The direct translation and original English title for this production is The Black Sun. This probably refers to the solar eclipse in which the sun appears black. As far as this drama is concerned, it perhaps represents the metaphor where the truth is concealed, hence the befitting title of The Veil. Viewers will find that there is more than just the one piece of veil that covers the hidden truth; there are layers upon layers to be unveiled over the course of the drama, before answers to all questions are finally revealed.

The Veil is MBC’s 60th anniversary special drama with an enormous production budget of 15 billion Won. It is the first drama project by screenwriter Park Seok Ho, who had previously written miniseries for which she had won two MBC creative screenplay awards. The award-winning and prolific composer Kim Jang Woo serves as music director while the production is helmed by MBC’s inhouse producing director, Kim Seong Yong. Being a pre-produced drama, it wrapped up filming in August 2021 right before the lead actress Kim Ji Eun was diagnosed as Covid-19 positive. The drama had reportedly altered its airing time after 4 episodes in an apparent attempt to boost viewership as it was competing against SBS’s One the Woman in the same time slot. A 2-episode spin-off focusing on the backstories of characters played by Jang Young Nam, Park Ha Sun and Jung Moon Sung is scheduled to air by the end of October 2021.

From a technical point of view, the execution is excellent, which is to be expected considering the huge production budget. The standout aspects are the action choreography, stunt sequences and the special effects. From the very first minute of the first episode, the drama exudes Bourne Identity vibes in terms of the action scenes which the quality camerawork captures beautifully. I also noticed that the picture quality of the drama is noticeably different compared to the usual fare. The application of muted colour combinations and high contrast grading contributes to a somewhat subdued and desaturated visuals, which I suppose complements the overall edgy and gritty tone of the drama.

The story is set on the premise of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) waging a war against a homegrown drug cartel with mainland Chinese ties. In the not too distant past, the NIS was always depicted as being engaged in espionage cat-and-mouse games against their North Korean counterparts. However, perhaps due to the current political climate, it is much less politically sensitive to cast drug lords as the primary villains, which is the case here. That said, other political affiliations do get their fair share of mentions - China’s Public Security Bureau and NK’s own intelligence outfit. Aside from the action scenes, the ML’s character development is reminiscent of Jason Bourne’s own character arc with the presence of the amnesia plot and his quest to regain his lost memories.

I went into this drama fully expecting a highly exciting and action packed thriller filled with explosive gunfights, slick unarmed combats, high-speed car (as well as speedboat and helicopter) chases and plenty of non-stop adrenaline-fueled agency and urgency. As it turns out, the focus of the drama is not so much on the action, which is still present but not as abundant as I had hoped, but rather on the cloak-and-dagger aspects of investigations into uncovering secret agendas amidst the convoluted internal politics of the clandestine organisation and its major players. A crucial plus point - depending on your standpoint - there is no romance involved in the story as far as the leads are concerned, which is just as well due to the limited duration of the drama. However, there are brief instances of misplaced humour involving primarily a certain data analyst co-worker. Sometimes I wish I could tell K-drama screenwriters directly to cut that crap out and just focus on being consistent with the serious and dramatic tone of the drama.

There are essentially 2 parts to the narrative; the first part concerns the flashbacks, backstories and process of unraveling the web of deceit while the second part sees a unified team fighting against a common enemy. Most of the action happens in the second part which begins from episode 10 onwards. The initial arc unfolds during the first 9 episodes, which I feel takes too long and becomes rather over complicated as well as convoluted than is necessary. In truth, the plot really is quite straightforward and the catalyst that triggers the entire chain of events comes across as somewhat weak, which is shown to viewers in the final reveal. Long story short, the psychologically-induced disorientation along with the long-winded mind games takes up the bulk of this 12-episode drama which, in my humble opinion, finally comes alive in the final 3 episodes despite kicking-off with a bang in the first couple of episodes.

This drama will most likely be remembered for Nam Goong Min’s dedication and commitment in preparing for his role as NIS super agent Han Ji Hyuk. He reportedly began training, via a gluten-free protein-enriched diet and 4-hour daily gym workouts that added 10 kg to his body mass, in January 2021 to transform into the powerful physique and achieve absolute conviction in the portrayal of the character. Additionally, he performs his own stunts in the brutal and savage fight scenes which further enhances the believability of the characterization. From the very first minute of his appearance, I simply could not recognise him both from the facial features (even after his character eventually loses all the facial hair) and the body language which have completely changed. This is not the NGM that we all remember. Amazing! Aside from the physical aspect, NGM also manages to showcase a nuanced depiction of the emotional depth written in Han Ji Hyuk’s character arc.

The main female characters are portrayed by Park Ha Sun and Kim Ji Eun, as NIS agents Seo Soo Yeon and Yoo Je Yi respectively. I think Park Ha Sun is quite compelling but, unfortunately, her character of Seo Soo Yeon is a wasted potential, for obvious reasons. Perhaps the character would be more fleshed out in her spin-off origin story slated for release later this month. On the other hand, I’m not so convinced with Kim Ji Eun’s character. Yoo Je Yi is more suited as an analyst rather than a field agent and even towards the end, is lacking in development. However, this is more an issue with the writing rather than the actress’ performance which is quite decent given what she had to work with.

As far as the supporting cast is concerned, the veterans impressed me the most. Jang Young Nam and Lee Kyung Young as Deputy Directors Do Jin Suk and Lee In Hwan respectively. Both these two experienced actors are no strangers to playing such powerful and authoritative characters, as can be seen from their past performances. Yoo Oh Sung who plays Baek Mo Sa feels somewhat more subdued and has very minimal dialogue this time around, although he still manages to expertly infuse his character with subtle shifts in aura and demeanour that fit the narrative.

The soundtrack features 4 OSTs while the dramatic score composed by Kim Jang Woo generally fits with the overall vibe of the drama.

요아리 Yoari - Reason
일레인 Elaine - Stay With Me
요아리 Yoari - Searching for Reasons Why
이정민 Lee Jung Min - Get Ya

In addition, Eric Clapton's Wonderful Tonight gets some significant airplay in the drama as well.

All things considered and truth be told, I had rather high hopes for The Veil because it has been quite a while since we had a proper espionage-themed drama the likes of the Iris series and Athena: Goddess of War. As fantastic as NGM has been, this drama falls short of my expectations. Fortunately, it does finish as strongly as it started which is the saving grace in the end.