Two demons and a human woman face off in Hwayugi

48 December 2, 2017

by tipsymocha

Very cool. I love the stylish teasers that have been coming out of the Hong sisters’ newest fantasy drama Hwayugi, though they don’t really give much away in terms of plot. I’m trying not to let my hopes get too high, but it’s difficult when the main leads are Lee Seung-gi (You’re All Surrounded), Cha Seung-won (Hwajeong), and Oh Yeon-seo (My Sassy Girl), all looking badass and ready to kick some demonic butt.

First, we have Lee Seung-gi’s Sun Wukong, aka the mischievous Monkey God, who introduces himself as “decadent and devilish.” I’m loving the decidedly rascally vibe he’s giving off from this short teaser, and I’m looking forward to the havoc I’m sure he’ll be wreaking in the show. Next, we have another powerful demon in Cha Seung-won’s Bull Demon King, who descends (ascends?) from hell in the teaser, with steaming tar covering his white shoes. He might look genteel and suave on the outside, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s the “king of demons,” as he declares in front of his masked followers.

And last but not least is Oh Yeon-seo, playing the rare human in Hwayugi’s mythical lineup. She wields an umbrella with a talisman attached underneath, which doubles as a weapon against evil spirits. She calls herself a “human with the ability to see demons,” and I can’t wait to see her whacking demons out of the way with her umbrella. I’m curious to see how the allegiances line up, since it looks like Lee Seung-gi and Oh Yeon-seo’s characters are facing off the same horde of demons that stood behind Cha Seung-won, which does suggest there might be some epic fighting among our leads, at least in the beginning.

I’m just excited to see promo material for Hwayugi, since it feels like forever since the project was first announced, and the cast is pretty amazing. In addition to the leads, the supporting cast includes Lee Hong-ki (Modern Farmer), Bora (Doctor Stranger), Lee Se-young (The Best Hit), and Lee El (Black), some of whom are pictured in the script read stills below.

Also, as part of the ongoing partnership between Netflix and tvN, the online streaming service has acquired the international broadcasting rights to Hwayugi, and is planning to make the series available in early 2018. Hopefully, international fans won’t have to wait too long in the new year to watch the show.

Hwayugi will premiere on December 23 to take over tvN’s weekend slot from The Most Beautiful Goodbye in the World, which is set to follow Revolutionary Love.

Via tvN Facebook, Herald Pop, Sports Chosun, Maeil Kyungjae

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1 SnarkyJellyfish

December 2, 2017 at 4:21 PM

These teasers are fun. Looking forward to this.

Hoping TvN won't be letting the episodes get too bloated because I just can't with the hour and a half episodes anymore. Also hoping the Hong sisters have gotten their groove back with this one since they have solid source material and an excellent cast. At least with them I know I'll be in for some good laughs and fun characters.

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Rainbow Unicorn

December 2, 2017 at 6:05 PM

Oh gosh yes! I hope its not insanely long.. Smart Prison Living suffers from the same issue..

btw is Oh Yeon Soo good? I have only seen her in My Sassy Girl and that show was all kinds of terrible...

Looking fwd to this too!

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BC

December 2, 2017 at 6:19 PM

She's brilliant. She was in Shine or Go Crazy and Go Back Mister, and whether or not one liked the dramas, she was great in them.

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SnarkyJellyfish

December 2, 2017 at 6:22 PM

I've only seen her in Come Back Ahjusshi, and that show had all sorts of issues too, but she committed to the comedy and so I really liked her. (It also probably helped that she was in the better of the two major storylines.)

I feel like with the Hong sisters you need a leading lady who doesn't mind going all in with the funny and OYS seems to fit that mold well. Just hope the writing holds up -- maybe with source material to follow they'll have a better shot this time around?

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silvermists

December 2, 2017 at 9:21 PM

Yes I like that she can go all out on comedy. But for me the biggest question is can she rein in it? She was too slap sticky in Sassy Girl. Even though the tone of the show veered that way, I still felt her acting was too over the top which just put me off the show entirely so I'm not sure what to expect from her this time.

