Mr. Sunshine
2018
Original language: Korean
- drama
The story
Set in the early 1900s, this drama tells the story of a young man from Korea who grows up in the United States. When he returns to Korea as a US Marine Corps officer, he meets and falls in love with a noblewoman who is fighting for Korean independence. Their romance is complicated by social class and political ideology.
What it’s like
Warm amber interiors and wide, hazy exteriors of late-Joseon Seoul give this series a painterly, period look, with candlelit palace rooms, sepia-toned flashbacks, and sweeping shots of hanok rooftops and rain-soaked streets. Its score leans on swelling strings and a lonely piano line, with long pauses in the quieter scenes. The mood is wistful and romantic with a steady undercurrent of unease, as a colonial occupation and class barriers press on every meeting. The pacing is unhurried in the early episodes and grows more urgent as the political stakes rise, and the emotional arcs follow two people from opposite sides of history who slowly come to trust each other, and a country that refuses to be quiet. Violence is present and sometimes harsh, including shootings, beatings, and executions, though it is mostly staged rather than gory, and there are brief intimate scenes without explicit content. It suits long evenings with a box set, for viewers who want a sweeping romance with real historical weight and do not mind a melancholy edge.
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