The Slave Hunters
Poster
Also known asChuno
GenreAction
Historical
Drama
Developed byKBS Drama
Written byChun Sung-il
Directed byKwak Jung-hwan
StarringJang Hyuk
Oh Ji-ho
Lee Da-hae
Gong Hyung-jin
Lee Jong-hyuk
ComposerKim Jong Chun (김종천) Choi Chul Ho (최철호)
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes24
Production
Executive producerChoi Ji Young KBS
ProducersKi Min Soo
Kim Shin Il
Production locationSouth Korea
Running timeWednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 (KST) 70 min
Production companyChorokbaem Media
Original release
NetworkKorean Broadcasting System
ReleaseJanuary 6 (2010-01-06) –
March 25, 2010 (2010-03-25)
The Slave Hunters
Hangul
추노
Hanja
Revised RomanizationChuno
McCune–ReischauerCh'uno

The Slave Hunters (Korean: 추노; Hanja: 推奴; RR: Chuno) is a 2010 South Korean action historical drama set in the Joseon Dynasty about a slave hunter (played by Jang Hyuk) who is tracking down a general-turned-runaway slave (Oh Ji-ho) as well as searching for the woman he loves (Lee Da-hae).[1][2][3][4][5] It aired on KBS2 from January 6 to March 25, 2010 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 24 episodes.

An adequate display of muscular brawn, intricate yet gritty fight scenes, bawdy humor and eloquent moments of pathos and humanity made the series both visually and intellectually appealing to audiences. Critics gave special mention to director Kwak Jung-hwan's[6] lush cinematography, the use of a Red One camera giving each shot its theater-worthy luster.[7] The hit series topped the ratings chart for 7 consecutive weeks, averaging 31.7% and reaching a peak of 35.9%.[8][9][10][11]

In 2010, the series was honored at the Seoul International Drama Awards,[12][13][14][15] and the KBS Drama Awards (notably the highest prize Daesang for lead actor Jang Hyuk).[16] Jang also received a best actor nomination from the 2011 International Emmy Awards for his performance.[17][18]

Synopsis

Set during the Joseon Dynasty, The Slave Hunters follows the story of Lee Dae-gil, Song Tae-ha, and Kim Hye-won.

Lee Dae-gil is a man from a noble family, whose life is ruined by Keun-nom (큰놈이, literally "Big One"), a slave owned by Dae-gil's family. Because Keun-nom's sister Un-nyun and the young master Dae-gil are in love, Dae-gil's parents lock Un-nyun in a shed and leave her to die of dehydration. So Keun-nom burns down Dae-gil's house while rescuing her, then uses a sickle to slash Dae-gil's face. The house collapses shortly after, and Keun-nom and Un-nyun believe Dae-gil to be dead.

Keun-nom runs away with Un-nyun and eventually accumulates enough wealth to buy the Jokbo of a noble family to change his identity. Under his new identity as the member of the noble Kim family, he then changes his name to Kim Seong-hwan and his sister Un-nyun's name to Kim Hye-won.

Driven by his desire for revenge as well as his obsession/love for Un-nyun, Dae-gil endures ten harsh years on the street and makes his name as a slave hunter. Dae-gil carries a sketch of Un-nyun at all times and searches for her wherever he goes.

Song Tae-ha is a military general who has spent years serving Crown Prince Sohyeon, who was living in China as a political hostage after Joseon lost the war with the Qing Dynasty. Upon their release to Joseon, they find themselves embroiled in an even bigger political turmoil. The crown prince dies under suspicious circumstances shortly after returning to Joseon, the crown princess and two of his three young sons are also killed while the youngest son is exiled on Cheju island. Tae-ha is framed for stealing military rations and is demoted to a slave along with his loyal subordinates.

When Tae-ha learns that the exiled youngest son of the late prince, who he believes to be the only rightful heir to the crown, is in danger, he is determined to protect him and have him declared the new crown prince. He escapes forced labor and sets off his journey to Jeju island. Along the way, Tae-ha comes across Hye-won/Un-nyun, who is on the run from an arranged marriage to a powerful noble, and saves her from danger. Dae-gil is hired to capture Tae-ha and chases after him, who, unbeknownst to Dae-gil, is now traveling and starting a romantic relationship with the woman for whom he has been obsessively searching for ten years.[19][20]

Cast

Main

Supporting

Special appearances

Original soundtrack

The Slave Hunter OST
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
Recorded2010
GenreSoundtrack
LanguageKorean
LabelPony Canyon Korea
The Slave Hunter OST 1
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Change" (바꿔)Gloomy30s4:26
2."Stigma" (낙인)Yim Jae-beom4:46
3."The Moon has passed" (달에지다)Beige4:13
4."Minechan" (민초의난)MC Sniper3:22
5."Damned Love" (지독한사랑)WoongSan4:29
6."Chuno"Kim Jong Chun and Choi Chul Ho2:51
7."Akto"Kim Jong Chun and Choi Chul Ho4:46
8."Alive"Kim Jong Chun and Choi Chul Ho2:35
9."Black Wind Mountain"Kim Jong Chun and Choi Chul Ho2:32
10."Do not cry black"Kim Jong Chun and Choi Chul Ho3:58
11."Flower route"Kim Jong Chun and Choi Chul Ho2:58
12."Incense"Kim Jong Chun and Choi Chul Ho2:14
13."Lost Paradise"Kim Jong Chun and Choi Chul Ho3:10
14."Irrational interest"Flower star3:10
15."Wanted"Kim Jong Chun and Choi Chul Ho3:10
16."Yelling in the heaven"Kim Jong Chun and Choi Chul Ho2:11
The Slave Hunter OST 2
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Stray Child" (미아)JeA (Brown Eyed Girls)4:26

Ratings

Date Episode Nationwide Seoul
2010-01-06 1 22.9 (4th) 23.8 (3rd)
2010-01-07 2 24.8 (2nd) 25.3 (3rd)
2010-01-13 3 27.2 (2nd) 27.6 (3rd)
2010-01-14 4 30.8 (2nd) 31.4 (2nd)
2010-01-20 5 30.3 (2nd) 31.0 (1st)
2010-01-21 6 33.7 (1st) 34.9 (1st)
2010-01-27 7 31.6 (1st) 31.7 (1st)
2010-01-28 8 33.5 (1st) 34.3 (1st)
2010-02-03 9 34.6 (1st) 35.2 (1st)
2010-02-04 10 35.0 (1st) 35.8 (1st)
2010-02-10 11 32.5 (1st) 32.6 (1st)
2010-02-11 12 33.9 (1st) 34.0 (1st)
2010-02-17 13 32.5 (1st) 32.4 (1st)
2010-02-18 14 31.9 (1st) 31.7 (1st)
2010-02-24 15 31.9 (1st) 32.2 (1st)
2010-02-25 16 33.4 (1st) 33.6 (1st)
2010-03-03 17 31.6 (1st) 31.8 (1st)
2010-03-04 18 33.8 (1st) 33.8 (1st)
2010-03-10 19 33.5 (1st) 34.0 (1st)
2010-03-11 20 32.0 (1st) 31.5 (1st)
2010-03-17 21 31.2 (1st) 30.9 (1st)
2010-03-18 22 30.4 (1st) 29.6 (1st)
2010-03-24 23 32.8 (1st) 33.2 (1st)
2010-03-25 24 35.9 (1st) 36.3 (1st)
Average 31.7% 32.0%

Source: TNS Media Korea

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2010
46th Baeksang Arts Awards
 Best Drama The Slave Hunters Nominated
Best Actor Jang Hyuk Nominated
Best New Director Kwak Jung-hwan Nominated
Best Screenplay Chun Sung-il Won
5th Seoul International Drama Awards[14] Best Miniseries The Slave Hunters Won
Outstanding Korean Drama Prize Category: Grand Prize (Daesang) Won
Outstanding Korean Director Kwak Jung-hwan Won
Outstanding Korean Actor Jang Hyuk Won
3rd Korea Drama Awards
 Best Drama The Slave Hunters Won
Best Actor Jang Hyuk Won
Best Writer in a Miniseries Chun Sung-il Won
37th Korea Broadcasting Awards[33]
 Grand Prize (Daesang) The Slave Hunters Won
Best Short TV Drama Won
Best Director Kwak Jung-hwan Won
Best Screenplay Chun Sung-il Won
23rd Grimae Awards Grand Prize Kim Jae-hwan, Son Hyung-sik Won
Best Actor Jang Hyuk Won
KBS Drama Awards[16]
 Grand Prize (Daesang) Won
Top Excellence Award, Actor Nominated
Kim Kap-soo Won
Lee Jong-hyuk Nominated
Top Excellence Award, Actress Lee Da-hae Nominated
Excellence Award, Actor in a Mid-length Drama Oh Ji-ho Won
Excellence Award, Actress in a Mid-length Drama Lee Da-hae Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Sung Dong-il Won
Best Supporting Actress Jo Mi-ryung Nominated
Best New Actress Kim Ha-eun Nominated
Best Couple Award Jang Hyuk and Lee Da-hae Won
2011
International Emmy Awards[18]
 Best Performance by an Actor Jang Hyuk Nominated

