Kim Joo Jung is my favorite Korean actress. I first saw her in the first Korean movie that I ever watched, “Commitment” (2013). By that time she was a young teenager. The next time I saw her in a Korean TV series. “Tamra the Island” (2009) and she was much much younger. That's when I realized that she was a child actress. I call her the “Korean Shirley Temple”. She is a young adult now and her acting career has been very successful. Whenever I see her name, I must watch the movie or the TV series.
“Lovers of the Red Sky” (2021) stars Kim Joo Jung as Hong Cheong-Gi. Her leading man is played by Ahn Hyo Seop as Ha Ram. This young man is a singer and an actor who was born in Canada. The two of them made a lovely loving couple.
This series is based on the novel of the same name. It is a Viki Original Series, 17 episodes, and to be perfectly honest, it was sort of lacking. But since I like Kim Joo Jung so much, I was willing to overlook the script's flaws and shortcomings. Also, Ahn Hyo Seop, who played her love interest, is strikingly handsome; even with red eyes.
It's a a historical fantasy romance drama. There is a wicked demon, Ma Wang, who wants to wreak destruction, shed blood, and commit all kinds of evil. There are protective good spirits who have the power to help humans fight this demon, there are shamans (who practice both black magic and good magic), and a goblin who happens to have excellent taste in art. He doesn't kill people. He just steals paintings.
Hong Cheong-Gi is the “divine painter” and Ha Ram is an astrologer who can read the stars and predict the future. They were born on the same day, meet as children and develop a bond of friendship which plants the seed of love. But they become separated and do not meet again until they have grown up. By that time, they don't recognize each other. Because? Because when she was a child Hong Cheong-Gi was blind and never knew what Ha Ram looked like. She had been cursed by the demon. By the time she grew up, Ha Ram had been cursed by the demon. On the same day he was cursed, she gained her eyesight; but he became blind. They have only the memories of their childhood which they piece together and realize that they do know each other and have crossed paths again.
Meanwhile, for a subplot, there is a king, the royal father of two princes: Prince Anpyeong (played by Gong Myung) and Prince Sooyang (played by Kwak Si Yang); a good prince and a bad prince. What happened was that when they were children, one of the princes had been wounded by the evil demon, Ma Wang. You can't help but wonder if maybe he would have also been a good prince too, if he had not had that unfortunate encounter. At any rate, these two brothers grow up and of course, the bad prince wants to be the king and is willing to do whatever it takes to rule, even it means getting rid of his father and his brother.
Hong Cheong-Gi (Kim Joo Jung) and Ha Ram (Ahn Hyo Seop) are caught up in two vicious webs: the human politics and power games AND the eternal power struggle of good versus evil within the supernatural spirit world.
What will be the fate of these two lovers?
Korean drama is my guilty pleasure. If you liked this content, you might also like:
Ten (10) Korean Drama TV Series That are Binge-Worthy
Korean Drama TV Series: Six Flying Dragons (2015)
