In 2011, time-traveling dramas became a trend in China, after the releases of Gong and Bu Bu Jing Xin. Both controversially and arguably based on the same novel by Tong Hua, titled Bu Bu Jing Xin. When South Korean director Kim Kyu Tae, known for It’s Okay It’s Love and That Winter, The Wind Blows, announced her desire to remake the series in Korea, excitement wasn’t the emotion on the mind of most fans. After several quiet months, the remake was officially confirmed, with the rights to the original novel purchased. The story was to be readapted into Korean history, completely pre-produced with a high budget and investment by Warner Bros. I was a very big fan of the original series and for a while, until the release of Nirvana in Fire, it was my favourite drama. That’s a very big claim considering the countless series I have watched.
Another year… A new beginning.
It would be false to say I didn’t have high expectations for the series, but it wouldn’t be true to say that I did either. I was sceptical, but kept an open mind. Nevertheless, after one year of waiting, the Korean series was given an airdate. With an unexpected cast of IU (Lee Ji Eun), Lee Jun Ki and Kang Ha Neul, I really didn’t know what I had signed up for. I’ve seen IU, Lee Jun Ki, and Kang Ha Neul in previous projects before, and felt indifferent to, but okay with the casting of the male leads. The reason behind my scepticism towards IU playing Maertai Ruo Xi was because I’ve never been impressed by her performances in earlier dramas. IU also lacks Liu Shi Shi’s elegance, which I felt was important to the character. After the casting of the lead roles, I considered giving this drama a pass, but when JiSoo was confirmed to play 14th and Baekhyun 10th, I reluctantly gave it one more chance.
As the days grew closer and excitement from Korean drama fans for this flower-boy-studded cast blossomed further, I became more indifferent. Out rolled the first episode and most reviews were negative. Korean netizens were saying there were too many close ups and that IU’s and Baekhyun’s acting was awkward. Comments from International fans were not so different. However, I had a friend who seemed to enjoy the first episode.
I continued to wait though, until the 6th episode aired. By then, most of the complaints were dispersing, the drama had been re-edited to address criticism of its cinematography, and most of what I had seen was now praises. And so my journey began. I had heard from many not to consider this a Bu Bu Jing Xin adaptation, but to take it as an entirely different drama. As much as I wanted to take this advice to heart, I just couldn’t help but subconsciously compare.
Review
Moon Lovers is not another Bu Bu Jing Xin, and I shall not remember it as such. Although the Chinese version had questionable CGI, the cinematography overall is much more mesmerising and pleasing to the eye than the Korean version. The difference in grandness and varsity of the palaces is one that I saw many Chinese netizens talk about, and I agree.
However, it is unfair to compare the two, as the time difference between the Qing Dynasty and the Goryeo Dynasty is more than 600 years. This difference in time has allowed for an establishment of grander court etiquettes, intrigues, and a royal palace. This would always be the flaw and setback of basing it on Korean tradition. In the Goryeo period, Confucianism was a relatively new system to Korea, and many of the similarities in tradition between the two countries are because of this introduction of Confucianism.
So by setting the drama in the Goryeo dynasty, there would always be conflict between being as accurate as possible to Korean history and culture, and staying true to the original novel, which reflects Chinese history and culture. The drama decided on the former.
The determining factor to my enjoyment of this adaptation would lie in the differences between HaeSoo’s and Ruoxi’s characters. Ruoxi was a character of many flaws; she was wishy washy, indecisive at times, and there was a strange mixture between selflessness and selfishness to her. However, she was a character we could relate to, empathise with, and she made us aware of what was important to her.
But HaeSoo crosses this thin line between a good flawed character, to an unbearable one. HaeSoo is very much the typical Korean female lead; she’s weak, helpless, alone, unaware, nice and compassionate, but her character does not mesh well with the actions of Ruoxi. The writer’s choice to make HaeSoo much more oblivious, is slightly strange to me. Although we do see her regain some knowledge of the past, I think the reveal is an unneeded plot device, for a story with so much depth already.
What I believe was one of Ruoxi’s most significant traits is that she wanted to live. She wanted to stay alive and was afraid of death. Whilst at times she was heroic and brave, she mainly took on actions she knew would not kill her. She was well educated and witty enough to understand how to command words to her favour.
This is something I did not see much with HaeSoo. HaeSoo seems to enjoy placing herself in situations that may result in injury. She’s a clear damsel in distress. That is not to say Ruoxi wasn’t at times, but Ruoxi knew who to find to protect herself, whilst HaeSoo relies on fates and miracles.
Plot execution, was also something I found much better in the Chinese adaption. The characters are introduced with meaning and intricacy, so that we remember the most important figures of the battle for royal accession. But in Moon Lovers, the characters are thrown together.
