Iljimae (Korean: 일지매; lit. 'One blossom branch') is a 2008 South Korean period-action television series, starring Lee Joon-gi in the title role of Iljimae. It is an original story based on the Korean folk hero and gentleman thief "Iljimae" from the Joseon era.
It was directed by Lee Yong-suk, and produced by Chorokbaem Media. It aired on SBS TV from May 21 to July 24, 2008 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 (KST) for 20 episodes.
Contents
Synopsis
The story takes place in Joseon, around 1633. Lee Gyeom (Lee Joon-gi) is the son of the virtuous nobleman Lee Won-ho, who is the king's trustworthy supporter and brother, and a central member of the secret organization Cheonwoohoe, composed of other five important nobles with the king as their leader. When a blind fortune teller, looking at Lee Won-ho's home, refers to the king that he sees a person as bright as the sun who would be adored by the people, the king killed Lee Won-ho as he believed that 'two suns cannot exist on the same sky'. Gyeom, from the inside of a safe, manages to survive and witnesses the murder; later, when he is forced to throw a rock at his mother's head to prove that he isn't her son, he loses his memory for the shock and is adopted by a retired thief, Soe-dol, who renames him "Yong-i". Thirteen years later, Yong-i regains his memories and begins to search for his older sister Yeon, only to see her being sentenced and hanged.
The murder of his older sister leaves Gyeom seeking revenge and, with the emblem on the killer's sword he remembers from thirteen years ago as his only clue, he swears to avenge his family. To find the sword and its owner, he disguises himself as the mysterious, black-swathed thief Iljimae, who breaks into the nobles' estates the members of the secret organization, Cheonwoohoe. Meanwhile, he also helps the people with injustices, becoming a hero. At the scene of each robbery, he leaves a handkerchief portraying a branch of red plum blossoms, symbol of the house where he lived and of his childhood memories: the very name of Iljimae reflects this, as "il" means "one", "ji" means "branch" and "mae" means "plum tree". The king and the nobility try to catch Iljimae and find his identity, especially the guard Byeon Si-hoo, who sees this as an opportunity to redeem himself from his life of misery and become a noble. In the meantime, Yong-i falls in love with Eun-chae (Han Hyo-joo), daughter of nobleman Byeon Shik and Si-hoo's stepsister, who can't forget her first love Lee Gyeom.
Cast
Main
Lee Joon-gi as Lee Gyeom / Yong-i / Iljimae
Yeo Jin-goo as child Lee Gyeom
A no-good, lazy gangster by day, and a mysterious thief who protects the citizens in the dark.
Park Si-hoo as Cha-dol / Byeon Si-hoo
Lee David as child Cha-dol
Once a poor boy, he was told at the age of nine that his real father was magistrate Byeon Shik and was sent to live with him, becoming a royal guard. However, his real father is actually Lee Won-ho. His dream is to catch Iljimae so that he can finally become a nobleman.
Han Hyo-joo as Byeon Eun-chae
Kim You-jung as child Byeon Eun-chae
A lovely and kind girl of noble birth who seems to be fated both for and against Gyeom.
Lee Young-ah as Bong-soon
Jung Da-bin as child Bong-soon
A funny, silly swindler who was orphaned as a girl and is connected to Gyeom's past.
Supporting
Lee Moon-sik as Soe-dol, Yong-i's and Cha-dol's foster father
Kim Sung-ryung as Dan-i, Cha-dol's mother, Yong-i's foster mother
Lee Il-hwa as Mrs Han, Gyeom's mother
Son Tae-young as Lee Yeon, Gyeom's sister
Jo Min-ki as Lee Won-ho, Gyeom's and Cha-dol's father
Jung In-seo as Sumsumyi
Ahn Gil-kang as Gong-gal, Bong-soon's foster father, ex-assassin
Mun Ji-yun as Dae-shik, Yong-i's friend
Kim Hyun-sung as Heung-gyeon, Yong-i's friend, shoemaker
Jeong Jae-eun as Sim-deok, inn keeper
Lee Won-jae as Jang Po-gyo, hunter
Lee Won-jong as Byeon Shik, Eun-chae's and Si-wan's father, Si-hoo's foster (supposed real) father
Kim Mu-yeol as Byeon Si-wan, Eun-chae's older brother
Yang Jae-sung as Shim Gi-won, Lee Won-ho's friend
Kim Roi-ha as Sa-cheon, king's assassin
Jo Sang-ki as Mu-i, king's assassin
Seo Dong-won as Eun-bok, hunter's son
Do Ki-seok as Hee-bong, gang leader
Production
Originating as a fictional character from various Ming Dynasty novels depicting a gentleman thief who leaves a plum blossom at the scene of every theft, the character of "Iljimae" became popular in Korea via the importation of Chinese novels during the Joseon period and became known as a folk hero. The character has since inspired many variants in pop culture, generally depicting Iljimae as a noble outlaw who helps the oppressed. The character was further popularized by a 1975 comic strip by Koo Woo-young featuring him as the title character, but due to the adaptation rights for the comic being owned by MBC, SBS opted to create an original story for the character instead.
Lee is the second actor to play the hero in Korean live-action media following Jang Dong-gun in 1993.
International broadcast
So-net TV began broadcasting the series in Japan on 24 November 2008. Reruns aired on terrestrial channel TV Tokyo from 15 June to 24 August 2009, and Mnet Japan starting 25 August 2009.
It aired in Thailand on Channel 3 from December 4, 2009 to February 19, 2010.
It also aired in Nigeria on government owned ITN channel from 2016 year end.