It’s finally time to pull back and the curtains and see what Records of a Night Watchman has to offer. The first teaser preview is out and it’s definitely worth checking out. It looks less sageuk and more historical fantasy. I’m seen K-dramas so heavily fantasy such as Bae Yong Joon‘s The Legend (Legend of the First King’s Four Gods) and even Jumong had fantasy sequence. Both those dramas were set in ancient Korean times, with Jumong about the founding of the Goguryeo state and The Legend about a later Goguryeo king. It’s strange that Night Watchman is doing a fantasy element that resembles both of those other dramas since Night Watchman is set in the Joseon era and by then it’s harder to sell a world filled with shamans, conjuring up demon snakes from the mountain, spirit girl from a wild tribe, etc. But if the drama is telling me that there are ghosts and the royal heirs are afflicted with the ability to see ghosts, then I suppose crazy witchcraft and wizardly goes as well.

The first teaser is the real deal packed with tons of scenes from the drama. All four leads are looking good, Jung Il Woo feels like a redo of The Moon Embraces the Sun except he’s the male lead this time, Go Sung Hee‘s wild girl hairstyle is a tad too much and hopefully less poofy on top later on, Seo Ye Ji is lovely in a hanbok, and Yunho does not offend the sensibilities in the brief glimpse of him. Choi Won Young seems to be hamming it up as the ghost-seeing King who later goes crazy while Yoon Tae Young does his best magnetic warrior impersonation. I’m trying hard to not mention Kim Sung Oh‘s villainous shaman character because the second he shows up he’s going suck up all the attention because of how far out his role and appearance is compared to everyone else. Him….and the cheesy first peek at the mystical dragon snake thingie at the end of the teaser. It’s a slithery blink-and-miss appearance.

First preview for Records of a Night Watchman:

I’m intrigued by the new drama still above showing three supporting leads who will be playing three guardian ghosts who follow Jung Il Woo’s crown prince around as his personal Greek chorus. Cute! There’s Go Chang Seok as a minister, Lee Se Chang as a eunuch, and little Kim Ji Woo who last lit up the screens as the littlest daughter in The Suspicious Housekeeper.