"I have read some unkind reviews of her character and her acting in this drama,"

Her acting was actually pretty good (sometimes very good, when she turned dark), but the character was not written well. (Almost none of the female characters were written well in this show.) This was also a problem with the original All In, though.

The overall show concept and story breakdown (esp. in the last 1/3, which itself was very, very good) could have been another Dolce Vita. It's not just another revenge drama, bits here and there really attempted to produce noir. However, due to the All In 2 billing, they added in all these All In-esque bits (esp. the weird trip to Africa), and so the story seemed kinda chopped salad. And the love story kinda died in the middle of the drama.

I ended up really enjoying Swallow the Sun though. If, nothing else, Jun Kwang Ryul was magnificent as President Jang. Unlike, say, Shin Tae Hwan of East of Eden or This Mishil of Queen Seon Duk, there's nothing campy or wink-wink at the audience. He's straight from an Isabelle Allende novel, a man full of sin and blood and appetites for power, but also a man with enormous capacity to love. And Yoo Oh Sung as Jackson was one helluva supporting character, while Ji Sung did an excellent with making stoic interesting.

The first half wasn't as good as I hoped. The 2nd half was much better than I thought.

I liked this drama, Actors who played Jang Min Ho, Kin Jung Woo, Jackson were great. Thank to them this drama was enjoyable.

Once the subtitles are all available, i'm gonna start this one. Can't wait to see Sung yuri.

(Spoiler Alert)

I just cant stand dramas that start of great with all this talk about about REVENGE then when it comes time to deliver. IT ends with the guy FORGIVING everyone HOW LAME. For once i want the guy to finish what he said he was gonna do. If your wondering no i did not see SWALLOW THE SUN and from my experience with revenge plot and JAVA Spoiler Alert i know what to expect.

@ MORE:
PLEAAAAASSSSE watch the drama, it's one of the best drama's I've ever watched...great acting, great plot, great turnovers...I'm not talking about one or two surprises...I'm talking about truly well-made plot....It's unfortunate the spoiler revealed a dash of the ending because trust me it doesn't really reveal much coz the 25 episodes that make up this drama are loaded with ups and downs that really make the ending make sense....and (spoiler alert!) revenge may not always be straight forward (end of spoiler) ....I wish you'd give it a chance! You have no idea what to expect...I don't want to talk too much about it so that if you watch it, you wouldn't be disappointed...but IT'S SO WORTH WATCHING!

As for me...I just finished watching the last episode...and I have to say what a great actor Jeon Kwang-ryeol (Jung-woo's father) is....I'd truly give him an Emmy...lol...I've never had a feeling of fear from a character before...and he served me well...I wish I could see him in movies that can boldly distinguish him as a talent...

As for Ji sung, I loved the calm tone of his voice...I loved his, sometimes puzzling, expressionless face...As someone who doesn't like fight scenes, I thought that was where he lacked a bit...but over all, he's as great as he was in the movie Fate...

I didn't really care much for Yuri...she was adequate and her acting was just what was needed...there were hardly any moments of true talent in her acting which may be because her character didn't require that much..I personally don't think I'd watch her in a romantic drama because she'd be so boring...I don't know but there's something in her facial expressions (although I admit....she's SO BEAUTIFUL) when she acts that just doesn't deliver!

About Lee Wan...I've read a comment made by one of the drama viewers saying: "The ugliest person I've ever seen"...now I don't see him ugly (one: Tae hee's bro DUHH...and two: I think he's fine)...but when I thought about how Lee Wan as an actor could impersonate his character so well that a viewer associated the "ugly" personality of his character to his "not so ugly" face, That's when I realized how good of an actor he is...and I hope he'd make more dramas of this type...

ahhhh, I've never done this before,,,,writing that long about a drama...but when I enjoy watching something I can't help but express it....it gives me sort of a feeling of appreciation for the cast and crew... :)

I liked Swallow theSun. It was very pretty to watch,and I liked the sound track. The male characters I thought were well done,especially President Jang ,Jung Woo & Jackson. I liked Jung Woos side kicks too they cracked me up.As for the women in this drama they were pretty much all annoying at one point or another. The character Sun Young in particular, that girl was just dumber than a sack of hair. I thought that this was a drama to watch for the relationships between the men. Maybe its just me because I do tend to like the darker characters, but I really felt sorry for President Jang at the end.

THANK YOU! Although kind of a backhanded mention I'm g;ad for some exposure for this excellent drama. I agree SYs character left much to be desired but her acting has continually improved and it"s good to see her try something less traditional. Anyways thanx JB!

I LIKE ALL THE ACTORS IN THIS DRAMA BUT I DON'T LIKE THE STORY I HATE ACTION DRAMA..SO SAD THAT THE RATING DIDN'T PAST THE 20%...BUT THEN IT ONLY A RATING AS LONG AS THE ACTORS ARE HAPPY ON WHAT THEY ARE PLAYING THEN THAT 'S IT DO IT..

hm...kinda random, but the guy in the first pic kinda looks like eric.

