User reviews

There's a bit of a formula for these Asian historical epics. That's okay. There's a formula to Shakespeare, too; a formula to opera.

But that doesn't mean it's easy to get it right. Easier is to overdo one aspect, skimp on another. There's a recipe, but no measure for the ingredients.

My Country doesn't tell a brave new story. You've seen it before: ambition, love, honor, loyalty, and of course, the fickleness of fate. But MC consistently gets its genre's mix right. Characters have enough personality (as opposed to the too-typically bland, blank slates presented in fear of alienating any viewers). There's plenty of action, but not too much, and I never felt that its characters were swashbuckling just for the sake of swashbuckling; the action always has narrative meaning. And there's a love story here, maybe more than one, and of course tragedy, betrayal, but MC walks that tightrope of sentimentality carefully. Sure, there's melodrama-- you do know the genre, don't you?-- but it's contained.

Strongly recommended for any fans of the genre. For anyone who doesn't know if they're a fan yet, MC would be a great way to find out.

This epic is spread over 16 x 90 minute episodes.

From Wiki - "In 1388, Yi Seong-gye was sent to invade the Ming dynasty at Liaodong, but he turned his forces around and defeated Choe Yeong in a coup d'état; in 1392, he replaced Goryeo with the new state of Joseon, bringing an end to 474 years of Goryeo rule on the Korean Peninsula."

In reality, the King had eight sons and they jockeyed to see who would be The Crown Prince and the next King. But first, you have to try and stay alive long enough. Regicide, Patricide, Fratricide - was all par for the course. The same story as multiple Japanese and Chinese Royal-Family costume dramas, with a Korean twist.

A great cast of characters. There is sword fighting galore (pretty realistic to me), and I recognized snippets of scenes from movies as diverse as Rob Roy and Hero. You'll see.

Without giving the game away, there is: scheming, framing, love, bromance, betrayal, battles, loyalty and a surprise ending. All in all - well worth your time.

I do not typically do reviews, but am making an exception. I am not Korean. I am a historian. I must say this was so rich with culture, tradition, authenticity, and the acting was Oscar level. All of the primary and secondary actors moved my emotions and were seemlessly in touch with their characters. I never liked TV much, but this made me long for the next episode. Thank you for creating this story. I would have stretched the story until one of the mains became king. I am a rebel I guess. :) Every week I felt as though I was being dropped back in time. The costumes, sets, just everything was so meticulously done. The Cinematography was incredible. I could not tell there was a camera or set involved at any point. Again, thank you so much for making this series.

I randomly came across this show on Netflix. I was completely moved and pulled in from the very first scene, which sets both a tone of urgency and of curiosity. The acting is wonderful across the board, with Yang Se-jong (Hwi), Woo Do-hwan (Seon-ho), and Jang Hyuk (Bang-won) in three of the most compelling and well-acted roles I have ever seen on TV. The score is outstanding as well, and only builds on the beautiful cinematography, costumes, scenery, and set design. The action choreography is riveting- I haven't seen such well-planned fight sequences in years. The quality of the show is completely jaw-dropping, and the visuals only add to the tragic and captivating story. The characters are meaningful and motivated, and the story is so complex and human that it's difficult to choose sides- leaving the viewer engaged and constantly thinking. I would highly recommend this show to anyone who wants to be moved. I'll be rewatching it for years to come!

I don't typically write many reviews on shows but I feel like going out and bellowing from the rooftops about this show. Honestly, it's that good. This might be the greatest story about friendship that I have ever seen. The bond between the characters feels so real. Epic battle scenes which had me on the edge of my seat. Betrayals which left me with more salt in my mouth than the Red Wedding (truly).

I don't want to ramble on too much but I have to give massive credit to the cast. The actors and actresses were exceptional. A lot of historical shows like this can often fail with overacting or poor dialogue but this was executed perfectly.

The only negative thing I can say is that it's subtitled and some people don't like that. I have friends who only watch dubbed shows who won't give this a chance but please, if you're one of those people please give this show a shot. You won't be disappointed.

An awesome soundtrack, an amazing cast with beautiful scenery and cinematography. I don't know how else to say it but each episode is like watching a high quality movie. The action is a joy watching with great camera work and not overdone with cutswith realistic battle sequences and with characters you really start to care about. My only complaints would be the first half of the first episode is a little slow and there needs to be more of this show I can't get enough. The more you watch the better it gets

Wow just wow IM speechless how good this is. Can't find words. Highly recommended.

I review rarely and rate often. This show in totality is EPIC!!!!!!!!!!! It is not solely one genre. It encompasses several. The episodes are about 90 minutes each which was a different experience. Hopefully you don't mind subtitles because this is worth the original language version. Just watch it. Sit down, press play, and keep watching. You will eventually see... The storyline and character development is going to blow you away. Again, take your time and enjoy it. You'll thank me later!

The show is great, the characters are interesting and some very complex, and despite there isent anything particularly new its well done, I like the emotions this show tries to appeal, I would rate this a 9, but the "cheap" pop music ruins many off the scenes of what could be a deep moment, makes them look cheap and artificial.

