# Iljimae (2008)

> A good-hearted gangster secretly robs corrupt Joseon officials as the masked outlaw Iljimae while his love for an official's daughter draws him into danger.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/19381

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 20
- Episode runtime: 65 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: action, drama, romance
- Network: SBS
- Cast: Lee Joon-gi, Han Hyo-joo, Park Si-hoo, Lee Young-ah, Kim Sung-ryung, Ahn Kil-kang, Kim Chang-wan, Lee Won-jong
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1622764/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: romantic, swashbuckling, wistful, earnest, tense

## Synopsis

Iljimae (2008) is a South Korean historical action romance miniseries created for SBS and produced by Chorokbaem Media. Set during the Joseon Dynasty, it follows Ryung (Lee Joon-gi), a seemingly useless marketplace gangster who by night becomes Iljimae, a chivalrous masked robber who strips corrupt government officials of their wealth and gives it to the poor, leaving a wooden plum branch at each scene as his signature. His double life is complicated by Eun Chae (Han Hyo-joo), a good-natured official's daughter who helps the miserable and whose affection puts him in peril, and by Imperial Guard rivalry around her. Bong Soon (Lee Young-ah), a swindler with sharp martial arts skills who loves Ryung devotedly, adds comic energy and loyalty to the cast. Each of its twenty episodes pairs a sword-fight robbery or pursuit with a slow-building romance and a hidden-identity chase. The atmosphere mixes swashbuckling spectacle with sweet, wistful melancholy and a tender love story. Fans of Hong Gil-dong, Dong Yi and classic Korean period dramas will find resonance in its outlaw idealism and courtly intrigue, all within one twenty-episode run.

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