Jung Il-woo confirms comeback in drama Haechi with Go Ara and Kwon Yul

39 November 9, 2018February 13, 2019

Jung Il-woo confirms comeback in drama Haechi with Go Ara and Kwon Yul

by stroopwafel

Speculation has given way to confirmation: Jung Il-woo (Cinderella and the Four Knights, Records of a Night Watchman) will make his post-army comeback in the SBS fusion sageuk Haechi. Go Ara (Miss Hammurabi, Black) and Kwon Yul (Whisper, Bring it On Ghost) have also confirmed they will be joining the cast alongside Jung.

Jung Il-woo has accepted the role of Prince Yeoning, born of a commoner and the king. Prince Yeoning is a man with an unparalleled intellect but due to his birth origin, he’s ever the outsider. Half commoner, half noble and entirely unable to apply his skills to anything useful. Understandably, the prince is filled with resentment, both towards himself and the world at large. But a man with his intellect and ambition can only be idle for so long, and Prince Yeoning decides that he’ll make his own path in the world. Along the way, the prince will team up with a band of roughnecks and misfits.

Go Ara, Kwon Yul

Kwon Yul will play Park Moon-soo, a man who was once part of the 1% of Joseon society. By the time he meets the prince, he is a passionate apprentice whose pursuit of justice knows no bounds. He lives by the maxim: Keep a sword in one hand and protect the weak with the other. He’s so dogged in his pursuit that there’s even a saying in Joseon: “Wherever there’s a corrupt official, Park Moon-soo will appear.” He sounds fierce, but he’s got a soft side as he’s known to be caring to those around him.

Go Ara will play Yeo-ji, a fearless damo (damo were women who assisted police with investigations) who is as skilled a fighter as she is an investigator. Her skill set includes fluent Chinese, infiltration, and camouflage. Yeo-ji is described as “Joseon-era girl crush” material, which I think (I hope!) will mean she’ll be strong, smart, and sassy.

Up-and-coming actor Park Hoon (Two Cops) will join the cast as Dal-moon, a roughneck who joins Prince Yeoning’s rag-tag team. Dal-moon is a master martial artist with almost superhuman instincts. He’s bold and intuitive with an unwavering loyalty to the prince. Park’s star is rising fast and his casting in Haechi comes on the heels of earning a role in Memories of the Alhambra.

The SBS drama has brought on PD Lee Yong-seok (Village: Secret of Achiara, The Great Seer) to direct. The drama’s writer is Kim Yi-young, who’s making a bit of a comeback herself. Though she found success with dramas such as Dong Yi and Yi San, she hasn’t written since 2015’s drama Hwajung.

Haechi is set to premiere in February 2019 on SBS.

Park Hoon

Via Osen, Star Daily News, Seoul Kyungje

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1 greenfields

November 9, 2018 at 10:57 AM

Jung. Il. Woo.
OPPA! Welcome back! 😍
*squeals*
\^^/

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greenfields

November 9, 2018 at 11:03 AM

Actually, I think he usually had a...questionable taste in scripts. Jung Il Woo does seem to prefer romance, but they're more often than not a miss on substance (*looking at you Cinderella & the Four Knights*). But I do find the actor himself very charming, and that may stem (partly) from his performance in "Iljimae Returns" which I really enjoyed. The slow, contemplative pace & endless landscape holds a special place in my heart. I keep hoping each new role he takes on will be similar though of course that's not possible.

The other part ofc is Jung Il Woo himself. I just really enjoy his variety appearances & interviews for no real reason. ^_^

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mary

November 9, 2018 at 11:13 AM

My favorite Jung Il-woo is Scheduler! Though his role here sounds like an alternate universe of his Moon Embracing the Sun character. At least, I hope it's an alternate universe, because that ending...

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Eries be the Light

November 9, 2018 at 12:58 PM

Me too, I found my love of him as scheduler. Ah I need to re-watch 49 days this weekend.

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growingbeautifully

November 9, 2018 at 3:21 PM

Yup it was Scheduler that brought JIL to my attention. I felt so much for his heartbreak. I'm not too sure about a sageuk though ... fusion or not. 😐

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john

November 10, 2018 at 3:49 AM

I liked his character in Unstoppable High Kick. This and 49 Days are my favorites from him.

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Peridot

November 10, 2018 at 9:15 AM

Let us forget that non-nonsensical, pointless, frustrating, cruel [insert all other applicable adjectives here] ending.

