Inspiring Generation (2014)

This drama is about the struggles of the Korean people during the Chinese/Japanese war in Shanghai and a boy that becomes a man capable of protecting the ones he loves and his countrymen. If you don't like violence, then don't watch it. Even the synopsis tells you that Shin Jung Tae becomes the best fighter. I like the story's process of how he grows. I think the writing is really well done.

I know a lot of people don't like Kim Hyun Joong as an actor. To that I say "pish posh". The stamina it took him to be Shin Jung Tae through this drama is enough for me. I have never thought he was a bad actor. He may not be the best, but he doesn't suck. Plus he is cute.

All of that being said, Kim Sung Oh as Jung Jae Hwa stole the show. His acting is stellar and I could just fall into those eyes. He needs a lead role ASAP. What is with all his supporting and guest roles? Do they not know a good thing when they see it?

I also loved Song Jae Rim as Leader Mo and Kim Seo Kyung as Aika (spelling may be wrong). They are both really good actors. Song Jae Rim's little smirky smile is as good as his fighting.

The lead actress leave a lot to be desired, but at least Im Soo Hyang as Gaya kicked some butt. I could have cared less about Jin Se Yeon as Ok Ryeon. I didn't like her in Bridal Mask and my thoughts haven't changed after watching this.

All of the other actors did well in their roles also.

I like the music a lot.

If you like action and/or period dramas, then this is definitely one you should watch.

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In this one, the bad guys are despicable, the main actor is always covered in bruises, and things rarely make great solid sense.

Nonetheless -

GOOD - (EYE CANDY) Lets face it, if you're a fan of Kim Hyun Joong, you're going to watch this drama regardless. Eye candy-wise there will be a few more surprises, mainly Song Jae Rim, and not only him. BTW Kim Jae Wook is there for less than half of the series.

GOOD - (ACTION) If you love action, different styles of combat and disciplines, then perhaps you will like this drama. Theres a lot of fighting.

BAD - (STORY/WRITING) The story had so much potential, its a huge pity the writing wasn't at all up to par. It wasn't as bad the first 10 episodes, but then they switched writers, and subsequent episodes dragged and lacked logic, production value also became worse.

MEHHH - (ACTING) The casting wasn't bad. The acting itself was phenomenal coming from some of the actors. KHJ has improved as well... although he's still not amazing. Problem is, the acting is greatly exaggerated.. as in a lot of moments are over-acted. Its a bit awkward...

OVERALL - Watch for the eye candy and the fighting. Do not watch if you like a solid story, humor, goose bumpy romance or fast paced storytelling.

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Inspiring generation,also Age of feeling aka Generation of youth, is very beautiful sageuk so far, set in a very interasting time, with fights between China and Japan, who both have desire to control more lands. It is also very nice to those ones who haven't got a clue about Asia, to meet interasting ways of culture.
It tells the story about a boy who later become the man who wants to protect people he loves and a countrymen. It's not that really based on a romance side, but it has in it(if you want to know it has kisses). But, if you don't like fighting don't watch it. It also said in a synopsis that this drama is about fighting so it's up to you to decide.

I know that most of you don't like Kim Hyun Joong, but I personally like him, and I liked him since "Playfull kiss" and he's cute and hot.He really improved in acting, you will see it for yourself. If you want to watch hot, shirtless KHJ than this is what are you lookin' for.

Also, there's a lot more interasting character like Kim Sung Oh as Jung Jae Hwa. He was really good in his role, and his eyes are just like a fire, made me want to hug him. And that way when he take off his heat to say his greetings is very cool ;)

Song Jae Rim as Leader Mo is the one I loved the most. I loved him till his first time on the screen to the last. In the beginning you can't decide is he on a good or a bad side, but how the story goes on, you will see that he's one of the most amazing character ever! :D

Yoon Hyun Min as Aoki is yet one another amazing character. His will to protect Gaya even if it's oppositing Denkai made me fall in love with him. ^^

And you guys know how much I liked Gaya, I didn't really care for Jin Se Yeon as Ok Ryeon cause I didn't like her in a Bridal mask and my thoughts didn't change after watching this. Im Soo Hyang is now on the list of my fav female character and actress. The letter at the last scene is just proof how much she loved, cared for Shin Jung Tae and how strong she is. And that sentence of her "I don't have anyone who loves me and waiting for me" always bring me to tears :'(

All the other actros did well in their roles too.

