Lovers of the Red Sky

Welcome back to *Hallyu Reviews*! We hope you enjoyed Shamra’s review of **"The Glory."** If you missed it, be sure to go back and have a read! This week, we take a look at “Lovers of the Red Sky.”

This week, we take a look at “Lovers of the Red Sky.”
**SPOILERS AHEAD!!**

Review by: Sabrina

Synopsis

“Lovers of the Red Sky” (“Red Sky”) is a story about a man and woman, Hong Cheon Gi (Kim You Jung) and Ha Ram (Ahn Hyo Seop), who are tied together by fate during the Dan Dynasty. The day the two were born, Ma Wang, the God of Death, was sealed inside the royal portrait of King Yeongjong. But before he was sealed, Ma Wang cursed the kingdom with drought and famine. He also cursed the descendants of the Divine Painter who created the royal portrait, and his daughter, Cheon Gi, is born blind. Nine years later, Ha Ram, who is born with the power of water, is sacrificed by Head Shaman Mi Soo (Chae Gook Hee) in a Rain Ritual in hopes of appeasing the gods. On the same day, one of King Seonjo’s (Cho Seong Ha) three sons, Grand Prince Juhyang (Kwak Si Yang), releases Ma Wang from the painting. Sam Shin (Moon Sook), the god of life, is able to temporarily seal Ma Wang inside of Ha Ram’s body, but takes his eyes – the source of Ma Wang’s power – and entrusts them to Cheon Gi, restoring her eyesight, but leaving Ha Ram blind. Twenty years later, Cheon Gi, a naturally gifted painter like her father, is a painter at the prestigious Baekyu Painters Society. In order to take care of her father – who was struck with a mental illness after the sealing ceremony – she paints counterfeit paintings for money. Meanwhile, serves as Supervisor of the Astronomy and Meteorology Bureau. Despite having found favor with King Seonjo, Ha Ram has been secretly plotting revenge against the royal family, whom he erroneously blames for the death of his parents. Cheon Gi and Ha Ram, who met as children the day of the Rain Ritual and formed an instant bond, are reunited when Cheon Gi wins a painting contest hosted by the youngest of King Seonjo’s sons, Grand Prince Yangmyung (Gong Myung), and secures a position within the palace as a royal painter. Ha Ram’s grand plan for revenge is within his grasp when Cheon Gi reappears in his life, and he vows not to be distracted. And yet, the two are drawn together. All the while, Ma Wang struggles to takeover Ha Ram’s body and to reclaim his eyes from Cheon Gi. Within the palace, King Seonjo and his eldest son, the Crown Prince, are both terminally ill. Ma Wang can only be summoned with the royal portrait, so King Seonjo wishes to find another divine painter to restore King Yeongjong’s royal portrait. When he learns that Cheon Gi is a divine painter like her father before her, he invites her to restore the portrait so that Ma Wang can once again be sealed within it. Grand Prince Juhyang covets the throne and sees Ma Wang as the key to wresting it from Grand Prince Yangmyung, King Seonjo’s choice as heir. In the end, with the help of their close friends, members of the royal family, and a few supernatural beings, Cheon Gi and Ha Ram are able to extract Ma Wang from Ha Ram’s body and seal him in a new divine painting. With Ma Wang safely locked away, his curse is broken, and both Ha Ram and Cheon Gi (who loses her eyesight again during the sealing) regain their eyesight. The K-drama ends after a five-year time jump that shows Ha Ram and Cheon Gi happily married with a son, surrounded by those they love.

