K-Drama Review: Tale of the Nine-Tailed/Gumiho

Anuja Vijayan, Kolkata, West Bengal

Bringing back the rich references in Korean Mythologies, Tale of the Nine-Tailed is a wonderful legendary K-Drama around a 1000-year-old Gumiho (Nine-Tailed fox) named Lee Yeon played by Lee Dong-wook who was the mountain God but he decides to surrender his regarded position after he lost his true love. Nam Ji-ah’s, played by Jo Bo-ah, parents disappear unexpectedly. This inspires her to become a PD in a show to find her missing parents. In a suspicious event, she meets Lee Yeon. Another important character is Lee Rang played by Kim Bum, who is the half-brother of Lee Yeon. He hates people and his brother because of the hardship faced in his past.

The mythical romance is blended with thrill, strong romance, and engrossing mystery. The drama had an impactful beginning that drew me into this attractive story. Lee Yeon and Ji Ah’s unfortunate love story ended in tragedy a decade ago. The same ill-fate followed them when they met again. As the story progresses, the romance picks up.

Ji Ah is unaware of a lot of things in her past which creates a moment of tension between them. Lee Yeon and Lee Rang share a love-hate relationship. Lee Yeon goes through lots of ups and downs to get through to Lee Rang. At times their bond is felt more than the romantic relationship.

The heinous character Lee Ryong (Imoogi) played by Lee Tae-ri becomes the ultimate reason for all the hurdles in the life of all 3 main characters. According to Korean mythology, Imoogi is a serpent beast. His malicious motives lead to a lot of twists and turn in the plot!

There is a heap of extremely good assisting characters. The most interesting thing was that each character had a specific role to play. Most of them will grab your sympathy and others will add a lot of drama and tension to the plot. It was satisfying to see the relationship developing and growing with each passing episode. There are a lot of scenes that will make you emotional, one of them being the sacrifice made by a significant character. The show has beautifully shown the Korean tale and legendary creatures. They have shown about the afterlife and Samdo River, and also introduced interesting characters like Imoogi, “Granny” Taluipa, Fox Sister, Stone Buddha, Bulgasari, and Snail Bride (“Ureonggaksi”) They have focused on details like the costumes to the locations. They have used costumes very wisely and as per the scenes have demanded. Like the Snail Bride, in the past scenes, the characters have been seen wearing Hanbok which is the traditional Korean clothes. The drama was filmed in beautiful and attractive locations across the Korean peninsula.

Another notable thing about this show was the modernised elements. Though the show had a lot of historical elements, the production team used a lot of creative ideas to transform them according to the modern world. Like the Taluipa played by Kim Jung-nan, she was the officer at the afterlife immigration office, she is seen sipping Americano and having a tough time using a computer in an antique office.

According to me, this plot was filled with a lot of twists and turns. The director did great work with the plot. All the scenes are beautifully shot whether or not it is horror, romance, or action that is gaining an extra point. If you want to ride a roller coaster ride filled with a mixture of elements (thrill, emotion, horror, tragedy, suspense, fantasy) then this drama is highly recommended! Overall I would recommend this drama to all K-drama lovers and to the ones who are first-time watchers. The drama is available on Netflix and Rakuten Viki with English subtitles. It is definitely going to stir up some emotions!

Bonus: There are three special episodes named ‘The Untold Story of the Nine-Tailed’, which centers around Lee Rang and his friend Yoo Ri. These three episodes don’t have much connection with the main episodes but it shows the back story of Lee Rang and Yoo Ri. It is fascinating to see how the familial bond in-between them is being portrayed in these episodes.

To know how these complicated relations get unveiled all you need to do is to watch ‘Tale of the Nine-Tailed’ and tell us all about your experience in the comment section below!