10 REASONS TO WATCH MR SUNSHINE, A KOREAN PERIOD DRAMA ON NETFLIX

I’ve hooked no less than seven people on this brilliant new TV show, a Korean Drama called Mr Sunshine. Despite the initially unpromising name, Mr Sunshine is a masterpiece on all television has to offer: romance, friendship, history, depth, oppression. It is the story of a slave boy who escapes to become an American soldier, who returns to Joseon only to fall in love with a noblewoman. Every character is extraordinarily well developed, each with their own story to tell, all set in the backdrop of 19th century Korea when Joseon is being torn apart and sold, piece by piece to foreign powers. Mr Sunshine is Korea’s chance to get into the global market for television. I was so skeptical when I started watching it, but it has turned out to be the very best TV series I’ve watched (think Outlander, for all the lovers of historical romance out there, but even better!) However – there’s very little out there on Mr Sunshine’s merits – few articles, fewer fanpages for the international fans, who like me, desperately need to rant feelings – and I feel this is because people who would really, really love it have not seen it. So, if you love romance, intrigue, and rich historical backdrops – give Mr Sunshine a chance. (For those of you stepping out of your comfort zone with international dramas: a lot of it is in English as well; Eugene Choi is after all an American Soldier, so it really eases you into the dual language thing they have going on)

1. the setting!

Think 1900 Korea, or Joseon as it was called then: traditional silk dresses and beautiful architecture, famous white porcelain pottery and plum blossom gardens – mixed with Western colonialism; railway tracks and steam trains, French dresses, coffee, guns and the Glory Hotel, incongruently modern amongst the traditional. Mr Sunshine is a romanticisation of setting; with the most beautiful stills of Korea’s landscapes; a feast for sore eyes.

2. bromance!

Mr Sunshine has something of a love triangle, with three men vying for the love of a noblewoman. Each character is well developed, with their own merits and flaws. They all hate eachother initially, but a growing sense of camaraderie grows between them (over drinks and thinly veiled death threats, of course)

3. romance!

The romance in Mr Sunshine is so sweet! The flirting, the affection – how they can make something as simple as holding the cloth of a skirt so intimate. The little notes kept in apothecary drawers. Blood drawn for honour.(find me a guy like any one of Lady Aesin’s admirers please and thank you)

4. badass women!

Lady Aesin and Hina Kudo both reject societal norms: Lady Aesin, a noblewoman, is secretly a sniper for a resistant rebel group wanting to save Joseon. Hina Kudo is the owner of the Glory Hotel by her own merit, and the most powerful woman in Joseon privy to all manner of secrets. But besides our main characters – all women are presented as strong characters, from Eugene Choi’s mother, a slave who holds a noblewoman hostage to save her son, before drowning herself; Lady Aesin’s mother, a rebel who even on the brink of death refuses to betray her country, Aesin’s servants, who are presented as stronger even, sometimes, than their male counterparts. This is representation done right.

5. a balanced portrayal of patriotism!

This was so important to me: Mr Sunshine is not overtly nationalistic of Joseon, nor does it reject Joseon entirely. It presents a balanced account of Joseon’s history: how it is a very flawed and oppressive society and the hate such oppression has garnered; and also the love of the country, that it is, regardless of its flaws, the homeland of the Joseon people, and it would not be the same if taken over by foreign powers. This leaves viewers feeling so very conflicted – perhaps it deserves to go, but what of the loss of its identity?

6. social representation!

A Korean–American soldier, a Korean–Japanese sellword and a (self confessed handsome) Korean nobleman walk into a bar. Eugene Choi goes from being a slave to being a Captain in the US Marines; Gu Dong Mae goes from being a lowly butcher to an indomitable Samurai; Kim Hee-sung is a nobleman who instead of becoming a politician, begins a newspaper. These power dynamics and shifts in social classes are excellently portrayed and the character development is absolutely brilliant.

7. the title!

I thought that something must have been lost in translation for such a poor title to have been chosen – it has not. Everything (EVERYTHING) is deliberate and very very clever in this TV show. I think I screamed a little bit when I found out how and why exactly, Mr Sunshine was a relevant title and it is fabulous and a little bit (extremely) adorable.

8. grey heroes!

Antiheroes! We welcome you to the table, since you are so much harder to get right. All three heroes are morally grey in very different ways (as are the two heroines). For once, there is no defined ‘bad boy’ and ‘hero’ on a moral high ground: these are powerful, flawed characters who can be self serving or generous, who can use underhanded methods to do the right thing or sacrifice themselves for those they care about.

9. the bad characters are really, really bad.

They are evil, and dangerous – you can sense the kind of terrible destruction they’d inspire if gone unchecked. And the variety of complex antagonists, minor to major, enhances the plot so much. The worst characters – you’ll really, really, really want them dead.

10. the sad scenes are really, really sad.

Episode 1 in particular, really hits you in the feels. With a baseball bat. Made of steel. Even the children convey excellent depth of emotion (props to casting). I think I cried twice in the first episode.