Jo Boa questions if Dear Hongrang is Lee Jae-wook

25 April 17, 2025May 12, 2025

Jo Boa questions if Dear Hongrang is Lee Jae-wook

by tccolb

Stoking the fire for Netflix’s mystery-sageuk Dear Hongrang, promos have kicked into full gear with the first poster and teaser, bringing Lee Jae-wook (The Impossible Heir) back into the fold of his supposed family after suddenly disappearing a long 12 years ago.

The trailer for the novel-adaptation begins on that terrible day in the past, flashing back to when the beloved child Hong-rang got separated from his half-sister Jae-yi and couldn’t be found. The Shim family have been desperately searching and waiting ever since. Until, that is, an adult but memory-less Hong-rang (Lee Jae-wook) announces his return in our story’s present day. But when Jae-yi – played by Jo Boa (Destined With You) – rushes over to greet him, just one glance is enough for her to immediately sense that he’s a fake.

With Dad Park Byung-eun (Hyper Knife) being a wealthy merchant, the Shims had encountered many impersonators claiming to be the real deal. And though he welcomes this Hong-rang, Dad ensures to eerily remark on what might happen should this all be a fraud. On the other hand, Mom Eom Ji-won (For Eagle Brothers) is delighted to have her long lost Hong-rang home at last. All the while, adopted son Jung Ga-ram (Gangnam B-Side) and Prince Kim Jae-wook (Melo Movie) seem undecided by the situation.

Jae-yi remains pretty certain, though, that Hong-rang isn’t who he says he is, and her suspicions can only grow when Hong-rang speaks so cryptically. However, following Dad’s instructions to prove himself, the teaser ends with a growling Hong-rang bearing teeth, coming to Jae-yi’s defense.

Directed by PD Kim Hong-sun (Bait, Money Heist – Joint Economic Area) with scripts by Kim Jin-ah (Dr. Brain), Netflix’s Dear Hongrang will have a runtime of twelve episodes and will be launching next month on May 16.

Via News, YTN

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1 miso

April 17, 2025 at 6:16 PM

Okay I'm excited about seeing both Jae-wooks in one show but the "mystery melo sageuk" tagline at the end is taking me out 😅

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2 Asaki

April 17, 2025 at 9:23 PM

Finally something new with Lee Jaewook! The poster looks meh, but I liked the tone and cinematography from the trailer

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3 Kafiyah Bello

April 18, 2025 at 2:17 AM

Nothing like a little fauxcest to get you up in the morning, lol.

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Unaspirated

April 18, 2025 at 8:34 AM

I'm really glad they seem to be leaning away from it slightly! A couple of weeks (months?) ago when we got the last update they introduced the idea of him being an imposter and I just breathed a sigh of relief hahaha! I'm glad sister doesn't believe he's her brother from the get go but I'm fine if he has to pretend to be for ~drama reasons~.

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Kafiyah Bello

April 18, 2025 at 11:41 AM

Yes, definitely glad she doesn't believe him, lol. Even though they did have that in ye olde fauxcest dramas, but I guess we have moved past that.

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Diana Hansen

April 19, 2025 at 8:24 AM

Let's hope so!

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4 Kodra aka Qanon something

April 18, 2025 at 2:59 AM

Oh, that will be fun for me, can't wait!

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5 bong-soo

April 18, 2025 at 5:21 AM

I will definitely be there for the Jae-wooks (Lee and Kim). I am assuming that DEAR HONGRANG will be a 12 episode drop on May 16 by Netflix which might be a bit of a challenge.

DEAR HONGRANG probably will have to be my sageuk fix until KBS’s epic THE RECORDS OF THE SILLA-TANG WAR with Jan Hyuk and Yoo Joon-sang appears (hopefully before the end of 2025).

