have seen so many Sageuk dramas...and it is your typical fight for the throne. I am a fool for the repetitive birth story plot lines though so I loved that part. The romance was blah I had no interest in the romance at all and didn't feel chemistry with either PSJ or PHS. Which made it hard for me to have any feelings around the plot pieces where they were doing stuff because of her. She cries to much and I felt they gave her the skills to be a useful character but just threw around here and there when they needed her as a plot device. Now getting to the Bromance! That is what made this show enjoyable. I love all the boys in the Hwarang. My favorites are Ban Ryu and Soo Ho. I personally believe I would have loved the show 500,000 times more if they were the leads. Loved their plot. I loved the other room mate too but can't remember his character name.

While the overall drama (minus the bromance) was pretty meh to me I really feel the cast all did a great job, I feel it was the story itself that ruined the romance and not the acting.

The music is great and I can see myself looking to go back and listen to some of the songs.

I don't think I will ever rewatch this drama.

I think this is a great introduction drama to Sageuks as it is "fun", has good music, a great cast and is only 20 episodes long.

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A different period piece

I started watching this drama as I wanted to try something different from all the other Joseon period pieces. I like them, don't get me wrong, but it's always more or less the same thing.
I was happy to watch this drama as I learnt a new part of Korean history. Plus the costumes are so much more interesting (in my opinion) than the ones from the Joseon era.
What I liked about this drama is that it was not too predictable (for the most part haha). I really liked the bromance between the two men and there is (almost!) no second lead syndrome which was nice to see.
What I did regret a little bit is to see this king so weak and so immature. I really hope that in the real story this king was a great one and that he really had a good friend and sidekick to guide him because, in the drama, he is really not off to a good start.
Some parts were funny thanks to Go Ah Ra, who I really fell in love with when previously watching her in Do do sol sol la la sol. I like these feisty actresses who have a face that express feeling. A lot of Korean actresses are very plain when it comes to expressing feelings. Go Ah Ra is fun, charming and represent a strong woman, which I liked.
Overall a very nice experience and I wouldn't have any problem rewatching this sometimes in the near future.

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The story was interesting and engaging, I would give it that.

Spoilers involved (I'm sorry I can't resist myself)

I would begin the main review by talking about my favourite characters/who i deemed as the best actors:
- Pa Oh (Yoo Jae myung): I never felt any negative feelings towards this character. The actor made this character his own, I had watched him in Strong girl Do Bong Soon and he seemed like a completely different person; that's a GREAT actor right there.
- Kim Soo ho (Minho): This was the first time I had encountered him properly, I'm neither a Shinee fan nor have I watched anything he's been in. But he very pleasantly surprised me, he took on the role with grace and never disappointed. However, the writers could have done a better job with the character; why was he so obsessed with the queen? shouldn't there be more of an explanation for that? why did we never see him in any of the last couple of scenes when everything had been resolved?
- Kim Yeo wool: This character had SO much potential but clearly, the writers seem to think otherwise. Why was his story only briefly mentioned in the beginning when were given an overview of the main hwarangs? He was so intriguing at the start and as the show progresses, you would want to know more about him but his character was merely superficial, a sort of distraction. In my case however, it was a pleasant distraction because I enjoyed all the scenes that he was in. Don't even get me started on his bromance with Hansung- Fave!

The drama opened up so many doors but was unable to show what was inside, for example, why did Park Young-shil do NOTHING when the medicine suddenly disappeared? They painted certain characters as one thing but their actions proved otherwise. A lot of the characters feelings/actions were also unexplainable, for example, why did Hansung feel so deeply connected to Sun-woo??? even though it had been made clear to us that some of his decisions were sometimes irrational and he didn't think too deeply about things, it somehow still leaves us wondering why he would take such drastic action to protect him. Also, something about the Baekje kingdom letting everything be without coming back for a fight makes me a bit uneasy, but I know that's just me being super fussy. This show leaves me with QUESTIONS and I shouldn't feel this way after watching 20 hours worth of content. You would think that they would be able to uncover everything in 20 hours (instead of 16, as it usually is with k-dramas) instead, all the screen time was dedicated to the most boring main couple in k-drama history: A-ro and Sun-woo. What a bland relationship. I did not like it whatsoever.

