Purple Panda’s Note A year ago today, K-Drama “The Tale of Nokdu” had its finale. Despite the less impressive penultimate episode, I thoroughly enjoyed this series. I wrote this piece for HELLOKPOP which was published on December 23, 2019. Satisfaction or having the lack of it is not a result of fate but rather of the choices men made. The Tale Of Nokdu, behind its romantic-comedy premise, teaches a serious lesson about men’s penchant for power and thinking having it could bring all the things one’s heart’s desires. The drama clearly depicted a side to humanity that is innate yet abhorrent. It also showed we are have the ability to make choices. Choices that would eventually define how we wanted to live our lives. TITLE The Tale of Nokdu NETWORK KBS2 THEMEs Historical, Romance, Comedy, Power Struggle LENGTH 16 episodes BROADCAST DATE 30 Sep 2019 – 25 Nov 2019 MAIN LEADS Jang Dong Yoon, Kim So Hyun, Kang tae Oh HIGHLIGHTS Engrossing Premise, Engaging Characters DRAWBACK Lackluster confrontation scene OVERALL RATING RE-WATCH VALUE Jang Dong Yoon challenged himself in his very first period drama role and greatly portrayed his character of a man disguising himself as a woman. Kim So Hyun, being the historical drama veteran that she is, shone in her role as well. The Tale of Nokdu, armed with the right balance of humor and mystique, is another historical romantic comedy drama that is a good addition to the watchlist of sageuk enthusiasts. The Tale of Nokdu Quick Story Round Up A man disguised himself as a woman to infiltrate a widow village in order to identify the person or people behind the attack on his family. As he was about to find out the leader’s identity, he got entangled with the lives of the villagers, particularly a gisaeng-in-training. Both of them were hiding a secret of their own and it only took a matter of time before one secret after another gets revealed. As they got to know each other and Nok Du got closer to the story surrounding his birth, romance bloomed. Little they did know their lives were far more connected. The man who was King did all he could, to the extent of eliminating Dong Ju’s family and had his own son killed for the sake of power. Thanks to people who still have their conscience, Nok Du was able to grow into a wonderful person. Enough to have no desire to rule a throne marred by so much blood and evil desires. The Tale of Nokdu Highlights Engrossing Premise The series’ premise revolved around a cross-dressing young man who entered a village exclusive for woman in order to know the identity of his family’s attackers. That alone was enough to capture viewers’ attention. However, from that initial premise, more interesting plots started to open up. I was not actually worried that the impersonating theme would lose its steam because right off the bat the drama laid out the groundwork for the main and sub-plots. I was also glad that they actually brought it back towards the latter part of the series because it has so much to do with Nok Du’s character. It helped him to know the people who would eventually become a part of his family. Him pretending to be a woman has led him to solve mysteries and uncover pieces that has something to do with his birth right. I love how the drama related the story of Nok Du and the other characters. The drama was able to highlight the conflicts well and the characters’ connections. Watching Nok Du slowly discover his true identity and seeing the pain it caused him after knowing the truth, was heart-wrenching. Looking at Dong Ju consumed by her hate and desire for revenge was so absorbing. Seeing the King slowly losing his hold to power was so satisfying. Knowing that the same fate is in store for Yul Mo was oddly comforting. Engaging Characters I love that Jeon Nok Du was not a perfect hero. Sure he could fight well and knew how to outsmart his enemies, but the secret about his true identity made him vulnerable. His stubbornness caused much of the pain he felt. The father he knew and the one who raised him has been adamant to keep the truth from him, because he knew it would hurt deeply. But as a human being, we always want to know, and I really can’t fault Nok Du for trying to find things out. Dong Ju and her change of heart towards the end was an example of humans’ ability to forgive and let go. Yes, she suffered when her family was decimated, and she was left to die with them. Growing up, she dreamed of nothing but to exact revenge to the person responsible for her suffering. While I don’t condone her strong resolve to kill the King, I understood her motivation. But that moment she realized he was not worth killing, I liked her character even more. Not all revenge has to end up with someone’s death because sometimes having them live a life without peace and in constant fear is a lot more effective retribution. Cha Yul Moo and the King did share a similar fate and their greed for power was their undoing. The supporting characters gave the much-needed comic relief and added more interests to the narrative. Drawback Bland Confrontation Scene I know it was a historical romantic comedy drama and action was not the main focus. However, that confrontation/fight scene at the penultimate episode was not as gripping as I would like it to be. Perhaps it was just me being so critical, but I was actually expecting more for that confrontation. They had set it so well from the previous episodes leading to that moment, but it fell flat. I was not so disappointed by it, but the drama really could have done better. Takeaway The Tale Of Nokdu reeled in its viewers with an interesting narrative and appealing characters. But apart from that, the drama also leaves with lessons we all could apply on our daily lives. As humans, we have the tendency to desire for more that often leads to dissatisfaction. It turns that little craving to full-blown greed which is obviously not a good thing. Nok Du’s father has a great vision for his country but his desire for more power blinded him. He wanted a nation that was prosperous and free of any problems. While that was admirable, he thought that as King he was the only person who could do it. This made him covet more as he tightly held onto the throne. His decision to kill his own son based on a prophecy, was the root of his unrest. Constantly living in fear of his throne being taken away, he decided to do drastic things such as killing those he thought a threat to his authority. That was not a way to live because I can imagine how exhausting living that kind of life is. Yul Moo is heading down the same path and that last scene was quite telling; him sitting on his throne, in an empty hall, all on his own. On the other hand, Nok Du and Dong Ju are leading a more flowery road, though not without mishaps because such is life. It was evident that theirs was a simple yet happy existence. Far from the dirty politics and bad memories of the palace. It was their choices to forgive and leave that kind of life behind in exchange for a quiet and peaceful life in the island. Life is never easy, and it is not supposed to be. But whatever challenges it throws our way, we only have the power to change it and live through it. The choices we make are the ones affecting and influencing our existence. It is possible to have the contentment we seek if we learn and choose to accept that we could not have it all. The Tale Of Nokdu just showed us that in a manner that is convincing and so true. Images from KBS2 website and Facebook Page.