Childhood Connection

“Red Sky” contains the Korean trope of a shared childhood connection. Cheon Gi and Ha Ram first meet as children. Cheon Gi is known as a cursed child. Because of Ma Wang’s curse, she is born blind, her mother dies the day she is born, and her father is mentally ill. Because of this, she has no friends. Ha Ram is the first child to befriend her. A compassionate child, Ha Ram tells Cheon Gi that everything that has happened to her is not her fault, and that she should not blame herself for things she cannot control. When her eyesight is restored, she takes care of her father, making a living through painting, for which she has a natural aptitude. The Head of Wolseongdang, Jung Shwen Nae (Yang Hyun Min), pays Cheon Gi to make counterfeit paintings, which he sells to unsuspecting clients. When he cheats her out of the money she has earned to buy medicine for her father, she turns him in, which brings causes her to seek revenge against her, but also brings the wrongdoings to the attention of the Wolseongdang’s mysterious leader, Il Wol Seong, who is none other than Ha Ram in disguise.

Born with the power of the water gods, Ha Ram is chosen as the human sacrifice for the Rain Ritual. On the day of the Rain Ritual, he meets Cheon Gi, and they form a bond, vowing to meet again the next day. During the Rain Ritual, his life is saved when Sam Shin, the god of life, transforms Ha Ram into the living vessel which contains Ma Wang. Sam Shin takes Ma Wang’s eyes – the source of his power – and gives them to Cheon Gi, restoring her eyesight but leaving Ha Ram’s eyes red and sightless. Shortly after the Rain Ritual, Ha Ram’s parents are killed and he walks the path of revenge, concocting a grand plan to kill all those whom he holds responsible.

Grand Plan

Ha Ram’s grand plan to seek revenge against those whom he deems responsible for his parents’ deaths includes the Inquisitor; the former Head Shaman at the Shamanist Bureau, Mi Soo; King Seongjo; Grand Prince Juhyang; and Grand Prince Yangmyung. He begins formulating his Grand Plan as a child, and establishes Wolseongdang as his base of operations, recruiting loyal supporters and slowly put his plan into action. But when Cheon Gi reenters his life, he suddenly begins to lose focus on revenge as his heart yearns to reconnect with her. He says repeatedly that he cannot let his well-laid plans fall by the wayside, even attempting to convince her initially that he is not the boy from her past. When that does not work, he tells her that she cannot be by his side because she makes him yearn to return to his old self. He asks her to live like she does not know him. Unaware of Ha Ram’s plans for revenge, Cheon Gi repeats back to him that everything that has happened in his life is not his fault. Despite his intentions to distance himself from Cheon Gi, Ha Ram’s feelings for her return and intensify.

Ha Ram’s Grand Plan eventually falls apart when he learns that it was not the Inquisitor who killed his father, but Ha Ram himself – or rather, it was Ma Wang manifesting inside him. A human body is not capable of containing the evil Ma Wang for long, and as time passes, Ma Wang gradually takes over more and more of Ha Ram’s body. Before then, Ma Wang can manifest and take over for brief episodes. It was during one of these episodes that Ma Wang, through Ha Ram’s body, killed his father.

Spirits

“Red Sky” is a supernatural K-drama filled with gods and spirits. The two main gods are Ma Wang and Sam Shin. Ma Wang is the god of death and he seeks to exploit humans to bring about death and destruction. Sam Shin is the god of life and she seeks to contain Ma Wang and protect the human world. In the beginning, Ma Wang and Sam Shin are seen with another god, the god of balance. But Ma Wang greedily consumes the god of balance, throwing the human world into chaos.

Two of the lesser gods in “Red Sky” are Hwacha and Ho Ryeong. Hwacha first appears as a painting-crazed goblin. The humans say that the painter who strikes a deal with Hwacha goes mad. But it is only after making a deal with Hwacha that Cheon Gi’s painting is able to contain Ma Wang. At the end of the K-drama, it is revealed that Hwacha is the god of painting, and we see him throughout “Red Sky” as he protects Cheon Gi and guides Ha Ram, both as the old man from the stone cell and as Ha Ram’s grandfather, Ha Dam.

