Title : Iljimae
Starring :
Yi Joon Gi as Iljime the Outlaw Bandit
Han Hyo Joo as Eun Chae the Business Woman
Lee Young Ah as Bong Soon the Con Woman
Park Shi Hoo as Shi Hoo The Noble Half Brother of Iljime that opposes Iljime
Synopse : A story of lone bandit robbing the wealthy nobles to give to the poor.
Review : This show share a striking resemblence to earlier Hong Guil Dong drama story and concept wise, both based on classical novels about legendary bandits who steal from the corrupt government officials to give to the poor, and takes place back to back(The young king that Hong Guil Dong helped to take the crown is the evil king that Iljimae battles in this series). They also share strikingly similar support characters, such as con woman sidekick like Bong Soon(equivalent to Hu Inok played by Sung Yuri) and Shi Hoo the noble half-brother out to get Iljimae(equivalent to noble half-brother of Hong Guil Dong out to get him).
In spite of its similarity to Hong Guil Dong, this show isn't as good as the former. Granted Yi Joon Gi looks far far better than the actor who played Hong Guil Dong, but the plot is rather boring, supporting characters are underwhelming, and art is average. It was the fine acting of supporting characters like Seung Yu Ri's Hu Inok and Jang Goon Suk's the crown prince, plus excellent art design and wonderful script by Hong sisters that made Hong Guil Dong such a stand out show. On contrary, this show is pretty much Yi Joon Gi's one man show and it pales compared to Hong Guil Dong in every other aspect. But that doesn't seem to matter to TV viewers because it is rating higher than Hong Guil Dong did, presumably because it has Yi Joon Gi. The lesson of Iljimae is that it is pointless to invest in production quality; all you need to do to achieve high rating is just cast a male actor that TV viewers(housewives) want to see.
It is kinda dissapointing to see Yi Joon Gi choosing this dissapointing project right after the Hour Between Dog and Wolf, arguably the best drama of 2007. But Yi Joon Gi fans will be watching this show nevertheless.