Dear Hongrang Review
Director: Kim Hong-sun
Date Created: 2025-05-16 23:05
4.5
Dear Hongrang Review: Helmed by Kim Hong-sun and penned by Kim Jin-a, this kdrama is based on the novel Tangeum: Swallowing Gold. The series (탄금) stars Lee Jae-wook as Sim Hongrang, Jo Bo-ah as Sin Jae-yi, Jung Ga-ram as Sim Mu-jin, Uhm Ji-won as Min Yeon-ui, Park Byung-eun as Sim Yeol-guk, Kim Jae-uck as Prince Han-pyeong and others. The show has 11 episodes of about 70 minutes each. Yes, it’s a bit long. Yes, it’s slow at times. It seems somehow that slowness suits the story. It allows you to sit with the characters, breathe their pain, and feel their silence.
Dear Hongrang Review
The story unfolds with the disappearance of a boy who is from a rich merchant family and the son of a man with many secrets and many enemies. Once he’s gone, the family unravels, each in their own small ways. His mother becomes distant and then physically unwell, his father concentrates on business, and the orphan Mu-jin is brought in as the new heir. Only Jae-yi, Hongrang’s half-sister, remains searching for him.
But twelve years later, a stranger who insists that he is Hongrang turns up. He bears the scars and the head-cocked calm of someone who has been to hell, but he has no recollection of his childhood. So, is he really the boy who vanished all those years ago? That’s the question that begins the story, but it is not the one that will be haunting you by the end.
There are shows that you watch and never think of again. And then there are the shows that quietly slide beneath your skin and park there. Netflix’s Dear Hongrang also known as Tangeum is certainly the latter. When I began this K-drama, I expected to be plunging into a mystery about a missing heir. What I didn’t anticipate is how deeply it would make me feel everything, the grief, the confusion, the jealousy, the love and every emotion in between.
It wasn’t the mystery so much as the relationships that killed me. What I found so strong in this series was how real emotions felt, even amid so much that was so extreme and mixed. Personally, I found the love triangle in the Dear Hongrang series quite heartwrenching.
Hongrang, Jae-yi and Mu-jin are each carrying the pain of emotional scars, and the way they look after each other is confused and painful. The strong but emotionally guarded Jae-yi is caught between two men. One is a childhood connection, possibly her lost brother. The other is her constant companion for all those years. But what about when love seems wrong, but feels real?
The acting is one of the stronger parts of Dear Hongrang on Netflix. Lee Jae-wook is so refreshing as Hongrang. He performs the part, even with all of the misery in his eyes, in such a way that I felt bad for the guy, even when I wasn’t sure one way or the other whether or when he was lying. Jo Bo-ah does an ultra-natural and emotional acting. She’s strong without sacrificing her softness.
And Jung Ga-ram in the role of Mu-jin quietly stole a lot of scenes with his hidden jealousy and hurt. You could feel it all even when he said nothing. I didn’t know what to make of him at first. But gradually, I began to see the way he hurts. He always does the right thing, is always loyal, and is always the second-best. His love feels invisible, and that made me want to shield him. It reminded me of the times I’ve loved someone quietly, believing it would be sufficient — even when I knew it wouldn’t be.
What gives an extra to Kdrama Dear Hongrang is its political aspects. There are royal secrets, power plays and inheritance squabbles to ratchet up the drama. Opposition comes in the form of Prince Han-pyeong played by Kim Jae-uck, whose relationship to the main household creates conflict and stakes. Everyone has their own reasons to lie, to pretend, or to betray. Sometimes, you don’t even know who to trust.
Also Read: Secrets We Keep Review: Chilling Mystery That Grabs You and Doesn’t Let Go
And then there’s the mystery component. Throughout the episodes, strange things happen—whispers in the dark, unexplained visions, and a haunting creature that seems connected to the family’s past. I loved that Dear Hongrang Kdrama didn’t completely overuse the supernatural part, but added a bit of it to make the story a bit deeper and creepier. It was almost as if the ghost wasn’t only something scary — it came to symbolise guilt, loss and a hidden truth.
Visually, this show is stunning. The woods, the candlelight, the traditional clothes — everything is like something out of a dream. The camera moves are slow and elegant, so that not for a second does the most hushed scene feel any less intense. I caught myself freezing the image to just look at it.
The battle sequences are really well shot too. Lee Jae-wook, as Hongrang, brings a lot of power to these moments. And it’s not all physical, there’s a psychological hurt driving each move, and you can feel it. He really stands out in this stuff.
I won’t spoil things for you, but I will say this: Don’t go in expecting a happily-ever-after ending. Dear Hongrang, it is not going to wrap things up with a neat bow. It leaves you with a lump in your throat well worth pondering over. I myself would have preferred a different resolution, something perhaps more tender. But at the same time, I got why that’s how it ended.
Summing Up
Dear Hongrang is a dark, gloomy and pensive K-drama. It’s not your typical romantic or historical series. It’s risky, deeply personal storytelling about love, loss, identity and the cost of secrets, matched with absolutely tremendous action, performances and stunning shots. If you like slow-burning dramas that stick with you, this might be for you.
