Stream It Or Skip It: ‘My Country: The New Age’ On Netflix, A Korean Epic About Two Friends That Become Enemies

One of the things about historical dramas from the Far East is that much of the history being depicted isn’t just a few hundred years old. It’s often in time periods that we can’t even fathom because there’s so little documentation. For instance, My Country: The New Age takes place in the waning years of the 14th century, 600 years ago, as the Goryeo dynasty gives way to the early years of the Joseon dynasty. Read on for more…

MY COUNTRY: THE NEW AGE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: After a quote about how aristocracy in ancient Korea is able to maintain private armies, we see a nighttime scene, with the description, “Day of the First Strife of the Princes, August 1398.”

The Gist: During the time in between the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties, Lee Bang-won (Jang Hyuk) is in a battle to overthrow the Goryeo family, and he sends his best soldier, Seo Hwi (Yang Se-jong), to lead the invasion of a particular stronghold. There, he comes face-to-face with an old friend Nam Seon-ho (Woo Do-hwan).

As they confront each other for what might be the final time, we flash back ten years. The two of them are friends; Hwi is a commoner who works as a blacksmith, and Seon-ho is the son of the nobleman in charge of the royal stables. But both have more complex backgrounds: Hwi’s father was a famous general who was executed for embezzlement, and Seon-ho’s mother was a concubine. Seon-ho wants to take the army exam to prove to himself that he can surpass his social rank, but Hwi would rather take care of his sister, who has epilepsy.

They encounter Han Hee-jae (Kim Seol-hyun), who has been putting up anti-war posters around their village, and has incurred the wrath of the General’s forces. She calls them “comrades” to distract the soldiers chasing her, and they all get embroiled to the point where Hee-jae hides them in the kisaeng house where she lives. After the Capital Forces bust through but end up leaving empty-handed, the three drink to their new friendship, and the men go back to their homes. Hee-jae finds that she’ll soon be kicked out of the kisaeng house for her agitating views.

Seon-ho, due to his superior skills with a bow and arrow, is selected to go hunting with the Right Chancellor. He wants Hwi to be a chaser to rout out prey. During the hunt Hwi coaches Seon-ho to relax and gives him tips on how to get a moving target like a quail. The Right Chancellor is impressed with Hwi’s skills, and gives him one of his arrowheads, which will allow Hwi to apply for the military exam. He was previously rejected because his father died by boiling, and Hwi and his sister are considered to be “ghosts,” despite the fact that Hwi’s father took the honorable way out and killed himself.

Our Take: It’s hard to wrap what went on in the 83-minute first episode of My Country: The New Age into a few paragraphs. The story that executive producer Oh Hwan-min is trying to tell is multi-layered and complex, not to mention based on historic events. The show has a ton of action, from chases to arrow fights and sword fights to good ol’ martial arts sequences. The cinematography is beautiful and the actors do a fine job. And the first episode moved pretty well despite its extended running time.

But after all that went on, what we’re not sure of is where the story of the three main characters will intersect. The first episode establishes the friendship of Hwi and Seon-ho, and their respective motivations to join the invasion effort of the Right Chancellor. It establishes their connection to Hee-Jae. But it’s got a long way to go to establish how these friends become enemies. The thought here is that Hee-Jae has a lot to do with that, whether it’s romantically or some other way. But after 83 minutes, the three characters are still going on separate paths.

That’s just a long way of saying that you need to invest a lot of time in My Country: The New Age to get some of the emotional payoffs you might be looking for in the first episode. But it feels like there’s enough story to keep our interest as it explores the relationships among its main characters.

Sex and Skin: Not that kind of show.

Parting Shot: After Hwi and Seon-ho fight through a phalanx of soldiers to get to the recruitment officer who already dismissed Hwi with insults, he stabs the table with the arrowhead and says, “My father is not a dog. He’s the greatest swordsman in Goryeo, Seo Geom. So tell me to fuck off again if you dare, you bastard!”

Sleeper Star: None stand out.

Most Pilot-y Line: There’s some cutesy dialogue in the first scenes that makes us think that the show will be more lighthearted than it turns out to be. Tonal shifts like that are endemic in Korean dramas, whether they take place in the 14th century or the 21st, and it’s something we’re still not used to.

Our Call: STREAM IT. My Country: The New Age is a lushly-filmed epic with great performances. It may take a bit too much time with the chases, battles and fights, but that’s what makes it move along.

Your Call:

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company.com, RollingStone.com, Billboard and elsewhere.

Stream My Country: The New Age On Netflix