KDrama 2019
The Fiery Priest (Kdrama Review & Summary)
The Fiery Priest
- Genre: Priest, Action, Drama, Comedy, Legal, Police
- Date Released: 15 February 2019
- Origin: South Korea
- KDrama: 40 Episodes
- Global Granary Recommends!
Cast:
- Kim Nam Gil as Kim Hae Il
- Lee Ha Nui as Park Kyung Sun
- Kim Sung Kyun as Goo Dae Young
- Go Joon as Hwang Cheol Bum
- Geum Sae Rok as Seo Seung Ah
- Jeon Sung Woo as Han Sun Kyu (Young Priest)
- Jung Young Joo as Jung Dong Ja (Head of Gudum Office)
- Baek JI Won as Kim IN Kyung (Nun/Sister)
- Jung Dong Hwan as Lee Young Joon
- Lee Je Yeon as Kim Hoon Suk
- Jung In Ki as Nam Suk Goo
Episode 1-2
This drama has 40 episodes but each lasting just over half an hour only.
I have to confess that I sort of lost a bit of my appetite for Kdramas, well because the last few ones I have watched were not interesting enough and plus the fact that China has really up the ante in their dramas especially the historical ones, which have been beguiling even international fans.
Anyway, enough said.
I was so pleasantly surprised by this drama. It has the right amount of excitement, action and oodles of charms from the main leads: Kim Nam Gil and Lee Ha Nui (Lee Honey). There is something rather satisfying, I dare say, about the story.
The Fiery Priest is none other than Kim Hae Il. There was a quick flashback of a soldier fighting so I reckon that Kim Hae Il before he became a priest, was a former military man, who now suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Bipolar Disorder.
His symptoms are excavated by the many harrowing, wrongdoings, criminal things that are happening around him and yet no one was taking responsibility or try to solve the problem. It is frustratingly a ‘dog eat dog world’.
Kim Hae Il has a reputation of losing it easily and he did when he came upon a shaman pretending to exorcise a man for a fee, lots of money. Kim Hae Il showed the people that everything was a fake to get their generous donation.
Kim Hae Il then asked the shaman who was his mastermind. He readily squealed that it was a loan shark, who Kim Hae Il went to see immediately. To get to the big boss, he had to beat up all the guards and then the loan shark himself.
Kim Hae Il ended up at the police station with the loan shark insisting on lodging a case against the priest for landing most of his guards in the hospital for serious injuries.
In the end, his diocese asked him to take a ‘vacation’ and stay with Father Lee Young Joon.
At that moment, Father Lee Young Joon was having a problem with some thugs who have been harassing him to sign contracts with the property developers.
Kim Hae Il was welcomed warmly by Father Lee Youg Joon and by the other priest and a nun.
He was then advised by Father Lee Young to be calm and not to seek trouble. Just walk away.
During the following Sunday service, Father Lee tasked him to conduct the service.
One of the worshippers was Park Kyung Sun. It was almost lust at first sight for her. She found Kim Hae Il just gorgeous. Calm down, woman, he is a priest! 🙂
During his sermon, many of the parishioners did not find him gorgeous then because he was blunt and opinionated. He said how can you ask God to forgive your sins? His advice was to seek forgiveness from those you have wronged and then only then that you ask God to forgive your sins.
After the service, Park Kyung Sun immediately went to confession. She wanted her sins forgiven for being short-tempered with her colleagues.
Kim Hae Il asked if she had sought forgiveness from her workmates? He then ended the confession time abruptly.
Kyung Sun was not happy but one look at the priest handsome face and she was mollified. She then asked if Father Lee had perhaps talked about her.
He said no but he saw her on tv; copying her look of rolling her eyes.
There was a press conference by the property developers which is being backed by the police. The conference was interrupted by strikers and ordinary citizens whose housing and livelihood are affected by the development.
The Chief of police signaled to the police on duty to turn a blind eye and go and leave the thugs working for the property developers to beat up the people.
At that time Kim Hae Il and a young priest were passing. They notice the brawl, as well as the posse of police marching away.
Kim Hae Il was thinking himself not to interfere as the advice from father Lee was still fresh from his mind
But the Powers that Be sent thunder.
Episode 3-4 (2)
In this back to back episodes, so many things are coming out. Hai Il was a soldier and he carries the guilt of throwing dynamite to an underground room where children were hiding. He was obeying orders from the platoon leader. He did try to reason that they have not properly searched the room for any possible casualty but he was told to obey orders.
This incident had him so guilt-ridden that has resulted in PTSD.
There was also an incident at the church where the thugs once again harassing Father Lee. It was turning violent when Hai Il turned up.
The thugs ended up in the police station but were released immediately as the case was decided as so minor it was not worth the ink on the paper.
Hae Il went to the station and created such a fuss. Telling them that they are only affirming their reputation with the public as corrupt and can’t be relied upon for justice.
Hae Il woke up feeling at peace when she saw the breakfast hangover soup Father Lee had already prepared for him.
But where is Father Lee?
He had vanished, they cannot contact him on his mobile.
They were then alerted that Father Lee had committed suicide.
Everyone was sad, including the parishioner.
Hae Il was sure that Father Lee was the last one to commit suicide. Being a Catholic, suicide is a mortal sin.
He went to the morgue for the autopsy and found evidence that he was dragged by his armpit. It was not a suicide.
