Spy thriller tells story of independence fighters
Scenes from MBC drama “Different Dreams” / Courtesy of MBC
By Park Jin-hai
MBC's new blockbuster period spy thriller “Different Dreams,” focused on the life of legendary independence fighter Kim Won-bong, kicked off on Saturday.
The 20 billion won-budget spy action series is designed to commemorate the centennial of the March 1 Independence Movement and establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai. The drama revolves around Kim, who organized a group of Korean independence fighters, called Uiyeoldan, at the age of 22 and led an armed resistance against the Japanese imperialists.
The drama, starring Yoo Ji-tae as Kim Won-bong and Lee Yo-won as Lee Young-jin, debuted receiving fairly good ratings of over 7 percent. The first four episodes, each 30-minutes long, aired Saturday and the drama's fast-paced plot successfully encompassed various walks of life in the history of independence movement under Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945).
The young, militant, patriotic members of Uiyeoldan, led by Kim Won-bong, in a secret meeting recite the Declaration of Joseon Revolution, written by Sin Chae-ho in 1923, and swear to sacrifice themselves for the independence of the country.
Meanwhile, Park Hyuk (played by Heo Ji-won), a long-time Uiyeoldan member, turns his back and tries to buy his future in Japan by passing critical information about a Korean spy to the Japanese police. Faced with Kim, who came to kill the betrayer, Park asks back, “Do we have a nation? What has the country given to me? It only gave me starvation and oppression. The King brought in foreign armies to kill its own people, while high ranking officials only care about fattening their own pockets. What kind of a nation is this?” he retorts.
Kim Nam-ok (Cho Bok-rae), another Uiyeoldan member on his mission to kill his former comrade and betrayer Park, hesitates and fails to kill his target.
The drama also featured freedom fighters with different ideologies and values but the same goal of achieving independence. The female lead character Lee Young-jin, played by actress Lee, is a Korean who was adopted by a Japanese couple and grew up to be a doctor. She later turned out to be a spy for the Provisional Government, working under the code name of “Blue Bird.”
On a ferry heading to Shanghai, Lee meets Kim Won-bong. Regarding the death of her close friend and fellow doctor Esther Park, who gets shot after her failed attempt to inject poison into the Japanese officer responsible for killing her entire village including her parents, Kim Won-bong says, “What she has done, whether it was personal revenge or by order of the Provisional Government, was the right decision.”
But Lee retorted, “Is 'blood for blood' right?”
The key points of the upcoming episodes will be how Kim and Lee, both with different visions, can cooperate in Shanghai and work towards independence. Also anticipated are more adrenaline-pumping action scenes in the spy period drama.
The drama's first episode ended, showing black-and-white photos of the real patriotic figures who inspired the TV series, including Esther Park, the first female Korean physician and independence fighter; Ji Cheong-cheon, superintendent of the Sinheung Military Academy where new leaders of the Korean forces were being trained; and Ji's second daughter and freedom fighter Ji Bok-young.
No one denies Kim Won-bong's selfless and relentless fight for national independence before liberation in 1945. Along with Uiyeoldan, he also organized the Korean Volunteers Army in 1938 and later served as the deputy commander of the Korean Liberation Army.
However Kim Won-bong's patriotic deeds have mostly been ignored, because he went to the North in 1948 and is alleged to have become a statesman who contributed to establishment of the regime there. But Kim Il-sung purged him in 1958.
Viewers left mixed comments like “Seeing the ending photos, I wanted to get to know more about those real-life patriotic figures, in particular Esther Park,” and “Now we have the right drama to show Kim Won-bong's life and explain what forced him to go to the North,” while conservative viewers said “Don't beautify the communist.”