Gaksital: What is the Cost of Being a Hero?

 

So perhaps the most emotionally intense drama of 2012 has ended as Gaksital wrapped up its last episode this week.  All I can say is WOW!!!! 

This drama got me and it got me good.  I have been a Joo Won fan since his “bad guy” role as Ma Jun in Kim Tak Goo: Baker King, then saw him in Ojakgyo Brothers, as the tormented third brother as well as the lead of that drama.  Both were phenomenal and strong performances, and I have to say very few actors portray heart-wrenching emotions as well as Joo Won, and boy did he deliver in Gaksital.   Gaksital (English name Bridal Mask) is the tale of a masked hero who wears a Bridal mask in his freedom fight to help Korea gain its independence from Japanese colonisation.    

Set in the early 1930s, we find ourselves in the mist of the Japanese annexation of Korea.   I have to admit that I had very little knowledge of this time period, but Gaksital triggered my curiosity and led me to research that time period.  It was a dark, bleak and miserable time in Korean history and Gaksital portrayed it as such.  If you do not like a drama with angst, tension, heartbreak, turmoil and suffering walk away now.  Hehe.  When I put it that way, I don’t know why anyone would want to watch it in the first place.  Regardless of those torturous moments, the drama tells the beautiful tale of a fight for freedom, the cost of heroism, and the growth from boy to man.   

Lee Kang To should win an award for best dressed hero.

Joo Won’s character Lee Kang To starts off as the ever efficient and loyal police officer who turns against his own people to serve the Japanese, abusing and controlling Koreans.  He is the practical sort of guy, working hard in his job despite the hatred he gains from other Koreans and the disdain from his mother and brother as well.  His brother, Lee Kang San (Shin Hyun Joon), was a involved in fights for independence during university and as a result of his capture and interrogation his brother is now mentally challenged living daily in the body of a man and the mentality of a five year old.  Kang To has successfully established himself as a reliable and efficient police officer and is placed in charge of the Gaksital case, a case which (unknown to him) will eventually lead to him assuming the gaksital mantle.  I love that this drama began with Kang To as the villain in the story because “evil” Kang To was so easy to dislike.  It’s a testimony to how well Joo Won portrayed the character.  Watching him transform from the “prick” to the hero was a wonderful experience.  But that for me was not the best part of this drama.  The beauty of Gaksital lies in the human interactions.

One such interaction is the love between the brothers Kang To and Kang San.  There is something so deep and heart warming about their relationship that gets me right in the heart.  Then, there is the Kimura Shunji (Park Ki Woong) and Kang To relationship.  Best friends in a turbulent time period where Japanese and Koreans did not meld well together.  It was a friendship that transcended the different nationalities and was one of the best “bromances” I have ever seen.  Alas, it could not last.  The fact of the matter is that Shunji is the son of one of the terribly awful Japanese officers in the drama, Kimura Taro, and from that alone we know he has the potential to become bad. Therefore, I love the watching Shunji’s transformation as well.  He moves from being the lighthearted friendly school teacher, to one of the best villains I have seen in a K-drama to date.  His brand of bad is particularly intriguing because we have seen him good.  We know what he once was and saw what he was becoming and that added to the emotional intensity of the drama.  A lot of my appreciation for Shunji’s transformation also lies in the actor who portrayed him.  If anyone other than Park Ki Woong was in that role I do not think it would’ve had the same intensity.  I must admit that I was thoroughly impressed with him as well. 

My one problem with Gaksital lies in the love story line.  The entire storyline of Mok Dan (Jin Se Jun) being the first love of both Kang To and Shunji under different names was a little too much for me.  Mok Dan’s character as the daughter of the freedom fighter Dam Sa Ri was a waste to me.  She spent the majority of the drama as a tool used to catch the hero or her father.  It kept repeating itself over and over.  Catch Mok Dan, release her, catch her again, release her again and so on and so forth.   While I like that Mok Dan wanted to fight for freedom and help out her father, I think the repetitiveness of her character’s capture forced me not to take her seriously.  She came across as a silly girl getting herself into positions where she could be captured and that just didn’t bode well with me.  I would’ve much rather seen Ra Ra/ Ueno Rie’s (Hang Chae Ah) character as the main female lead.  There was so much potential for her character.  A Korean woman who has assumed a Japanese identity and was working for the bad guys in this drama was a character with multiple layers.  In my opinion, watching her find her Korean roots again, while falling for Kang To would’ve added a lot more to the drama.  

Shunji is working that all white suit.

Overall though, Gaksital is a fantastic drama.  It has great directing and a good script which keeps you begging for more.  The musical score also enhances these elements as the sad moments bring you to tears, and triumphs lift you to the heavens.  It was always beautifully shot with dynamic and breathtaking scenery not to mention the clothing.  I mean how dapper are these guys.

My emotions are still raw from the way the drama ended and I feel as though I need to sleep for a week to recover from the intensity and tension of it all, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  I give 4.5 out of 5 on the Bel scale.  It’s worth watching

According to Bel:  A must watch drama.