This particular award is so peculiar in both selection and timing I’m just left scratching my head. It does make me reconsider revisiting it with the possibility that my opinion may change. The 2012 K-drama Faith starring Lee Min Ho and Kim Hee Sun was just named Top Korean Drama in Japan for 2014 by the Gayo Entertainment Awards. Gayo (a subsidiary of Yahoo Japan) is arguably Japan’s largest paid video streaming portal and just released its own awards for offerings available over its stream service.
Faith was the number one most watched K-drama this year on Gayo, and I’m assuming the win was over a competition pool also included the two most popular K-dramas of last year in Heirs and You From Another Star. The reasons given for the popularity of Faith even two years after it aired was due to the Japanese love of epic period dramas, Lee Min Ho’s runaway popularity in Japan along with the stoic character he played in General Choi Young, and the drama’s themes of loyalty and devotion.
Faith was considered a disappointment in terms of domestic Korean audience ratings when it aired. It also wasn’t well received with the critics at that time. But there was a small and very devoted (and vocal) group of viewers who loved the drama, making it a memorable as a cult hit of sorts. I know folks who absolutely loved it, and also know just as many that hated the first few episodes and dropped it. I watched four episodes myself before calling it quits.
I couldn’t stand Kim Hee Sun’s grating voice or screechy acting and Lee Min Ho seemed somnolent in the role. Even worse was the visual mismatch and nonexistent chemistry between the leads wrapped in a really weird (and not in a good way) story. With that said, after watching Kim Hee Sun in Wonderful Days I’ve grown to like her and wouldn’t mind giving Faith a second look with a different eye towards her character. What do Faith aficionados have to say if you were to try and sell this drama to new viewers?
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I could not watch much of it either. The king and his wife were the only things going through most of the drama. My husband would put it on and I would promptly fall asleep. Such long epic drawn out sessions with the government geezers. Lee Min Ho has used the weather to excuse his acting. Every drama shot in summer has that problem albeit not every actor wears a rubber suit to play their part like he did. The walking down lines to kill was weird as was the non-existent love story. I do not understand when I read this was Lee Min Ho's best work ever. If it was he has no where to go but up and he has my deepest sympathy as I thought it just stunk. Sorry to all who disagree. I feel he did much better in several other dramas and I like him a lot, professionally and as a person, but I do feel he needs pushed directing and a great script to get his best acting out of him.
The plot spins in circles in the last half, but I'd say it's worth watching. It was a really interesting take on the time travel trend, considering the gender-reverse and the fact that all of the characters could look out for themselves.
I dropped it after the first five episodes, but a few months later decided to give it another try and absolutely loved it. i don't know why, given that I found it boring and unconvincing the first time around, but it struck a real chord. I liked how the characters where literally fighting for their lives, but there was a really low-key vibe about the whole thing. Some characters and plot lines were tosses away willy nilly, but they were weak ones so that didn't bother me too much. I liked the OTP more and more as the story progressed and the secondary pairing were just as engaging, if not more so, with their complete misunderstanding and mistrust of each others motives.
I say give it another try and see if it does anything for you this time.
I dropped it too after watching two first episodes
but it is still in top 10 most viewed dramas on a popular portal here in Russia
so I decided to give it second chance and I LOVED it!!!!!!!
Kim Hee Sun seemed so beautiful and charming to me
and I also liked her feisty and cool character
I found their romance with LMH believable
they matched well)))
As one of the (small) group of people who absolutely loved "Faith", I do think that this drama had a number of flaws. So to start with the negatives (because it would be embarrassing to immediately start gushing just for seeing this drama mentioned): The cinematography was mostly uninspired, the editing as well. The fight scenes weren't very exciting for a sageuk action drama (this was especially true after the beginning, when they probably also started to have to deal with budget problems). Interesting bits of the scripts didn't make it into the actual episodes at all, due to time and other constraints; this was mostly just annoying/disappointing when we'd compare the original scripts (uploaded by the writer on her website) with the episodes, but it was tragic as regards the final episode (because they couldn't film it as it was intended, the ending was left with plotholes). But then even the writer's original story for this drama wasn't flawless; there were slow parts (politics-related), and there was unwelcome repetition of other plot beats (eg. Eun Soo getting poisoned). So... I think this mostly covers the negatives.
As to the positives... This isn't Lee Min Ho's best drama (imo, that would be City Hunter), but it's my favorite role of his, no contest. Actually, the characters are all interesting and varied and layered. But Lee Min Ho does, I think, an especially good job at portraying the evolution of his character from a somnolent captain who is frozen inside and is sleeping his life away, to a true warrior leader and the king's most trusted subject (and friend and mentor). (I think it's infinitely more difficult to portray a man who is the silent type, with all his emotions repressed, than a guy like Gu Jun Pyo, who wears all his feelings on his sleeve and is always unapologetically in-your-face)
Kim Hee Sun does start out a little screechy, but she gets so much better, and she's given such wonderful stuff to work with (characterwise). She's a modern woman, a little bit cynical, a little bit materialistic, a little flawed, a lot real. She re-learns what it means to be a healer (as opposed to just pursuing medicine/plastic surgery for money) and, of course, she brings the deadened-inside Choi Young back to life, kicking and screaming. And that's actually the best aspect of this drama, and why it is one of my favorites of all time: the romance. In as many other aspects as "Faith" disappointed, in this it absolutely did not. The love between Eun Soo and Choi Young shone like a beacon of light, undimmed, growing and gaining in brilliancy until the end. It changed them both, and it also changed the world around them (the kingdom and the people) in very tangible ways. It elevated the entire story and the entire drama. How high, it of course depends on each viewer. And of course, it depends on how you perceive the chemistry between Kim Hee Sun and Lee Min Ho. (I totally bought it, obviously. All delicious glowing embers, bursting into a veritable raging inferno later on. But that's just me.)