Music is DAEBAK! I really liked it. I get the same feeling as Bridal mask, cause the music fitted in a sad, fighting, funny or romantic scene. ^^

And if you like the 1930s you should give it a try!^^

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This drama was great from the very first episode, filled with tons of intense action and fighting scenes! as the drama progressed there was a change of writers so the storyline changed a bit but not so much as to make it bad, it was still great. I tagged three men as #1: Mo Il Hwa, #2: Shin Jung Tae, and #3: Jung Jae Hwa - they were the best characters in the drama - especially my Man - Mo Il Hwa
Most people seemed to not like this drama b/c of all the intense action and fighting scenes - but that is what made this drama so great! You should know that if you want to watch a drama like this there will be lots of fighting - I loved Mo Il Hwa and Jung Tae's brotherly relationship on this drama - they kicked butt!!! Mo Il Hwa was my favorite - he was good to look at and made me swoon half the time - but his fighting skills were amazing!
Music - really good - especially the fight song! I still listen to it at times :D
Cast: everyone played their part really well - they made me mad, made me cry and made me smile.
Re-watch Value: I'll be re-watching this drama someday ;)

If you like Action Movies, like lots of fighting, blood and political messes - then this is the drama for you - yes there is romance to - but I think that is more of a side story to the real story.

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Let’s be honest. Shin Jung-tae should’ve died in nearly every episode.

If you can look past that, which I managed to do, _Inspiring Generation’s_ story arc and setting are as appealing as they get in K-Drama. They involve the progress of Shin Jung-tae from his formidable days as a rickshaw runner in a small, provincial town in occupied Korea to his days of triumph as champion/freedom fighter on behalf of persecuted refugees in cosmopolitan, occupied Shanghai, on the eve of WWII.

Along the way, all sorts of characters come and go, and I found these to be the real strength of the show. Do Ggoo, the fawning, treacherous lackey, I found especially fun to watch. The screen presence of Aka, the Ill Guk-hwae assassin of the few words and artificial left eye, was effectively menacing. There was So So’s latrine cleaning, sharp-tongued father whose jokes and irreverent remarks were good for many laughs. And then there was the roguish but charming Jung Jae-hwa, the boy who is sold by his parents for money but who grows up to be the boss of the Shanghai refugee district. (Kim Sung-ho, who plays Jung Jae-hwa, steals every scene he’s in.)

Another thing that _Inspiring Generation_ has going for it is its lack of a gratuitous romance dragging down what is essentially an action thriller. _IRIS_ and _City Hunter_ had that problem, but at no point in _Inspiring Generation_ do you get the feeling that the writers are forcing the romance angle to prolong the series or to manufacture an artificial plot twist. I know that Ok Ryeon wasn’t a particular favorite, but I thought her character evolved nicely, culminating in a moving, tragic end.

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I went back in forth in my feelings for this drama. From about episode 1-7 I was really into it. Then I thought it was ok. I wanted to quit watching by episode 17 or 18 but I had invested so much time I powered through it. The last few episodes made up for the times I wanted to quit watching as they were fairly good episodes.
I felt that Leader Moe and Jae Hwa were phenomenal characters who I felt like I really got to know and love but the downside to that is that I wish I felt as strongly about Shin Jung Tae who is the main character. It wasn't until towards the end of the show that I started to appreciate his character more. I love a good fight scene but I got tired of seeing Shin Jung Tae fight everyone all the time and on top of the fighting I had to watch him train to fight too. I got bored. I felt the spark it had when it started disappeared and then made a comeback right at the end. They had good characters that they could have done more with and bad characters they should have done less with. Sometimes I would laugh at the logic behind why some of the characters were doing what they were doing mostly because there was no logic. What the show tried to pedal as romance was lackluster as well.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when a drama or even a person says they are going to do something and then they don't deliver.
(my examples are just examples btw) Example: if you say it's a fight to the death then someone should actually die or it's not really a fight to the death and you shouldn't call it that, if the doctor says you have 1 week to live you shouldn't magically be healed. These feel like lies to me. This show had a habit of making the stakes high for certain characters and then not delivering, letting me get all worked up for nothing. Of course I hate to see any character I love die or get hurt but don't make me cry over spilled milk if your actually not going to spill it.
All in Alll if the show were just 18 episodes I would have liked it better. I felt some episodes and parts of the storyline I could do without and it made the show draggy often.

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The plot summary at the top of the page is wrong. Shing Jung Tae is a boy who lived without his father and took care of his sister in a border town in Korea. He joins a gang and his sister disappears. The main part of the story takes place in Shanghai where is tries to avenge his father's death after learning that his father was the protector of Korean refugees in that city. He fights the Chinese and Japanese gangs.

It is a good story about an important time leading up to WWII on the Japanese front. The characters are good for the most part. Many interesting personalities that help drive the show and keep your interest.

There is a lot of blood and fighting in this one because we are dealing with gang violence against the backdrop of civil war in China and the Japanese invasion of that country. So don't expect this to be a pretty romance.

This is also a show that keeps you on the edge of your seat and ends every episode with cliff hangers. You will either want to marathon it or take breaks to deal emotionally with the story.

Overall, it is one of the better dramas out there dealing with these sorts of issues.

