The Iron Empress (2009)

I had my doubts about The Iron Empress. The title and its visual representation featuring a stern, martial woman, in full armor, made it obvious what I could expect: a sort of Joan of Arc who shows men how the fighting is done on the battlefield and in the royal court. Then there was the episode count which is, at 78, asking a lot of the viewer to commit to unless the drama is a Jumong.

To my surprise, the first episode had me completely absorbed. Before I knew it, I was past the point of no return and found myself rooting for Empress Dowager Chun Chu to get control of Goryeo's throne; for Kim Chi Yang's duplicity and betrayal to be revealed; and for the Empress Dowager of Khitan to prevail over her son, the Emperor, who wants go to war and make Goryeo a tributary state.

The story obviously had me engrossed. Among the characters and the actors who portrayed them, the actor who plays the role of the mad king, whom Chun Chu marries, stands out. The role requires the actor to be rude, boorish, churlish, etc., and I can only imagine how fun that was for the actor to play and it shows in his acting, which is at times both electrifying and laugh out loud funny. As to Chae Shi Ra, she plays her lead role with consummate skill. She has to lest the entire drama crumble and collapse.

Finally, I learned something watching The Iron Empress. I had no idea that the Khitan or the Liao Dynasty was a massive and influential power that rivaled the Song Dynasty. I learned they were a nomadic tribe that transformed itself into a civilized culture and military superpower, a precursor of sorts of Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire.

Two more things: I gave the drama an overall rating of 8 because there are about 15 episodes that are fillers or padding, and the fighting scenes showing the character Gang Jo wielding his spear is the most awesome display of martial arts I've seen in all of K-Drama.

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The Iron Empress

Lets just start off by saying that this Drama was VERY GOOD! i`m impress with the story line. The plot was very good and almost everything made sense. According to my reaserch the story line followed closely to actual evens that happened.
The Drama is basically about Goryeo told form the eyes of Empress Chun Chun. Depecting the hardship she when thru fighting to make her country prosper. Brace your self for ACTION, POLITICAL SCHEMING & INFIGHTING. It gets really emotional towards :'( i wont say more tho. You will love it if your a real Historical Drama like i.

Acting
the acting was above average and good. I wouldnt go that far to say it was awsome, but very good indeed. persons who stood out due to their acting skills.

* King Gyeongjong - The mad King, i really enjoyed his acting as a mad king lol.

* King Mokjong - like father like son, the rebelous son who didnt want to be king i must say well played. that laugh lol

*Empress Chun Chu - loved her from her younger days to her dying days. Strong woman both as a leader and mother in all aspect well played MAMA!

*King Sung Jong - Played the part of a very peace loving king, but the lengths he would go to preserve peace was too much of a price for the country to pay, Hense y Empress Chun Chu had to step in.

*Empress Moon Hwa / Lady Kim - she played the Empress for awhile, wife to King Sung Jong Empress Chun Chu brother. I mentioned her because her acting got to have an impact on me towards the end especially when her own village turned on her.

Music
It was ok especially during war and time high anticipation. i gave it a 8.5 because it aided they show in moments of happiness & sadness.

Rewatch Value
Good Drama indeed and lots of good moments i would rewatch, However the 8 was given due to its lengths and short coming in dragging out some episodes.

Some say this Drama was too dark & depessing, but all in all the era was a hard time for Goryeo with the Khitan invasions of the country. The last remaining episodes were very sad indeed i hate that chu anywayz I really enjoyed watching this for i`m real lover for Historical Dramas, Asian history and History overall

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