It’s a little hard to believe that this is Jo Jung-seok’s (Two Cops) first sageuk drama ever, but I’m here for it. SBS’s upcoming Mung Bean Flower has just released their first teaser, which centers on Jo Jung-seok and his involvement in the 19th century peasant rebellion that is at the heart of the show. I’m a little disappointed that we don’t see the other players in the main cast, especially since it includes the likes of Yoon Shi-yoon (Your Honor), Han Ye-ri (Switch), and Choi Moo-sung (Mr. Sunshine), but I guess we’ll just have to tide ourselves over until the show releases more teasers.
The clip itself is very short and starts right in the middle of the action: A man proclaims that “The world shall be saved, and the people shall be put at ease!” as we see torches reflected in Jo Jung-seok’s eyes, and a mass of peasants marching their way through a village. The captions read, “The torches all gather and become a sea, and the bamboo spears all gather and create a mountain.” A large number of peasants carrying banners and wielding bamboo spears gather in the middle of a field while a man offscreen marvels at the coming of a “new world.”
Though the plot description places Jo Jung-seok as a key figure of the Donghak Rebellion, despite his half-aristocratic origins, the clip shows that his character doesn’t start out on the side of the peasants. He’s shown being beaten to a pulp and strung up by his neck, surrounded by some angry looking villagers. Before the teaser ends, the captions read, “This crazy world will meet its end,” with a final shot of a grave Jo Jung-seok standing side-by-side the same peasants that attacked him.
Mung Bean Flower will air in SBS’s Friday-Saturday slot, premiering on April 26.
