A Historical Epic: Korea-Khitan War
This drama was promoted as being based on true events and carefully researched. I was interested because I wanted to see some real history, and thought it was bound to be well done. Come along and see if it held up or if I took one for the team! So what is it all about? This is the story of a war of expansion by the Khitan. They were nomads who kept herds for most of the year, then went out on raids. Their first invasion of Goryeo had been in 993 when Seongjong was king, and it took about a year to push the invaders out. Goryeo occupied most of the Korean peninsula, but it was small compared to the Khitan teritory. That first invasion ended in an agreement that Goryeo would gain territory but pay tribute and that Khitan would approve all Goryeo kings. Goryeo also agreed to cut off relations with Song, but they didn’t. Episode 1 gives us a peek at the end of the drama, a huge battle. Although I …