[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Jirisan" Episode 1

I-kang (played by Jun Ji-hyun) is a tough and competent park ranger working at the titular Jiri Mountain. Hyeon-jo (played by Ju Ji-hoon) is a rookie ranger and I-kang's new partner who's promptly thrown into a bad day when a middle school student suspected of suicidal impulses goes missing in the mountain. The childhunt does not go well. The mountain is simply too gigantic, and everyone is bracing for a giant storm.

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The concept feels unique enough, although that's just because the idea of heroic park rangers is a bit antiquated in our modern age of intense technological advancement. Strange as it may be to think today, past generations made good use of mountaineers as heroic figures. Because mountains are dangerous. You can die there. But rescuing an unfortunate person stuck in a mountain for some contrived reason only takes maybe half an hour at most. The concept can only just barely be stretched out to a movie. So how is "Jirisan" going to be a sixteen episode television drama?

Well, for starters, "Jirisan" gets a lot of points just for the gorgeous visuals. Jiri Mountain is indeed a real mountain. You can go there, if you're a particularly ambitious hiker, and be treated to beautiful vistas of the huge natural landscape and park. As product placement goes "Jirisan" also feels awfully original. Mountains are among the more distinct physical landmarks in Korea. It's something better appreciated by the Chinese target audience of the drama than the broader ones though.

Speaking of which, if you want to watch "Jirisan" you'll have to do it on iQiyi- which has some of the less obnoxious advertisements I've seen on ad-supported video websites, for whatever that's worth. And the drama's no slouch with domestic ratings either. The first episode had ratings of 9.1%- not that big a drop compared to the 12.7% ratings earned by "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" which ends in the same timeslot on tvN.

The main trouble with "Jirisan" is that there's not much to recommend it beyond the backdrop just yet, simply because so much of the actual story remains shrounded in mystery. There's a two-year timeskip, over which time a whole lot of ominous stuff appears to have happened between I-kang and Hyeon-jo. I don't have any idea how this midstory exposition is going to be worked into the present day. But if nothing else, "Jirisan" has at least managed to pique my interest.

Review by William Schwartz

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"Jirisan" is directed by Lee Eung-bok, written by Kim Eun-hee-I, and features Jun Ji-hyun, Ju Ji-hoon, Sung Dong-il, Oh Jung-se, Jo Han-chul, Joo Min-kyung. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/10/23~Now airing, Sat, Sun 21:00 on tvN.

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