But the police said that it was because his shoes were arranged neatly by the cliff before he jumped down.
Hae Il was determined to find out the truth. He consulted Kyung Sun, but even she said it was a suicide.
Then it was reported on the news that Father Lee committed suicide because he cannot face a pending case of sexually harassing a parishioner as well as embezzling funds.
This is obviously a smear campaign from the property developers that even Kyung Sun thinks they have gone too far.
Episode 5 – 6 (3)
Because of the controversy about Father Lee, the number of churchgoers started to dwindle into a handful.
It also did not help that Hae Il is banning hypocritical parishioners, including Park Kyung Sun.
Park Kyung Sun is an ambitious prosecutor that she was kiss-assing her superior, knowing that there are corrupt. She even accepted bribes to keep quiet and do what she’s told.
One of the things she was instructed to do was to put Hae Il in prison. But she had developed a soft spot for the handsome priest. She just can’t punish him as he was just too appealing.
Hae Il was repeatedly advised including by bishops to let the matters about Father Lee to die down, to forget about it, which only infuriated him even more.
He asked a pathologist to examine Father Lee’s body secretly as the police were having it guarded. Hae Il is now sure that he was murdered.
And the suspect was Cheol Bum, who had asked to be given an award and received it from Dong Ja, Head of the Gudum Office.
The last part of these episodes was how Hae Il got to know the kindly Father Lee. After being guilt-ridden from having instrumental in killing the girls in the underground bunker, he retired and had his records as a member of NIS was expunged.
But this was not the end of it, he can’t cope with the trauma and his only way was to escape through alcohol and brawling.
One drunk moment, where he could have easily frozen to death in the snow, Father Lee stumbled upon his inert body.
Father Lee took him back and gave him a sense of new purpose. He studied the scriptures and went into the seminary and became a priest.
Episode 7-8 (4)
Kim Nam Gil is just so gorgeous. Perfect posture. He makes the cassock or soutane so fashionable.
Anyway, it was the day of Cheol Bum’s award ceremony & dinner.
Hae Il gate-crashed it and made such a scene that it became a talking point among the elite of the town.
However, this was not enough to really create a wave.
Hae Il, however, remembered what Kyun Sun sarcastically told him and that was why not contact the big man, contact the Pope.
Hae Il used his translation apps to write to the Pope in Italian about how Father Lee being a victim of a smear campaign which will not only impugn in the Korean local church where he served but all to the whole Catholic faith.
Hae Il waited and waited for the reply until he was beginning to being disenchanted.
But when the pope received the letter, he immediately wrote to the South Korean President to reopen and reinvestigate the case of Father Lee.
The president did just that and a fact-finder had been assembled.
Unfortunately, the investigator chosen was Dae Young, who was the most inept, naive and gullible member of the police squad.
The good thing though was the part of the investigation team was Hae Il. They did not know that he was a former NIS.
This drama is so good. Comedic in part and melodramatic in others. It is all so thrilling.
2 March Update: Apparently, shooting has been temporarily halted as our intrepid hero, Kim Nam Gil suffered a rib injury. Get better soon.
Episodes 9-10
Hae Il is working with Dae Young but he must as well be working alone as the latter was absolutely useless. The witnesses have disappeared and the police were giving contradictory information of their whereabouts. The police said they were in Europe, but they also said in Dubai
Seo Seung Ah is still a newbie detective has not been corrupted yet. She is still very idealistic, wanted to keep peace and order.
She volunteered to watch the CCTV pointing to the Church entrances at approximate time when Father Lee left the church.
What she found out was that the crucial moments had been deleted due to a technical error.
Hae Il so happened to know a hacker and went to see him and asked him to find the exact location of the two witnesses.
He found them easily. They have not left for Europe but rather drinking French wine while planning how to spend their bribes.
Seo Seung Ah was told by Hae Il to go arrest the culprit/suspects. It did not turn easily as a couple of minion from Russian Street were shadowing the witnesses. Seo Seung Ah was an able fighter but so were her opponents and there were two of them.
Thank goodness Hae Il decided to turn up and beat up the Russian Street guys.
Episode 11 -12
Seo Seung Ah was driving the witnesses and Hae Ill back to the police station when Hae Il got an urgent call from the church.
He told Seung ah to go straight to the station while he’ll drop by at the church.
Poor Seung Ah was ambushed by more Russian Street guys and she got totally beaten up.
Meanwhile, Hae Il joined Father Sun Kyu and Sister In Kyung in a meeting with an official who was terminating their contract to run the old people’s house and children nursery. The reason given was due to Father Lee’s misdemeanor.
No matter what Hae Ii, Father Sun Kyu and Sister In Kyung said, the official was not interested.
Hae Il and Sister In Kyung went to see the Gudum Borough leader, again she was equally as dismissive of their protestation.
They later found out that the contract was given to a religious cult, Daegakgyo and they noticed that Cheol Bum was involved with the selection of the cult.
Hae Il challenged Cheol Bum to a fight at the car park and Dae Young was acting as referee.
Episode 13-14
Episode 15 – 16
Episode 17 -18
This is my favourite episode in this brilliant series. It is so original, oodles of humour and gorgeous oppas.
Awards:
- Ahn Chang Hwan won the Popular Male Character at the 2019 Korea Drama Awards.
- Go Joon won the Star of the Year at the 2019 Korea Drama Awards.