‘Mr. Sunshine’…A beautiful, moving epic.
Spoilers ahead…
Mr. Sunshine ends where most dramas would choose to start their story — the Japanese Occupation of Korea. A time of great distress, with immense repercussions on its people, culture, language, and nation, a re-telling of this time would no doubt bear the makings of an epic, and when wonderfully told so, it could ignite a flame in us, foreign viewers, to go back and read up more in detail about Korea’s history. This has been greatly exemplified through my viewings of shows like Chicago Typewriter and The Hymn of Death, and God knows how long I have been asking for a full-fledged drama set during this turbulent period. The reason being, not only for the sheer pleasure of watching something different in the category of historical dramas, but largely because this specific period was a period of vast changes in the Korean peninsula, a bridge, for the lack of a better word, between the Korea we see in sagueks and the Korea(s) we see today.
In Mr. Sunshine — the drama starts off in 1871, with the major portion of the plot taking place in the years between 1894 and 1907 — it is the time when people switched to more western outfits as compared to wearing the traditional hanbok. Men chopped their long tresses, to sport a shorter, more Western look. Women donned long gowns. The monarchy that seemed strong once, begins to quiver under the pressure of many pro-Japan ministers. Slavery is abolished, freeing slave families from serving one noble family for generations. Foreigners thronged the city of Hanseong, following the US expedition in 1871 — a hilarious sequence involving two translators and the Japanese and US army had me in splits — and these foreigners helped build railroads, trains, trams, brought electricity, different fabrics, and this one strange bitter drink called coffee to Joseon (it is amusing when one thinks of all the cafes that populate Seoul today). Schools for women open up, and in one of the English classes, Go Ae Shin (an impressive Kim Tae Ri) learns the word sunshine, associating it with Eugene, lending to the show’s guileless title.
Amongst all these developments, is Eugene Choi (a charming Lee Byung Hun). His Korean name is Choi Yu Jin, a name that easily morphs from Korean to English, a detail, foreshadowing the ease at which he later balances his dual identity. Eugene is the captain of a US Marine Corps, ethically a Korean, but an American citizen, a strange perception that many people can’t seem to wrap their heads around in the 20th century. ‘Are you American or Korean?’, he is asked, often with the implication of finding out where exactly his loyalties lie.
Eugene, born in a slave family, flees to New York, with the help of a missionary when his parents are murdered. He survives by doing several odd jobs but is ostracized for looking different, particularly his long braided hair standing out. Then, one day at the harbour, he catches sight of an African American soldier walking and interacting alongside other Americans. A short, yet poignant moment, this sight inspires Eugene to join the military, a place, he concluded, where he could assimilate into the American society.
Sailing in a similar boat is Gu Dong Mae and Lee Wan Ik (a character based on the last prime minister of Joseon, Ye Wangyong), both of whom have adopted Japan as their homeland. Gu Dong Mae’s (Yoo Yeon Sook), parents were butchers, who were considered lower than the slaves in the social hierarchy. When his parents are killed, he is forced to run away, eventually returning to Joseon as a samurai working for the Musin Society. Lee Wan Ik (Kim Eui Sang), likewise comes from a family of farmers. In order to ascend the social ladder, he decides to swap his loyalties to Japan, becoming instrumental in helping Japan gain control of Korea. He even marries off his own daughter, Kudo Hina (a brilliant Kim Min Jung) to a much older Japanese man, in the interest of securing his wealth. Hina laments how she was stripped of her (Korean) name and nationality, to appease her father’s greed, and there are even hints of her being physically abused in the marriage.
Then there is Go Ae Shin, a noblewoman-cum-resistance fighter, whose relationship with Eugene puts into perspective the conflict of class difference (among many other things) between them. Eugene is well aware that his origin as a slave is a prickly topic, even more than the fact that he is an American citizen. There are times where it feels like Eugene resents Ae Shin for the aristocratic class she represents, and how oblivious she is towards the sufferings of the lower class at the hands of the upper class, and when he confronts this dilemma to her, Kim Tae Ri excellently expresses Ae Shin’s initial incomprehensibility at his accusations. Soon after, Ae Shin’s interaction on this topic with her master Jang Seung Goo (Choi Moo Sung) shatteringly reveals to her the distance, he (and the other comrades) still keeps from her because of her status.
But Ae Shin stands apart, from the other characters, in her unwavering commitment to protecting her country — she chooses her country over Eugene several times. She learns to accept the privileges she receives because of the family she is born into but also isn’t ashamed of protecting a society that has always been kind to, but maybe not others.
Likewise, there are countless more characters, with countless more plot threads, each interpreting their side of the argument on issues like country, class, development, patriotism, love, and marriage.
The first episode itself is nothing short of a cinematic marvel — a whole 75 minutes that too — showcasing the origins of all major characters, composed of such magnificently looking shots, in a whole variety of locations. If dramas shot in modern-day Seoul, make you feel like traveling to South Korea, Mr. Sunshine will convince you to make some time for the natural wonders as well.
Fate or karma also assumes the role of a character in such intense historic dramas, where the ending is (inevitably) already well known. There is no suspense to that fact. Even with many people ready to lay down their life for their country, Japan does eventually invade Korea, and writing an epic that spans for years, with fate as a significant element, stresses the fact that history does repeat. Lee Wan Ik meets his end at the very hands of the daughter whose parents he murdered. Jang Seung Goo scarifies himself for the country just like his father did, even to the point of mirroring his father’s last gesture. Even the saying, ‘Children have to bear the sins of their parents’ which Kim Hee Sung’s grandfather yells at a young Eugene, turns into a lifelong burden for Hee Sung (Byun Yo Han) to carry. Ae Shin continues training more soldiers, emulating her first lessons with Jang Seung Goo.
But even with such thoughtful writing, the show’s biggest drawback is its slow pace. With plenty of world-building, the leisure pace in the initial episodes is a blessing, but as soon as the story progresses into the second act, this sluggishness sucks out all the tension of what could have been a series of nail-biting sequences. It also doesn’t help that letters, important reports, pop up without any prior information, and then for a few episodes become super important, something that we should care about, but with bare minimum context provided, it doesn’t amount to anything.
However, the show does pick itself up with the entrance of Takashi Mori (Kim Nam Hee flawlessly speaking Korean with a thick Japanese accent), and finally, all the planning is put into action. Major characters die, there is a time jump, haste references to treaties, traitors and genocides, a lot goes on the last few episodes, and you just wish more time could have been spared for these developments.
Although these are a few blemishes, one can’t argue with the fact that Mr. Sunshine is one of the best Korean historical dramas produced, with great production value, and even greater hard work and sincerity. Just observe Eugene and Ae Shin’s relationship bloom in spite of their opposing views, in midst of an uncertain time. This is what Mr. Sunshine does best — the romance of the older times, where secret letters bring as much joy as seeing the person in flesh. Also, watch the scene where Eugene confesses his longing for Ae Shin in front of the palace maids, and there is even a melancholic what-if scenario, where Ae Shin and Eugene imagine their life together in America, with their class difference, nationalities, not causing a hindrance any longer. This selfless display of love is what elevates Mr.Sunshine from just another historical show to a heart-wrenching watch.