See also

References

  1. ^ "PREVIEWS: 추노 (Slave Hunters)". Twitch Film. November 9, 2009. Archived from the original on November 17, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  2. ^ Yoon, Hee-seong (December 22, 2009). "PREVIEW: KBS TV series Chuno". 10Asia. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  3. ^ Oh, Jean (January 4, 2010). "Six dramas revamping 2010 lineup". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  4. ^ Kang, Myoung-seok (February 11, 2010). "A sneak peak into TV series The Slave Hunters". 10Asia. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  5. ^ Chung, Ah-young (March 9, 2010). "Fact vs. Fiction in Slave Hunters". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  6. ^ Cho, Ji-eun (December 31, 2010). "2010 10Asia's Awards: Drama & Director of the Year". 10Asia. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  7. ^ Oh, Jean (January 21, 2010). "KBS dominates prime time line-up". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  8. ^ Kim, Lynn (January 8, 2010). "TV series Chuno debuts with flying colors". 10Asia. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  9. ^ Kim, Lynn (January 15, 2010). "Chuno ratings storm ahead". 10Asia. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  10. ^ Hong, Lucia (January 22, 2010). "Slave Hunters continues to draw larger audience". 10Asia. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  11. ^ Hong, Lucia (February 26, 2010). "Slave Hunters maintains grip on Wednesday and Thursday nights". 10Asia. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  12. ^ Kim, Jessica (August 23, 2010). "Slave Hunters top 'Hallyu' content at Seoul Drama Awards". 10Asia. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  13. ^ Han, Sang-hee (August 24, 2010). "Drama fest to offer diversity". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  14. ^ a b Oh, Jean (September 12, 2010). "The Slave Hunters sweeps four honors". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  15. ^ "Outstanding Korean Drama Prize Category – Winners (2010)". Seoul International Drama Awards. Archived from the original on September 1, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  16. ^ a b Cho, Bum-ja (January 3, 2011). "Jang Hyuk scores top prize at KBS Drama Awards". 10Asia. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  17. ^ Kim, Yoon-mi (October 4, 2011). "Korea gets 2 International Emmy nominations". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  18. ^ a b Cho, Jae-eun (October 5, 2011). "Korea represented at Intl. Emmys". Korea Joongang Daily. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2012.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. ^ Kim, Jessica (January 7, 2010). "REVIEW: Premiere episode of KBS2 TV series Chuno". 10Asia. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  20. ^ Kang, Myoung-seok (March 30, 2010). "REVIEW: Final episode of The Slave Hunters". 10Asia. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  21. ^ Kang, Myoung-seok (March 11, 2010). "INTERVIEW: Actor Jang Hyuk – Part 1". 10Asia. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  22. ^ Kang, Myoung-seok (March 11, 2010). "INTERVIEW: Actor Jang Hyuk – Part 2". 10Asia. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  23. ^ Choi, Ji-eun (December 31, 2010). "2010 10Asia's Awards: Writer & Actor of the Year". 10Asia. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  24. ^ Kang, Hye-ran; Sung, So-young (February 18, 2010). "Rom-com Romeo takes tougher role: As a runaway slave, actor Oh Ji-ho wields a sword and bites into reptiles". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2012.((cite news)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. ^ Wee, Geun-woo (April 9, 2010). "INTERVIEW: Actor Oh Ji-ho – Part 1". 10Asia. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  26. ^ Wee, Geun-woo (April 9, 2010). "INTERVIEW: Actor Oh Ji-ho – Part 2". 10Asia. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  27. ^ Han, Sang-hee (January 5, 2010). "Heroines Line Up for Dramas in 2010". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  28. ^ "Lee Da-hae Has Big Plans After Slave Hunters Success". The Chosun Ilbo. April 10, 2010. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  29. ^ Choi, Ji-eun (May 28, 2010). "INTERVIEW: Han Jeong-su – Part 1". 10Asia. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  30. ^ Choi, Ji-eun (May 28, 2010). "INTERVIEW: Han Jeong-su – Part 2". 10Asia. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  31. ^ Choi, Ji-eun (January 19, 2010). "MY NAME IS: Kim Ji-suk". 10Asia. Archived from the original on December 25, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  32. ^ Yoon, Hee-seong (February 25, 2010). "MY NAME IS: Min Ji-ah". 10Asia. Archived from the original on January 9, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  33. ^ "The Slave Hunters, Best Program in 2010". KBS Global. September 9, 2010. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2014.

External links

Korea Drama Awards for Best Drama
Works by Chorokbaem Media
Categories