The Return of Iljimae
| The Return of Iljimae | |
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Promotional poster for The Return of Iljimae
(Left to right: Koo Ja-myung, Baek-mae, Dal-yi / Wol-hee, Iljimae) |
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| Also known as | 'Moon River' |
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| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language(s) | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
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| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Group Eight |
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| Original network | Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation |
| Original release | January 21 – April 9, 2009 |
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| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 돌아온 일지매 |
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| Hanja | 돌아온 一枝梅 |
| Revised Romanization | Doraon Iljimae |
| McCune–Reischauer | Toraon Iljimae |
The Return of Iljimae (Hangul: 돌아온 일지매; Hanja: 돌아온 一枝梅; RR: Doraon Iljimae) is a 2009 South Korean historical action television series, starring Jung Il-woo in the title role of Iljimae, Yoon Jin-seo, Kim Min-jong and Jung Hye-young. It aired on MBC from January 21 to April 9, 2009 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 24 episodes.
The series is based on comic strip Iljimae, published between 1975 and 1977, by Ko Woo-young which was based on a Chinese folklore from the Ming dynasty about a masked Robin Hood-esque character during the Joseon era. MBC bought the rights to the comic strip for their adaptation, which was to star Lee Seung-gi in the title role of Iljimae. However he pulled out and was replaced by Jung, which makes him the third Korean actor to play the hero following Jang Dong-gun (MBC, 1993) and Lee Joon-gi for Iljimae (SBS, 2008).
Iljimae (Jung Il-woo) was born out of wedlock and his father was a high-ranking noble official while his mother was a lowly servant. To protect the honor of his father's family, he was abandoned as a baby and tucked underneath an apricot tree. Thus he was given the name Iljimae ("branch of plum tree").
Iljimae was adopted by a family who lived in the Qing Kingdom. After tracing his roots back to Korea, his father rejects him once more. With a heavy heart, he returns to his native land and unleashes his anger upon the ruling class to fight injustice and tyranny for the sake of the commoners. Wherever he appears to uphold justice, he leaves behind a single branch of a plum tree.
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Wikipedia