[PREVIEW] KBS TV series "Chuno"

In times when one who slaughters animals was called a butcher and looked down upon, a chuno was considered even more lowly than beasts for their job of hunting down human beings. But Dae-gil (played by Jang Hyuk) decides to become such a chuno to make a living after he becomes the only one left of his once-wealthy upper class household which has exterminated from a fire set by a servant under his control. Dae-gil, who takes on the boss of the top chuno gang of the Joseon Dynasty, composed of Jang-goon (Han Jung-soo) who ruins both himself and his family after failing to pass the military service examination and former thief Wangsoni (Kim Ji-suk), one day receive a request to capture Tae-ha (Oh Ji-ho), a man slave in government employ, who has taken flight. Dae-gil, who must catch Tae-ha in order to maintain his reputation for the job and also to accumulate wealth in preparation for his old age, becomes involved in the mission he must complete while avoiding the threat of a mass of servants who have formed a society.

Meanwhile, Tae-ha, a former military officer who falls from grace after the prince he served becomes assassinated, decides to run away from his life as a slave to achieve his dream of enhancing national prosperity and defense of the country. He does not have an easy time living as a slave on the run but his feelings start growing for another runway slave Hye-won (Lee Dae-ha) who actually used to be Dae-gil's first love Un-nyun. The TV series will premiere on KBS2-TV on January 6, 9:55 P.M.

Preview Rating: 9
The press conference for "Chuno" was held at the CJ CGV theater in Youngdeungpo which holds a super-sized screen. Hence, the event itself saw technical difficulties but it was enough to prove the producer's intention of wanting to flaunt the spectacular non-drama like features of the show. About ten episodes of the series are ready for showing and the cast and crew shot on various locations throughout the country while putting in great effort to the computer graphics to enhance viewers' visual satisfaction.

But to any extent, its majestic appearance will only serve as the base to the story. It seems that "Chuno" will not make the mistake of drowning all other elements to the drama with its sideshows. It breaks from the convention of simply laying out history in chronological order but sets its vanishing point as the standoff between the chaser and the one being chased. Therefore, history is what chases the characters into their state of chaos while most of their relationships are intertwined with personal conflicts and grudges. Whether "Chuno" will be a hit or failure will depend on how articulately the macroscopic background blends in with the microscopic stories. It will also be worth paying attention to how well director Kwak Jung-hwan's density weaves in with writer Chun Sung-il's pliability.

Reporter : Yoon Hee-Seong nine@10asia.co.kr
Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@10asia.co.kr
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr, Lee Ji-Hye seven@10asia.co.kr