I had been looking forward to watching the historical Korea-Khitan War as it wasn’t a fantasy or focused on the romantic involvements of the king or other characters. I ended up having mixed reactions to the varied approaches to history and the different levels of acting abilities.

Goryeo was dealing with its larger and more aggressive neighbor, the Liao Empire run by the Khitans. There had already been one invasion by the Khitans which had been repelled but led to concessions on both sides. After a coup, Gang Jo has the teenager Hyun Jong coronated king. The Khitans use the coup as justification for another invasion and for the people of Goryeo and their new king it won’t be the last.

When the drama focused on the historical events of the invasions, I found it quite compelling. This small country stood its ground and used every trick and resource it could to repel the invaders. I became deeply invested in characters like Kang Kam Chan, Yang Kyu, Kim Sook Heung, Ji Chae Mun, and even the Khitan general Xiao Pai Ya. Goryeo not only dealt with the enemy across the border but the enemy within, as traitors opened their gates to the invaders or planned to cooperate with the Khitans. After the Khitans were successfully repelled the second time, the drama lapsed into internal conflicts for around 14 episodes that apparently were not based in historical evidence which I found disappointing. When they once again faced the Khitans, more prepared for their familiar enemy, the drama picked back up for me.

The battle scenes required an understanding that with a limited budget, armies of over 100,000 troops were going to be represented by two dozen people. Battle fields that should have been hip deep in bodies and blood were suddenly washed clean with no one there. For the most part when they showed the fighting up close and the stakes involved it was easier to buy in. The battle at Heunghwajin was done quite well. I was hoping to see the damming of the river battle in the third invasion, but that was likely beyond their budget.

Some of the acting was quite good. Choi Soo Jong as the rigid and canny Kang Kam Chan gave a brilliant performance. Ji Seung Hyun as Yang Kyu was quite believable as the determined warrior who could adapt and improvise on the battlefield. The deep voiced Kim Tae Han as Xiao Pai Ya provided the perfect foil for Kang Kam Chan. There were some limited performances by many other characters that often pulled me out of the moment. The drama focused much of its attention on the saintly, emotional king, but I found him to be one of the least interesting characters and performances. The amateurish camera pans of obvious reaction shots of people being wide-eyed, open-mouthed shocked in the court were overused. The villains, Emperor Shengzong of Liao and Park Jin of Chungju, were overacted and did everything but twirl their mustaches to let you know how evil they were.

When Korea-Khitan War focused on the war, it was engrossing to see how the Goryeo army was going to outfox and outfight the larger armies of the Khitans. When it lapsed into endless political jockeying and arguments, focusing on less compelling characters and actors, it lost some steam and historical integrity.

20 May 2024