The possible upcoming sageuks and me:
SBS’s THE HAUNTED PALACE (VIKI US)—nope.
KBS’ Taec sageuk FIRST NIGHT WITH THE DUKE—nope.
tvN’s THE TYRANT’S CHEF—nope.
Netflix’s JCW sageuk SCANDALS—nope
However,
MBN’s GARDEN OF HARMONY with Kim Myung-soo (L)—definite yes.

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Procrasti-NationFirstCitizen

April 18, 2025 at 9:48 PM

I'm actually wanting to watch all the ones you Noped on haha

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bong-soo

April 19, 2025 at 5:24 AM

Lol, as they say, “there is no accounting for taste”.

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🌸 Seeker 🌸

May 2, 2025 at 12:31 AM

🤣🤣🤣👌

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Diana Hansen

April 19, 2025 at 8:28 AM

I'm with you. I adore Saeguks. Worth trying them.

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6 LaurenSophie

April 18, 2025 at 12:12 PM

I got chills. Good ones.

I don't love the fauxcest vibes, but I'll trust that there won't be much of that.

And even in that tiny moment with the cliched wrist grab, the chemistry looked intense. LJW really does have amazing presence.

Cautiously excited for this one.

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Kodra aka Qanon something

April 18, 2025 at 3:28 PM

I read more about the book and I am really intrigued. The book is called "Swallowing gold", which I understand it was a form of chinese death punishment. I don't want to spoil it to much but the drama deals with much more than the fauxcest allusion.

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Peridot

April 27, 2025 at 2:35 PM

I'd love to read the novel. Has it been translated into English?

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Kodra aka Qanon something

April 27, 2025 at 3:25 PM

I would to read it also but I don't think it has been translated yet. HHopefully it wil if the drama has success.

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Peridot

April 30, 2025 at 1:59 PM

I hope so. :)

Kodra aka Qanon something

May 1, 2025 at 5:25 AM

I found this article about the book and how it will be adapted into the drama. It contains spoilers so proceed with caution. It lists a korean site that sells the ebook version, I am thinking to purchase it and run it through a translate app. If anyone is familiar with the site on how credible it is, I will appreciate a feedback.

https://www.koreaproductpost.com/tangeum-korean-novel-dear-hongrang-k-drama-where-to-read/

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7 Kodra aka Qanon something

April 18, 2025 at 3:38 PM

I just finished The scholar who walks the night, the other sageuk is about an evil spirit residing in our ML, @seeker keep on talking about the drama that shall not be mentioned here... so when I saw the trailer I was convinced that Hong-rang returns as some sort of vampire creature. Happily it is not, although I would have not minded, I come from Dracula land after all.

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🌸 Seeker 🌸

May 2, 2025 at 12:39 AM

I can understand why a "growling Hong-rang bearing teeth" can give off Dracula vibes but this drama doesn't seem to be leaning towards the supernatural and hopefully doesn't lean towards the ending of The Drama Which Shall Be Named either. 🙈🤞🙏

I do love me some vampires and other supernatural creatures and I currently that fix can be got from The Haunted Palace. 😂

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Kodra aka Qanon something

May 2, 2025 at 3:46 AM

Although I have been fully entrapped into the fantasy kdrama land lately, I have been also visiting the wonderful world created by Lee Joon-Gi. He is the reason I entered the fantasy world, after seeing Arang and the Magistrate and The Scholar who walks the night. I followed it with Flower of evil, Lawless Lawyer and just finished one of his best, Two weeks. I tried to see again the Moon Lovers but I just can't, he is too little in it and is just too boring. The point I am trying to make is that he mostly fights the evil and the powerfull in his dramas and I will try Iljimae next. So this one fits just right where I am, but better since is a sageuk and it complements perfectly with the fantasy one in the Haunted Palace. This one, although it doesn't have ghosts or mystical creatures (it does have a tricky shaman but her spells are against other evils), I believe that we will be more frgreened by the humans and the torture they produce, physically and psychologically. And for the ending, my heart is fully prepared for whatever it brings and I suggest you do the same.