''Song of the Bandits'' () is a 2023 South Korean

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...

series directed by Hwang Jun-hyeok, written by Han Jeong-hoon, and starring

Kim Nam-gil Kim Nam-gil () is a South Korean actor, producer, director, singer and philanthropist. He is best known from leading roles in disaster blockbuster '' Pandora'' (2016); crime thriller ''Memoir of a Murderer '' (2017); adventure film '' The Pirate ...

Seohyun Seo Ju-hyun (; born June 28, 1991), known professionally as Seohyun, is a South Korean singer, actress and songwriter. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation (and later its subgroup Girls' Generation-TTS) in August 2007, which ...

Yoo Jae-myung Yoo Jae-myung (; born June 3, 1973) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the series ''Reply 1988'' (2015), '' Stranger'' (2017), ''Life'' (2018), ''Itaewon Class'' (2020) and '' Voice of Silence'' (2020). He won Best Suppor ...

Lee Hyun-wook Lee Hyun-wook (born June 17, 1985) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series '' Hell Is Other People'' (2019), ''Mine'' (2021) and ''Remarriage & Desires'' (2022). Early life and education Lee Hyun-wook be ...

, and Lee Ho-jung. It was released on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on September 22, 2023.

Synopsis

Set in 1920s, during the turbulent period of Japanese occupation, following the disbanding of the Korean military and police and other repressions (which followed the

Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905, also known as the Eulsa Treaty, Eulsa Unwilling Treaty or Japan–Korea Protectorate Treaty, was made between the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire in 1905. Negotiations were concluded on November 17, 19 ...

), many people of

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

fled across the

Tumen River The Tumen River, also known as the Tuman River or Duman River (), is a long river that serves as part of the boundary between China, North Korea and Russia, rising on the slopes of Mount Paektu and flowing into the Sea of Japan. The river has ...

to Gando, a part of China (Qing), some to make a living and others to form

righteous armies Righteous armies, sometimes called irregular armies or militias, are informal civilian militias that have appeared several times in Korean history, when the national armies were in need of assistance. The first righteous armies emerged during th ...

, and fight for independence for Korea. This is a tale where those who head to Gando, a land of lawlessness, unite as one to protect the homeland of the Koreans. The story is a prelude to the Gando massacre.

Cast

Main

as Lee Yoon : A former Japanese soldier who left for Gando, leaving everything behind and became a bandit to protect the land and people. *

as Nam Hee-shin : An independence activist working as the head of the

Railway Bureau The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national railway system directly operated by the Japanese Ministry of Railways ( ja, 鉄道省, Tetsudō-shō, ) until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Rai ...

of the Japanese Government-General of Korea. She has hidden her true allegiance. *

as Choi Chung-soo : A landowner of a Korean village located in Gando who is an independence activist. *

as Lee Gwang-il : A major of the 37th Infantry Regiment of the 19th Division of the Imperial Japanese Empire who gets entangled with Yoon in a terrible relationship. * Lee Ho-jung as Eon Nyeon : A contract killer who goes to Gando after being commissioned to murder Yoon.

Supporting

People around Lee Yoon

* Lee Jae-gyun as Chorang-i : A member of the bandits. * Kim Do-yoon as Kang San-gun : A member of the bandits. * Cha Yeop as Geum-so : A member of the bandits. *

Cha Chung-hwa Cha Chung-hwa (; born on 28 April 1980) is a South Korean character actress who has worked extensively on stage, screen, and television. She has been nominated for Baeksang Arts Awards for her role as court lady in tvN historical drama '' Mr. Q ...

as Kim Seon-bok

Others

*Kim Seol-jin as Kimura : Jang Ki-ryong's subordinate. *

Ko Kyu-pil Ko Kyu-pil (born May 2, 1982) is a South Korean actor. He debuted in the 1993 South Korean children's film A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that contains children or relates to them in the context of home and family. Child ...

as Han Tae-ju : A Japanese soldier and subordinate of Lee Gwang-il. *Park Sang-won as Ishida : A Japanese soldier of the 19th division and subordinate of Lee Gwang-il. *Han Gyu-won as Jang Ki-ryong : A leader bandit of North Gando who harasses the independence army under the protection of the Japanese military. *Kim Min as Jin-san : A member of the bandit group who is Jang Ki-ryong's subordinate. *Park Gwang-jae as Heuk-dong : A member of the bandit group who is Jang Ki-ryong's subordinate.

Production

In August 2022, filming of the series was suspended due to heavy rain. Filming ended on February 2, 2023.

Original soundtrack

The original soundtrack for ''Song of the Bandits'' was released digitally on September 22, 2023. It includes five English-language songs by Taeil (of NCT), Seori, Karina (of

Aespa Aespa ( ; , commonly stylized in all lowercase or æspa) is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group consists of four members: Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning. They debuted on November 17, 2020, with the single " B ...

), and Jeonghum Band.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Kakao M Korean-language television shows Netflix original programming South Korean action television series South Korean web series 2023 web series debuts 2023 South Korean television series debuts South Korean historical television series Television series by Urban Works Media Television series by Studio Dragon Television series set in the 1920s Television series set in Korea under Japanese rule Yanbian in fiction South Korean pre-produced television series 2023 South Korean television series endings 2023 web series endings