My personal favorite of the gods found in “Red Sky” is Ho Ryeong. Ho Ryeong is the god of Inwang Mountain, which extends to the king’s palace. She is younger than Sam Shin, but headstrong. She is more inclined to get directly involved with the humans. She appears both as a young girl and as a white tiger, tasked by Sam Shin with protecting Cheon Gi and Ha Ram. When the other gods are sealed in the royal portrait at the end of the K-drama, Ho Ryeong remains behind, charged with looking after the human world.

Royal Family

The royal family plays an important role in “Red Sky.” Not only are they the main focus of Ha Ram’s Grand Plan, but they are also responsible for deciding the fate of Ma Wang and the human world. It is the former king, King Yeongjong (Jeon Kuk Hwan), who enacts the first Sealing Ritual, containing Ma Wang within his portrait.

The current king, King Seongjo, is the fourth king of the Dan dynasty. Ma Wang is released from King Yeongjong’s royal portrait during his reign. King Seongjo is struggling with a terminal health issue and vows to restore the divine painting and reseal Ma Wang within it before he dies. He must also pick his successor to the throne. Crown Prince Yi Kang is the eldest of the king’s sons and the rightful heir to the throne, but is sickly and perceived as weak, leaving King Seongjo to choose between his second and third sons.

Grand Prince Juhyang is the middle son of the king and he covets the throne. He is the one who initially released Ma Wang from his grandfather’s portrait and has been seeking him ever since. He wishes to be king, but lacks enough support in the palace to overthrow his brothers’ claims to the throne. He wishes to become the vessel for Ma Wang and rule with what he perceives as power and might.

Grand Prince Yangmyung is King Seongjo’s youngest son, but is the king’s choice for successor. He is artistic, compassionate, and willing to lose his life to protect the people from his brother and Ma Wang. Unlike his brother, Grand Prince Yangmyung understands that a king must place the needs of his people above his own. And it is Grand Prince Yangmyung who continues with the Sealing Ritual in honor of his father’s wishes when the king falls ill and is unable to complete the task.

Family

Family – and friends who are like family – also play a crucial role in the storyline of “Red Sky.” Cheon Gi’s mother, Kim Deok Sim (Yun Seo Jeong), dies protecting her at birth. Cheon Gi’s father, Hong Eun Oh (Choi Kwang Il), was the Divine Painter who painted the original portrait of King Yeongjong that contained Ma Wang. Headmaster Choi Won Ho (Kim Kwang Kyu) and Housekeeper Ms. Gyeonju (Yoon Sa Bong) of the Baekyu Painters Society, serve as surrogate parents to Cheon Gi, taking her in when her father falls ill and worrying about her on her journey to serve as the Divine Painter.

While Cheon Gi has no biological siblings, Choi Jung (Hong Kyung) and Cha Young Wook (Hong Jin Gi) serve the role as brothers. They are both painters at the Baekyu Painters Society, and both enter the palace with her as Royal Painters. She calls them “Long Face” and “Annoying One” and they call her “Obnoxious One.” She confides in them about what the King has requested of her, even while hiding it from her father and the headmaster. They stand by her side through everything, even risking arrest by helping her in her crazy plan to see Ha Ram when he is in prison. In the end, it is these two friends – along with another Divine Painter, Shim Dae Yu (Jang Won Hyung) – who assist Cheon Gi in completing the portrait in time for the Sealing Ritual.

And while all of Ha Ram’s family is dead, he forms a surrogate family with his servants and his Wolseongdang assassins. The two most important people are Mu Yeong (Song Won Seok), his righthand man and bodyguard, and Han Su (Kim Hyun Mok), his loyal servant. In addition, King Seongjo serves as a bit of a father figure for Ha Ram. We learn that King Seongjo knew that Ha Ram killed his father when Ma Wang manifested inside him. He knew the truth, but did not have the heart to tell him as a child. Instead, he took Ha Ram in and gave him a good life within the palace.

