That was awesome! Total respect!

This was so cutely written! And yeah Faith was where I discovered Lee Min Ho, Park Se Young, and my wonderful all time favorite Ryu Deok Hwan!! It's still somewhat of a guilty pleasure of mine with the fish-out-of-water shenanigans, cliche but "awww" cute romance, and plenty absurd hilarity

So impressed by your poem! It was fun to read 🙂

This is so cool!!! I really liked this drama a lot. To me it had two lead couples, because I was so attracted and in loved with the royal couple, and yes, I cried too when she miscarried. Good job

LOL! Great poem @Alaskan !
I'm glad to see that all genres of writing get represented here.

It's true in the end that no matter how bad some shows might have been, there were some of us who (sheepishly) enjoyed them, and yes even better, were touched by something that they portrayed ... and that was really enough. We often know a show could have been better, but it reached us somehow and stayed with us. That was good. :)

I believe that if we demanded a near perfect show before we'd watch it, we'd be very free. :D

Woodalchi rise!!
Who cares if they were totally inefficient guards. 🤣

I LOVED THIS! This was great 😄

I like Faith a lot too. It has its fair share of shortcomings, but there are some things in it that are incredibly well done, both acting and directing wise.

One of them was the way Choi Young was always on the alert, watching for danger, his sword ready. He mostly answered to people mechanically and unenthusiastically because he wasn't paying much attention. That made the times when his head snapped back to look at Eun-soo that much poignant to me.

This was a character very very well done in my opinion, and suited LMH very much. It was actually the only role of his that I liked and thought him well-cast.

This made me smile from ear to ear and I didn't finish the show but I watched enough to know what you are trying to convey.

Rock on @Alaskan!

Faith is still one of my favorites. Choi Young's departure and visit to "heaven" was great. And the ending wrapped up all the puzzles and made everything make sense.

OMG what an amazing write-up! I love, love your poem. 💕

Also, I love Faith and agree with everything you said. The OST in particular was mind blowing. Also, this is my favourite Lee Min Ho look. ^^ though Kim Hee Sun stole the show.
The only thing that irritated me was the Number. Of. Times. She. Was. Poisoned.

But also, once I read about the bts mess (after I'd finished the show), it kind of took the enjoyment away. Like Hwayugi right now. Apart from this, Faith remains one of my favourite shows, ever.

Loved It!!! Thank you so much and Faith was also my first K-drama and holds a very special place in my heart. I have since watched it multiple times and have most of the OST as my ringtones. My only regret was the ending but still love it very much but thought the OST chemistry was awesome especially the scene where he brushed her hair.

This is one on my watch list now. 2012 was a good year and a horrible one at the same time. Such a dichotomy, it makes me want to watch everything made that year. The one that got me hooked was also made in 2012, although I didn’t watch it until 2016!

Is it worth to watch it if I only want to see the woodalchi (particularly Deokman character 😆)? I had wanted to watch it because it was Yoon Kyun Sang's debut drama (yeah, I'm YKS's trash 😝), but I haven't started it because Lee Min Ho left such a bad taste to me after BBF

I really liked this drama. All the characters were endearing, the main leads did a wonderful job and I loved the romance between the king and the queen (she learned another language just so she can speak to him!) The villains didn't fit the regular model but I found them quirky rather than annoying though I hated how the guy with silver hair died. This drama just needed a slight push on the swing so that it could fly. I liked how it made me feel while watching it, and for me that's what makes a difference when rating dramas.

Wow, I love your poem such a well written one. I write poems too but I rarely share it. I am glad I get to read yours. Due to that I guess I can pen faith in my what to watch list. Thanks once again Alaskan for the poem....

Loved it as well!

I didn't watch Faith, but thanks for this fun read! Loved it!

loved your poem*thumbs up*

pure genius. Faith is my 2nd go-to rewatch after IRY. There is just something so endearing about it. The relationships between king & Choi Young, the king and queen, Choi Young and his aunt, and the OTP, and the woodalchi, there is somehow so much warmth and truthfulness in these relationships. I kind of want to give every single one a hug (except court lady Choi, she´d only scoff at me). Mind you, I don´t usually hug people either, I am saying kind of want to. Not that I actually do. And poor little Ki Chul is just so helplessly repetitive. I kind of want to help him sometimes to get something right, but then again I don´t. The most heartbreaking part was the sick, banished young king. Arrrghhh.

@Alaskan
Bravo!! Thank you for writing such an eloquent and elegant piece to my one of my top favorite dramas.

Faith is the only drama I have watched more the once and I always get into it like it were my 1st time.

What a great poem! Thank you for sharing this.
This is actually one of my favorites. I decided to check out LMH dramas after watching Legend of the Blue Sea...dropped The Heirs midway, barely made it through BBF, but enjoyed this one. Go figure. :)

Yes! Finally! Thank you so much for expressing all of my thoughts.
Faith was one of my first dramas I watched and I loved it so much. It was so epic (just like your poem!). And of course, Lee Min Ho. <3

I didn't finished this but.. reading this poem made me want to try it again. I have a trouble to connect with Lee Min-ho's acting, but since I love Park Se-young, I will try this again. Especially no sageuk to watch at this moment.

Kudos @alaskan for this great post!

Flawed but so moving
I watched it with my daughter
Faith: first k drama

Thanks for sharing this @tinak

I love this drama. It is one of my favourite LMHs drama. Reading your post made me wanna rewatch this drama. Okay Im off. Gonna meet General Choi Young now 😚

Brava, @Alaskan!

I, too, have a warm spot for FAITH. The cracktastic OST was terrific. You've inspired me to post a bunch of links on my fan wall to my favorite pieces, many of them instrumental.

