The Rebel () is a South Korean television series starring Kim Sang-joong, Yoon Kyun-sang, Chae Soo-bin, Kim Ji-seok, and Lee Hanee. It aired on MBC TV every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 (KST) from January 30, 2017 to May 16, 2017.
The series was a success with average viewership ratings of 11.34%, and was praised by both critics and audiences for its plot and performances.
Synopsis Set during the reign of famous tyrant Yeonsangun, it tells the story of Hong Gil-dong, the son of a slave who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, and his journey in becoming Joseon's first revolutionary.
Hong Gil-dong (Yoon Kyun-sang) is the son of slave Hong Ah-mo-gae, which gives Gil-dong no legal standing in Joseon society. With no opportunities to do any legitimate work despite his brilliance, Gil-dong becomes the leader of a band of smugglers who steals from the rich to give to the poor. Gil-dong's contemporary, Yi Yung, becomes the tyrannical Yeonsangun (Kim Ji-seok) who oppresses the lives of the common people. The King's faithful concubine is Jang Nok-su (Lee Hanee) who secretly can't forget her first love, Gil-dong.
Cast
Main Kim Sang-joong as Hong Ah-mo-gae Gil-dong's father. A brilliant and ambitious slave who frees himself and later becomes the leader of the Ilkhwari. Yoon Kyun-sang as Hong Gil-dong Lee Ro-woon as young Hong Gil-dong Chae Soo-bin as Song Ga-ryung Gil-dong's love interest and later wife. Kim Ji-suk as Crown Prince Yi Yung (later Yeonsangun) Lee Hanee as Gong-hwa (later renamed to Jang Nok-su) Yeonsangun's concubine and Gil-dong's first love.
Supporting Hong Family Shim Hee-sub as Hong Gil-hyun / Park Ha-sung Lee Do-hyun as young Hong Gil-hyun Ah-mo-gae's eldest son and Gil-dong's older brother. Shin Eun-jung as Geum-ok Ah-mo-gae's wife and Gil-dong's mother. Lee Soo-min as Hong Uh-ri-ni / Sang-hwa Jeong Soo-in as young Hong Uh-ri-ni Ah-mo-gae's daughter and Gil-dong's younger sister.
Ilkhwari Park Jun-gyu as Hong So-bu-ri Lee Jun-hyeok as Hong Yong-gae Kim Do-yoon as Hong Se-gul Heo Jung-do as Hong Il-chung Lee Ho-chul as Hong Kkeut-shwe Kim Byung-chun as Soo Noh-man-sub Lee Myung-hoon as Hong Eob-san Jo Hyun-do as young Eob-san Kim Ha-eun as Jeok Sun-ah
Royal Court Kim Jung-tae as Yi Jung, Prince Chungwon Choi Moo-sung as King Seongjong Park Soo-young as Kim Ja-won Ahn Suk-hwan as Left State Councillor Noh Sa-shin Ryu Tae-ho as Yu Ja-gwang Choi Yong-min as Yun Pil-sang Park Ji-il as Yi Se-jwa Choi Dae-chul as Park Won-jong
Others Kim Byeong-ok as Magistrate Uhm Ja-chi A third-generation deputy magistrate. He later becomes a town magistrate with the help of Ah-mo-gae. Hwang Seok-jeong as Wol-ha-mae Kim Joon-bae as Heo Tae-hak A thug and Ah-mo-gae's rival. Kim Jung-hyun as Mo-ri Heo Tae-hak's right-hand man, later a rival of Gil-dong. Ahn Nae-sang as Song Do-hwan Seo Yi-sook as Lady Jo Jo Cham-bong's wife. Park Eun-seok as Jo Soo-hak Kim Ye-jun as young Jo Soo-hak Jo Cham-bong's son. Song Sam-dong as Lee Uk-gong Jung Da-bin as Ok-ran Lee Do-gyeom as Do-ho Park Ji-a as Jin-soo Lee Chung-mi as Han-deok Kim Hee-jung as Baek Kyun Kang Hui as Yeong-hui Cha Geon-woo Shim Eun-woo as shaman
Special appearances Son Jong-hak as Jo Cham-bong Ko In-bum as Jo Cham-bong's uncle Moon Sook
Production Actors Namkoong Min and Ji Sung were first offered the lead role. The first script reading took place on December 30, 2016 at MBC Broadcasting Station in Sangam.
