Iljimae



""Don't worry, I can steal anything. After all, I'm Il Ji-Mae.""

Corruption and oppression in Korea during the time of the Qing Dynasty is Serious Business. The rich and powerful shed the blood of the innocent and just. And that's the good news. The bad news is that it's all about to get worse. And the family of one poor little boy is caught smack dab in the middle.

Iljimae (also seen as Il Ji-Mae and Il Chi-mae) is a Korean drama detailing a boy's growth and maturation into the nation's greatest hero against a spoiled government. Sure, the emperor seems like a nice guy, but his field of vision amounts to diddly squat, and the noblemen do as they please and take what they want. It's a little overacted, but the characters--just about ALL of them--are unique and engaging, and the story has more Character Development, plot twists, and Crowning Moments than you can shake a stick at. A very fine project that shows Korea's got chops of its own. Watch out though, some kink in Korean television scheduling puts each episode at over an hour without commercials, and there's a full season of them, so once you get started, this Troper suggests you get comfy.


 * Abusive Parents: Si Hu's noble parents refuse to acknowledge him, even though he outshines their older son with flying colors.
 * Attempted Rape: And it just goes downhill from there...
 * Badass: Il Ji-Mae, Yong-Jae the Fake Monk, the Emperor's assassin Chun, Si-Hu, even Bong-Sun gets a few moments
 * Back-to-Back Badasses: Yong-Jae and Chun in the old days
 * Badass Beard: Chun
 * Badass Long Robe: Yong-Jae
 * Retired Badass: Yong-Jae
 * Batman Gambit:
 * Yong gets increasingly good at this, using the noblemen's pride against them.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Emperor Injo is perpetually polite in a sickening way, but man, has he got a temper!
 * Big Screwed-Up Family: If you follow the lines of biology and match them with behavior, hoo boy.
 * Breather Episode: The first half of of episode ].
 * Character Development: Gyum/Yong and Cha Dol/Si Hu are most notabe (at least as far as I've gotten.)
 * Cold-Blooded Torture: Used on anyone who gets arrested for pissing off a nobleman.
 * Coming of Age Story: coming of age, then coming of Badass
 * Cut Himself Shaving: Yong comes up with plenty of these to keep his parents from worrying when he gets beat up. They're never convinced, but at least they don't press him.
 * Darkest Hour:
 * Disney Death:
 * Dramatic Shattering: When Yong realizes
 * Dropped a Bridge on Him: You killed  You BASTARD!!!
 * Forgotten First Meeting: One of the love interests figures out who he was by a piece of jewelry the boy who saved her life carried. The other love interest also figures out who he was because he continued a story he never finished when they were children.
 * Heroic BSOD: poor Yong...
 * Justified Criminal: Swe Dol, eventually Yong, arguably the Castor Oil Gang
 * The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life: Yong / Iljimae can't reveal himself to the girl he likes.
 * Meaningful Name: Yong means dogshit. Yet, hilariously, people will name their kids that based on the myth that dragon rise from canine crap like a phoenix from ashes.
 * One-Man Army: After mastering combat techniques, Il Ji-Mae loves to do this.
 * Please, I Will Do Anything!: used quite often.
 * Police Brutality: In spades, as well as Police Lechery.
 * Roof Hopping: Taken to a fine art by the main character, which also leads to Rooftop Confrontation.
 * Smug Snake: Minister Byun and, of course, his son.
 * Took a Level In Badass: Si Hu gains plenty during the first time skip, while Gyum actually manages to lose some. But Gyum takes even more by the end of the series.