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jaderjylsk

December 3, 2017 at 8:48 AM

She was amazing in Come Back Mister. That drama was just OK but she was great in it. She went all out with her role, and I was even shipping her with Honey Lee. She did both slapstick comedy and melo well in it

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2 ajewell

December 2, 2017 at 4:45 PM

IS IT DECEMBER 23rd YET????

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3 keiru

December 2, 2017 at 5:09 PM

The umbrella is too cute as a shield from demon 😊 (don't tell me that her late mother gave it to her when she was a child)

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Nessie

December 4, 2017 at 11:42 AM

haha I can see this korean trope happening straight away.

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4 Nicolette

December 2, 2017 at 5:30 PM

Does this mean we have to wait for Netflix to release it!? If that’s the case I might have to kill myself because that’s so unfair.

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coco

December 4, 2017 at 5:34 PM

NOOOOO I hope not 😭😭😭 someone please answer is Netflix gonna monopolize the airing of the show?

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5 Mandy

December 2, 2017 at 5:51 PM

This looks a bit unlike the usual Hong Sisters drama. I’m not sure what it’s gonna be like but I’ll try out the first few episodes. Something about it feels a bit like I won’t like it despite loving the cast. But I really want to be proven wrong on this.

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6 NP

December 2, 2017 at 6:55 PM

What a SOLID cast!

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7 Deb

December 2, 2017 at 7:15 PM

I'm getting serious Constantine (Movie) vibes from these trailers. Hope it's good!

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8 Helenya

December 2, 2017 at 7:31 PM

Oh sweet potatoes I just wet my pants with excitement!!! #hongsisters #chaseungwon #leehongki #leeseunggi

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9 tummy

December 2, 2017 at 8:12 PM

The teasers appear in a deliciously dark chocolate background. I am hoping for something that tilts towards a darker comedy and a stronger story rather than the romance being central to it.

They appear to have a cast to kill for. With this built in interest, I hope they're going to take some chances on the story and characters rather than making something run off the mill and insipid.

Fighting!!!

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10 TheImprintOnMyNose

December 2, 2017 at 8:17 PM

lee el is here too? Wow, i'll have to check it out. and Oh yeon seo looks so pretty in the script reading pics. I hope the 'powers' don't come out cheesy though.

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11 Lena S.

December 2, 2017 at 8:53 PM

"Netflix (...) and is planning to make the series available in early 2018"

cries.

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12 jillian

December 2, 2017 at 9:34 PM

The leads and supporting actors are making me excited for this. The trailers look really slick and make me want to watch this. Please be good!!!

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13 Napkiin

December 2, 2017 at 10:23 PM

I'm very interested to see how Hong sister will change Oh Yeon Seo's character. I really hope she won't turn out to be kind of useless character and always needed to be saved (as shown in the original Journey of the West), she looks really badass in the trailer so please Hong sisters surprise us pleasantly! And please no "must eat her flesh to be an immortal" BS... *eyeroll*

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14 Emmy

December 2, 2017 at 11:37 PM

Two gods and a human girl.... I'm getting Goblin vibes somehow.

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:-)

December 3, 2017 at 12:20 AM

Nope. It's Journey to the West vibe.

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Napkiin

December 3, 2017 at 8:25 PM

Definitely Journey to the West vibe. All of them are demons except the girl

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15 sriracha

December 2, 2017 at 11:54 PM

I'm watching this for Cha Seung-SWOON 😍 Please let this show be the Christmas gift that we deserve, drama gods!

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jaderjylsk

December 3, 2017 at 8:44 AM

Cha Seung-swoon indeed!😍

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16 Playstore, Okay Or Not Okay

December 3, 2017 at 12:12 AM

I see Lee El I click.

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mindy

December 3, 2017 at 6:01 AM

I can never decide if Lee El deserves lead roles or if she should just stick to supporting roles because she's always AWESOME in them and might suit them better than most female lead roles.

