Strongest Chil Woo Explained

Alt Name:	Chilwu the Mighty
Runtime:	Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55
Director:	Park Man-yeong
Producer:	lee Jin-seo
Executive Producer:	Jung Sung-hyo Kim Tae-won Lee Dong-ik
Country:	South Korea
Language:	Korean
Network:	KBS2
Num Episodes:	20

Hangul:	최강칠우
Rr:	Choegang Chilu
Mr:	Ch'oegang Ch'iru

Strongest Chil Woo, also known as Chilwu the Mighty, is a 2008 South Korean historical drama that aired on KBS2. The titular hero is similar to a Zorro during the Joseon period.^[1]

The drama served as the last project of actor Lee Eon, who died on August 21, 2008, in a motorcycle accident.

Synopsis

The series starts by stating: "Rather than being a person born in chaotic times, better to be reborn as a dog in peaceful times. However, there are some people who are born as dogs in chaotic times. This is their story."

The series occurs during the reign (1623–1649) of King Injo, the 16th ruler of Joseon. Injo was the son of Prince Jeongwon, who himself was the 7th son of King Seonjo, the 14th ruler of Joseon with Royal Noble Consort In of the Suwon Kim clan. The 15th ruler, King Gwanghaegun, was the 3rd son of Seonjo with Gongbin of the Gimhae Kim clan and therefore the Injo's uncle. In 1623, Gwanghaegun was ousted of power by a political plot from the Western faction, that puts Injo on the throne. The turmoil of the civil war was thereafter increased by the Manchu invasions of 1627 and 1636.

Two events are the cornerstones of the series and are stepwise described during numerous flashbacks. Both of them were instigated by the conservative Western faction. One of them is the bloody extermination of the "Rising Sun Utopia" (Muryundang), occurring during the year of the Snake (Gisa year, 1629, Injo '6), and the other is the assassination of Crown Prince Sohyeon by his father in 1645 (Injo '22). The main action is situated circa 1648. While elements of these former plots are re-emerging from the past despite a series of murders, a group of mysterious assassins is avenging the sadness of the poor people.

Episodes

There are 20 episodes. The action is not linear, with many flash-backs.

A sister to avenge
The zealous murderer of his daughter-in-law
Random murders at Naksu Bridge
Manchu varlet takes a riding lesson
Last love song of a betrayed poetess
A thief behind an elephant at Inseong-gun
The murder of the Unggi's leader
Eight years ago
Fake maebungu, true rapists
Russian attack at Qing's border
A broken sword
Headbands from the past
Malaria
Encounter at Muryun Dang
Legacy of Crown Prince Sohyeon
The Secret Record disappears
Prince's son presentation
A cursed twist of fate
A treacherous king
Bad guys are dying, too

Cast

Main cast

Eric Mun as Chil-woo, sergeant at the Uigeumbu in Seoul
- Choi Su-han as young Chil-woo
Koo Hye-sun as Yun So-yun, government slave at Uigeumbu
- Lee Han-na as young So-yun
Yoo Ah-in as Heuk-san, adopted as Kim Hyuk by Kim Ja-seon
- Ku Bon-sung as young Heuk-san
Jeon No-min as Min Seung-guk, historiographer of Chunchugwan
Lee Eon as Jaja, former bodyguard of Crown Prince Sohyeon
Im Ha-ryong as Choi Nam-deuk, Chil-woo's adoptive father
Song Ha-yoon as Yeon-du
Jang Jun-yeong as Cheol-seok

