Korea–Khitan War
2023–2024 South Korean television series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Korea–Khitan War (Korean: 고려 거란 전쟁; RR: Goryeo Georan jeonjaeng) is a 2023–2024 South Korean television series based on the 2018 South Korean novel Goryeo–Khitan War: Sweet Rain in the Winter by Gil Seung-soo.[7] Produced to commemorate KBS’ 50th anniversary,[8] the series stars Kim Dong-jun, Choi Soo-jong, and Ji Seung-hyun. It aired on KBS2 from November 11, 2023 to March 10, 2024, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:25 (KST).[9] It is also available for streaming on Wavve in South Korea, on Kocowa in the Americas, and on Netflix in selected regions in Asia.[10]
| Korea–Khitan War | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Hangul | 고려 거란 전쟁 |
| Hanja | 高麗契丹戰爭 |
| Lit. | Goryeo–Khitan War |
| RR | Goryeo Georan jeonjaeng |
| MR | Koryŏ Kŏran chŏnjaeng |
| Genre | |
| Based on | Goryeo–Khitan War: Sweet Rain in the Winter by Gil Seung-soo |
| Written by | |
| Directed by | |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Park Seung-jin[4] |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 32 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Kim Sang-hui[4] |
| Producers | |
| Running time | 75 minutes[5] |
| Production companies |
|
| Budget | ₩27 billion[6] |
| Original release | |
| Network | KBS2 |
| Release | November 11, 2023 – March 10, 2024 |
Synopsis
The series tells the story of King Hyeonjong of Goryeo (Kim Dong-jun) uniting Goryeo under his tolerant leadership by leading the war against the Khitans to victory, together with Gang Gam-chan (Choi Soo-jong), the King's political mentor and the commander-in-chief of the Goryeo army.
Cast
Main
Supporting
People from Goryeo
- Lee Won-jong as Kang Cho[14]
- Kim Jae-min as Lee Hyun-woon[15]
- Han Jae-young as Ji Chae-mun[16]
- Lee Ji-hoon as Jang Yeon-woo[15]
- Jang In-sub as Hwangbo Yu-ui[16]
- Ju Seok-tae as Choe Jil[16]
- Ryu Seung-hyun as Kim Hoon[17]
- Lee Cheol-min as Gang Min-cheom[15]
- Kim San-ho as Jeong Seong[18]
- Joo Yeon-woo as Kim Sook-heung[16]
- Bang Jae-ho as Kim Jong-hyeon[15]
- Jung Ho-bin as Yoo Bang[16]
- Lee Jae-gu as Dae Do-su[16]
- Kwak Min-seok as Won Jong-seok[16]
- Lee Do-guk as Ha Gong-jin[16]
- Jo Sang-gi as Tak Sa-jeong[16]
- Kim Joong-don as Jo Won[15]
- Kim Sun-bin as Choe Chung[15]
People from Khitan Empire
Goryeo royal family and subjects
- Jo Hee-bong as Yoo Jin[16]
- Kim Jeong-hak as Choe Hang[15]
- Han Seung-hyun as Chae Chung-soon[16]
- Park Yoo-seung as Choe Sa-wi[15]
- Lee Si-a as Queen Wonjeong[20]
- Ha Seung-ri as Queen Won-seong[16]
- Yoon Chae-kyung as Queen Wonhwa[21]
- Jo Seung-yeon as Kim Eun-bu[16]
- Kim Oh-bok as Yang Hyeop[15]
- Baek Sung-hyun as King Mokjong of Goryeo[15]
- Lee Min-young as Empress Cheonchu[22]
- Gong Jung-hwan as Kim Chi-yang[15]
- Lee Poong-un as Yoo Haeng-gan[23]
- Oh Jae-young as Yoo Chung-jeong[16]
Others
- Shim So-young as Court Lady Choi[24]
- Yoon Bok-in as Gang Gam-chan's wife[25]
- Lee Jae-yong as Park Jin[16]
- Kang Shin-il as Monk Jin-gwan[16]
Extended
- Lee Chang-jik as Lee Joo-jeong[26]
Original soundtrack
Part 1
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Soaring" (비상) | Seodo |
| Seodo Band | 4:39 |
| 2. | "The Soaring" (비상; Inst.) |
| 4:39 | ||
| Total length: | 9:18 | ||||
Part 2
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Last Storm" (폭풍) | Chae Ul |
| Kim Jang-hoon | 4:20 |