Quite new in this asian drama experience, and this is my first time to ever submit comments, but I just couldn't resist this time! I LOOOVVVED Swallow the Sun. Cheers and applause to Jun Kwang Ryul (had to look him up) as President Jang and Ji Sung as Jung Woo. These two were electrifying in their performances - subtle but deep. They were able to portray strength, courage, rage or pain, by simple, consistent movements and expressions.

This is not a shallow drama. It had lots of nuances and made you think. Yet there were elements of humor and sentimentality too. For instance, Jimmy!!! He cracked me up! I grinned everytime he's in the scene, even when he did something bad and was running for his life. He was so much fun! Impressed with Jackson too. Those were the more memorable characters. As to the women, I agree with the earlier comments, they were mostly secondary.

All in all, Swallow the Sun was a great experience. Thanks to all those who worked to bring the drama to the english speaking world. Much appreciated.

I couldnt really get into this drama, but I had no problem getting into All In

Yeah, one of the cool things about Choi Wan Kyu dramas is that he has a core group of sageuk heavies (such as Jun Kwang Ryul and Lee Jae Yong, who played Jung Woo's surrogate dad) who get cast again and again in his shows. So, for Swallow the Sun, you'll recognize quite a few of the Jumong cast in this show. I think half of the Buyeo kingdom showed up here!! :D

@theleenbean:

I KNOW! I was like...oh is Eric out already?! XD

Swallow the Sun was one of my most anticipated show this year, but the first half of the show killed it for me. Well I dropped it around ep7-8 and never went back. I thought the acting and directing are excellent. What got me bored was the story. I just knew that the rich guy is actually Ji Sung's character dad. The one who played the dad is also the king in Jumong and yes, he is one very very awesome actor. He has stage presence and charisma from Jumong that I didn't need to watch Swallow the Sun to know how good he is. I'm just disappointed that after all that hype, why couldn't they truly make an "All In 2" . From the start, All In was suspenseful and unpredictable ... but Swallow the Sun from the beginning was boring and very predictable plot. Or it could also be that I've watched too many Korean dramas since then.

@belleza: haha yup you're right half of the Buyeo baddies and Seo So No's 1st husband are in this show.

Drama can not good as all in 1of lee byung hun & song hye kyo But cast of Sung yuri , ji sung & lee wan So good. I think we can waiting many drama of them.
love SwALLOW THE SUN & YURI ,TOO

I'm yet to watch the final two episodes but I can already say that overall I liked this drama. (Minus the awkward English and sadly most of the female characters).

For instance, Jimmy!!! He cracked me up!

YES. Hong Seok-cheon! I love this gay guy!

@ 5 Sarah

LOL East of Eden AND Cain and abel killed it for me i just can watch another revenge driven drama. Im complexly traumatized maybe one day when im bored ill watch but for know no thanks.

I am still watching this drama on TV and sorry that I saw the spoiler. However, I will keep on watching. I like the cast except for the women. They are pretty weak and just fill in for some of the story.
I admire President Jang (well the actor!) I also liked Jackson very much. Have seen him often and he is one solid actor. I like Ji Sung and he is right when he says it was a turning point for him. Now he can prove he can do a tough serious role in the future. Not just a sweet happy face any more ...:-)
I enjoyed the Las Vegas scenes because I used to go there a lot for business affairs. Have not been there for years so it's nice to see it again. Loved the scenes in the desert and especially the Red Rock area.
Just seeing the episodes beginning the African section.

Peg

Lee Wan - The ugliest person - Hell No. My first Korean Drama I saw was the Tree of Happiness with Lee Wan, which is my favorite K-drama. I was so happy that Lee Wan was finally cast in a new drama. After seeing him in TOH I knew he has a great future as an actor. His acting ability has range from comedy (Snow White) to drama ( Stairway to Heaven & Tree of Happiness.) ..tissues please. Lee Wan has to be the most charismatic actor today. He has those eyes, facial expressions, and the voice that sends me in a spin. If you never seen him before STS Give yourself a treat and view the above dramas.

Now Ji Jung - love him to death.. I couldn't believe my two favorite actors were going to be in the same drama. Loved Ji Jung in Save The Last Dance For Me. and finally, what;s to say about the sexy villain Jun Kwan Ryul. what a great actor and it was a pleasure to watch him act with all the other actors.

I really enjoyed STS along with all the other character actors and especially the directing of the rescue mission of the boy in Africa. STS will certainly be on my best list of K Dramas.

have enjoyed the first 9eps of this show...probably because am a fan of action scenes...but after episode 9 have almost given up watching coz the story got so boooorrring....or maybe I just can't understand Jung Woo's desire for revenge for his father for abandoning him who doesn't even know his existence....but since am a big fan of Ji Sung I endured the series till the end and again got dissapointed with the ending. Though it gives me happy ending which I always look for in a drama I didn't like what they did to Tae Hyuk and Pres. Jang's characters in the end. And yes love all the male characters in this drama but hate all the women.