Extended cast

Kim Young-ok as Chil-woo's adoptive grandmother
Choi Ran as Chil-woo's adoptive mother
Im Hyuk as Chief State Councilor Kim Ja-seon
Choi Jung-woo as King Injo
Song Yong-tae as Uigeumbu Commissioner
Jeong Won-jung as Uigeumbu Captain
Son Kwang-eob as Lieutenant at Uigeumbu
Jeong Jin as Sergeant Sa
Shin Seung-hwan as Sergeant Oh
Park Jun-seo as Sergeant Jeong
Nam Myung-ryul as Jin Mu-yang, birth father of Heuk-san
Park Yong-gi as Heo Won-do
Park Bo-young as Woo-yeong, Chil-woo's younger sister
Kim Byeong-chan, as Butler Song
Oh Ji-young as Han Do-yeong's mother
Cha Jae-dol as Han Do-yeong
Kang Jae as Jo An-jung, Son of Jin Sang-gun
Lee Ho-seong as Jinsang-gun
Han Ye-in as Seo Geum-ok, daughter of the murdered night watchman
Woo Hyun as Kim Mal-jung, interpreter
Park Hyo-bin as Sam-wol
Ko Jeong-min as Ok-byong, famous woman poet Seok Hyeong
Kim Hong-pyo as Kim Jo-hyeon
Lee Ji-eun as Song Ju-hee
Jeon Yeong-bin as Mak-su, leader of Heuk-san's militia
Lee Seung-hyo as Boon-nyeo
Min Ah-ryeong as Min Eun-hee, Min Seung-guk's sister
Kim Ju-yong as Yong Gol Dae, General of Qing
Son Il-kwon as Lee Chi-seo
Kim Kyu-chul as Choe Won-sik
Nam Seong-jin as Jo Seong-du
Yang So-min as Crown Princess Minhoe of the Gang clan, Wife of Crown Prince Sohyeon
Lee Seung-hyung as spy Yusaeng
Moon Won-joo as Villager
Cha Soon-bae as Park Geom-yeol

Cameos

Nam Il-wu as Kim Hong-jo, Woo-yeong's adoptive father (episode 1~3 & 13)
Oh Man-seok as Kang San-ha, Chil-woo's birth father (episode 1)
Kim Ji-seok as Petitioner (episode 1)
Kang In-duk as boss Woong-gi (episode 7)
Im Ho as Crown Prince Sohyeon (episode 13)

Ratings

width=100 bgcolor="#CCCCCC"	Date	width=100 bgcolor="#CCCCCC"	Episode	width=100 bgcolor="#CCCCCC"	Nationwide	width=100 bgcolor="#CCCCCC"	Seoul
2008-06-17	1	11.5% (7th)	11.3% (8th)
2008-06-17	2	9.1% (14th)	8.9% (15th)
2008-06-23	3	10.5% (10th)	10.1% (12th)
2008-06-24	4	11.3% (9th)	10.6% (8th)
2008-06-30	5	9.9% (11th)	9.3% (11th)
2008-07-01	6	10.5% (9th)	10.2% (8th)
2008-07-07	7	9.4% (13th)	9.0% (14th)
2008-07-08	8	10.6% (9th)	10.5% (8th)
2008-07-14	9	10.5% (9th)	10.0% (8th)
2008-07-15	10	9.8% (9th)	9.4% (10th)
2008-07-21	11	9.5% (10th)	9.2% (11th)
2008-07-22	12	10.6% (8th)	10.0% (9th)
2008-07-28	13	9.4% (12th)	8.7% (13th)
2008-07-29	14	9.4% (10th)	8.9% (11th)
2008-08-04	15	9.2% (13th)	8.9% (15th)
2008-08-05	16	9.3% (11th)	9.0% (11th)
2008-08-11	17	9.9%	12.9%
2008-08-12	18	13.5% (17th)	14.0% (16th)
2008-08-18	19	10.9% (12th)	11.1% (13th)
2008-08-19	20	13.4% (7th)	13.4% (7th)
Average		10.4%	-

Source: TNS Media Korea

External links

http://www.kbs.co.kr/drama/chilwoo/

Notes and References

News: Han. Sang-hee. Chil-woo to Bring Joseon Hero to TV. The Korea Times. June 4, 2008. 2012-12-03. 2014-02-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20140219105503/http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/culture/2008/06/135_25318.html. live.