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This was a major disappointment!! no decent storyline, in fact all you can see throughout the episode is shinjung tae getting beat or beating someone, the story is all over the place as there is no consistency nor a clear purpose. How can i describe the acting ( shin jung tae: the lead actor):no expression! just blunt! he has the same face wither happy or sad or in love or kissing! it's the same irritating stare which expresses NOTHING except the fact that the guy CAN'T ACT !! this drama is a waste of time, i kept waiting for something to happen, at first i thought it has great potential but they ruined it, this is one (if not THE) worst drama i have ever seen! :(

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I really don't understand all the hate this drama gets! To me, this is a great drama!
When I first heard that it was going to be set in the 1920-30s I was a bit sceptical as Joseon storylines are not exactly my cup of tea, but then I thought "Hey, why not?" I'm telling you, I was hooked after the first episode!

It was far from as boring as I thought it'd be, as there's always something going on. Also, I heard that they changed the writers at some point, and honestly I didn't notice AT ALL. Sure the plot has changed a bit, but it's not a huge problem for me.

It gets a bit draggy at times, but all the AMAZING acting makes up for it! Sure, KHJ is not the best actor out there, but I think he has improved A LOT since the BOF days. I guess this type of role is just what he needed. Other than him, the cast consists of AMAZING actors and actresses. Mo Il Hwa, Do Ggoo, Aoki, Gaya and Shinichi(just to mention a few) all give me the chills! (they're not that unpleasant to look at either)

However, what I don't understand, is why they're all speaking in Korean. I know some are supposed to speak Chinese or Japanese, but how can they all understand each other? Just a minor detail that bothers me but, oh well.

With that being said, I have more thing that bothers me, but that may be because I'm not that smart or just slow...The plot is slightly confusing, and it's not always easy to understand what is going on and why. Other than that; GREAT DRAMA!

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this one has suspennce right from the very start and the acting is really good Kim Hyung Joon has really really become a great actor and his kid version was no joke, i hate things with guns and excessive death which was could be put as the main point of this drama however thats not why i will never watch it again no-matter how top notch it was, the last time i was this surprised and pissed about how a drama ended was rooftop prince, even ja myunga, tragic as it was ended better. if iam to re-watch this nice yet heart wrecking drama it would be to watch Mo Il Hwa, let me just say wow song jae rim was something in this one, his character was amazing
I LOVED IT

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To be honest, this drama wasn't that bad. Rather, it was watchable but still not very good.

STORY--7/10: In the beginning, the story showed a lot of promise. A story about an empty, broken man who and a vengeful, bloodthirsty girl was certainly very different from many stories; it was unique. The beginning showed potential of a man who would progress from a rash, street fighter into the best fighter in the nation but that idea was discarded when writers changed in episode 10. The first 10 episodes were not bad; they held an enormous amount of potential to evolve into a more exciting and logical series. However, after the writer switch, the series did not involve. Instead, it scattered into illogical pieces that didn't make sense and became very unexciting and boring. Too many illogical time skips happened and events were only said and not shown on screen; I found this to be the most disappointing of all because I would certainly liked to see the events since they were significantly important. So many unsolved mysteries and ends...the new writer totally forgot about the characters' childhoods (Jung Tae's promise to Gaya...) And also...what happened to Ok Ryeon becoming a spy/singer? She faded away from the story line and never really became a solid character.

Characters: In the beginning, I loved how humane Gaya was. The first writer highlighted Gaya's humanity. After episode 10, it seemed like Gaya just turned into some empty killing machine that possessed no emotions. She became difficult to relate to and was a very cruel and cold character. I think the writer meant to make her a self sacrificing character who putted up a cold exterior but actually cared for Jung Tae, but this was not clearly written. It was all very confusing and nothing was clearly explained. The audience had to just assume and many people had conflicting view points on Gaya. Jung Tae just became really boring in my opinion. I didn't really look forward to his scenes because he was the typical hero. He always believes in saving others and always gets beat up for it. I wish the writers made him a more complex character. I also really wished that the writers would emphasize his relationship with Gaya more because that was the core of their childhood story and their separation. I also wish that Ok Ryeon played a more significant role. She was literally just a love interest. Nothing more. I really like her personality but at the same time, I wish she played a much bigger role.

Acting: Im Soo Hyang played a cruel, badass, and cold woman very well. Although I wish she had more emotions in her eyes, her voice was phenomenal. She can act with her voice. Kim Hyun Joong improved as an actor...but I wasn't very impressed. I don't know if it's the character or his acting, but I really did not care for Jung Tae as much as I did for Gaya. Jin Se Yeon made Ok Ryeon extremely lovable and cheerful. I think this was the first drama of hers that I actually felt emotion through. All the other actors did very well but even the best acting in the world cannot help a stale story line.

Rewatch Value: I will rewatch some parts such as the actions, Gaya's interrogations and action scenes were really valuable. The action scenes in Inspiring generation were very thrilling and exciting to watch. Gaya's way of dealing with people is fascinating but at the same time, cruel. I would watch the beginning up to episode 10...but after episode 10 the story just went downhill. So i would not watch the remaining 14 episodes.

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