A different take on Joseon times, by portraying the second half of 19th century and the countries struggle politically and economically to get on the same level as the rest of the world. Between political twists, such as corruption and constant fight between progressive thinkers and conservatives, a family's tragedy starts a vicious cycle of revenge. Love, loyalty, and friendship is tested for the name of revenge, raising the question - how far should a revenge go?

Story:
For the first few episodes the main plot kicks of rather slow, but makes up for it with tasteful comedy that makes one laugh. The smiles end rather soon (and sadly don't come back) when the true action of the show starts, taking a large part of the series. It hits his peak around the middle of the story, and then a lot of, mostly, unnecessary twists drag the whole story.
The main themes of the series are very mixed and very intertwined. Politics, ruling a country, corruption, business and economics, family, love, and revenge. At times it is very difficult to tell which is the main theme as there are so many of them.
In my opinion. the romance factor overpowers others more than just a little, and I am not sure if that's a good thing. Of course, with the touch of emotions, the story would be a very dry political fight with action elements, so the love line softens the plot. I wouldn't say that the political bits are very exciting and perhaps it gets too political at times.
My favorite thing about the whole story is definitely the time setting. We don't see a lot of stories from the late Joseon when the world around them moves forward and the country does its best to follow along. The whole idea of the revenge and deeply rooted political issues is very interesting, but in this case, too stretched out and with far too many twists.

Acting/Cast
The largest part of the cast are perfectly fitting with their roles and are doing an amazing job with what is given to them. A thing that always should be remembered is that the acting is largely influenced by what the director asks during the process.
The standouts for me were definitely Yoo OhSung (as Choi Won Shin) and Lee JoonGi (as Park Yoon Kang). From the female cast Jun HyeBin (as Choi Hye Won) definitely was a standout. All actors conveyed the best(and the worst) of their characters in extremely believable and at times heartbreaking manner, which made following the sometimes not so polished plot lines enjoyable.

Music
As with most historical dramas, this one can pride itself with an amazing vocal and instrumental soundtrack. The vocal tracks offer more of a romantic take, while the instrumentals are more suspenseful, creating the mood of each situation. Very little to fault with it, if not having a stronger vocal track to match the more action-driven vibe of the drama.

Overall thoughts
A true lover of the historical genre would definitely enjoy the story as it has a different take in a different period. The plot seems a bit stretched at times, side characters appearing and disappearing, decisions beyond any logic being made and leading to situations that could have been avoided, but at the same time, it sucks you in. You want to know what will happen next and even after each new twist is introduced and you might be upset that it's there, you can't help but wonder how it will be solved and how will the whole story end for the main characters. I do recommend watching it!