Diary of a Night Watchman

Diary of a Night Watchman[1] (Korean: 야경꾼 일지; RR: Yagyeongkkun Ilji; lit. Night Watchman's Journal) is a 2014 South Korean television series starring Jung Il-woo, Ko Sung-hee, Jung Yun-ho and Seo Yea-ji.[2] It aired on MBC from August 4 to October 21, 2014 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 for 24 episodes.[3][4]

Diary of a Night Watchman
Promotional poster
Also known as
  • The Night Watchman's Journal
  • The Records of a Night Watchman
  • The Night Watchman
  • Night Shift of the Joseon Police
  • Night Rangers' Tale
Genre
Written byYoo Dong-yoon
Directed byLee Joo-hwan
Starring
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes24
Production
Production companyRaemongraein
Release
Original networkMBC TV
Original releaseAugust 4 (2014-08-04) –
October 21, 2014 (2014-10-21)

Plot

Prince Rin found himself orphan when his father the king, under a spell, killed the queen and then committed suicide. Considered unsuitable for the throne, the child prince was sent away from the palace and his older half-brother Gi-san, son of a concubine, was crowned the new king of Joseon.

Twelve years later, Rin , now grown up, spends his days between fun and amorous encounters, hiding the loneliness he feels and his ability to see ghosts, acquired after escaping the attack of a spirit when he was a child. One day, Rin meets Do-ha, a young shaman from Mount Baekdu searching for her older sister. Besides Do-ha, a Taoist priest, Sadam, arrives in Hanyang, chosen by the king to expel an evil spirit that haunts him, actually a result of the sovereign's madness. Twelve years before, as the head of the Yongshin tribe, Sadam was able to revive the dragon god that his people worshiped, seeing it defeated and turned into a statue shortly after by the king, who secretly brought the artifact to the palace and hid it in the basement: therefore, Sadam's goal is to find the statue and to resurrect the dragon god exploiting the negative energy of evil spirits. For this purpose, Sadam convinces the king to reopen a door sealed long ago to prevent resentful ghosts to enter, and the town is again haunted.

Upon learning Sadam's plan, Rin decides to revive the Night Watchmen, a group of soldiers that, at the time of his father, faced monsters and spirits, but were killed with the advent of the new king: by his side there are Do-ha, with whom he falls in love, Kang Moo-seok, a swordsman who initially doesn't believe in the supernatural, and Jo Sang-heon, the former captain of the Night Watchmen. While the battle against Sadam rages, Rin also brings to light the truth behind the death of his parents.

Cast

Main characters
The "bad boy" legitimate heir to the throne who rejects his wealth and honor to live a rebellious life. When Lin gains the ability to see ghosts, he becomes a night watchman. In chasing ghosts and experiencing the plight of citizens firsthand, he eventually learns to be a good prince.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
She is imbued with supernatural energy from Mt. Baekdu and can communicate with nature. Her older sister is Yeon-ha.[12]
  • Jung Yun-ho as Kang Moo-seok
    • Yoo Seung-yong as young Kang Moo-seok
A night watchman who is a cold-hearted man of few words but popular with the ladies.[13][14][15][16][17]
  • Seo Yea-ji as Park Soo-ryeon
    • Kang Joo-eun as young Park Soo-ryeon
A young noblewoman who will stop at nothing to become the crown prince's bride. She is the daughter of the Prime Minister and Moo-seok's cousin.

Supporting characters
Head of the Night Watchmen crew.
An illegitimate prince who challenges his younger brother Lee Rin for power and makes a political play for the throne. Capricious and vile, he often sees another self who accuses him of being inadequate as king, and instills doubts about the loyalty of his subjects.
A psychic who worships a serpent monster deep in the heart of Mt. Baekdu. The serpent monster, an imugi, is a mythological creature that starts out as a giant serpent and amasses power to become a dragon. Sadam tries to raise the dormant imugi and harness its power to take over the world.
The ambitious Prime Minister, he is the mastermind behind queen Min's death.
Former Prime Minister, killed by Park Soo-jong. He watches over Lee Rin as a ghost.
  • Lee Se-chang as Eunuch Song
A eunuch who was in charge of Lee Rin before he was killed by king Haejong. He watches over Lee Rin as a ghost.
  • Kang Ji-woo as Rang
A ghost girl who watches over Lee Rin. Later revealed as Queen Min.
Rin and Gi-san's grandmother.
  • Moon Bo-ryung as Mo Yeon-wol
A merchant who helps Sadam.
  • Jung Woo-sik as Ho-jo
Sadam's servant.
Owner of an inn, she's in love with Sang-heon.
A waitress at Ok-mae's inn.
  • Ahn Jung-hoon as Mr. Chun
He works at Ok-mae's inn.
  • Jo Dal-hwan as Maeng Sa-kong
Sang-heon's friend, he once was a Night Watchman and is in love with Ok-mae.
Moo-seok's younger sister, she died of smallpox.
Moo-seok's friend.

Guest/cameo appearances
Do-ha's older sister and a shaman. She fell in love with king Haejong and offered her soul to Sadam in exchange for the king's heart, becoming the reason why he turned evil. Sadam embodied her soul in the corpse of a woman, who became Mo Yeon-wol.
In his youth, he was once a legendary hero of the people after he and his fellow night watchmen defeated an imugi in Mt. Baekdu. In his days as a warrior, he saves a woman who preserves the energy of Mt. Baekdu, and she falls in love with him at first sight. Haejong is a good king and father to his sons, but the ghost-seeing gift-curse eventually turns him into an evil tyrant.
  • Song Yi-woo as Queen Min
Rin's mother.
  • Jeon Hye-young as Sa-wol
Soo-ryeon's maid.
Spy woman, appeared in episode 8.
Do-ha's spiritual mother.
A gisaeng, all her customers are mysteriously killed.
  • Kim Kyul as Ghost of unmarried bachelor
A student who loved Mae-hyang, he died without being able to confess his feelings and now kills Mae-hyang's customers.

