Cutting through clouds and hands of fire in Hwayugi

December 13, 2017

by tineybeanie

Let the bromance begin! I didn’t realize how much I needed a Lee Seung-gi(You’re All Surrounded) and Cha Seung-won (Hwajeong) reunion until now. Described as an “absolute exorcist romance” in the group poster below, Hwayugi is going strong in its promo game, just having released its official posters and more teasers. This upcoming Hong sisters drama features Lee Seung-gi, Oh Yeon-seo (My Sassy Girl), and Cha Seung-won as our main trio battling the forces of evil in a modernized Korean drama adaptation that draws its source material from the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.

Oh Yeon-seo plays your not-so-average real estate businesswoman who can see spirits (analogous to monk Xuanzang in Journey to the West). Lee Seung-gi plays the trickster monkey king Sun Wukong, who loves to antagonize Cha Seung-won’s character, the Bull Demon King who has been trying to patiently serve on earth to gain godhood and entry into heaven. To humans, he’s known as the charismatic gentle CEO of the best entertainment company in Korea. The two other characters in the group poster include Lee Hong-ki (Modern Farmer), who plays a top idol celeb that embodies the pig character, and Jang Gwang(Thief-nom, Thief-nim) who plays a real estate chaebol who embodies Friar Sand.

In the first teaser, Oh Yeon-seo stares at Lee Seung-gi in wonder as her voiceover narrates, “surrounded by light and capable of cutting through clouds…” and he introduces himself as Sun Wukong, the heavenly being. Then Cha Seung-won warns her to pretend she doesn’t see or hear any of the spirits that surround her. It happens that both Cha Seung-won and Lee Seung-gi were looking for the spirit of the monk Xuanzang that resides within Oh Yeon-seo. Lee Seung-gi even promises to come to her rescue anytime she calls his name, and when she does, he shows up all bloody and bruised but with a smirk on his face, happy that she called.

In the next teaser, the ultimate showdown between Lee Seung-gi and a corridor full of dark spirits commences. But suddenly, he pauses for a moment to check with Oh Yeon-seo, asking if she’d really rather prefer being eaten by them than by him. She replies that their first priority is to escape, and he resumes his fighting stance.

But I don’t think he ever gets a chance to fight them, because in the next teaser, Cha Seung-won shows up in the same corridor. And with one pound of his mighty cane, he vanquishes all of the dark creatures. Then he turns on Lee Seung-gi and blames him as the primary reason he hasn’t ascended into heaven yet as a new god. Lee Seung-gi pretends not to hear him, and the teaser ends with Cha Seung-won in extreme frustration.

Oh my gosh, it looks so good! Mythical fantasy romance Hwayugi will air on tvN on Saturdays and Sundays, starting December 23.