Ireland pushed aside by ‘The Glory’

TVING's new original 'Island' starring Kim Nam-gil, which invested more than 20 billion won in production costs, is receiving a lukewarm response compared to the strong interest. It is not a hot topic, being overtaken by the Netflix series ‘The Glory’, which was released on the same day. In addition, Lee Da-hee's acting, which takes up most of the first part, also failed to attract attention as it was nothing new.

'Ireland', which was released on December 30th, depicts the journey of characters who are destined to fight against evil that seeks to destroy the world. It is based on the popular cartoon/webtoon of the same name. Kim Nam-gil played the role of an immortal being who is both human and half monster, half human and half demon, and Lee Da-hee played the role of Miho, the only successor and savior of the conglomerate Daehan Group. Cha Eun-woo played John, the youngest former exorcist in the Vatican, and Oh Gwang-rok played Deacon Jang, who protects the only savior who can prevent the cracks and destruction of the world.

However, unlike Netflix, was it a poison that it is released twice a week? Of the 12 episodes, episodes 1 and 2 released today were only a build-up to the overall narrative and did not elicit much interest. In particular, in the first episode, Kim Nam-gil's screen time was only about 5 minutes, and the episode was filled with the story of Mi-ho coming down to Jeju Island after an accident and meeting Jeong Yeom-gwi for the first time. Kim Nam-gil left an impression by instantly killing Jeong Yeom-gwi at the end of the broadcast.

In the second episode that followed, the story of how Ban became half-human and half-demon and the narrative of Miho's past life were revealed, but the repetitive plot of Miho being continuously chased by Jeongyeom-gwi and Ban always appearing at extraordinary times to save Miho and punish Jeongyeom-gwi was boring. I can almost feel it.

Lee Da-hee's acting, who was cast after Seo Ye-ji left the show, was also not much different from her previous work. His arrogant appearance as the heir to a chaebol family was similar to the one seen in 'Beauty Inside' and 'Enter search term: WWW', and the image of him being chased and taking action reminded me of 'Luca the Beginning'. Lee Da-hee's unique facial expression was still present in 'Ireland'.

Kim Nam-gil's presence was strong, but the amount was somewhat disappointing and there was no significant performance as of yet. Cha Eun-woo also appears in Jeju Island at the end of episode 2, and is expected to form relationships with the characters in earnest.

Within TVING itself, 'Island' ranked second in terms of weekly paid subscribers and viewer UVs after 'Drinkers City Women 2' upon its first release, but the public response was not great. 'The Glory', starring Song Hye-kyo and Lee Do-hyun, took first place in Korea just two days after its release, beating 'The youngest son of a chaebol family' who held the throne for 39 days, and was ranked in the top 5 worldwide. It's a castle.

Evaluation of the work is also divided into likes and dislikes. While reactions such as "It's worse than the original" and "Tacky" and "It's still too early to judge" continue, attention is being paid to whether there will be an attractive card that will capture the hearts of viewers from episode 3, when the full-fledged narrative will unfold.

Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr