This is the oldest Kdrama I've ever watched, but it's surprisingly well-made, and the subject matter, violence, and gritty realism are actually more mature than most recent Kdramas I've seen. I can understand why it was such a sensation back in the day, because it's always watchable and engrossing.

However, it's relentlessly violent and depressing, with lots of scenes of massacres and atrocities, torture, beatings, and cynical corruption. It's really eye-opening to see how brutal and corrupt the Korean government, military, and law enforcement were just a couple of decades ago. A country that today is known for its high standard of living and quality entertainment and products that are popular around the world used to be a repressive banana republic that put a low priority on human rights. These are important topics, but just be prepared for some depressing material.

Also, I have a major problem with the character of Hye-rin. Basically, she's responsible for the death of the 2 men who loved her most. Of course, she sheds some tears, but I feel like she still doesn't realize at the end just how much she's responsible for these needless deaths. And I still don't understand why she made the idiotic decision to walk right into Jang-do and Do-shik's trap, dragging Jae-hee and Tae-soo down with her. Was she intentionally trying to basically go on a suicide mission by insisting on going alone, and if so, why the hell would she do that? But no, she seemed really surprised when all those men attacked her, so I guess she was just naive and idiotic. And that's just the worst of her many bad decisions and stupid misunderstandings.

Also, the Jae-hee character is so pathetic. He's just a chump for Hye-rin, and he has no personality or life of his own aside from his devotion to her. How sad. At least he made up for it many years later by winning the squid game.

It's ironic that, out of the 3 main characters, Woo-suk is the one who's guilty of the worst crimes. Tae-soo might have been a thuggish gangster, but he only murdered someone who deserved it, and he could have made a good argument that it was self-defense. But Woo-suk participated in the slaughter of totally innocent people, a true atrocity. Of course, he was just a lowly soldier following orders, and he would have probably been shot for insubordination if he had tried to resist, but you can say the same thing about lots of soldiers throughout history who participated in horrible war crimes. But the person who received the death penalty was the noble gangster, Tae-soo.

So this drama riled me up in many ways, but I was never bored. I'm really glad that I finally had the privilege of watching this important and historic Kdrama.