Kdrama Review: Hwarang

I mentioned in my earlier post that I am not a fan of historical kdramas but after my tearjerking yet lovely experience with Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, I decided to give historical kdramas a try - I chose Hwarang.

Hwarang is one of the highly anticipated kdrama of 2016. This kdrama gained a lot of attention even before its airing because of its visually stunning casts: Park Seo Joon, Park Hyung Sik, Choi Min Ho, Do Ji Han, Jo Yoon Woo and Kim Tae Hyung. With these visuals, what more could you ask for?

Photo is from Dramafever.com

This kdrama series is based on Hwarang - an elite group of male youth from the Kingdom of Silla. In the story, they are formed by Queen Jiso to protect the throne and control the powerful nobles. They were trained in horsemanship, swordsmanship, archery even arts and literature. You'll see Hwarangs doing various stuff which is quite fun to watch.

I was lured to watch Hwarang because of Park Seo Joon (I loved him in She was Pretty) and Park Hyung Sik (I was addicted to Min-min in Strong Woman Do Bong Soon) however my eyes were totally fixed on Park Ban Ryu played by Do Ji Han. He may have the coldest character among the Hwarangs but he is also the most innocent and lovable one.

The story. I like that the whole Hwarang thing is new to me (there's a lot to know about South Korea's history) however there is something lacking on how it was told and executed. 

The first four episodes of Hwarang is relatively slow-paced and dry that I didn't understand the flow of the story at all. The story progress a bit starting the 5th episode but it was so steady until the last episode, which I'm not sure if that's a good thing. I was waiting for that climactic scene that will keep me on the edge of my seat but it didn't happen. 

The romance. I was quite disappointed with the romance between Sun Woo and Ah Ro as well as they were not very convincing; they lacked chemistry and connection - their brother-sister relationship is actually much more convincing. I honestly didn't care much on their love story that I skipped some of their scenes. Sorry. LOL. 

While the main couple's romance is ineffective, there is a cute couple that stole my heart; it was Soo Yoon and Ban Ryu's sweet romance. They are just so adorable and kakilig. I hope to see them again together.

The bromance. Kdrama without a bromance is incomplete. Agree? LOL! Sun Woo - Ji Dwi, Soo Ho - Ban Ryu and the Hwarang's bromance is not as intense and hard-core (what a term! hahaha) as the other bromances that I watched but it was enough to keep me from watching.

 I particularly love Soo Ho and Ban Ryu's bromance. They act indifferent but they secretly care for each other. I guess their neverending fight built their friendship.

Final Verdict: Hwarang is a good story with a laid -back climax. It was boring at times, there were loose ends and flaws but I must say, I still enjoy this kdrama. I survived because of the Hwarangs; seeing them is enough reason to watch it until the last episode.