Ratings In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. NR denotes that the drama did not rank in the top 20 daily programs on that date
Episode #DateAverage audience shareTNmS RatingsAGB Nielsen RatingsNationwideSeoul National Capital AreaNationwideSeoul National Capital Area Peak1January 30, 2017 (20th) (17th)8.9% (NR)9.1% (16th)11.0%2January 31, 20178.4% (17th)9.3% (8th)10.0% (8th)10.2% (6th)12.1%3February 6, 20179.9% (12th)11.3% (5th)10.5% (7th)10.8% (5th)13.3%4February 7, 201711.4% (7th)12.5% (5th)12.3% (5th)12.3% (5th)14.5%5February 13, 20179.8% (11th)11.8% (5th)10.7% (7th)10.9% (6th)12.9%6February 14, 20179.1% (10th)10.9% (5th)10.6% (8th)11.1% (5th)12.9%7February 20, 20179.4% (10th)11.4% (5th)11.4% (5th)11.9% (5th)13.3%8February 21, 20179.4% (9th)10.9% (5th)11.5% (5th)12.1% (5th)14.0%9February 27, 201710.6% (7th)11.7% (5th)11.7% (5th)12.0% (5th)14.3%10February 28, 201711.4% (7th)11.9% (5th)12.5% (5th)13.4% (5th)15.2%11March 6, 20178.9% (12th)10.0% (5th)10.3% (8th)10.6% (6th)12.1%12March 7, 20179.5% (11th)10.5% (6th)10.5% (7th)10.5% (5th)12.0%13March 13, 20179.8% (10th)10.5% (6th)10.6% (7th)10.5% (5th)12.3%14March 14, 20179.7% (7th)10.5% (5th)10.4% (7th)10.3% (5th)11.0%15March 20, 20179.6% (12th)10.7% (7th)9.7% (7th)9.3% (9th)10.9%16March 21, 20178.9% (11th)9.7% (6th) (7th) (6th)17March 27, 201711.9% (7th)12.3% (5th)13.8% (5th)14.3% (5th)15.9%18March 28, 201712.3% (7th)13.1% (5th)13.9% (4th)14.8% (5th)16.3%19April 3, 201711.2% (7th)11.6% (5th)12.9% (5th)13.7% (5th)15.7%20April 4, 201712.8% (5th)14.1% (5th)12.5% (5th)12.6% (5th)15.7%21April 10, 201711.5% (7th)12.6% (5th)12.7% (5th)13.1% (5th)15.0%22April 11, 201712.5% (7th)13.8% (5th)13.0% (5th)13.1% (5th)15.7%23April 17, 2017 13.0% (5th)14.2% (5th)13.5% (5th)14.2% (5th)16.0%24April 18, 201713.0% (6th)14.2% (5th)13.3% (5th)14.0% (5th)15.6%25April 24, 201711.6% (7th)12.6% (5th)12.1% (5th)12.6% (5th)14.1%26April 25, 201711.6% (5th)12.8% (5th)12.4% (4th)12.7% (4th)14.3%27May 1, 201712.6% (5th)14.7% (4th)13.0% (5th)13.7% (4th)15.9%28May 8, 201713.3% (5th)15.4% (4th)12.3% (5th)12.4% (5th)15.8%29May 15, 201711.7% (7th)12.5% (5th)12.1% (6th)12.8% (5th)13.9%30May 16, 2017 (4th) (4th) (5th) (5th)Average
Episode 28 did not air on May 2 due to the broadcast of a presidential debate. Episode 29 did not air on May 9 due to news coverage of the presidential election.
Original soundtrack
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated Person Result Ref201710th Korea Drama Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) Kim Sang-joong Best Drama The Rebel Best Production Director Kim Jin-man Best Screenplay Hwang Jin-young Top Excellence Award, Actor Kim Ji-seok Top Excellence Award, Actress Lee Hanee Excellence Award, Actor Yoon Kyun-sang 1st The Seoul Awards Best Drama The Rebel Best Actor Yoon Kyun-sang Best Supporting Actor Kim Ji-seok Best Supporting Actress Lee Ha-nui ABU Prizes Commended PrizeThe Rebel Asian Television Awards Best Drama Series 36th MBC Drama Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) Kim Sang-joong Drama of the Year The Rebel Writer of the Year Hwang Jin-young Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Monday-Tuesday Drama Kim Sang-joong Yoon Kyun-sang Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Monday-Tuesday Drama Lee Hanee Excellence Award, Actress in a Monday-Tuesday Drama Chae Soo-bin Golden Acting Award, Actor in a Monday-Tuesday Drama Kim Byeong-ok Golden Acting Award, Actress in a Monday-Tuesday Drama Seo Yi-sook Popularity Award, Actor Yoon Kyun-sang Popularity Award, Actress Lee Hanee Best New Actor Kim Jung-hyun Best New Actress Lee Soo-min Best Young Actor Jung Soo-in Best Character Award, Fighting Spirit Acting Kim Sang-joong 2018 54th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actor Kim Sang-joong
References
External links The Rebel official MBC website