By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
KBS starts the New Year with two new epic dramas, ``Hong Gil-dong, the Hero,'' a Korean Robin Hood story and ``The Great King Sejong,'' another drama portraying the king of Joseon.
Both dramas are set back in the time of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910). ``Hong Gil-dong, the Hero'' is a comical remake of novel of the same name written by Heo Gyun under King Gwanghaegun's reign (1575-1641).
The rather young director Lee Jung-sub, 36, defines the soap opera as being a ``totally new epic drama.'' He prepared for this drama for about a year with writers Hong Jeong-eun and Hong Mi-ran, also known as the ``Hong Sisters'' of ``Sassy Girl, Chun-hyang'' (2005) and ``Couple in Trouble'' (2006).
Scenes from the preview were rather shocking. The protagonist, Hong Gil-dong (played by actor Kang Ji-hwan) has curly hair and wears sunglasses while Heo I-nok (Sung Yu-ri), the heroine, looks like Chun-li, the tomboy character from the popular game ``Street Fighter.''
Lee Chang-hui (Jang Geun-seok), the known-to-be-dead crown prince who takes on a more serious character, balances out the drama by trying to take back the throne with flapping long hair and eyes of sorrow.
Gisaeng, or traditional Korean female entertainers, dance to techno music in modern versions of hanbok (traditional Korean dress), bringing to screen a kind of Joseon nightclub scene.