Love Triangle

“Red Sky” contains a love triangle between Ha Ram, Cheon Gi, and Grand Prince Yangmyung. Although Grand Prince Yangmyung he has a tendency to act superior towards others – which is most likely a side effect of being a prince – he has a good heart. A fan of the arts, Grand Prince Yangmyung is initially angry and harsh towards Cheon Gi when he learns that she is the painter of a counterfeit painting he is sold. But he quickly softens when he learns of her circumstances, revealing the compassionate heart he has. As he begins to understand her better, he begins to develop romantic feelings for her. And it is upon Yangmyung’s suggestion that the King invites Cheon Gi to join the Painting Bureau and work to restore King Yeongjong’s royal portrait. Yet Head Shaman Wol Seong (Kim Keum Soon) warns Grand Prince Yangmyung not to have a relationship with Cheon Gi, for she is connected to Ha Ram by the red string of fate.

Undeterred, Grand Prince Yangmyung begins to suspect Ha Ram’s feelings for Cheon Gi and confronts him. And despite his insistence to Cheon Gi that he cannot be in a relationship with her, Ha Ram blocks the prince, revealing his true inner feelings. For while he tells Cheon Gi to forget him, he assures Grand Prince Yangmyung that his feelings for Cheon Gi are sincere.

Destiny

“Red Sky” raises the question, is a person’s destiny decided at birth? Sam Shin refers to Cheon Gi as “the child of destiny,” for she is destined to paint the eternal vessel that will contain the immortal Ma Wang. Sam Shin also predicts that Ha Ram is destined to become the living vessel which contains Ma Wang. These fates appear inescapable, as both destinies are fulfilled. Ha Ram asserts that it is not easy to change the fate assigned to you. But Cheon Gi astutely asks, that if you cannot change the fate assigned to you, then what is the point of striving to accomplish more? Agreed. To that end, one could argue that if one’s fate is decided at birth, then what role do one’s individual choices play in one’s life?

Blame

Another issue that “Red Sky” takes an intimate look at is the role of blame. Throughout the K-drama, both Cheon Gi and Ha Ram learn not to blame themselves for things over which they have no control. For Cheon Gi, that means not blaming herself for her mother’s death, her father’s insanity, or her blindness. For Ha Ram, that means not blaming himself for actions carried out – either directly (in the case of his father’s death) or indirectly (in the case of his mother’s death) – by Ma Wang manifesting within him. Blaming yourself for things over which you have no control over only leads to carrying your pain alone. Throughout the series, Cheon Gi and Ha Ram learn the serenity of releasing themselves of the blame they carry and sharing the burden of their pain with those that love them.

Final verdict: WATCH

“Red Sky” is a political drama set during the Dan Dynasty. Based on a novel of the same name by Jung Eun Gwul, it has a strong cast, a story filled with magical elements, a great soundtrack, and lots of emotion, landing it solidly on our WATCH list. Infused with magic and mystical creatures, it is a K-drama that I could not stop watching. It was not, however, without its flaws. True to the genre, the emotions in this K-drama are heightened, sometimes too much so. And while it was interesting to learn about the various stages of silk painting, watching the multiple montages of Cheon Gi painting slowed down the pace of the story. I was also left with several questions – If two painters were always needed to paint the Divine Portrait, why was a Sealing Ritual even attempted with a portrait painted by just one? And why is Ma Wang more powerful than Sam Shin and Ho Ryeong working together? In addition, after the final episode, there is a brief cliffhanger that shows Yangmyung once again attempting to defend the throne from his brother. What was the outcome? Are they setting up a second season? Despite these problems and unanswered questions, if you enjoy political games, historical dramas, or K-dramas with supernatural elements, “Lovers of the Red Sky” is a definite WATCH!

So there it is, our review of “Lovers of the Red Sky.” What did you think?! Thank you for joining us on this journey.

Have a favorite K-drama you think we should review, comment down below!! We look forward to seeing you back again soon!

Up next, “Iris”

See You in My 19th Life

The Glory

FOLLOW