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cherry 🍒

November 9, 2018 at 5:26 PM

I discovered him through Flower Boy Ramyun Shop and watched Iljimae just for him even though the drama was quite slow for my taste. Till this day I don’t think I’ve seen someone looking more beautiful in sageuk hair than Jung Il Woo. He was just so good and so beautiful in Iljimae.

The weird thing is I didn’t find him visually captivating in The Moon Embracing The Sun where he also appeared in sageuk clothes.

Unfortunately his choices haven’t been quite successful lately, hope he’s picked a good project this time.

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sooyi

November 10, 2018 at 5:13 AM

Lol I find him attractive when he's brooding, even though I despise proud male characters. And I think it has to do with the topknot and the hat that don't frame his face well.

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parkchuna 🍉

November 11, 2018 at 2:12 AM

Ive never really watched a Jung Il Woo drama except for My Fair Lady *cringe*. But i do like him and the story sounds interesting.

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2 mary

November 9, 2018 at 11:17 AM

I recognize Park Hoon as the Casanova in Naked Fireman!

(I only shared that so I can type Naked Fireman. That title will never be not funny to me.)

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3 zzthorn

November 9, 2018 at 12:06 PM

Oh no! The only one of that group that look forward to watching is Jung Il Woo. Jung Il Woo did very memorable performances in Unstoppable High Kick, The Return of Iljame, Golden Rainbow and a few others. I dislike Go Ara and Kwon Yul and really don't want to spend 16 hours watching them in the near future. I can't place Park Hoon though I did watch Two Cops. What to do? I want to support Jung Il Woo's return from the military, but... just don't know if it would be worth watching hours and hours of Go Ara and Kwon Yul just to see Il Woo again.

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marina

November 9, 2018 at 12:37 PM

About Go Ara I’m like mehh.. Tried a lot to like her acting but haven’t succeed yet but Kwon Yul is great. I adored him in Whisper. So I have two reasons to watch! JIW and KY.

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Miranda

November 9, 2018 at 3:06 PM

That’s actually why I’m kind of thrilled by this drama - it’s collecting all of the actors I don’t really enjoy in one place where I can ignore them efficiently.

For some reason I like Il Woo as a personality but not really as a lead?

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cherry 🍒

November 9, 2018 at 5:30 PM

I’m pleasantly surprised someone still remembers Unstoppable High Kick. I’m still bitter that my ship never sailed 😭

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john

November 10, 2018 at 3:53 AM

I loved Unstoppable High Kick. Bad boy falls for teacher, his brother’s girl at that. 😢

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cherry 🍒

November 10, 2018 at 4:33 AM

I think it was his uncle... but that was one brutal second lead syndrome for me 😭😭😭

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sooyi

November 10, 2018 at 4:49 AM

I thought he did end up with the teacher since she calls off her engagement with uncle after he learns that his ex-wife got into trouble and he's the only who can help her and the teacher was roomies with ex. Then, teacher moves to teach at a country town and Jung Il-woo's character comes to visit her. Or all of that was just my imagination? 🤔

john

November 10, 2018 at 4:52 AM

You’re right, it was his uncle.

cherry 🍒

November 10, 2018 at 7:33 AM

@sooyi I’m not sure how I should’ve interpreted the ending. Did the teacher ever felt anything for Yoon Ho (Jung Il Woo)? Was it purely because she cared for him as a student or because she felt something more?

I don’t remember exactly what happened but I think it was the uncle who broke up their engagement and that’s why the teacher ran away ?

Anyway, I don’t think Yoon Ho only had a crush on her, he spent a year travelling through the countryside to find her... if that wasn’t love, then I don’t know what else.

john

November 10, 2018 at 6:33 AM

@sooyi, that scene where he visits her was shot in ** SparkleVision **, where the viewer isn’t sure if it’s fantasy, a vision of the future or just what could have been.

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john

November 10, 2018 at 7:39 AM

@cherryinbloom, the uncle did break it off as the teachers parents nixed it as uncle was divorced and they, (teacher’s parents), saw uncle as a corrupter of virtues, moving from woman to woman

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zzthorn

November 10, 2018 at 6:44 AM

My favorite Il Woo character scene from that drama was when he was so sick and someone had challenged him to a fight. He just couldn't pass up on the challenge and so bundled all up and rode his motorcycle to the fight.... pausing at a light in front of a restaurant where they had hot soup, gazing in with a sigh then going on to the fight instead of into the restaurant for comfort.

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4 luzitania

November 9, 2018 at 12:40 PM

I am excited for Jung Il Woo but the last time I saw Go Ara in a sageuk, it was bad. And not in a so bad it's kind of good way. She cried every time she was on screen and the only reason I made it through the 16 episodes is because the pretty was strong in this cast. That's right. I am talking about Hwarang.