Out of the blue I recently recalled the excruciating embarrassment of King Gong-min's faithful retainer Ahn Do-chi (Kwon Hae-sung) when Princess Noguk inquired as to his wife's sure-fire stress relief-methods. The look on his face was priceless when he finally spilled the beans under duress, only to have the king enter the throne room, and Noguk beat a hasty retreat. Har!

The scene starts at about 5:00.

Faith Episode 12 English Sub Korean Drama 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsVMlGysTRE

In episode 13, Court Lady Choi delivers Princess Noguk's invitation to King Gong-min, starting at about 11:15. Keep watching as their tête-à-tête and the back story of their first meeting in Yuan unfolds. Very sweet. Park Se-young and Ryu Deok-hwan make a memorable royal couple.

Faith Episode 13 English Sub Korean Drama 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY0BRSIkZ88

This was awesome! And I actually completely agree with you. Despite it's faults Faith is actually one of my favourite dramas. I enjoyed every episode, all the characters, the time travel stuff and of course the romance (both the main couple and the King & Queen). When I heard that it was generally regarded not very well, I was surprised. It definitely has issues but I really don't think it's as bad as people make it out to be.
For me at least, it will be one I will always love and rewatch over and over, so this was so nice and fun to read!

This was wonderfully written :)

omg i lovelovelove this! your poem is amazing! And I'm SOOOOOO excited to see Faith defended in this month's "series" (or whatever its called :) ). As soon as I saw this month's topic, Faith came to mind, and I was hoping someone would properly do it justice---and you did!! Such a lovely tribute. Agree with all that you said, and with everything the beanies commented. Faith was my first kdrama, too, and I am just so thrilled to find that I'm not alone in my love for it <3

So cute! Loved your apology at the end to poets haha ;)

I need to watch Faith sometime!

Thank you so much for defending Faith!!
It was also my first drama. I chose it purely by chance, but got hooked eventually and now I can't get enough of dramas :)

But nobody mention the Mane of Glory ?

Faith was also my first KDrama 4 years ago, and after watching dozens in all genres, I still love this one unapologetically. I’ve watched it several times since. I also like the ending that many criticize: it’s perfect.

Awesome poem, and this too was my first drama, and I've watched it 3 or 4 times now, even if it's just for background noise. this drama will always have a special place in my heart.

Your words is really good. If only I have the talent to play words to convey my feeling. Unfortunately

Faith was my crack drama for many years. My healthy addiction. I would watch and rewatch it when I was tired, happy, bored, or had a hard day and needed distraction.

Much later I found out it was widely panned on Dramabeans and I never understood why this beautiful drama of perseverance and sacrifice with awesome sci-fi effects wasn’t loved by the community. But it didn’t deter my love for the drama by one bit.

I often think that Faith was the last drama Lee Min Ho actually poured all of himself - heart and soul - in. In later dramas: Heirs and the Legend of the Blue Sea - he goes through the motions, but his heart isn’t really there. There’s a stark contrast in his drama work Pre and Post Faith, I confess his withdrawal from completely immersing himself in his characters made me like him a little less. Not that I blame him, the events following the wrapping up of Faith were tragic and enough to shake the most stalwart of people.

Despite all of that, this drama remains one of my most beloved to date.

Aw, thank you, everybody, for your kind comments. The Ode was lots of fun to write, even if it did veer into "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," if not Dr. Seuss territory, at times.

And it's good to know that I'm not alone in my love for Faith, flaws and all.

Wow, mad respect for you! Those rhymes were great! @tinak Great job!

Ahh, twas' awesome this post!!
Pouring your heart out is what I love most!
And although Faith wasn't always winsome,
it came and delivered, feelings so wholesome.

Kudos for the wonderful post, Alaskan!

I absolutely adore Faith and I've probably watched it at least 15 times. Even with the obvious budget issues and circular plot points (how many times are they going to run away and turn back to the palace?!) it is still one of my all time favorites. It was clearly intended to be a much larger scale production and at some point, after the budget for the cool animation and special effects had clearly been cut, the writer must have just decided, screw it, I'm writing a romance novel. The chemistry between Lee Min Ho and Kim Hee Sun was off the charts and they will always be my # 1 KDrama couple.

Love this!! I too enjoyed Faith even with all its flaws. It was one of my first dramas to watch as it aired. Found out about it through this site, so I had the recaps to help me understand things that were still new to me. Thank you for your lovely poem.

Love this lol you should do more kdramas~

Lol Alaskan I really liked Faith too! My sister and I both loved it actually. I read that the initial production was full of drama and budgeting issues which probably led to the subpar editing and special effects...but I thought the story was quite good. Not historically relevant (I mean they were throwing lightning and fireballs at each other) and sometimes redundant but it managed to remain entertaining. That may have been largely due to the main leads who executed flawlessly in this drama (in my opinion). Oh and the soundtrack was great, I still listen to it time to time. It was one of my guilty pleasures...my fourth ever kdrama...and one that I repeatedly go back to and rewatch 😬. So yeaa, I sorta feel ya

I like Faith very much! Not as much as I love the classic Goong but it is still top of my list. This is the only Lee Min Ho drama I like. He was cast really well and he had awesome chemistry with Hee Sun! I had butterflies in my stomach watching that last scene. The villains were funny not in a good way but I enjoyed it all. I remember sincerely wishing the Queen has a happy ending, thinking that she is very beautiful and sweet. What a great post by our guest beanie to celebrate this classic gem!

I loved this! And I have to agree. Faith may not have been the best drama out there, but I still love it!