Dark magic and cursed fates in Mirror of the Witch
by javabeans
I missed seeing the first teaser for Mirror of the Witch when it came out a couple days ago, but better late than never, right? The teaser is rather short, but it does reinforce my impression of the fantasy fusion historical drama as a gorgeously directed series tinged with a dark feel, which suits its cursed-princess-turned-witch premise.
Interestingly, the property has also put out an official webtoon via the Kakao Page platform; we’ve seen many projects going from webtoon to drama, but this is something of a reverse scenario, with the webtoon produced as a collaboration project alongside the drama (although the webtoon did technically come out first, releasing on the 15th). The webtoon is framed as a prequel, featuring the characters played in the series by Yeom Jung-ah and Lee Sung-jae in their youths.
In the drama’s current-day timeline, Yeom Jung-ah’s character is a powerful shaman who possesses strong dark energy, who is connected to the tragic princess (Kim Sae-ron) through black magic. Lee Sung-jae plays the upright man who only uses his powers for good, who clashes with the shaman in his determination to protect the princess. In the webtoon, we’ll see how the shaman had no choice but to choose the dark path, which should be an interesting trajectory to watch unfold alongside the drama’s full-fledged version of her adult character.
Yoon Shi-yoon is only briefly in the teaser, but we can’t forget about him as the series lead, a fictionalized version of famed Joseon doctor Heo Jun, who meets the princess with the frozen heart and falls in a loveline with her.
Also in the extended cast are actors Kwak Shi-yang (Oh My Ghostess), Jang Hee-jin (Village: Secret of Achiara), Lee Yi-kyung (Descended From the Sun), Moon Ga-young (Master of Trade—Inn 2015), and Lee Ji-hoon (Six Flying Dragons). The drama is directed by Jo Hyun-tak of JTBC sageuk Maids and 2013’s ghost-seeing cop drama Who Are You, both of which were shot beautifully and well-crafted with loads of mood and style.
Mirror of the Witch held its pre-broadcast prayer ceremony on April 19, and will follow currently airing Friday-Saturday drama Ms. Temper and Nam Jung-ki. It premieres on May 13.
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Tags: Kim Sae-ron, Lee Sung-jae, Mirror of the Witch, Yeom Jung-ah, Yoon Shi-yoon
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1 liina
April 20, 2016 at 8:11 AM
Haha, I just realized that this drama has both Lee Yi-kyung and Lee Ji-hoon. A little school 2013 reunion. :)
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2 milktea
April 20, 2016 at 8:27 AM
wait Lee Sung-Jae is playing a good guy? whenever he's in saeguk, i automatically think he's playing an evil character lol but YAY love that guy
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3 grammar
April 20, 2016 at 8:56 AM
kim saeron looks absolutely ethereal in that car selfie.
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howforwardsale
April 20, 2016 at 2:36 PM
And isn't a Joseon car selfie always fun?!
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4 Lulu
April 20, 2016 at 9:21 AM
So creepy. I cannot get behind this pairing and they really should have cast someone older. There are no decent actresses even in their early 20's?? Or heck at least 18??
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genki-escapist
April 21, 2016 at 2:47 PM
Same here. She looks suited for this part, but you can really see that she's a child and he's an adult. There are plenty of lovely adult actresses who would fit this role too. Conversely, aren't there any male teenage actors in Korea? This is just creepy.
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5 Duchess Rhea
April 20, 2016 at 9:36 AM
How do we find the webtoon? I didn't know that kkt had a webtoon platform. =/
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6 maythida
April 20, 2016 at 9:41 AM
If she has a frozen heart, does that mean that she didn't age and is actually of the same age range as the protagonist?
then can we have a defrost scene where she ages really fast so we get non-creepy kissy times??
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aoiaheen
April 20, 2016 at 10:32 AM
I don't think there'll be a kiss scene. Unless its a very chaste, forehead kiss.
I heard that for My Little Bride, Kim Rae Won refused to kiss moon geun young (She was very young then). They had a forehead kiss at the end.
I'm hoping that the story is such that we don't miss the skinship. Some stories are so good that they don't need romance ( even for the romance crazy fans like me)
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Nissa
April 20, 2016 at 6:00 PM
True.. even the kisses which are not on the lips can be very affectionate. Like when Hye so kissed Ji Hoon's cheeck on Marriage Contract.
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Tai
April 20, 2016 at 7:34 PM
well that's surprisingly honorable of Kim Rae Won.
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7 fay17
April 20, 2016 at 9:45 AM
Why do I feel like the comments are getting creepier rather than all the hype about kim sae ron's age =/.
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8 Pearl~ai88
April 20, 2016 at 9:55 AM
Wow, gorgeous shots! I'm definitely intrigued by this drama, we'll see.
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azzo
April 20, 2016 at 9:42 PM
yes, everyone looks so pretty! I just love fictionalized stories and this one sounds very interesting! definitely will tune into it!
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9 mk
April 20, 2016 at 10:18 AM
I just can't with the main couple...he's literally twice her age and she's a MINOR. Come ON, Korea. Why you pretending that's okay?
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bd5
April 21, 2016 at 12:08 AM
There was a 25 year age difference btwn Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn when they filmed "Charade."
Jodie Foster played a prostitute at age 12 in "Taxi Driver" (which also had a good amount of violence).
Dakota Fanning was 11-12 years old when she filmed "Hounddog" - where she had to portray being raped.