| 2. | "The Last Storm" (폭풍; Inst.) |
| 4:20 | ||
| Total length: | 8:40 | ||||
Part 3
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Red Winter" (적동(붉은겨울)) | Ahn Ye-eun |
| Ahn Ye-eun | 4:29 |
| 2. | "A Red Winter" (적동(붉은겨울); Inst.) |
| 4:29 | ||
| Total length: | 8:58 | ||||
Part 4
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Man Who Can't Fall Down" (그 겨울에 나는) | Mavi | Mavi | Iyagi | 4:45 |
| 2. | "The Man Who Can't Fall Down" (그 겨울에 나는; Inst.) | Mavi | 4:45 | ||
| Total length: | 9:30 | ||||
Album OST
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Red Winter" (적동(붉은겨울)) | Ahn Ye-eun |
| Ahn Ye-eun | 4:29 |
| 2. | "The Last Storm" (폭풍) | Chae Ul |
| Kim Jang-hoon | 4:20 |
| 3. | "The Soaring" (비상) | Seodo |
| Seodo Band | 4:39 |
| 4. | "The Man Who Can't Fall Down" (그 겨울에 나는) | Mavi | Mavi | Iyagi | 4:45 |
| 5. | "Korea Khitan War" |
| 2:55 | ||
| 6. | "Cry For the Nation" |
| 1:54 | ||
| 7. | "Into the Enemys" |
| 2:49 | ||
| 8. | "Khitan Attack" |
| 2:52 | ||
| 9. | "Destiny of the King" |
| 2:28 | ||
| 10. | "Appearance of the Enemy" |
| 3:15 | ||
| Total length: | 34:26 | ||||
Reception
Critical response
Puah Ziwei of NME rated the series 5 out of 5 stars, claiming that "this well-written Korean historical series will keep you hooked on its bloody tale of war and survival." He praised the conflict between Kang Cho and Gang Gam-chan, respectively played by Lee Won-jong and Choi Soo-jong, and the "delightfully malleable" performance of Baek Sung-hyun who played Mokjong, "an openly gay king" without any heirs. He also applauded the fact that the show depicted the times of Goryeo–Khitan War through an "old-school sageuk charm and style", and stated that "much like the anxious times it is inspired by, Korea-Khitan War is driven by purpose and complex interpersonal dynamics that leave little time for theatrics".[27] Choi Bo-yun noted that in the series, there is a narrative of putting people first even in the midst of war, shedding light on less well-known battles and figures of Korean history such as Yang Gyu, and that the growth of King Hyeonjong who won the two wars against the Khitans with the help of Gang Gam-chan is worth watching.[28]
Historical novel author Gil Seung-soo, who wrote the original novel which the series is based on, expressed his disappointment about the progression of the show after episode 16, since he was dissatisfied by the fact that it not only deviated from his novel, but also from actual Goryeo history.[29] He criticized the attitude of the scriptwriter and the way he anachronistically portrayed the local gentries of early 11th century Goryeo, claiming that the series' depiction is just as absurd as "BTS suddenly appearing right after the Korean war" and that the production team should have been more careful to depict history accurately. The article noted that many viewers also complained about the storyline after episode 16, even visiting author Gil's personal blog to leave a comment about their concerns for the series.[30]
Viewership
| Episodes | Episode number | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | ||
| 1–16 | 0.941 | 1.249 | 1.023 | 1.343 | 1.373 | 1.382 | 1.498 | 1.454 | 1.590 | 1.789 | 1.701 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1.849 | 1.939 | |
| 17–32 | 1.716 | 1.857 | 1.377 | 1.819 | 1.703 | 1.764 | 1.656 | 1.815 | 1.596 | 2.015 | 1.907 | 2.204 | 1.890 | 2.307 | 2.032 | 2.444 | |
