Damo

Cast:
Hwangbo Yoon (Lee Seo-Jin)
Jang Sung-Baek (Kim Min-Joon)
Jang Chae-Ohk (Ha Ji-Won)

Review:

During the first part of this series you will get intrigued by the story, ande the setting is perfect for the series. It's like CSI meets Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, it's modern and classic at the same time, the fight scenes are well choreographed and the cinematography is great.

I'm sure that the people who are not fans of martial arts dramas or movies will like this series. The story is not that complicated and the scenes are easy on the eye. You don't have to think that much about the story because it's direct to the point. The story revolves around the 3 main characters, CHAE-OHK/ JAE-HUI (the daughter of a noble man who was in the depths of despair and killed himself.), JAE-MO/ JANG SUNG BAEK (Chae's brother, also the son of the noble man) and HWANGBO-YOON (the master Chae served since she was young, the son of a mistress and a honorable man).

I must give Ha Ji Won my full respect and genuine appreciation for what she has done for this series; she really studied her CHARACTER and presented perfectly as if she was really Chae-ohk. I have watched her first in "What Happened in Bali" and saw her performance there and it took me by surprise that she did well in "Damo". She really acted as Chae-Ohk and she delivered an excellent performance. Once more I salute her.

The series is a MUST-SEE! Everybody should watch this. The cast, crew and director did a great job putting up the story together and used every element of Drama, Action, Mystery, and Love story wisely. The story changes its genre from time to time so that the viewers won't get exhausted watching to the same-old-story.

I want to praise the musical score of this series, the timing was right and the score was applicable with the scene. I'm not really good in expressing since this is my first review, but the drama is so fantastic and that this should have been made into a movie because of its outstanding performance overall.

I have watched many Korean series, but Damo is the only series where I can't even cry, yet the impact is so heavy, you would want to cry but tears won't fall down. It's like the sorrow is from the inside and that you want to burst out and cry but - you really can't. This series really did play with the viewers' emotions, and after watching this series, your morale will be down for a while.

There are some things that have been bothering me for a while, like:

* Why didn't Hwangbo say that he loves Chae-Ohk?
* Why didn't Chae-Ohk recognize the blue lace that she found in Sung Baek's clothes?
* Why didn't the rebel posing as a police kill Hwangbo when he had the chance in the mountain?
* Why didn't Hwangbo marry Chae-ohk earlier so that she could change her social status and become a commoner again?

The love between Chae-Ohk and Hwangbo is somewhat forbidden in Chae-Ohk's side because she feels that she is unworthy of Hwangbo's love because of her social status and that she feels that she is an obstacle for Hwangbo to reach his dreams and goals. Hwangbo feels the same way about her, but all he can to is to hold her tight so that she won't leave his side.

There are parts in this series that I really love:

* The part where they were trapped inside the cave, where Jang Sung-Baek declared his undying love for Chaek-ohk, and this is where Chae-ohk said that she loved Jang Sung Baek too - and all the parts in the cave -
* When Hwangbo confronted Chae-ohk about her true feelings for Jang Sung-Baek and that he wanted her to kill him so that she can be with him, she tried to kill him but Hwangbo stopped her and he set her free (One of the most dramatic scenes)
* When Hwangbo was cleaning Chae-Ohk's wounds under the tree and the blossoms were falling -
* When Hwangbo and Chae-Ohk were at the lake and he was crying over the unconscious body of Chae-Ohk.
* (After the scene in the cave) When Hwangbo said that he would marry Chae-Ohk and that they would leave and go far away - and Chae-Ohk said that he could have her body but her heart was already gone. And that she couldn't marry him because of her status and that she couldn't bear a child. (One of the most dramatic scenes)
* The beginning of the story where Jang Sung-Baek and Chae-Ohk were hanging by the bamboos, this reminds me of a scene in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

At the end of the series I saw a poem - it just expresses the core of emotion between the 3 characters. And this is it:

A far off mountain....
A mountain with a deep green forest...
A destiny... that could not foresee that divide
A love I could not measure...
A love that tore my heart apart...
Not again... never again...
Do not live for me...

We could see this poem at the end of the series. If you really analyze and read this from the heart you could really see the message...

For me this message is for Chae-ohk from Hwangbo and Sung Baek. The poem came from them in different situations, and the love being discussed here varies with the person talking.

Synopsis:
The story was set during 17th century. The Jang family was taken out of power and and so their children had to escape. Jae-Mo and Jae-Hui escaped but unfortunately Jae-Hui was left behind. Jae-hui was captured by the soldiers and was assigned to be a slave for the Yoon family where she met the young master Hwangbo-Yoon. Hwangbo was the son of a Mistress and an Honorable man, and because of this he was always treated differently and was always ridiculed, so he decided to prove them wrong and that was where he decided to train with a monk and study martial arts. Jae-Hui came with him and trained with him.

