Actor Hong Min-gi immediately captivated home viewers with an extraordinary presence that belied the fact that this was his first historical drama.
In KBS 2TV's To My Beloved Thief, which unveiled its veil with the first broadcast on the 3rd, Hong Min-gi, who plays Im Jae-i, adjusted the drama's tension with a cold charisma and a mysterious atmosphere that made his inner thoughts unreadable, leaving viewers with a strong impression.
Im Jae-i stood out from his first appearance. He entered supporting his betrothed Haerim (Han So Eun), who had nearly fallen while painting chunhwa, and stunned Haerim by introducing the gisaeng beside him as his own consort in a shocking move. In addition, his coolly observant side toward surrounding situations and the sharp insight hidden beneath his composed demeanor were enough to show the archetype of a "mystery cold handsome man." In particular, his unexaggerated movements and restrained facial acting made it impossible to gauge the character's inner thoughts and amplified curiosity about the character.
The most talked-about scene was the archery range scene that highlighted the tense battle of wills with Eun-jo (Nam Ji-hyun). Jae-i spoke little, but with a single scene and a single movement he changed the atmosphere around him and dominated attention. When Eun-jo treated her older brother Dae-il (Song Ji-ho) tenderly, he coldly snapped, "You spy's kind of attitude. It's against the rules," instantly freezing the atmosphere in the hall.
In the following wager scene, Jae-i's brutality and meticulousness shone even more. Angered by Eun-jo's past condition that he should not associate with Jae-i's gang even to the point of being struck, Jae-i imposed a threatening punishment that made Dae-il place an apple on his head, raising the dramatic tension to a peak. Although Eun-jo won the bet by hitting a flying bird, Jae-i's fierce gaze toward him revealed both the peculiar tension between the two and their complex inner states, increasing immersion.
Hong Min-gi portrayed the character's trait of never revealing his inner thoughts with delicate emotional acting. Fleeting changes in expression and his low, steady tone naturally led viewers to ask, "Who is this person, and what narrative does he hold?"
Praise for his visuals has been intense. Neat yet sharp in impression, Hong Min-gi amplified his cold charisma in hanbok and completed the epithet of "period drama heartthrob." In addition, despite it being his first historical drama, he showcased unwavering voice projection and a stable acting tone, earning reviews that he perfectly blended into the genre.
In just two episodes of To My Beloved Thief, Hong Min-gi firmly stamped his mark by completing the mysterious character Jae-i in his own vein. Expectations are growing about what choices Jae-i will make to shake the drama in future developments and what other faces Hong Min-gi will show. Attention is focused on Hong Min-gi's moves after proving a powerful presence from his first historical drama challenge.
Meanwhile, KBS 2TV's new Saturday-Sunday miniseries To My Beloved Thief airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9:20 p.m.
[Photo] KBS2
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