Now a list of my least favourite characters because I just can't let it go, whether it be poor acting, poor character development, poor writing, who knows.
- Kim Wi-hwa: The constant laughter got to me; his character became boring after the first few episodes, he also got kind of annoying. I couldn't stand to see him alone, I only enjoyed scenes with him in it if there were others as well.
- Kim Kwang-kyu: His presence was overwhelming. This character was overdone.
- The queen: For obvious reasons.
- The princess: see previous comment.
- A-ro: Don't even get me started, the character was a disappointment. I tried to like her, I really did.
- Park Young-shil
- Han-sung's grandfather
I could go on and on....... I realise that you're not meant to like every character in a production but this was too much, they could have done better. I did not like most of the female characters because there was simply no reason for me to. I have so many questions regarding them e.g. why were we suddenly expected to feel sympathy for the queen at the end when she had acted like a villain all along?

Now you might wonder why I still choose to give quite a high rating after so many complaints and barely any commendations, that's because it did a good job at keeping me interested, it got me addicted, and that's what shows are supposed to do, right? However, I did not understand why a lot of things happened the way that they did, perhaps that it is why I was so eager to watch, to see if whatever 'mystery' there was in each episode would be solved in a sense. But the answers were hardly ever uncovered. At times they were (partially), and other times we were just left in the dark.

I will end with this: If you want something lighthearted, this is not the show for you, it is quite intense. It took 30 minutes to summarise 2.5 episodes to a friend, A LOT happens at once in this drama.

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A Wonderful and Fun Drama

I really enjoyed this drama. Because I watched it in quarantine, I had a lot of free time to watch this drama and I think I finished it in 4 days. I really loved this drama. Not only was the music and acting awesome, but also the story was really engaging and I loved how cute the Parks (Park Seo Joon and Park Hyunsik) were. If you are looking for a fun drama to watch, don't miss out on this one. I had never seen any drama from these two actors, but after I watched this drama, I fel in love not only with these two actors, but also with all the other actors. The drama was also fast-paced and nothing was boring. Overall, it was a wonderful drama. Before I watched this drama, I thought that nothing would be as interesting as Moon Lovers, but I found it, Hwarang. I am so happy that my friend introduced this drama to me. You should watch it as well!

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Before you read, I want to imply that I am speaking as someone who has watched over 50 Asian Dramas of different genres. Historical is my favorite cup of tea; I absolutely love historical politics and romance!
I watched this drama because at that moment, I was fully obsessed with historical dramas. I watched shows like Scarlet Heart and Moon Embracing the Sun. There were some more I could mention, but I have to say those dramas didn't leave a strong impression in me as the two I mentioned did (OR I could have forgotten, but okay).
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So, this drama was rather . . . poorly written. Music was good, OSTs were nice, acting wasn't bad at all, but the story. The story was simply all over the place, leaving several ugly plot holes and disappointment. I can't say it's extremely bad, but it's not good either. I've seen some other people getting all hyped watching this drama, but ended up being disappointed despite the huge line-up of great casts. I've also seen other people cry and laugh because of this drama, simply because they liked it. But for me, this drama wasn't anything special.
Sure, you could say it's funny at some point, bromance was fun, but the romance was just . . . unnecessarily annoying. I didn't enjoy the romance at all. It's not that I don't 'ship' them or whatever, it was just not it for me.
So overall, Hwarang's okay. Not the best, of course, but not so horrible. Though I suggest if you are an experienced drama watcher who has watched shows like Empress Ki or Dong Yi (The real definition of EXTREMELY GOOD historical dramas), you probably shouldn't waste your time on this. Only watch this if you're in need of laughter after watching heartbreaking dramas like Scarlet Heart or something.
Also don't kill me for this, but I feel like some people merely stayed and even watched it only because of Kim Taehyung. Sorry not sorry, but basically everyone in KissAsian was screaming about him (I found that annoying, I have to admit).
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Well, have a good day!

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This was released years ago, but I believe many still recommends this and I'm one of them? This is because of all the handsome guys in this drama ??? lol???? Kidding aside, this drama is really great, aside from the wonderful view this drama have ??, the plot is great and the actors & actresses are all great. The plot twist is amazing, and the side stories are very entertaining. My favorite scenes are when they're playing football, when they were drunk, when..I'll stop! I might spoil the drama and I just realized that I love a lot of their scenes so I might as well tell the whole story??