Some argue that it’s because the drama was condensed from 26.25 hours in the Chinese, to 20 in the Korean. But the differences are too noticeable, and the result missed an important element to the story. The story is centred on the relationships built between Ruoxi and the princes. It’s their childhood ties, because of the times they spent together at 8th’s Manor that makes Ruoxi unable to turn a blind eye, and inevitably sacrifice her future with 4th. But most of this is not shown in the Korean drama.
Nicky’s adlib became one of the most iconic scenes in both adaptions. Is it how to use an umbrella? Maybe not, but it would become of the many reasons it would become so hard for our female leads to let go. In a place full of fear, pain and hardships, someone was willing to endure it with them.
The death of Minghui, the pleading of Mingyu, the steaming of Yutan, the suffering of 8th, 10th and 14th as well as the loss of her child were part of a long painful string of events that lead to Ruoxi’s final decision. However, most of these events are not in Moon Lovers, and some that made it into the drama seem very much shoehorned into the storyline.
In Moon Lovers, HaeSoo does leave the palace with the aid of 14th, but the justification is not as strong. Ruoxi’s death is a lifting of her ‘sins’ and the last step to placing together history, giving her the deserved peace and freedom. But freedom and peace are not seen with HaeSoo’s death as she leaves behind a child, removing the importance and closure associated with Ruoxi’s death.
This utilisation of death is very much misused in Moon Lovers. It’s because of 9th’s death that we feel the villainous nature of his character start to fade and he is able to redeem himself as a character of emotions. However, the Korean version is unable to replicate this. There is a clear villain and a clear character to hate in the Korean version, which, for me, removes one of the beautiful things about Bu Bu Jing Xin.
What was left behind..
Overall Thoughts
Although I did not enjoy Moon Lovers, having dropped it after 6 episodes, and skipping to the last 3 for the purpose of this review, I don’t intend to discourage you as a viewer from watching it. Moon Lovers retains typical Korean drama traits and should be seen as a separate creation from the Chinese version. It follows a different period of history in Korea; one with just as much diversity as the battle between Kang Xi’s sons. As long as the comparison is not placed between the two adaptions, I believe many would enjoy Moon Lovers.
The beauty of Bu Bu Jing Xin is one I’ll always keep close to me, and even if Moon Lovers is not the best adaption of the storyline, it has its own uniqueness that would make it worth watching for others.
Moon Lovers is rated pretty high on mydramalist. I assume most of those are kdrama fans that haven’t watched the original. Maybe its enjoyable on its own but this was a good read to see the opinion of someone who has seen at least some of both. I was curious about how this remake turned out but didn’t want to watch it myself lol. Now to wait and see how the Mother remake turns out…
I think most dramas on mydramalist has high ratings, regardless of whether it’s good or not. But Moon Lovers is very much a typical Korean drama. Hopefully Mother is better, cause there’s not history to play around with…
You’re very wrong! Moon lover is very popular among international audience. You might no5 like it, but you can’t descredit it at all.
No, its just you
Hi Alisonn,
Thank you so much for your review. I agree with you completely. Bu Bu Jing Xin was also my de-facto favorite Asian drama for a long time because the story was so beautifully written and had so much depth. It was dethroned for me after watching Nirvana in Fire and Empresses in the Palace. Nirvana in Fire is now my favorite Asian drama series of all time. It’s so crazy reading this review because it could have easily been written by me. I, too, dropped Moon Lovers after 6 episodes but unlike you, I never had the motivation to care how it ended.
I agree with you completely about Hae Soo. I hate the damsel in distress narrative. It is such an overused and outdated concept. It frustrates me so much knowing that this is the type of female character I see all the time in Asian dramas. Young girls will watch these dramas and unconsciously, whether they like it or not, will feel like this is how they should portray themselves in real life. It is such a sick, misogynistic point of view.
This is precisely why I loved Ruoxi so much. She was a flawed character, of course, but her flaws only made her feel more human. Her selfish desire to live was really the root of all her decisions on the show. I applauded her when she gave up her relationship with 8th prince knowing he was going to die. At the time, women were linked to their husbands. If he died, her life would be over. She was a strong, independent character but she accepted the realities of her situation and she adapted as all humans naturally do to survive. I was skeptical about her decision to shack up with 4th prince but I understood why she did it. She knew he was going to be the emperor and who better to protect your life than the future emperor of China. Then, she accidentally fell in love with him and her life changed forever. It was such a moving drama. I remember thinking about it for days after I watched it the first time. Why did she leave him in the end? She loved him so much and any other ridiculous drama would’ve made her stay with him (because it was what all of us, the audience wanted), but realistically it made sense that she couldn’t stay with him. He was merciless and vindictive and she had enough. She just wanted to love him in her mind as the 4th prince and not as the emperor. It was brilliant. I also loved how 4th prince was so cruel to everyone but he was loving enough to let her go. He did it purely because he loved her and it was incredibly moving.