Hwangbo was recommended to be a police officer at the Left Police Bureau. Hwangbo wants to take Jae-Hui with him, but he couldn't because of her family's past. The monk decided that Jae-Hui should change her name to Chae-ohk and so they did. Chae-Ohk worked as a Damo and as an Investigator. Chae-ohk was also a great fighter and had mastered some techniques in swordsmanship.

The counterfeiting case was just a simple case in the beginning, but as investigation went further they discovered that a big gangster operated a ring and that the counterfeit money was spread throughout Korea. In order to find the mastermind behind this turmoil Chae-ohk posed as a rebel so that they could infiltrate the rebel's base. But Commander Hwangbo was fired because he let two prisoners escape so that they could be a help to Chae-Ohk find the forge. There she met Jang Sung-Baek, the people's hero, who fought for their so-called new world where the old government would be gone and replaced with another one that they think would be good for the people. Unknowingly Jang Sung-Baek and Chae-Ohk fell for each other without any idea that they were siblings.

Commander Hwangbo went to see Chae-Ohk and helped her come back to the capital. The police station found out about the conspiracy in the government and investigated the public officials who were allegedly involved on the case. The training general of the military commited suicide because he was a suspect and that the coin molds were found in his room, Commander Hwangbo was imprisoned because of this. To save him Chae-Ohk went to the palace to have an audience with the king but before she could even talk to the king, his elite force attacked her. But she successfully gave him her message. Because of her severe wounds she teetered between life and death. The doctors couldn't even save her and so Hwangbo brought her to the temple and the monk helped them. Hwangbo used a finishing technique to revive her.

After the incident, Chae-Ohk made a plan to capture Jang Sung-Baek, but she didn't inform the captain of this. The captain knew who the conspirators were and he also formulated a plan. In her quest to pursue and kill Jang Sung-Baek, Chae-Ohk and Jang Sung-Baek were trapped inside the cave for a long time. Chae-Ohk realized that she was really falling inlove with Jang Sung-Baek and vice versa. Because of the severe infection Sung-Baek suffered more and passed out.

After this, Hwangbo discovered that Chae-Ohk had feelings for the bandit and because of this he became more obsessed with Chae-Ohk and did everything in his power to stop her from leaving his side. He even proposed to her and said that he was willing to resign and marry her and that they would go to a far away place, but Chae-Ohk said that he could have her physically but her heart was already taken and that she could not have a child because of what had happened in the temple, but Hwangbo said that he only needed her and that she should not object.

In the camp Sung-Baek finnally discovered the anomalies inside their gang and that they were being used for the desires of others, but not for the goodness of the people. Seeing despair in Chae-Ohk's eyes, Hwangbo tried to deal with the problem. He asked her to kill him so that she could be free and go to Jang Sung-Baek. He said that it was better to die at her hands than at someone else's. She said that she would finish it with one blow, but seeing her determination, he stopped her and set her free.

While looking at the camp Chae-Ohk saw that Sung-Baek killed a woman who they said was the Damo or Chae-Ohk. She saw that Sung-Baek really would kill her. She returned to the Left Police Bureau. Hwangbo accepted her but he said that she would be only a Damo for him. They rescued the king, Hwangbo went to the temple talk to the monk and he said that Jang Sung-Baek and Chae-Ohk were siblings, and Chae-Ohk was kidnapped. The minister of defense's right-hand man was the one holding Chae-Ohk and that Hwangbo must see him alone if he wanted to see Chae-Ohk alive again.

At the port the gangster said that they would have to kill him and then they would set Chae-Ohk free. Then Jang Sung-Baek came in and avenged his brothers, and to kill the former right hand of the minister. He saved Hwangbo but later on they were engaged in battle. Hwangbo was stabbed badly and he told him that Chae-Ohk was none other than Jae-Hui. Feeling confused Sung Baek left the scene and left Chae-Ohk mourning for Hwangbo's death.

After Hwangbo's funeral Chae-Ohk continued her search for Jang Sung-Baek and this time she was willing to kill him to take revenge, but at the end of it the police were also chasing him and he said that he would want to die in her arms more than anybody else's. When Jang Sung-Baek stabbed himself using Chae-Ohk's hands, he said that he missed her and called her by her real name Jae-Hui. She couldn't even explain what she was feeling at that time because she didn't know if it was sibling love she had been feeling all along or just love. When they shot shooting at him, she came running and embraced him. She was hit and fell down. At her last breath she called him Brother. He just smiled and then they both died.