The first episode was more balanced and epic music was main, after that maybe to appeal to youngsters they decided to go pop... Im really frustrated with this...

Strong plot , Great acts An amazing Historical Drama

Rarely am I left speechless after watching a tv-series but this historical epic story which contains all human emotions is truly breathtaking to watch, it took me places and it felt real. I've already watched it twice back to back and I crave for more!

The dilemma, at least that's how it works for me, is that I cannot stop watching a epic captivating series like this but at the same time I do not want the story to end! I love all the characters, the acting, the scenery, the sets, the fighting scenes, the complex friendship between the 2 main characters, the romance, the utterly lovely Yeon and last but not least .... the soundtrack omg the songs are all so good and well chosen! They really complement the story!

There are many great scenes, one that stood out to me was the scene in episode 7 that starts at around 17m30s with Bang-Won asking for some information, it's just incredible and so epic. Bang-Won who was masterfully portrayed and played by Jang Hyuk another superb character and actor in this fascinating historical drama.

I'm sure I will watch this series a third time, there's just so much happening. A mindblowing series, thanks go to all people involved, behind and on the set, with special thanks to all the great actors. Let me know if there are more series like this, I want to see them all!

Korean history is cool af!

Comic-like characters (ofc quite beautiful, well dressed, neat and fit), systematically tragic plot twists and the always-modern themes of love, justice, power, death, friendship, betrayal and war.

Unfortunately - given the target audience - everything is dealt with without much originality or depth: fights for life, overcomplex machinations, lots of blood and tears, slow-mos and catchy music.

Production value is not bad at all, but I'm looking for a quality script and here everything has 2 hundred years at least (or is stupidly anachronistic).

Of course had I watched it when I was 16yo I would have probably loved it. Yet at 40 - even watching it at 2x speed - I couldn't make it past the 5th episode (more than 12 hours still to go...). Good in its niche, mediocre overall.

The series has a very promising start and likeable characters. The good part is that it makes the viewer care about them. The plot is very gripping and reveals gradually as it should, the costumes and fighting scenes are great BUT that's where the good part ends. Around 4th episode things start to go sideways. There are some "unbelievable" plot twists which don't make any sense and some really bad goofs in the fighting scenes which put me off completely. Ie. Guy gets stabbed repeatedly shot by 2 arrows and then gets up as it were just a scratch and carries on fighting and chasing his opponents. Simply baffling how they thought that was acceptable. That was such a big shame because I was really excited to watch this series...

Everything is just beautiful, the costumes, the settings, the characters... It's like Games Of Thrones without the sex... I cried my eyes out. I can only recommend it to everyone who loves fantasy and history. It's based on true events so it's even more fascinating. The actors have all great talent and certainly a wonderful future ahead of them.

A story with varied multiple relationships. Nicely done, great acting

Absolutely fabulous costume drama! Amazing narrative, wonderful writing, exceptional cast, and intriguing CG cinematic world building: really beautiful epic battle scenes. Yang Se Jong and Woo Do Hwan were brilliant in their performance together: bravo to the outstanding execution of their characters as Hwi and Seon Ho, respectively. Their brotherly love for one another, while captured throughout the series as adversaries, was truly spectacular and breathtaking in the final episode (have a lot of tissue handy): incredible ending! Best series of 2019 ever! Bravo! Loved it!

Wow This is one of the best korean show series I seen

Action , story , suspense , Graphics ,

If you Are fan of war arrows you would love This one .

This show is just amazing! The drama, the action, the plot... one moment you are glued to the screen because of the action when suddenly you laugh in that same intense moment in the series.. it makes you cry, gasp, scream at the screen

" My Country : The New Age " was overall okay.

What I really liked about this drama was the bromance. The main leads had chemistry and their stories were tragic and had intensity as fate kept pushing them apart. However, their story kept falling into the same trope over and over again and it just got predictable. Also, the story felt like it was missing something and therefore sometimes it was just dragging.

Still, the performances were great from everyone. Seol Hyun was actually a nice surprise, as after Orange Marmalade I was afraid that her performance won't be good enough for her character. But she did a great job and she looked professional. But, the early romance was just weak and her character, even though she started as a dynamic, strong one, ended up being there to fill in the emotional gaps between the all men story. Also, and this is just a detail but still, some hairstyles were simply bad, looking all fake or ridiculous.

So, overall, six and a half out of ten.

I am a major fan of Korean entertainment, everything they do is so dimensional and they pay so much attention to detail. I watched this spectacular historical drama when it first came out in 2019 and just finished watching it again. So much to see each time it's viewed. So many of my favorite performers are in this drama and especially my absolute favorite Jang Hyuk no matter the genre he plays it to perfection as you can see in this one. Kudos to all who created this epic. Korea is a country that has excelled in so much in leaps and bounds in less than 70 years. Many of the sets in the historical dramas are permanent and can be toured on a visit to Korea. Because of the excellence in Korea's entertainment in all genres I have practically giving up watching anything in most categories in the USA they just cannot compete.

One of the best Korean series ever. The quality of the cinematic experience of every episode is one for the books.