All of that was lost in the Korean adaption. I am not sure why the Korean producers and writers chose to adapt this particular story without any of the parts of the story that made it so popular. What was the point? They cannot blame it on episode time when they had loads of filler scenes that added nothing to the story line. Maybe they did not watch the same drama that I did…or maybe they were putting emphasis on the wrong things? Who knows!? All I know is the Korean version dropped the ball. It is such a pity.
“They cannot blame it on episode time when they had loads of filler scenes that added nothing to the story line.”
I completely agree with this.
I guess the drama was made for the Korean audience, so they added all the elements normally prevalent in a Korean drama, but in doing so lost the essence that made BBJX so popular.
I really loved Moon lovers was a great drama ,even I watched the chinese drama BBJX in 2012, I prefer Moon lovers , just was too amazing in the way to transmited the emotion and felling to viewers, great acting , great plot , great OST .This drama was too amazing
Omg. I had no idea you got similar thinking to me. But unlike you I dropped it less than 6 episode even. I watched it mainly to see what the fuss was all about since at Kissasian it also got high rating and being a popular drama in the list. Bu Bu Jing Xin was my all time fav of time travelling drama( I need to watch the Nirvana drama you talked about! Haven’t watched that yet!! XD) where I don’t hate the female character ( these few years I can’t watch a drama till the end without disliking the female character, I just watched hallway or only a few episode in before switching to other drama). As you said the damsel in distress syndrome which was mostly there in Asian or Korean drama.
I just can’t! I really like Ruo Xi elegance and story and the Chinese plots and somehow I just can’t help but compare Hae Soo and Ruo Xi attitude and character. I mean I even compare the Majesty himself. And it was just.. *sigh*
Idk if it was because even at start I did not like they choose IU for Hae Soo and she did not give the character the justice. Or maybe the adaption version for Hae Soo was that bad ( for me).
Maybe if I never saw BBJX before, or can watched without comparing, I can enjoy it a bit. But tbh for me Moon Lovers just sucks. :/
PS: In Moon Lovers maybe I just shipped 10th prince with Hae Soo than any other prince. They suit more tbh. Although in BBJX, I shipped Ruo Xi with 4th and 13th are not bad. 😀
i watched ryeo not knowing it was a Chinese adaptation. My poor heart was torned in the painful ending. I liked it because it’s different than other kdramas which has predictable plots. Came here to see if ryeo was better than the original version but i guess not. Still won’t be watching the chinese ver. because the princes are balds ? mianhae
Weird reason. The princes is bald?
Same lmao nvr in my life had I seen Qing Dynasty princes bald… Nd the backgrounds & environment created in the Chinese one is not so great at all…
I totally agree with you that the korean version really stripped itself of the elements that made BBJX gain such diehard fans. I’ve just decided to watch scarlet heart ryeo recently because I came across a knowing brothers’ episode where IU & LGK were guest on together and i felt they had such chemistry i should give this a chance. Like you, BBJX was a long time ultimate favourite c-drama of mine. So much that I’ve rewatched it multiple times and even bought and read the books multiple times in order to better understand the plot and each character’s motivations (and also purely because i can’t get enough of bbjx + the sequel was horrendous).
As you mentioned, the emphasis on childhood ties + ruoxi’s character are extremely crucial and unfortunately mixing in ryeo. I’m currently on episode 12 of ryeo and i can’t even count the number of times i’ve scolded the screenwriter in my heart.
Another game i’ve been playing is to try and match the elements they deconstructed and rebuilt:
Such as Crown Prince and 3rd Prince in Ryeo, and also Queen Yoo. Their characters are a mishmash of a bunch of different characters in bbjx.
One particularly stood out to me: Court Lady Oh, she embodies the effects of Yutan’s death on Ruoxi, and also Ruoxi’s later fate of being a special lover without a status to 4th.
And now i shall continue watching ryeo hahaha, had so much thoughts mid drama i had to look for a comparison review
You tried to defend ur opinion pretty well in last paragraphs but what I understood is you’ve something against IU nd that’s what made u look down upon on HaeSoo which is totally wrong! Nd if u say the Korean adaption is totally different then no comparison should be done btwn the Chinese nd Korean one. But still since u did lemme pinpoint a few things- 1. The Korean actors are more promising.. that’s what made it an international hit. 2. Despite the cinematography of the Korean version being bad.. the environment, background, acting everything was a lot better than the Chinese one… I understand that the Chinese one was shot in 2010-11 still there’s Moon Embracing the Sun which was released in 2012 even that was better than Bu Bu Jing Xi. 3. The moment I started watching watching the Chinese one I was like bruh what’s with the aesthetic nd their appearances nd I couldn’t even continue after 1 episode lol…
Lol your only actual criticism is that you don’t like the Chinese one’s aesthetics? That’s really weak. You’ve basically admitted that it’s better than Ryeo story-wose and acting-wise.
Also IU is a great actress now, but even she would admit her acting in Scarlet Heart Ryeo back then was mostly mediocre.