I was up to eps 8 and waiting for more subs to be available. My impression on this drama so far is not too bad. At least I'm still looking forward for more. I'm most interested in the relationship between Jang Min Ho (Jun Kwang Ryul, Tae Hyuk 's father) and Kim Jung Woo (Ji Sung) then the other 2 leads. I couldn't care less about Lee Wan, I don't think he's ugly, but he doesn't seem to fit well in the mix of Ji Sung and Sung Yu Ri to make a triangle love.

Lee Wan & Sung Yuri were not lead roles, they were not key characters, seems KDramas necessarily have to have a love triangel any how! Sung Yuri scenes were really boring and the actress had no ability to add some attractiveness to this boring character.
Instead, Jang Min Ho's character and Jun Kwang Ryul AMAZING talent makes this drama watch worthy! really enjoyed his performance.

good cast and good directing but a messy script...It would have been much better to have omited the irrelevant scequences (africa, Las Vegas, circus and...) and instead pay more attention to the main line and main characters...

#20 my mistake...My favorite drama of Lee Wan was Tree of Heaven...and not Tree of Happiness as I stated earlier.

is it me... or the first pic.. he looks like a younger version of eric!?!?!? YUM! lol

I haven't seen a k-drama as good as Swallow the Sun. I was captivated from the very first episode and followed through the very end. I loooove the character of Kim Jung-woo, Ji Sung did a superb job portraying this character, and I don't think anyone else can play it better. The characters of Jang Min Ho and Jackson are also applauded. I had a love/hate feeling for Jang Min Ho in this series, and I think he did a great job with his character.

Sung Yuri is very beautiful and I think she has a improved a lot on her acting. Keep up the good work!

I can't wait to see more series like this in the future. Totally worth my time, LOOOOVE IT!!

Definitely one of the better K-Dramas, superb production, script, cinematography, all were put together with skill and effectiveness that makes this such a high quality drama. A credit to all the actors, director, writers, editors and producers of this drama!

It would a great shame to overlook this drama!

Not to be missed!

i agree that sung yu ri improved her acting alot . in this drama, before i watch it , i think it will focus on a triangle love. however, the drama just focused on the revenge of ji sung and ji sung' s father. that why lee wan and sung yu ri look like not main characters. Also, i can see sung yu ri 's acting skills are great when she turned to dark because of her parent's death.
i think ji sung and ji sung' s father role are great actor because they are acting for a long time. i can say ji sung is a one of great actor of korea. However, sung yu ri is still great in soo huyn . she already has a good job in this drama. if you say her acting is boring, it 's not right because you must remember the character soo huyn is boring , not her .
in my opinion, she is a great actress of korean drama. i love her

i love this drama was able to finish it in two days

ji sung is very good so i watched his save the last dance for me after watching this drama... i found it good also

i have a new fave actor aside from bae yoon jung and kwon sang woo and joo ji hoon

I watched this drama because of ji sung. I do not really like the actress. Story wise is so so. I prefer the drama, Save the last dance for me, which I have seen it for the 3rd time and still do not feel boring. Ji sung and Eugene are the most matching actor and actress. Hope to see them acting together again as couple.

I actually have to disagree with you on this one jb. I personally thought the 1st episode kept me interested (and I usually hate the first few episodes from Kdramas cos they're so slow and draggy) but with every ongoing episode, it just kept me on the edge of my seat. I kept wanting to know what happened next and absolutely loved every minute.

Jung Kwan Ryul as President Jang was absolutely phenomenal as expected of such a remarkable veteran actor.
I've loved Ji Sung every since I saw him in All In and Save The Last Dance and must say he has improved quite a bit. He had me completely convinced of his role as Jung Woo. Great job!
Whoever is Sung Yuri's stylist did a great job here. The outfits were super chic! As for her acting, I will say that while I loved her in "Snow Queen," I was disappointed she didn't have much of a part in this drama. She seemed more like a supporting actress but I guess that's what the writers wanted to portray her as. Her acting was okay -- wasn't awful but I wasn't impressed either.
Lee Wan: I have seen him in Stairway to Heaven and Let's Go To The Beach before. He was cute in both but I wasn't ecstatic nor was I convinced of his role her. His acting fell short for me.

Man, I wish I could write about ALL of the characters because each actor definitely contributed to this drama and I had a love-hate relationship for each of them but this may take me all night. Anyway, I have just recently gotten back into dramas lately. I used to watch religiously but kind of stopped 2 years ago because of school/work whatnot. Hence I am writing this one year later. Just my thoughts but I would definitely recommend this drama to anyone. The one thing I would change is to shorten it to perhaps 20 or even 16 episodes. I am not a fan of long dramas (anything over 20 is long for me) but this actually wasn't that bad considering it didn't drag out much. :)

OMG i love swallow the sun!! CAsino scenes were awesome you know when some of the guys are banned because they are too smart to play!! everyone work hard so i'll give them credits!! FIGHTING!!!

The film is so interesting,exhilarating;I learnt a lot from dat film.The actors $ actresses gave in their best;pls kip it up.I encourage u to act more!I can't wait for ur next production.