The Return of Iljimae is based on a Korean manhwa (comic book or graphic novel as there is no distinction made between the two in Korea) called Iljimae and created by Ko Woo-Young. This short video is on the occasion of an retrospective of Ko's work in Korea:
Ko Woo Young Comic Artist - For more amazing video clips, click here
I am currently on episode 14 of The Return of Iljimae and while watching the episode, I became increasingly more curious about the original creation of Iljimae. In Manhwa 100: A New Era for Korean Comics, a rights promotional publication by the Korean Culture and Content Agency, Iljimae is described as a folklore character, a Korean Robin Hood. The hold Iljimae has on the Korean imagination is such that there are four drama depictions of Iljimae, two from the 90s and two within the last couple of years. Besides The Return of Iljimae, there was a very popular drama by SBS entitled Iljimae with Lee Jun Ki (The Clown & The King) playing the main character. However, as SBS did not have rights to the manhwa which had already been sold to MBC for The Return of Iljimae, they created a new story.
I haven't seen SBS's Iljimae yet but I loved Lee Jun Ki in The Clown & The King and might watch it for that reason alone after I finish The Return of Iljimae.
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