KMazing – Unlike many action dramas that may have been quite mainstream, Bridal Masks or Gaksital is still relatively unknown to international fans. Though it can be said, Bridal Mask is a Korean drama with the best action scene I’ve ever watched – so you know, it’s my personal view. This drama was released in 2012 on KBS2 starring Joo Won, Jin Se-Yeon and Shin Hyun-Joon and is reimagined from the popular manhwa of Huh Young-man with the same title.

Also Read: 5 Action-Packed Korean Drama to Pump Your Adrenaline Up

Synopsis of Bridal Mask

Bridal Mask has a set in 1930 during the Japanese occupation of South Korea. This drama tells the story of brothers, Lee Kang-to (played by Joo Won) and Lee Kang-san (played by Shin Hyun-Joon). Lee Kang-to is the star in the police department,  he is known as a pro-Japanese figure, making him the subject of hatred by his colleagues.

At that time, the Korean police got the task of arresting Gaksital, a defender of truth who tried to gain the momentum for South Korean independence. He is called Gaksital because he wears a Japanese bride mask. At one point, Lee Kang-to’s life changed. The huge change that made him wear the Gaksital mask and start fighting the tyranny. In the darkest times in his people history, Gaksital tried to provide justice to the oppressed.

On the other hand is Kimura Shunji (played by Park Ki-Woong), a music teacher who didn’t listen to his family just to teach at a Korean school. Kimura Shunji is a close friend of Lee Kang-to and falls in love with Oh Mok-and (played by Jin Se-Yeon). Kimura Shunji’s life changed when he learned that Oh Mok actually falls in love with the man behind the Gaksital mask, which she considered to be the first love. The three were then entangled in stories of love filled with revenge and also pressure from the Japanese colonials.

Also Read: Best Korean Romance Dramas That Will Touch Your Heart

My OpsThrowback Thursday

This drama gets a lot of praise thanks to the amazing martial arts action and the story that drains your tears. For the matters of rating, Bridal Mask always manages to sit at least in the top three when it was aired in 2012.

Although the drama was quite a hit in South Korea, Bridal Mask received a lot of criticism from international audiences especially – guess who – lovers of k-dramas from Japan who consider the series was too exaggerating the oppression during the colonial period. Overall, this drama is interesting enough to be the subject of our TBT series and after the “Mr.Sunshine’s fever” is over, it just feels right to rewatch this masterpiece. Ciao!