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mugyuljoie is preciousss

November 10, 2018 at 12:30 AM

Lots of pretty. Everything else, meh.

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sooyi

November 10, 2018 at 4:54 AM

She was much better in modern drama Miss Hammurabi because her character was "show, not tell" (in Hwarang, her character was said to be a self-sufficient character but her written actions fell flat). So my take is if the characterization is good, Go Ara can perform well.

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parkchuna 🍉

November 11, 2018 at 2:17 AM

I agree, Ara's not all bad. She did annoy me in Hwarang but she was pretty good in reply 94. I think it depends on what sort of character she gets.

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Currently Living On Planet Earth

November 21, 2018 at 11:26 PM

yes thank you, I personally am a fan of her after Hammurabi... Before I just didn't care for her, especially after the mess of Hwarang. But your description makes total sense of her acting.
I just wish people would calm down a little on how much they hate her... There are points I agree with, but geez!

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5 Cloggie

November 9, 2018 at 12:48 PM

I never really liked Kwon Yul in anything - until Bring It On Ghost. He made an awesome baddy. I hope he can bring some of that ruthless vibe for this drama too.

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6 Eries be the Light

November 9, 2018 at 1:03 PM

Jung Il woo can change 'bad script/directing' into something else. Even Jin Se Yoon looking good be his partner in web drama. So, I really hope that he can do that to Go Ara. I can't relate to anything except 1994 for Go Ara, her eyes are so wonderful, but sometimes it just the beauty not feeling anything in her acting. And there is Kwon Yul, he is great in let's eat, whisper and Bring it on Ghost, so I still have the feeling to watch this comeback of Jung Il Woo.

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sooyi

November 10, 2018 at 4:59 AM

The only work I really could not continue was "Records of the Night Watchmen" because the script went nowhere and his character was so meh and a jerk. Go Sung-hee was good, even though her character didn't have a specific purpose and she kept on getting into trouble. They were love interests but I honestly felt nothing from them (but I think this was due to the writer not really developing their relationship).

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7 sparks121

November 9, 2018 at 2:46 PM

Love jung il woo. Really hoping the writer delivers this time(more yi san quality and none of the hwajung mess...). I'm really missing the thrill of sageuks these days, fantasy or conventional. (love 100 days, but that was more of the comedy genre, so).

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8 klurker 🐙 Dora-Momo makes me wish I was young again

November 9, 2018 at 8:21 PM

I endured Cinderella and the 4 knights because of Jung Il-woo 😍

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9 jetsetlag

November 9, 2018 at 9:28 PM

Ugh why. This doesn't sound good imo.

(tbh I feel terrible >_< but Kwon Yul's face freaks me the heck out)

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10 Elle

November 10, 2018 at 1:51 AM

Oh, will this be a sequel of sorts to Dong Yi, then? Lol

I've had a soft spot for Jung Il-woo since Return of Iljimae, and I was surprised his second lead role in Moon Embracing the Sun didn't lead to better scripts. Hopefully this new Prince Yeoning drama is much better than the last one (*cough*Jackpot*cough*).

Go Ara is generally a miss for me, but I liked her in Miss Hammurabi so hopefully she's as winning here.

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11 john

November 10, 2018 at 4:00 AM

The Great Seer... That show ended rather abruptly, bit of a mess. I would waste time watching such trash today.

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12 sooyi

November 10, 2018 at 5:09 AM

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13 Diana Hansen

November 10, 2018 at 9:08 AM

he's BACK and i am ready!!! he is one i can finish a bad drama for just to watch his acting and beautiful face~ i loved him as the scheduler too but my fave and the one i really fell in love with him is in the return of illjimae.

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14 Dordorky

November 10, 2018 at 2:36 PM

I can't believe the day has come that Jung Il woo is back! That's the problem with liking too many actors, can't keep track when they're in the army or back. Last drama I watched with him was Cinderella and the Four Knights, and even though the plot was mediocre, I kept watching till the end because I liked him and Park So Dam. Sometimes, I feel like he always plays the same type of character.... the jerkish guy who does whatever he want and eventually softens by the end (or maybe there's too much of that characters in dramas), so I like it when tries something different. Pretty much hit or miss when choosing dramas, and from what I've heard and see of Go Ara, she seems hit or miss with her acting (? or choosing scripts, not sure).... so hoping this time it be a "hit" for both of them.

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Haechi