| Ep. | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nielsen Korea[31][32] | TNmS[33] | |||
| Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | ||
| 1 | November 11, 2023 | 5.5% (5th) | 5.1% (6th) | N/A |
| 2 | November 12, 2023 | 6.8% (4th) | 6.1% (4th) | 5.7% (6th) |
| 3 | November 18, 2023 | 5.2% (6th) | 5.1% (5th) | N/A |
| 4 | November 19, 2023 | 7.0% (5th) | 6.4% (5th) | 5.5% (7th) |
| 5 | November 25, 2023 | 7.5% (3rd) | 7.0% (3rd) | 6.1% (5th) |
| 6 | November 26, 2023 | 7.8% (4th) | 6.9% (4th) | 6.2% (5th) |
| 7 | December 2, 2023 | 8.4% (2nd) | 7.8% (2nd) | 6.5% (4th) |
| 8 | December 3, 2023 | 7.9% (4th) | 7.1% (4th) | 6.0% (6th) |
| 9 | December 9, 2023 | 8.9% (3rd) | 8.6% (3rd) | N/A |
| 10 | December 10, 2023 | 10.0% (3rd) | 9.2% (3rd) | 7.9% (4th) |
| 11 | December 16, 2023 | 9.7% (2nd) | 9.2% (2nd) | N/A |
| 12 | December 17, 2023 | 9.6% (4th) | N/A | 8.5% (4th) |
| 13 | December 24, 2023 | 9.2% (3rd) | N/A | |
| 14 | December 30, 2023 | 9.4% (2nd) | ||
| 15 | January 6, 2024 | 10.2% (2nd) | 9.2% (3rd) | |
| 16 | January 7, 2024 | 10.0% (3rd) | 8.7% (4th) | |
| 17 | January 13, 2024 | 9.8% (2nd) | 9.0% (2nd) | |
| 18 | January 14, 2024 | 10.0% (3rd) | 8.7% (4th) | |
| 19 | January 20, 2024 | 7.9% (2nd) | 6.4% (3rd) | |
| 20 | January 21, 2024 | 10.1% (3rd) | 9.1% (3rd) | |
| 21 | January 27, 2024 | 9.6% (3rd) | 8.6% (3rd) | |
| 22 | January 28, 2024 | 9.6% (3rd) | 8.5% (3rd) | |
| 23 | February 3, 2024 | 9.7% (3rd) | 8.8% (3rd) | |
| 24 | February 4, 2024 | 10.0% (3rd) | 8.6% (3rd) | |
| 25 | February 17, 2024 | 8.7% (3rd) | 7.6% (3rd) | |
| 26 | February 18, 2024 | 11.5% (3rd) | 10.2% (3rd) | |
| 27 | February 24, 2024 | 11.0% (2nd) | 9.7% (3rd) | |
| 28 | February 25, 2024 | 12.7% (3rd) | 10.9% (3rd) | |
| 29 | March 2, 2024 | 11.0% (2nd) | 9.3% (3rd) | |
| 30 | March 3, 2024 | 12.9% (3rd) | 10.9% (3rd) | |
| 31 | March 9, 2024 | 12.0% (2nd) | 10.7% (3rd) | |
| 32 | March 10, 2024 | 13.8% (2nd) | 12.1% (3rd) | |
| Average | 9.65% | —[A] | —[A] | |
| ||||
Accolades
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baeksang Arts Awards | 2024 | Best Supporting Actor | Ji Seung-hyun | Nominated | [34] |
| Technical Award | Lee Seok-geun (Costume design) | Nominated | |||
| KBS Drama Awards | 2023 | Best Couple Award | Choi Soo-jong and Kim Dong-jun | Won | [35][36][37] |
| Best Supporting Actor | Lee Won-jong | Won | |||
| Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama | Ji Seung-hyun | Won | |||
| Grand Prize (Daesang) | Choi Soo-jong | Won | |||
| Popularity Award, Actor | Ji Seung-hyun | Won | |||
| Scriptwriter Award | Lee Jung-woo | Won | |||
| Top Excellence Award, Actor | Kim Dong-jun | Won | |||
| Best New Actress | Lee Si-a | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Kim Hyuk | Nominated | |||
| Best Young Actor | Hong Jae-min | Nominated | |||
| Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama | Choi Soo-jong | Nominated | |||
| Kim Dong-jun | Nominated | ||||
| Kim Jun-bae | Nominated | ||||
| Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama | Lee Si-a | Nominated | |||
| Top Excellence Award, Actor | Choi Soo-jong | Nominated | |||
| Korea Drama Awards | 2024 | Excellence in Acting Award (Male) | Ji Seung-hyun | Won | [38] |
| Seoul International Drama Awards | 2024 | Best Series Drama | Korea–Khitan War | Won | [39] |
Notes
- Due to some unpublished ratings, the exact average rating is unknown.
