Set in the 17th Century, Jang Beo-jin (Seo Woo) is a young female diver on Tamra Island. She doesn’t particularly enjoy her situation and dreams of one day leaving the island. One day, to her shock, she discovers a young blond haired man laying on the beach. The young man’s name is William (Pierre Deporte) and he is a shipwrecked British citizen. Another young man named Park Kyu enters the island under the disguise of one of the many convicts sent to Tamra Island. In actuality, Park Kyu (Lim Ju-Hwan) is a budding government official known as a Seonbi. These three young people then become involved in a hilarious love triangle. This drama takes you through a lt. You find that in the midst of this bubbly yet complicated drama is political intrigue and maneuvering. Over all it lends toward a lively representation of a culture. Its done very well, as the producers manage to make you believe this is a factual tale and not just the live action version of a manwa. I enjoyed each character immensely, even though sometimes their antics surpassed the boundaries of reality. Taking into account that this is molded after a manwa all their character quirks become loveable. And you become engrossed in their life.
A big part for that is the incredibly phenomenal job done by all the cast members. Regardless of how small their role each character really stands out for their uniqueness.
- Seo Woo as Jang Beo Jin
- Im Joo Hwan as Park Kyu
- Pierre Deporte as William Spencer
- Lee Sun Ho as Yan Kawamura
- Lee Seung Min as Seo Min
- Byun Woo Min as Jang Won Bin
- Yang Hee Kyung as Eom Ssa Boo In
- Kim Yoo Jung as Jang Beo Seol
- Kim Mi Kyung as Choi Jang Nyeo
- Lee Ho Jae as Park Chul
- Bang Eun Hee as Go Ba Soon
- Jung Joo Ri as Han Boon
- Jo Seung Yun as Kim Yi Bang
- Lee Hae Woo as Hyang Dul Yi
- Seo Bum Shik as Jeon Chi Yong
- Kim Ho Won as Hyang Dol Lee
- Yoo Tae Woong as Han Philip
- Park Hee Jin (박희진) as Jong Dal
- Jo Moon Ui as Jong Dal’s father
- Lee Jung Sup as Kim Hoon Jang
Although Tamra the Island did not rate very while it was airing back in 2009 I found it to be extremely enjoyable. It was fun and light while still shining light on the lives of the female divers of Jeju island. I would definitely say its worth the watch!
Other K-Dramas to Watch:
The Princess’ Man:
Episode 21: (nationwide rating 22.9)
Episode 22: (nationwide rating 23.8)
Warrior Baek Dong Soo:
Episode 27: (nationwide rating 16.8)
Episode 28: (nationwide rating 19.3)
Korean Delights 