Storyline

The Return of Iljimae is a 2009 South Korean historical action television series, starring Jung Il-woo in the title role of Iljimae, Yoon Jin-seo, Kim Min-jong and Jung Hye-young. It aired on MBC from January 21 to April 9, 2009 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 24 episodes. The series is based on comic strip Iljimae, published between 1975 and 1977, by Ko Woo-yung which was based on a Chinese folklore from the Ming dynasty about a masked Robin Hood-esque character during the Joseon era. MBC bought the rights to the comic strip for their adaptation, which was to star Lee Seung-gi in the title role of Iljimae. However he pulled out and was replaced by Jung, which makes him the third Korean actor to play the hero following Jang Dong-gun and Lee Joon-gi for Iljimae.

First Aired

2009-01-21
Last Aired

2009-04-09
Creator
Genre

Drama
Seasons

1
Episodes

24
Status

Ended
Language

한국어/조선말
Network

MBC

Keywords:

rebel martial arts vigilante based on comic romance historical killer tragic past hidden identity life lessons ming dynasty skilled fighter chinese history hidden personality skilled killer searching for parents searching for biological parents

Stream and watch The Return of Iljimae

Season 1

1. Episode 1

Iljimae confronts the evil Bulgasari for his crimes against the citizens of Hanyang. Two people, Cha D...More

Iljimae confronts the evil Bulgasari for his crimes against the citizens of Hanyang. Two people, Cha Dol and Bae Sun-dal, work to create a written account of Iljimae's unique stories.Less

2009-01-21

2. Episode 2

Iljimae learns the truth about his early life from Wang Hengbo. In the company of Wang Hengbo, Iljimae...More

Iljimae learns the truth about his early life from Wang Hengbo. In the company of Wang Hengbo, Iljimae goes back to Joseon after discovering what his real mother said when he left her.Less

2009-01-22

3. Episode 3

Danger follows Iljimae’s journey but he arrives to find there is a funeral in progress. Both Wang Heng...More

Danger follows Iljimae’s journey but he arrives to find there is a funeral in progress. Both Wang Hengbo and Iljimae are taken into custody by the authorities for different offenses.Less

2009-01-28

4. Episode 4

Breaking out of prison, Iljimae and Wang Hengbo chose different paths. While Iljimae takes refuge in a...More

Breaking out of prison, Iljimae and Wang Hengbo chose different paths. While Iljimae takes refuge in a cave, Wang Hengbo flees back to his previous home as Koo Ja Myung follows.Less

2009-01-29

5. Episode 5

While tracking down Iljimae for his crimes, Koo Ja Myung finds two other runaways from justice. Dal an...More

While tracking down Iljimae for his crimes, Koo Ja Myung finds two other runaways from justice. Dal and her father are put to death as an overwhelmed Iljimae watches the entire event.Less

2009-02-04

6. Episode 6

Iljimae changes his life and lets go of negative feelings with Monk Yeolgong's help. The newly optimis...More

Iljimae changes his life and lets go of negative feelings with Monk Yeolgong's help. The newly optimistic Iljimae makes the choice to live with Geol Chi in a small community.Less

2009-02-05

7. Episode 7

While being stranded in Japan with a ninja family, Iljimae saves a life. Issues between two warring or...More

While being stranded in Japan with a ninja family, Iljimae saves a life. Issues between two warring organizations cause problems for the town of Hanyang as Iljimae is no longer there to keep the peace.Less

2009-02-11

8. Episode 8

Koo Ja-myung comes back to Hanyang with a goal of calming the trouble between two rival groups. Upon I...More

Koo Ja-myung comes back to Hanyang with a goal of calming the trouble between two rival groups. Upon Iljimae's arrival, he locates Wol-hee and requests that she put something away for safe keeping.Less

2009-02-12

9. Episode 9

Wang Hengbo engages in a brutal fight with Iljimae but he receives a surprise that causes him to flee....More

Wang Hengbo engages in a brutal fight with Iljimae but he receives a surprise that causes him to flee. Unseen forces inside their organization stop the Haedongs.Less

2009-02-18

10. Episode 10

Koo Ja-myung receives aid in his quest to bring the final criminals in the area to justice. Retributio...More

Koo Ja-myung receives aid in his quest to bring the final criminals in the area to justice. Retribution finally reaches Nobleman Yoon for his evil deeds concerning the less fortunate.Less

2009-02-19

11. Episode 11

Iljimae becomes a wanted man by taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor. The idea of a we...More

Iljimae becomes a wanted man by taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor. The idea of a wedding to Wol-hee causes Iljimae to realize that he still has strong feelings for a former love.Less

2009-02-25

12. Episode 12

After coming to the aid of a upper class woman, Iljimae brings her to stay with Wol Hee and it causes ...More

After coming to the aid of a upper class woman, Iljimae brings her to stay with Wol Hee and it causes problems as she focuses her intentions on her rescuer. A man that came under the scrutiny for his business dealings forcefully takes Cha Dol.Less

