Presentation
Korean Title: 지리산
Aired in: 2021 (16 episodes)
Channel: tvN
Grade: 9/10
Actors: Jun Ji Hyun and Ju Ji Hoon
For more…
Jun Ji Hyun:
– My Love from the Stars
– Legend of the Blue Sea
– My Sassy Girl (movie)
– The Thieves (movie)
Ju Ji Hoon:
– Goong: Princess Hours
– Mask
– Hyena
– Kingdom 1&2
Dramas directed by Lee Eung Bok:
– Dream High
– Descendants of the Sun
– Sweet Home
– Goblin
Analysis
Synopsis
Seo Yi Gang is a ranger at Jiri Mountain National Park. She is the best, knows every path and every single trail. Kang Hyun Jo is a rookie ranger, who is paired up with Yi Gang. He used to be an army captain and seems to hide a secret. Together, they try to protect the mountain and the hikers after discovering a series of supposedly accidental deaths.
My Opinion (No Spoiler)
Despite the many negative comments about that drama, I actually think that Jirisan is worth watching. The storyline is intriguing, the characters’ bond is heartwarming and the mystery about the mountain remains hidden until the end.
All in all, Jirisan is a good drama with a clean narrative and, in my opinion, beautiful mountain scenes. I didn’t quite understand why so many people were eager to criticize the drama just because it didn’t meet their expectations. Many were waiting for an extraordinary plot driven by excellent characters. Yet, this overall frenzy only resulted in disappointment. The same thing happened with The King: The Eternal Monarch. Viewers didn’t see the drama for what it was (in Jirisan‘s case an excellent thriller), but rather for what it was supposed to be.
Anyway, I personally recommend the drama. There are a lot of twists, beautiful mountain-related scenes and a thrilling chase after the killer. Jirisan is definitely worth it.
Analysis (Spoiler Alert)
Characters: If there is one trait that all characters have in common, it is their love for the job. Being a ranger comes with a set of great risks and responsibilities that each and everyone is willing to assume. This passion, if we may call it as such, is coupled with a strong mindset. Seo Yi Gang‘s (Jun Ji Hyun) and Kang Hyun Jo‘s (Ju Ji Hoon) stubbornness are the only reason why they catch the killer in the end.
Both main characters are actually interesting, in a sense that they come from different backgrounds but unite for the same cause. In-between they also seem to find perfect harmony and synergy in their duo. Indeed, Yi Gang has always lived near the mountains, and even lost both her parents during a devastating flood. She was raised by her grandmother. At first, she feared the mountain, but ended up becoming a ranger as part of her mourning process. Since then, she turned into The National Park’s greatest asset. She is brave, sometimes reckless, determined and above all knows the mountain better than anyone else.
As for Hyun Jo, he used to be in the army. During a night exercise in the mountain, he lost one of his teammates. Since then, his life has changed. He started getting weird visions showing people dying in the mountain. He may be discreet and quiet, but he is as strong-headed as Yi Gang. He is also very loyal and understanding. That’s why his relationship with his senior works so well. Indeed, Yi Gang tends to be hot-tempered, while Hyun Jo is the calm side of their partnership. Not only do they compensate each other’s fault, but they can also relate to one another. Both lost dear ones in the mountain.
I actually loved the leads’ chemistry in Jirisan. To be honest, I add the impression that they were more like soulmates. They had each other’s back and really cared for one another. Although the drama doesn’t show them in an actual relationship, their bond runs deeper. They are willing to do everything in their power to support, help and save each other. This was a heartwarming relationship, that was strengthened by their common secret: there is a killer on the loose in the mountain.
Seo Yi Gang and Kang Hyun Jo never gave up in the drama, hence the arrest of the actual killer. They never backed down from danger, and were willing to give their lives to put an end to the tragedy. For instance, Hyun Jo ended up in a coma with his spirit wandering the mountains, while Yi Gang became paralyzed. Still, this didn’t stop them from looking for the killer and preventing future murders from happening.
The two timelines: Once again, many people criticized the fact that the drama was constructed on two “confusing” timelines. One that starts in 2018 with Hyun Jo’s arrival. The second that follows Yi Gang’s search for the killer in 2020, after Hyun Jo is plunged into a coma.
Personally, I didn’t have the impression that the timelines were confusing. Each time we switched from 2018/2019 to 2020/2021, there were actually a lot of elements that pointed out at the shift; starting with the date written on the screen! For example, in 2020/2021 Seo Yi Gang is in a wheelchair and Hyun Jo absent from the “office”. Instead he is in the mountain wearing a bloody raincoat. Whereas in 2018/2019, both are running from one side of the mountain to another to rescue people. These two facts alone are enough to make us understand where we are on the timeline. Plus, time in the drama is linear. This means that when we start in 2018, there is only one way forward. The story doesn’t go back and forth. The only exceptions are the flashback in 1995 with the flood incident and the Black Bridge Village case in 1991. Yet, both events are perfectly well introduced in the overall narrative.
Moreover, the two timelines are actually crucial to the story. They are a mean to amplify the mystery. The plot is like a funnel that starts big in terms of time, settings (the mountain for instance) and intrigue. Then, it gradually comes up to more enclosed places (The Village for instance) and time periods (1991 – 1995), the closer Yi Gang and Hyun Jo are to finding the killer’s identity. It’s actually the best recipe for thrillers that Kim Eun Hee (the screenwriter) applies here with perfection.
Finally, these two timelines allow for a climax in the final episode. Indeed, the pressure and tension present in both timelines converge at some point. The killer’s identity is uncovered, Hyun Jo is on the verge of dying and so is Yi Gang. This convergence of all the puzzles pieces leads to a peak in intensity that results in the car chase during the storm. At the end, the killer (who is a ranger as well) kidnaps Yi Gang and tries to kill her. However, he is mysteriously punished by the mountain, who buries him under a scree. After that, only one timeline remains on which all characters are present.