Park Hying Sik (King) is so handsome here. I love his character -- gentle, pure, and wise. His swordsmanship is great. I'm glad that this is the first kdrama of him that I've watched, that made the STRONG WOMAN kdrama more hilarious.

Park Seo Joon (Moo Myung)'s character is a bit awkward, but that even made it funnier.

I love the story tangled between Do Ji Han (Ban Ryu) and Choi Min Ho (Soo Ho). I especially loved it when they were drunk and still fighting each other. I love how things turned out in the end between them. I also love the love stories they had, not with each other of course, just with the involvement of one another.

Why you are always cute and has the character of a childish guy with a pure heart V (Han Sung)? You're also cute in Moonlovers Scarlet Heart Ryeo.? I love your character. You were able to make me laugh and cry.

Yoo Jae Myung, I really believed your stated age ??? that part really made me laugh. I enjoy all the part you're in.

You never fail to amaze me Won Hae Kim. I really love all the drama that you are in.

Lee Kwang Soo (Mak Moon), your not seen much here, but you have played your role really great? I'm always looking forward for more of your kdramas?

This is really a must watch kdrama of all time. Very entertaining. I also love the fact that it focuses more on friendships than love stories. I loved how things turned out in the end.

#hwarang
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#parkhyungsik
#parkseojoon
#dojihan
#choiminho
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#leekwangsoo
#wonhaekim
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#kdramahookedbylady28

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When this came out I was looking forward to it. Period dramas are usually a little too melodramatic for me (and I'm still recovering from Scarlet Heart Ryeo ), but this seemed like it might be a little more hearted and hey...eye-candy galore, right? I watched part of the first episode and decided that it just wasn't what I was interested in watching at the time.

I came back to this because I just recently finished watching Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, which I loved, and I saw that Park Hyung Sik was one of the main characters. I adored him in SWDBS and I thought he had terrific chemistry with the actress in that drama. I thought I would probably enjoy him in this and figured I could handle a case of second-lead syndrome if need be.

Second-lead syndrome was not a problem here. Honestly, I didn't really care which couple wound up together, which is unusual for me. The moments that should have been toe-tingling and heart-fluttering...weren't. I don't know if it was just that I didn't care about the characters or none of them had any chemistry together, or what. I've seen both male leads in other dramas and loved them and thought they had wonderful chemistry with their female leads. I never imagined I'd be uninterested in whether or not either of them wound up with the female lead in this drama, but I absolutely wasn't.

I think the main problem with this drama is they had maybe 12 episodes worth of material and stretched it out into a 20 episode drama, which was a mistake. There was waaaay too much time spent on navel-gazing, introspection and flashbacks. Flashbacks are great if used carefully. But with this drama...instead of flashing back to scenes involving the characters' pasts, which would have been far more interesting (and they do a few of these, just not nearly enough of them), we would get a scene with some kind of conversation or conflict between some characters and then they would go their separate ways and then each character by him or herself would rehash that scene or conversation again alone. Yawn. And this happened multiple times in every single episode, so by the time you hit episode 14 or so (or before, if your tolerance is lower than mine), you start hitting the fast-forward button in order to actually get to the point where *something* happens again.

I watched it to the end. It wasn't painful, it was just...meh. The second couple is cute, and I was interested in what happened with them, moreso than the main triangle. I wish more time had been spent on Ji Soo's background or Won Young's background. I also wish they had spent more time on developing the Hwarang and cementing the bonds between those characters. Doing more with the Won Hwa might have helped, too. They introduced the concept late in the show and then don't really go anywhere with it other than use it as a plot device that really didn't make a lot of sense.

The OTS was ok...but it got repetitive after a while, especially for 20 episodes. The acting was ok. The story was...just ok. It had a lot of potential that just wasn't ever realized. Strong start, bogged way down in the middle, okay wrap up in about the last 2 episodes. I was never on the edge of my seat dying to find out what happened next. Rewatch value is poor, and I'm someone who loves to revisit favorite dramas; there are a number I've watched multiple times. Not this one. One and done. If you like period dramas, like any of the actors in particular, or just want to be entertained by pretty people for a while, give it a go. You might enjoy it more than I did. If you have a low tolerance for repetition, don't bother, you'll just be bored and frustrated after a few episodes.