Brooke Shields was 14 when she filmed "The Blue Lagoon" where she appeared "topless" (w/ some hair covering her breasts) and she had kissing scenes w/ her costar, who was 19 at the time.
Sue Lyon was 14 when she filmed "Lolita" and Dominique Swain was 15 when she filmed the 1997 remake.
Numerous other examples of similar roles taken by teenage Hollywood actresses.
Think this pales in comparison...
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genki-escapist
April 21, 2016 at 2:50 PM
That you're using Hollywood examples to defend this is hilarious, because that's one of the main contentions of sane people against Hollywood--their casting is ridiculous. It wasn't okay in Hollywood and it's creepy as hell that Korea is following that trend.
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bd5
April 23, 2016 at 1:10 AM
It's called ACTING.
As long as there is no physical relationship - don't see a real problem with it.
There are young actors who deal with scenes of extreme violence which is more problematic.
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10 Mimi
April 20, 2016 at 10:36 AM
I wish it was another actress. I love Kim Sae Ron and Yoon Shi Yoon. But, separately. Still creeped out about the age gap, acting or not.
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11 earthna
April 20, 2016 at 11:38 AM
Saeron's so darn pretty. I guess I'm ready to hypnotize myself into forgetting any age gaps and just watch the show. It looks gorgeous so far.
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12 Nina Chikovani
April 20, 2016 at 11:56 AM
WOW, both actors look great, it's not american Tv show and every kdrama lady looks young so I can overlook there age difference.
IT'S DRAMA's CHARACTERS, NOT MY MY SISTER AND HER BOYFRIEND, so I think I'll survive/maybe even ship them >.<
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13 Ronnie
April 20, 2016 at 12:25 PM
Saeguks boring...........
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14 Ami
April 20, 2016 at 2:07 PM
I don't know why everyone is so "creeped out" by the age difference.
Back in the day, couples were formed between mature men and really young girls. They could be around 12! And the men could even be more than 50 in some situations! That's really hard to imagine, but I think if the girl was 15-16 and the man was almost 30, she would be lucky.
Also, most girls were forced to marry those older men. Here it seems to be a love story, consented by both people.
I find no problems with the age because it does not set any bad example. It's not set in the present between a salaryman and a highschooler, it's accurate with how things worked back then. Because of the context of their time, girls were more keen to create a family from a younger age, we can't judge them from the present perspective with our modern mentality.
And actually if I didn't knew the difference between them, I would have guessed there is a maximum 5 years. Yoon Shi Yoon looks soooo young and as korean actresses tend to look young as they age, I could believe that she is around 20 if that is what the story wants us to believe.
What I find strange is that everyone complains about this age gap thing, but most people where readily accepting and raving about the repeated violence in Jackpot, saying that's how it was history so it was right that they showed us, some said they wanted even more than was shown.
Well then, why is not right to show us a realistic couple from back then? We know that nothing inappropriate will happen between them on screen so the actress will not be put in bad situations.
Is violence less harmful than love?
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KanpekiLove
April 20, 2016 at 11:10 PM
I think you made some really good points Ami!
I'm a fan of Kim Sae Ron, so I'm just excited to see her back on screen as a lead.
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bd5
April 21, 2016 at 12:01 AM
"Back in the day" - there was no such thing as the teenage years, childhood ended and adulthood started once puberty hit (there's a reason for the ages of a Bar and Bat Mitzvah - ages 13 and 12, respectively).
Anyhow, as long as there isn't any physical relationship (other than maybe holding hands or a chaste peck on the forehead) - really not a big deal.
There was a 25 year age difference btwn Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn when they filmed "Charade."
Jodie Foster played a prostitute at age 12 in "Taxi Driver" (which also had a good amount of violence).
Dakota Fanning was 11-12 years old when she filmed "Hounddog" - where she had to portray being raped.
Brooke Shields was 14 when she filmed "The Blue Lagoon" where she appeared "topless" (w/ some hair covering her breasts) and she had kissing scenes w/ her costar, who was 19 at the time.
Numerous other examples...
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NamNavi
April 21, 2016 at 12:07 AM
Some people just want to watch hot kiss scenes on screen...
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fab
April 21, 2016 at 3:42 AM
In addition to @bd5's comment I have to add that it's in the end a matter of personal preference, not everyone is comfortable with the knowledge that the actress is too young for the role.
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genki-escapist
April 21, 2016 at 2:57 PM
"Back in the day..." The point is, this drama is being made NOW, not back in the day, when they practiced and believed really stupid things. The production staff should be responsible enough to critique their work for a modern audience (who are living in a more enlightened time when the majority of people recognize pairing children with adults for the creepy pedophilic practice that it is), rather than handwave this squick as being acceptable "back in the day."
Just because they did it then, doesn't make it okay. People should know better now, it's the 21st century for crying out loud.
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bd5
April 23, 2016 at 1:13 AM
And the point is - all KSR is doing is ACTING in a role - which is what she does.
If she had to show some skin or if there is a bed scene, then that's one thing, but if not - she's just doing what she has been doing - acting.
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15 Sona
April 21, 2016 at 4:43 AM
Ah well! I don't know why people making this much fuss! Haha
Just sit back and relax! Nothing bad is happing here...theyre just gonna act not gonna marry each other!
I'm not at all bothered by this....well we're used to this in our country! Hehe
And so looking forward to this drama! Its well shaped and perfect in all points! Hope it'll continue til the end! Mirror of the witch! Good luck!???
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