My First Impressions Of Gu Family Book's Korean Ghost Story

I'm back to watching some Korean TV series. I had a huge overdose of Super Sentai, Kamen Rider and almost everything Japanese that I feel like a momentary break or taking it slow helps. While I'm still devoting myself to weekly reviews and opinions of Kyuranger in my Super Sentai blog and maybe I'll give some updates on Kamen Rider EX-AID (though I feel like a lot of cliffhangers should give me a break but I want to see more episodes come out) whenever I feel like it so here's my latest watch. I'm watching the story of Kang Chi which is also called Gu Family book.

The first two episodes are devoted to the hero Choi Kang Chi's parents and not to our main hero. Yoon Seo-Wa loses her father after some lecherous lord named Jo Gwan-Woong frames her father and desires her sexually even if she's young enough to be his daughter. Gwan-Woong proves the depravity of the human heart. Not only does he frame up someone for his own benefit but he also sexually desires a woman young enough to be his daughter. Seo-Wa doesn't easily give in even she's tied up to the Tree of Shame. She later sees her younger brother Jung-Yoon tortured and later she learns he's executed by hanging for defying the evil feudal lord.

What happens is that she falls in love with a Gumiho named Gu Wul-Ryung the forest protector. This is the first Beauty and the Beast plot that unfolds. This romance results to the birth of the Hanyo or Nagare Bouma who's named Kang Chi. Seo-Wa is devastated as she learns that she's had sexual intercourse with a Gumiho. Well, Gumihos are basically Bouma and she fears she's pregnant with a Bouma. She gives birth to a human baby who unknown to most is actually a Nagare Bouma or Hanyo. Choi Kang Chi is unaware of his half-youkai, half-human parentage. He's unaware that he's actually the genetic product of a Beauty and the Beast romance. His mother is the beauty and his father is the beast.


The boy Kang Chi has no idea (at first) he's actually a Nagare Bouma sent to be raised as a human being. He develops some kind of one-sided attraction to Chung-Jo, the daughter of Lord Park. But he ends up running with the badass Dam Yeo Wo. Considering this was done on 2013 then Lee Seung Gi was probably 26 years old and Suzy Bae was 19 years old during the time of filming. I wanted to pretend it's a crossover across time where Doctor Man's son meets Hiroyo Hakase. Seung Gi strongly resembles Hidenori Iura (Comboy 1 in Goggle V, Doctor Man's son in Bioman, Jun in Solbrain) and Suzy strongly resembles Maaya Uchida (Hiroyo Hayase in Akibaranger). I wanted to think that maybe Jun in Solbrain got lost in time after Solbrain's disbandment and met a time-displaced Hiroyo. One could consider this also as a Beauty and the Beast series where both Belle and Beast actually beat up the bad guys side by side.

I love the choreography is done with all the swordplay and fisticuffs. The handwork, footwork and stunts aren't half-baked. It's also amazing to see how Seung Gi and Suzy show off their badass moves. It's not just eye candy but eye bruisers. Yes, eye bruisers because Suzy may be hot but you better think twice before harassing her as she may castrate you with one swing of her sword. Seung Gi's pretty tough even if he didn't develop that much muscles prior to his military training. They may not be that ripe yet but there's really badass effort from these two Korean youngsters. It's amazing how the show manages to use advanced camerawork and raw badass to produce such impressive fight scenes. It's a nightmare but one exciting ride and maybe bittersweet and strange.