[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Dae Jo Yeong" Episodes 1-5

"The Great Battle" from 2018 is a major blockbuster starring Zo In-sung in the leading role as the commander of a fortress under assault by the Tang Dynasty in the seventh century. I liked the movie well enough when it was new, but was surprised on a recent rewatch how little it held up, mainly because I'd just seen the first five episodes of "Dae Jo Yeong" depict the same battle. An English-subtitled version of the 15-month, 134-episode series does exist, but it's not exactly famous.

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There's plenty of time to get into the reasons for that later. What makes "Dae Jo Yeong" compelling is just how well it holds up in comparison to its big screen little brother. "The Great Battle" is framed by a mostly weird subplot about Goguryeo leadership trying to assassinate the Ansi Fortress commander for insubordination. "Dae Jo Yeong" is instead framed by complex strategic maneuvers, with outmatched Goguryeo commanders struggling to find defensible positions against aggressive Tang imperialist expansion.

The depiction of the Tang Dynasty, just China, for all practical intents and purposes, is notable because while "The Great Battle" makes them out to be vicious and a little psychotic, the main difference "Dae Jo Yeong" shows between the Chinese and the Koreans is that the Chinese are hierarchical to a fault. This leads to hubris, and eventually defeat when they overextend, the Tang Emperor frustrated that his subordinates, with one notable exception, were unwilling to take the Koreans seriously.

Goguryeo is much more decentralized by comparison, with Im Dong-jin playing Zo In-sung's role as Man-chun less as an inspiring leader and more as a careful manager, doing whatever he can with what little resources he has available and being willing to embrace outside-the-box thinking as possible. This contrast hits its apex with the Tang dynasty constructing an assault hill, a genuinely impressive feat of engineering, only for it to be destroyed by Goguryeo forcing a cave-in.

"Dae Jo Yeong" is epic in terms of breadth where "The Great Battle" was epic in scale- a comparison "The Great Battle" ultimately suffers from. Look at the endpoint, of Man-chun shooting an arrow at the Tang Emperor. In the blockbuster, the borderline magic arrow comes from the bow of "Jumong" of legend. In "Dae Jo Yeong" the arrow comes from a normal iron bow. And which is the better story really- Korea winning via magical destiny, or because they were consistently underestimated?

Written by William Schwartz

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"Dae Jo Yeong" is directed by Jeong Yeong-cheol, Kim Jong-seon, Yoon Seong-sik, written by Jang Yeong-cheol, and features Choi Soo-jong, Jung Bo-suk, Lee Deok-hwa, Park Ye-jin, Hong Soo-hyun, Kim Jin-tae. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2006/09/16~2007/12/23, Sat, Sun 21:40 on KBS.