Well, this is the episode! It took 10+ years, thousands of miles, scores of drawings and over a dozen episodes, but this interminable story line of near-miss after near-miss has finally come to an end. Dae-Gil has found his beloved Un-Nyun. But this Un-Nyun is not the beautiful and carefree slave girl of Dae-Gil’s memory. No, this runaway slave has gone and turned herself into a noble woman named Hye-Won and on top of that, and on this day of discovery, she is marrying someone else. On this day of days, Hye-Won is dressed in her wedding finery and is marrying another runaway slave – former General Song Tae-Ha. A day late and a nyang short, Dae-Gil takes out his blade.

SONG OF THE DAY

“Here Without You” – by 3 Doors Down [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Chuno: Episode 13 (4,082 words)

© samsooki for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 31 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, Jang Hyuk, Lee Da-hae, Lee Jong-hyuk, Oh Ji-ho

Last episode we see that at long last, Song Tae-Ha’s men have been reunited at the Sleeping Buddha statue at Un-Joo Temple. They greet the Crown Prince Seok-Kyeon with reverence and a determination to see this conspiracy through to the end. All of these men of Song Tae-Ha have given up their lives to this cause. And Un-Nyun is awed by their unwavering commitment in the face of slavery and dishonor – maybe there is more to life than running away from slavery. Meanwhile, Dae-Gil, Choi and Wang-Son are less than a few miles away, maybe 10 minutes. Could this be the episode of meeting, or will PD Kwak yank our chains for another episode?

SONG OF THE DAY

“Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Chuno: Episode 12 (3,246 words)

© samsooki for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 55 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, Jang Hyuk, Lee Da-hae, Lee Jong-hyuk, Oh Ji-ho

No, no, noooooooo! The ink on the Episode 7 recap (where we saw Un-Nyun dropping her beloved Choco) is barely dry when Un-Nyun has moved onto stroking Jagger, the zhanmadao saber favored by Song Tae-Ha. Well, that answers the question of how long “true love” lasts these days in epic sa-geuks – ohhhh, about 3 episodes. Grrr. Apparently, Choco is something that Koreans call 찬밥 (chan-bap) or, cold leftover rice. Hey, Un-Nyun! 찬밥 is food too! I write the rest of this recap under OTP protest. Still, if there was a doubt as to the awesome-sauce that is Chuno, then Episode 10 put it to rest. An absolutely BRILLIANT episode, recapped wonderfully by Dahee. So many powerful scenes, tour de force acting.

SONG OF THE DAY

“Pictures Of You” – The Cure [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Chuno: Episode 11 (3,270 words)

© samsooki for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 59 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, Jang Hyuk, Lee Da-hae, Oh Ji-ho

Hi, Dahee here. Hjkomo asked me to fill in for her for recapping episode ten, as she really does like her beauty sleep and would like to get back to doing it. I happily agreed, so here I am. No worries – she’ll be back for episode twelve (and Samsooki for eleven).

Ten episodes in, Chuno has really hit its stride, and is showing signs of a major shift in focus and direction – especially in the relationships between characters. Episode ten is also easily the best episode that Chuno has had to offer so far. And considering that the previous nine episodes were amazing stuff, that can only mean one thing: GENIUS. We have GENIUS on our hands here, people.

SONG OF THE DAY

Kim Gwang Seok – “잊어야 한다는 마음으로” (With the Intention of Forgetting You)
[ Download ]

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Read the rest of Chuno: Episode 10 (4,066 words)

© Dahee_Fanel for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 61 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, Jang Hyuk, Lee Jong-hyuk, Oh Ji-ho

In what has become a Chuno drama series’ tradition, the even number episodes that end the weekly doublet have left viewers strung out and anxiously waiting for their next hit. Chuno Episode 8 cut off right as Song Tae Ha has been uncovered as a runaway slave as he saves Un-Nyun’s life. And slave hunters Dae-Gil, Choi and Wang-Son were closing in fast, showing off their parkour skills as they rushed to capture Tae-Ha. Will this be the reunion episode?

SONG OF THE DAY

Chuno OST – “검은 울지 않는다” (A Sword Doesn’t Cry) – Choi Chul-ho [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Chuno: Episode 9 (3,523 words)

© samsooki for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 49 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, Jang Hyuk, Lee Da-hae, Oh Ji-ho

The Thursday episodes cliffhanger tradition continues with the so-close-yet-so-faraway chase between Dae-gil and Tae-ha/Un-nyun…

SONG OF THE DAY

Enya – “Far and Away” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Chuno: Episode 8 (1,789 words)

© hjkomo for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 53 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, Jang Hyuk, Lee Da-hae, Oh Ji-ho

Chuno Episode 6 left us gasping for breath, waiting nearly a week to see what happens with the former General-turned-slave Tae-Ha rushing to rescue the former slave-turned-noble woman Hye-Won (Un-Nyun to Dae-Gil and so named for the rest of this recap), the former noble man-turned-slave hunter Dae-Gil rushing to capture Tae-Ha, Un-Nyun trying to escape capture from her brother’s men, and Dae-Gil and Un-Nyun just seconds away from their reunion of sorts, as EVERYBODY appears ready to collide at a market intersection. Hehe!! It is a sight to behold, and you can’t help but jump up and down in anticipation.

SONG OF THE DAY

Klaus Bedelt – “Skull and Crossbows” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Chuno: Episode 7 (3,075 words)

© samsooki for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 60 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Chuno, Jang Hyuk, Lee Da-hae, Lee Jong-hyuk, Oh Ji-ho