I belong to that minority that like Faith a lot too.
@ Adnana,
Your comments totally resonated with me. I actually liked Lee Mi-Ho best in this role. Next would be City Hunter. Personal Taste, Heirs and Boys Over Flowers come nowhere close.
As for Kim Hee-sun, I enjoyed her a lot less in Wonderful Days.
First off, I was biasedly prepared not to enjoy Kim Hee-sun, and skeptical the LMH-KHS pairing could even work. I was left eventually sold by their romance. She was feisty and direct, he was quiet and stoic, an introverted man of actions rather than flowery words, without needing to look like a hero.
His caring for his men; the camaraderie among the soldiers, and their respect for their general and their barrack support for his chosen 'queen' was another highlight.
While she was impulsive, he quietly supported her actions. Ditto his, for her.
While I wouldn't call it best drama, nor would it win points for historical accuracy or in the science fiction genre ... it was a watch-worthy enjoyable drama.
More importantly, I felt for the leads, which was surprisingly unexpected. The other romance between the King and his Queen was captivating too.
Thank you so much,@Adnana. I totally agreed with you how you expressed your comments about this drama. I am too belong to the minority fans of Faith and I love it every moments.
Those people hate Faith are mostly want to watch their idols in great chemistry and melodrama but this one isn't. You got to know the story deeper and you will enjoy it along the journey to the end of the drama. I love the pairing Lee Min Ho and Kim Hee Sun.
What can I say? They 're the best couple in the historical Korean drama for me now and ever.
Actually I disagree that the leads had no chemistry and didn't match, I loved the couple and rooted for them. I thought was plausible how they came to like each other, and fall in love, I personally thought that they were a good couple and I liked them together.
The thing for me was that Faith was like a live version of all the historical romance novels I read in my teens, it made me feel nostalgic of the time I would read those books.
The tall dark and handsome brooding hero with a dark past.(I think Lee min ho was good at it)
the fiery red headed heroine (since a lot of romantic novels were set in the highlands in scotland, there was always a fiery redheaded heroine!)
They hate each other at first and can't see eye to eye because they are opposites or misunderstand each other, but then something happens where they discover that they are complementary, each has strenghts the other need, grudginly they make peace, and then they fall madly in love. Or they fall madly in love and make peace because they can't help feeling drawn to each other despite not agreeing about everything.
The court intrigues, the fights , the dramatic rescues,
It was all exactly the same basic blot as any historical bodice ripper novel. I enjoyed it thoroughly,for what it was since I started to watch it without any expectations.
It was all historical romance novel 101. (there was even a forced engagement plotline!)
Maybe if I had known beforehand watching that it was supposed to be a,big budget epic fantasy historical drama,I would have been disappointed.
But I watched it just thinking it was simple romantic drama, in an historical setting and with some fantasy elements,I didn't expect anything deep or extraordinary, I just wanted be entertained, so I though it was good.
So in that context where someone starts to watch it without any prior expectations, I can understand why they would love the show and it would win an award.
I absolutely loved Faith for partly the same reasons. I love to watch historical romances. My second favorite genre is time travel. So put it together, it's drama heaven for me!
However, I think the historical romance storyline drew Japanese fans in. For anyone who has watched historical Japanese drama, especially taiga dramas, the romance aspect is minimal. In Faith, the skinship between KHS and LMH appears quite often. That's something I haven't seen in a Japanese historical drama in a long time. I used to Japanese dramas before Korean dramas. So Faith is probably a breath of fresh air for those craving a good romance storyline.
Also, Jin was a popular time traveling drama in Japan. So it's possible that fans of Jin might have tuned into Faith since it is about another doctor going back in time. But what makes Faith unique, is it's a woman going back in time. Most Korean and Japanese time travel dramas have men going back in time. This is one of the reasons I tuned into Faith too.
The director of FAITH commited suicide because of the debt. SO sad to read this news today.
Was I the only one who thought Lee Philip had a ton of chemistry with Kim Hee-sun? I watched snippets here and there and I thought the two of them matched well. Not that the pairing would have been possible though.
That's crazy...it only speaks to how popular Lee Min Ho is. But sorry it wasn't the best korean drama of 2014. They must not have watched enough korean dramas. Pathetic.
I watched the whole drama. It was fine. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. It certainly wasn't the best. I would say if you love Lee Min Ho and and you like Heirs, then this is the drama for you. The storyline actually moves and you get to see Lee Min ho being the typical leading man in scenarios that people typically really like.
it wasnt the best drama, but it was a lot better than Heirs
"Pathetic"? That's a strong judgement. Different people appreciate different things, and I think that's okay--not pathetic.
Yippee! Congratulations Faith! One of my most favorite kdramas ever! I can't tell you why I love this absolutely perfect (for me, anyway) kdrama, and I'm glad I marathoned it before I read the heaps of negative reviews about the drama. There are some dramas where the alchemy just matches and it becomes magic, and for some unexplained reason this one just worked out that way for me. I must have watched it literally like dozens of times...
Glad to see that others appreciate it like I do...