Mr. Sunshine: A complex story of love and heroism

SEOUL — The creators of wildly popular Korean drama series, Descendants of the Sun, and Goblin: The Lonely and Great God are set to complete a “trilogy of victory” as their latest collaboration billed Mr. Sunshine premieres on Netflix tomorrow, July 7, thereby tapping a bigger audience base spanning 190 countries across the globe.

The unbeatable tandem of writer Kim Eun-sook and director Lee Eung-bok has come up with another surefire blockbuster, an epic tale of love and heroism billed Mr. Sunshine. For the title role, they specifically handpicked and cast one of Korea’s biggest and brightest actors, Lee Byung-hun, who is also an accomplished Hollywood actor in his own right.

Lee Byung-hun’s Hollywood exposure was embodied in major feature films G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and its sequel G.I. Joe Retaliation, Red 2, Terminator Genisys and The Magnificent Seven. Lee was also the first South Korean actor to present an Oscar at the annual Academy Awards, being a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Lee also enjoys the distinction of having his hands and feet imprinted at the forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

Despite his accomplishments, Lee confessed during the round-table interview at the Patio 9 function hall here last Tuesday that he feels a certain kind of pressure as the show is to be streamed on Netflix, a medium he hasn’t yet experienced before. He said, “I am sure that the impact will be tremendous. Yes, it is difficult not (to) be burdened in such a situation but as an actor and creator, it is important not to let that pressure get to you because doing so might limit your freedom to act and express your art.”

Cast of the drama series (from left): Byun Yo-han, Lee Byung-hun, Kim Tae-ri, Kim Min-jung and Yoo Yeon-seok

Told from the backdrop of Korea’s late 19th to early 20th century history before its Japanese annexation in 1910, the story of Mr. Sunshine revolves around the life of a slave boy (Choi Yu-jin) whose tragic existence in Korea forced him to find refuge in foreign soil. He later comes back to his failing native country as an American soldier (Eugene Choi) to fight off the resistance and exact his own brand of revenge against the Joseons, those who maltreated him and murdered his family. But fate plays a game of cruel twist on him as he finds himself falling in love with an undercover freedom fighter (Go Ae-shin, who in reality was an heir in an aristocrat family) played by actress Kim Tae-ri.

Others in the cast of Mr. Sunshine are actors Byun Yo-han (as Kim Hee-sung, the Japanese- educated fiancé of Go Ae-shin who had been betrothed to her since she was 15 years old); Kim Min-jung (as Kudo Mina, the rich, fashionable, powerful and wily hotel owner); and Yoo Yeon-seok (as Go Dong-mae, the butcher’s son and a fighter in a rebel splinter group in Japan).

All three men are in love with the same girl, Go Ae-shin, while Kudo Mina finds herself at the throes of unrequited love with Eugene Choi. The complexities of love and how each person’s journey unfolds, whether or not they end up with the one they love, are guarantees to keep the viewers hooked to the period drama of Mr. Sunshine.

The character essayed by Lee, Eugene Choi may all be American, rational and cold but that didn’t change the fact that he fell in love with Go Ae-shin when he met her during his return to Korea. Lee said, “He sustains that character of aloofness to the end but he does so while protecting Ae-shin because he loves her. That is the attraction there.”

Byun as Kim Hee-sung, for his part, has found himself regretting his decision as a young man to make Ae-shin wait very long for his decision to marry her. He pursued his education in Japan and took her for granted. When he came back and saw Ae-shin again, he knew exactly what he missed. But he realized it was too late because Eugene Choi was there for her already.

Yoo plays the untouchable Go Dong-mae, a butcher’s son. During that time, a butcher belongs to the lowest strata of the society and doesn’t amount to anything. Yoo said, “All he knows is that he will be willing to risk anything, give up even his life for a love that will never be.”

It is also worth mentioning that despite the highly-male-dominated milieu of war and rebellion, Mr. Sunshine has upped the ante to showcase the strength and power of women in the characters of Go Ae-shin and Kudo Mina. Kim Min-jung said, “I had to learn fencing and since Kudo speaks four languages, I had to study French, English, Joseon and Japanese. Back in the 1900s, women didn’t hold power or authority, but I love it that my character owns the largest hotel where all the drama takes place and that sort of give her the power to wield. My role also allowed me to indulge in the elaborate physical preparations — from head to toe, my hair and make-up, my fashionable costumes — everything takes too long to prepare so I just determined myself to enjoy it,” she said wisely.

Kim Tae-ri, for her part, loves that her character is some sort of a double-edged sword — an aristocrat on one side involved with the trappings of social status and royalty, and the ironic flipside of a fierce resistance fighter. “Everything she does is for her patriotism. She is willing to die for her country. It’s a very complex character and it is interesting to uncover every layer, every facet of it. In the end, the audience will surely have to watch out how her character will resolve the barriers in order to pursue her beliefs,” Tae-ri said.

Lee pointed out that the strength of the drama series lies in the people and their relationships, and the emotions experienced by each character. “Yes, there is a lot of political turmoil and history involved, but these are mere factors impacting the relationships between characters. Even if you don’t know anything about history, you will be able to follow the drama and get immersed in it,” he concluded.

(Netflix’s Mr. Sunshine is a 24-episode series that premieres in Asian territories and the US July 7, July 8 in Japan and July 19 for the rest of the world. The series is produced by Hwa&Dam Pictures and Studio Dragon.)