Ratings
Ep. Original broadcast date Average audience share
TNmS[18] AGB Nielsen[19]
Nationwide Seoul Nationwide Seoul
1 August 4, 2014 11.8% 14.4% 10.9% 12.1%
2 August 5, 2014 11.5% 14.3% 10.8% 11.7%
3 August 11, 2014 11.2% 13.3% 11.0% 11.7%
4 August 12, 2014 12.1% 14.8% 11.3% 12.1%
5 August 18, 2014 12.0% 14.3% 12.1% 13.4%
6 August 19, 2014 13.3% 16.7% 12.7% 14.3%
7 August 25, 2014 12.3% 15.1% 12.2% 13.2%
8 August 26, 2014 12.6% 15.0% 12.1% 13.0%
9 September 2, 2014 11.3% 13.7% 12.1% 13.9%
10 September 2, 2014 8.5% 10.5% 8.6% 9.8%
11 September 8, 2014 10.3% 12.8% 9.6% 10.4%
12 September 9, 2014 12.1% 14.7% 11.6% 12.9%
13 September 15, 2014 10.9% 13.3% 11.3% 13.5%
14 September 16, 2014 12.1% 14.6% 12.2% 14.2%
15 September 22, 2014 10.4% 12.5% 10.3% 11.3%
16 September 23, 2014 10.3% 12.2% 9.5% 10.0%
17 September 29, 2014 10.1% 13.6% 10.5% 11.9%
18 September 30, 2014 9.7% 12.2% 10.2% 10.9%
19 October 6, 2014 9.9% 12.6% 9.3% 10.3%
20 October 7, 2014 10.5% 13.4% 9.7% 10.6%
21 October 13, 2014 9.9% 12.6% 9.3% 10.2%
22 October 14, 2014 10.8% 13.2% 11.5% 12.2%
23 October 20, 2014 9.1% 11.0% 11.5% 12.8%
24 October 21, 2014 11.7% 14.6% 12.5% 14.2%
Average11.0%13.6%11.0%12.1%

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Recipient Result
2014
MBC Drama Awards
 Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama Jung Il-woo Won
Excellence Award, Actor in a Special Project Drama U-Know Yunho Nominated
Best New Actress Ko Sung-hee Won
Seo Yea-ji Nominated
Best Couple Award Jung Il-woo and Ko Sung-hee Nominated

International broadcast

It began airing in Japan on cable channel KNTV on December 14, 2014.[20]

It began airing in Thailand on PPTV on March 29, 2015, dubbed as Asawin Rattikal. ("อัศวินรัตติกาล", literally: The Dark Knight).[21]

References
  1. "Diary of a Night Watchman". MBC Global Media. MBC&iMBC. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  2. "Jung Il-woo, Jung Yun-ho beam in The Night Watchman posters". The Korea Herald. July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  3. Lee, Min-ji (June 12, 2014). "The Night Watchman's Journal Holds First Script Reading". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on June 15, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  4. Park, Ah-reum (July 11, 2014). "The Night Watchman's Journal Releases Character Stills for Jung Il Woo and TVXQ's U-Know Yunho". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  5. Ha, Soo-jung (May 26, 2014). "Jung Il Woo Cast as Lead in The Night Watchman's Journal". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  6. Chung, Joo-won (May 26, 2014). "Jung Il-woo to play ghostbuster prince in Night Rangers' Tale". The Korea Herald. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  7. Chung, Joo-won (July 29, 2014). "Jung Il-woo reveals passion for Yi Lin and global fans". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  8. Jeong, Jee-won (November 8, 2014). "Interview: Jung Il Woo Says His BFF Lee Min Ho Rarely Goes Out". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  9. Jeong, Jee-won (November 8, 2014). "Interview: Son Ye Jin Asked Jung Il Woo to Act with Her After Appearing on Infinity Challenge". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on November 21, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  10. Ko, Hong-ju (November 9, 2014). "Interview: Actor Jung Il Woo Talks Taking Lead through His Third Sageuk". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on November 22, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  11. Kim, Yeon-ji; Kim, Hyung-eun (November 13, 2014). "Jung ready to move on from Watchman". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  12. Ko, Hong-ju (November 1, 2014). "Interview: Ko Sung Hee Shares on Growing through The Night Watchman's Journal". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  13. Hong, Grace Danbi (May 27, 2014). "TVXQ's Yunho cast in The Night Watchman's Journal with Jung Il Woo". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  14. Kim, Hee-eun (May 28, 2014). "Jung Yun-ho heads to Joseon". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  15. Kim, Min-jin (July 25, 2014). "Jung Yun-ho devotes himself in sword practice for The Night Watchman". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  16. Kim, Min-jin (July 28, 2014). "Jung Yun-ho says 'sword scenes are scary'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  17. Chung, Joo-won (July 30, 2014). "TVXQ's Yun-ho eager to show Korea in The Night Watchman". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  18. "TNmS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNmS Ratings (in Korean). Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  19. "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  20. "Ｋｎｔｖ ドラマ 夜警日誌(原題)". Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  21. "The Night Watchman อัศวินรัตติกาล – ซีรีย์เกาหลี". korea.tlcthai.com (in Thai). September 2, 2015.
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