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17 spazmo

December 3, 2017 at 2:01 AM

i am going to be all over this. Lee Seung Gi + Cha Seung Won + Oh Yeon Seo....
; )

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18 LOOOLO

December 3, 2017 at 6:05 AM

i missed lee seung gi so much omg
like when i heard his voice in the teaser, i didn't expect it to sound so familiar

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19 C0reen

December 3, 2017 at 6:15 AM

As far as I know, this drama will also be on Viki. And I don't know why everyone hates Netflix, next to Viki they're the only platform that provides subs in multiple languages. But I forgot, most people want everything for free and watch their stuff on illegal platforms.

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Nicolette

December 3, 2017 at 6:56 AM

I watch everything legally and pay for subscriptions to dramafever and viki as well as having netflix, but I detest that Netflix wants exclusive rights to shows that they don’t plan on simulcasting. It’s unfair to the fans who are paying for that privilege by have it stripped from them because of these stupid money hungry partnerships. If viki has it as well then that’s fine but if not a lot of people will end up turning to illegal sites because they have to wait much longer for the content. It’s just unfair and if Netflix wants to join the game they really need to change their system.

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mindy

December 3, 2017 at 7:26 AM

Exactly. I have absolutely no problem watching dramas legally and that's my preferred way, especially because I like watching them on my Roku. If a drama is available legally within a reasonable time-frame then I will definitely watch it legally.

The problem comes when Netflix is the only option, like how it is now with Smart Prison Living. It's really a stupid business strategy on Netflix's part, especially their choice to make US viewers wait until the show is complete. Dedicated drama fans that like to keep up with currently airing shows are going to be much more likely to turn to illegal sites to watch their dramas when Netflix does this. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Also, I really can't understand why Viki and DF are able to provide subs on the same day while even for non-US viewers Netflix is taking a week to upload. Surely Netflix has the resources to provide faster subs.

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kaybee

December 4, 2017 at 2:49 AM

It must be nice to live somewhere that gets licenses for most shows and movies... Apparently means you can afford to be snarky to all the people who don’t.

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Rainbow Unicorn

December 4, 2017 at 3:49 AM

Excellent example of the polite disciplinary Punnery Seargent!! *clap clap*

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ObsessedMuch

December 5, 2017 at 11:14 PM

Oooh Kaybee is indeed awesome like that! :)
*claps with you*

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C0reen

December 7, 2017 at 2:01 PM

Lol, I am not living in the US that gets most licenses. But not having enough money is no excuse to support things you like or do you think Viki & Co. are getting their licenses for free?

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kaybee

December 7, 2017 at 2:54 PM

Comment was deleted

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kaybee

December 7, 2017 at 3:01 PM

I didn't say you live in the US nor did I mention money or whether or not one should support sites like viki. I only responded to how you seemed to assume that everyone will have this drama available to them on a paid streaming site, which, as far as I know, isn't true.

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20 Min

December 3, 2017 at 8:29 AM

honestly I am looking forward to this. i have zero dramas right since none from the new batch of dramas have made me feel interested. I hope the Hong sisters have brought their pre- Big mojo back and make this drama a fun one with high concept and solid comedic beats.

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21 jadea

December 3, 2017 at 10:55 AM

I'm interested but skeptical. The Hong Sisters most recent dramas have a tendency to make me interested in the beginning, but fizzle in the middle and towards the end. There's a great cast here though so hopefully they wont waste it.

I'm also not liking this whole netflix thing. It's great that they're joining the game so kdramas can potentially reach more people, but it sucks when they're holding subs weeks/months after the shows premiered. The excitement dies down after awhile.

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22 하데스

December 3, 2017 at 6:24 PM

I need me some supernatural. Yay!

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Ally

December 4, 2017 at 6:15 AM

Same! Would upvote +1000

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23 pinktape

December 3, 2017 at 8:11 PM

I didn't expect to love Hwayugi's teasers... but I love them a lot. I love the stylish feels, I love the effects (CGI?), and I love how well these clips introduce our main characters.

But I don't trust Hong sisters anymore :(. I'll start watching this if the reviews are great!