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Today we’re talking about The Tale of Nokdu’, a gender bender historical drama based on a 2014 Webtoon series. Women dressing up as men and somehow fooling people is big in K-dramas. This sub-genre is rather special, and it’s not so rare for people to start watching a drama purely because of gender-bending shenanigans. Sageuks are hardly a stranger to the gender bender trope, and in fact tend to pair well with it. From Sungkyunkwan Scandal’ to Queen SeonDuk’ and Love in the Moonlight’, you have everything from fun and fluff to political intrigue and straight up drama. The way Nokdu’ stands out among its peers, is that in a rather unusual turn of events, this time it’s a man who’s pretending to be a woman. Joseon Rom-Com The Tale of NokduMeet Jeon Nok-Du Jang Dong-Yoon, a … resourceful and athletic dude who has spent his entire life on a remote island with his adoptive family. When female assassins show up after him, murder his brother but unfortunately not the insanely annoying little sister, he has some serious questions. His quest to figure out who they were and why they were after him leads him to a hidden widows’ village. After helping a widow escape her in-laws, he somehow ends up impersonating her in order to sneak into the no-men-allowed village. Now Lady Kim Nok-Soon’, he must remain undiscovered while trying to uncover a conspiracy much bigger than he can widow village is right next to a gisaeng house, which I felt was odd, but hey, I’m not about to argue the logic of a gender bender drama. For those of you who’ve not watched any historical K-dramas, gisaengs are basically upscale entertainers/ prostitutes. Our Lady Nok-Soon is sent to bunk with unwilling gisaeng trainee Dong Dong-Joo Kim So-Hyun. Dong-joo might be a talentless entertainer, but she secretly is an excellent artisan, who’s also plotting to assassinate the king. Yup, the stakes just shot all the way up. They each discover the other’s secrets fairly quickly, and work together to keep them hidden, while dealing with their budding romance. They need to especially keep an eye out for Yool-Moo Kang Tae-Oh, a seemingly perfect nobleman, who is obviously a far more complicated character than he lets main characters of The Tale of Nokdu’The verdictI am not going into any more detail cause I’d be giving away too much. I’ll let you get surprised by the twists and turns of this drama all on your far as gender benders go, this is solidly on the “embrace the absurdity” side. The antics of Lady Kim Nok-Soon were hilarious to watch, and I thought the approach was like how even the I must avenge my dead father’ broody dude trope was flipped on its head with Dong-ju. On this note, I’ll say that I expect we’ll be seeing far more of Kim So-Hyun. She was excellent in her need to take a moment and appreciate the pacing. While slightly fudged near the end, the build up of the story, and especially the romance, was excellent. Our main couple switches from cute to steamy and back and I, for one, was hooked. The whole plot unfolds in a similarly satisfying manner, and it really makes the drama flow and easy to in any sageuk worth its salt, the stakes are higher than they seem. This is established early enough for the writers to tie all the loose plot threads they started, and to give us a satisfying conclusion. I can’t even begin to complain about all the questions I still have about other historical dramas, so this was a welcome talk second leads and villains… Yool-Moo was… a revelation? Kang Tae-Oh really did a brilliant job there of convincing us throughout his character’s arc. This says a lot, cause damn that was some by far the most memorable and interesting aspect of The Tale of Nokdu is the character of the King. Set up as the villain, we get glimpses into his mind and troubled psyche. We see how being tormented by fear and mistrust leads him from one bad decision to the next; At the same time, he keeps wanting to do better, but is ultimately consumed by those negative voices. His eventual friendship with Nokdu is fascinating because it offers a brief respite to both, yet is inherently tragic. Jung Joo-Ho was exceptional in his portrayal of this conflicted you like your historical dramas fluffy but still kinda dark, then The Tale of Nokdu is definitely one for your watch list. For fans of the gender-bender sub-genre particularly I’d say it’s an absolute must. Not many dramas take the man-posing-as-woman road, and it brings up interesting storytelling the trailer. The drama is available on Netflix.
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the tale of nokdu review