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Its definitely worth the watch

Hwarang was the first Korean drama I ever finished and I always recommend it to people as a first watch. It is a mixture of all the good stuff, comedy, historical fiction, romance and action. I originally wanted to watch the drama due to the actor, Kim Taehyung in it as I am a fan of his band, BTS, however, I have rewatched the show three times now since 2020 and as much as I love Tae's scenes, the drama is so much more than that.

This drama made me fall in love with the historical drama genre. The costumes, set, storyline and history just completely captivated me! I fell so in love with the time period and plot that after the first time I finished the show I researched more into the time period and "Hwarang". I love that they decided to take a piece of Korean history and adapt it into a drama!

The next best thing for me about Hwarang is the plot and characters. I find that in Korean dramas the plot is quite predictable. This isn't the case in Hwarang! Each episode felt too short even though they were definitely not! I cried and laughed along with the show. My second time watching I introduced my mum to K-dramas. She really loved it! This drama is great for a large range of people as the plot is so unique and diverse!

Something else that is definitely worth mentioning is the soundtrack, I ove, love, loved it! I am huge fan of all things music and the soundtrack is amazing!

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Thank you side characters.

Hwarang
October 12 - 26 2020
I finished watching it 3 days ago, I guess it's time to write a review. My first one ever if I may add (english isn't my first language).
It took me a while to start watching the drama. There was a period of time when everyone on insta talked about this and so did my sister, but it didn't seem interesting to me.
I'm not gonna lie the main reason, why I finally watched it was Taehyung, because I started to stan BTS lol.

The main couple:
I actually don't know what to say. Park Seo-joon is a great actor and he played Seon-us emotions very well! I enjoyed seeing him on screen. His character was interesting to explore, but at the end his only character trait was "protecting the girl", that was...annoying.

.....I don't like her. I can't tell exactly what it is, but she made me aggressive. Go Ara is in general not a bad actress (I suppose), but after some time I got so annoyed just by seeing her.
She cried every fricking episode and got kidnapped like 4 times, no joke. I hated seeing her cry, and her face expression in general made me angry.....sorry I can't tell you why.

Together as a couple I didn't hate them....the whole brother sister thing was fine I guess, they just knew they weren't related right?...

The king:
I don't know how I feel about the character. He has luje absolutely no personality, his only personality trait is......Ah-ro. I mostly felt sorry for him tho with his mom and all that. I understand he didn't want anyone to get hurt, but the whole drama about him not revealing himself took soooo long. I liked how he told Ah-ro from the beginning that he liked her and I'm sorry he didn't get a girl....he got the throne tho.

Hwarangs:
Okay.....I LOVE YOU GUYS SO FRICKING MUCH!!!!! They are the best part of this whole show.
Not gonna lie I totally shipped Soo-ho and Ban-ryu, the chemistry they had omg. I love how their relationship changed through the show and how they slowly became friends.

I'm super in love with Ban-ryu and Soo-yeon though. THEY WERE ADORABLE. And them making out *chefs kiss*, it was perfect and seemed super natural, I swear. She is so cute and he was that cold boy who got so soft, when he saw her. Would totally rewatch just to see their scenes.

And now....Han-sung, my poor baby. I can't say much. I just love him to death (f***) and I fricking bawled my eyes out in episode 18. He's so pure, innocent and sweet. He was such a great friend and how happy he was when Seon-u told him, he would walk with him, I'm crying just by thinking about it. He was so bright, but had so much on his plate, I'm just- he didn't deserve it. And they got over him so fast like....I was still recovering and they already moved in, like bruh stop.

His and Yeo-wools friendship was super cute! I'm glad he had someone, when everyone else wasn't with him.
I loved Yeo-wool just for beeing himself. He was so funny and really he was a mood! I love how everytime he just stood there and watched the fight.


In conclusion, I would rewatch because if all the side characters and their relations. I didn't like the love triangle....much. It annoyed me and I got excited everytime one if the hwarangs blessed my screen again.
I'm happy I watched it.

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