2009-02-26

13. Episode 13

Freeing a girl from her kidnapper, Iljimae goes over memories of his lost love who was put to death. W...More

Freeing a girl from her kidnapper, Iljimae goes over memories of his lost love who was put to death. Wol Hee is deeply hurt by the way Iljimae starts treating her after he looks into his own life and behavior.Less

2009-03-04

14. Episode 14

Iljimae takes matters into his own hands to set Wol Hee free when she is taken into custody by the aut...More

Iljimae takes matters into his own hands to set Wol Hee free when she is taken into custody by the authorities. Baek Mae arrives to see Koo Ja Myung but leaves after getting assurances from him concerning Iljimae.Less

2009-03-05

15. Episode 15

An impostor pretending to be Iljimae causes problems for the authorities and criminals escape from the...More

An impostor pretending to be Iljimae causes problems for the authorities and criminals escape from the jail. Iljimae goes on a journey to find the impostor and causes Wol Hee more sadness.Less

2009-03-11

16. Episode 16

Iljimae is following Wang Hengbo as he faces men that want to take his life. Wang Hengbo must create a...More

Iljimae is following Wang Hengbo as he faces men that want to take his life. Wang Hengbo must create another plan when Iljimae stops the current plan before it is complete.Less

2009-03-12

17. Episode 17

After attempting suicide, Wol Hee is found alive but Iljimae remains under the impression that she is ...More

After attempting suicide, Wol Hee is found alive but Iljimae remains under the impression that she is dead. Iljimae takes the life of two men and a group hunts him down for the crime.Less

2009-03-18

18. Episode 18

Monk Yeolgong helps Wol Hee as Iljimae comes to the temple after being shot. Wol Hee takes care of Ilj...More

Monk Yeolgong helps Wol Hee as Iljimae comes to the temple after being shot. Wol Hee takes care of Iljimae’s wounds as Monk Dokbo leaks information about Iljimae's current location to the authorities.Less

2009-03-19

19. Episode 19

Iljimae frees Wol Hee from Kim Ja Jeom and convinces the group hunting him to end their pursuit. Yang ...More

Iljimae frees Wol Hee from Kim Ja Jeom and convinces the group hunting him to end their pursuit. Yang Po presents a mutually beneficial idea to Wang Hengbo and reveals hidden information.Less

2009-03-25

20. Episode 20

The Dohwiso Weapons Center employs Wol Hee as a cook while Iljimae keeps the center safe from those wh...More

The Dohwiso Weapons Center employs Wol Hee as a cook while Iljimae keeps the center safe from those who want to attack. After an explosion caused by Kim Ja Jeom, Yang Po and Wang Hengbo come to the center with a goal of capturing Iljimae.Less

2009-03-26

21. Episode 21

Sung Kae loses his life after a dramatic confrontation with Iljimae causes an accident. Kim Ja Jeom re...More

Sung Kae loses his life after a dramatic confrontation with Iljimae causes an accident. Kim Ja Jeom receives some disturbing news concerning the status of Iljimae from Park Bi Su.Less

2009-04-01

22. Episode 22

Cha Doljimae tries to help Wol Hee after she fails to get away. A gift from Miyamoto saves the life of...More

Cha Doljimae tries to help Wol Hee after she fails to get away. A gift from Miyamoto saves the life of Iljimae during a fast paced fight with Park Bi Su.Less

2009-04-02

23. Episode 23

An anxious Iljimae successfully reaches Baek Mae in time but he is too late to prevent her death. Lord...More

An anxious Iljimae successfully reaches Baek Mae in time but he is too late to prevent her death. Lord Choi makes a special request of Iljimae concerning relocation to China.Less

2009-04-08

24. Episode 24

Iljimae recovers enough from his injuries to hear about the ongoing battle. The intriguing visions of ...More

Iljimae recovers enough from his injuries to hear about the ongoing battle. The intriguing visions of Iljimae's dream transition into the present day landscape of Korea and a man dressed in black that resembles him.Less

2009-04-09

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Cast

Jung Il-woo

Iljimae

Yoon Jin-seo

Dal-yi / Wol-hee

Kim Min-jong

Koo Ja-myung

Jeong Hye-young

Baek-mae

Cheon Ho-jin

Hong Taiji

Lee Hyun-woo

Cha Dol-yi

Oh Young-soo

Yeol-gong

Kim Dong-seok

Lee Yoon-jeong

[Han family's daughter]

Videos and Photos

Movie Reviews

Reviews for The Return of Iljimae

A Review by ParkMin 3

Written by ParkMin on 2024-01-05

Watching a drama with so much narration was kind of weird. It didn't help it case when the leads were whispering all the time with this mono... read more

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)

A Review by ParkMin

Watching a drama with so much narration was kind of weird. It didn't help it case when the leads were whispering all the time with this monotone voice, almost like they were just reading lines off a script. Moreover, both of their performan...