IL JI-MAE

its a story about Lee Geom, a son of a noble family or be more exact the nephew of the king in chosun era. His father was Lee Wonho, who was accused in treason. Hiding inside a small cupboard,Geom saw the sword with black emblem engraved that killed his father, and he was the only one who witnessed it.

one night, his whole family was scattered. he himself was 'kidnapped' by a thief who broke into his house after the daeth of Lee Wonho. He was raised by the nice thief (haha) and his wife. due to the sudden shock, he lost his memory after suffering from high fever. he grew up to be a young man who acted like a scroundrel (sorry,but i have no other word) but a kind man at heart. He began to gain his memory as he was bullied by his classmates who came from noble families. oh ya, he was known as Ryung.

he then began to search for his family with the help of a gangster. but being a son to a traitor, wrongly accused or not, the search was done underground-secretly. He managed to look for his sister and they are about to reunite when an unfortunate event happened, the government found out that her sister was the daughter of Lee Won Ho the traitor(as what they called) hence she was executed to call Ryung out. she was caught and was charged as a wanted criminal for being a runaway slave girl and for injuring a guard.

Having learned that she was a traitor's daughter, and her brother, Lee Geom, had been in contact her, the authorities set up a gallows to lure him out. However, in his failure to rescue his sister, he watched her being hanged to death. He abandoned the thought of finding his mother, afraid for endangering her life, hoping that she was well and alive somewhere.

From that day onwards, Ryung declared to go for a revenge and find the murderer of his father, by looking for the owner of a sword which had a symbol carved into the blade as a clue. During night time, he turned to be a robber who robs the corrupt government officials and gave to the poor people. People recognizes him as Il Ji-Mae.

the search led him to his father's comrades: the king's loyal ministers. As the story climaxed, the truth of his father's death led him to the Palace. He began to planned to burglarise the Palace. That one night, he found out about everything and after threatening the king, he disappeared. Rumors of him being dead was spread all over country. However, after 4 years, someone else burglarised into the Palace the very same way and same costume too.

familiar? Of course, he is 'Robin Hood' to the people. The rich feared him for their wealth, the soldier hated him for various reasons, the people loved him and gave him a name, Iljimae, which mean a branch of plum/titis flower (mei hua). For every time he steals, he leaves behind a drawing of a branch of plum flowers, known as his trademark. The townspeople began to declared him as King as after an incident and the people began to lose faith in the king.

highly recommended to all. the story is done superbly well. the end isnt as what as i expect,spoiled;confusing and unclear. but i guess that causes of the eagerness of watching The Return of Il-Ji Mae, put aside the fact that lee-junki is not playing the main cast.

oh yes, i know there will be many who just scroll down without reading. haha. relax je.