The atmosphere: Jirisan is as much of a thriller as it is a supernatural drama. Both genres are deeply engraved in the DNA of the story. So, if you are expecting a realistic plot, well don’t. The main pillar of the drama relies on this mystical and eerie atmosphere of the mountain, combined with Hyun Jo’s visions. Again, people criticized this association (supernatural and thriller). Yet, it is not very different from Kim Eun Hee’s previous dramas like Kingdom. The only change here is that Jirisan is set in modern times. To me, the drama succeeded in delivering a whole lot of emotions: fear, stress, thrill, sadness (regarding Da Won‘s (Go Min Si) and Lee Yang Sun‘s (Joo Min Kyung) deaths) and happiness (ending). For instance, there were a lot of dramatic scenes, either related to incidents in the mountains (fire, flood…) or to the killings (the bus carrying Yi Gang’s grandmother that was washed away by water).
The direction: The direction is probably what received the most criticisms. As far as CGI is concerned, I can definitely agree. There were at the beginning some mishaps in the direction. However, the rest of the drama was for me clear of mistakes. Lee Eung Bok had to overcome a huge challenge: Filming in a difficult environment. Because most of the intrigue takes place in the mountains and involves natural disasters, I really think that the direction team deserves some applause. For this drama I felt like they had to use a lot of drones and be very careful with their environment. It’s not as easy as just filming in a studio or in the streets. There are a lot of other elements to take into account like the weather, the soil (mud, rocks, is it slippery? Steep?) and the re-creation of disasters like fire, flood, storm, snow…
That being said, the direction was pretty good and some cuts were also quite cinematographic and beautiful to see.
The ode to nature: Apart from its original storyline, Jirisan really sheds light on two other aspects: the job of a ranger and nature.
Being a Ranger: There are not a lot of dramas focusing on rangers. It is actually the first one that I see on that theme. The drama kind of realistically shows the dangers and risks associated with the job. It emphasizes the fact that it is above all a passion, but a very dangerous one. Indeed, it can lead to injuries (Yi Gang is in a wheelchair, Park Il Hae (Jo Han Chul) has a knee problem) and death (Yang Sun for example). You need to be physically and mentally prepared, pay attention to your environment and constantly be on your guard when you are a ranger. If that were not enough, you also have to deal with hikers’ reckless (or sometimes stupid) behaviors like trespassing in endangered zones, or getting too close to the edge for a single picture. Resourcefulness and resilience are a must for the job. The drama shows that very well, especially during interventions.
Finally, the drama highlights also the fact that a great part of the job has to do with luck. Once you are in the mountain, you can’t really know what is going to happen to you. You can only hope that you won’t be trapped by fire, water or just slip on a rock and fall to your death. All in all, I liked how they introduced this job to the viewers, with its negative and positive sides.
Ode to nature: Nature is at the very center of the drama. The mountain is where the action takes place, where secrets and mysteries are held and where rangers work. So, it is only normal that we get to see it under all circumstances. Here, rangers are confronted with a lot of natural (and unnatural) disasters that happen in the mountain. The drama starts with a thunderstorm, as rangers try to rescue a lost kid. It then moves on to a variety of events: some related to the weather (forest fire, flood, snowstorm); others related to the flora and fauna (bears, poisonous fungi…) and others to human action (old bombs, traps, all the murders that took place in Black Bridge Village and in the present). This broad overview of the landscape allows for some chilling moments and stressful scenes, while supporting the intrigue.
Although some moments are glamorized to the extreme, which made me feel as if I was watching a documentary on mountains and rangers sometimes, I appreciated the effort of depicting many different scenarios in the mountain. It really gave some depth to the job as a ranger, while presenting the mountain for what it truly: a beautiful, yet dangerous place to be.
The ending: At the end of the drama, the killer justifies his actions by claiming that the mountain is on his side. He gives a voice and life to nature, as a way to free himself of guilt and flee responsibilities. Even if I am convinced that his paranoia is speaking, we can’t really affirm that the mountain is “dead” in the drama. Indeed, the supernatural elements, like Hyun Jo’s visions of the murders, somehow give life to the place. Plus, the scree takes the killer’s life in one of the final scenes, exactly when he is about to take Yi Gang’s life. Whether or not the mountain is a living organism is clearly up for debate. This discussion can be translated in real life as well: Can plants, trees… be considered alive? Can a mountain “speak” to some people? Everyone has his/her opinion. But one thing is for certain: the mountain, and nature in general, are definitely powerful.
After the climax of the drama confronting Yi Gang and the killer, there is a time jump. We first follow Jeong Gu Yeong (Oh Jung Se), who goes on Yang Sun’s grave. Then, we see him and Il Hae at their task. They have been promoted. But the best part is surely the last scene. First, Seo Yi Gang has recovered. She doesn’t need a wheelchair anymore. She can hike to the peak of the mountain and see the sunrise with other hikers and colleagues. Let me remind that it is possible to recover from a back injury through rehabilitation, and of course if the damage is not irreversible.
That being said, Yi Gang’s recovery is not the best part of the ending. Hyun Jo’s is. Indeed, he disappeared from the mountain after his family decided to unplug him. There were thus two possibilities: One, Hyun Jo’s spirit disappears forever and he dies; two, his spirit finds its way back to his body and he wakes up. The latter is what happens and we get to see both leads reunited on top of the mountain. A perfect and well-deserved ending!
Cameos and OSTs: This review wouldn’t be complete without a mention to Lee Sun Bin’s cameo at the end (as Hyun Jo’s sister) and to the amazing OSTs of the drama, especially BTS Jin’s “Yours”.
Once Upon a Drama 