Main cast •
Jung Il-woo - Iljimae, a hero who appears when the world needs justice.Although he is a handsome man with delicate features, he also has a strong sense of justice and chivalry. His first love dies tragically and after living an aimless life due to his broken heart, he meets Wol-hee, who is very similar to his first love. He becomes a legendary hero in the kingdom but his destiny is one of loneliness and heartbreak, making him a lonely and melancholy hero. •
Cha Jun-hwan - young Iljimae •
Yoon Jin-seo - Dal-yi / Wol-heeIljimae loves her for his entire life and she loves him back unconditionally. She is ahead of her times and displays a strong, charismatic personality and a burning defiance against evil people. She takes control of her destiny but in Iljimae's presence, she turns into a shy woman. •
Kim Min-jong - Koo Ja-myung, underneath his charismatic demeanor he has a sad past.A sharp thinker, he rises through the ranks in the government as he distinguishes himself as a capable investigator. He falls in love with Baek-mae, Iljimae's mother, at first sight and continues to love her for his entire life. Guilt-ridden for compromising his principles by helping Iljimae escape from prison, he committed suicide. •
Jung Hye-young - Baek-mae, Iljimae's motherShe was defiled by her master, a noble, and after giving birth, her baby was taken away from her. Then she was banished from the nobleman's household and for most of her life, she yearns to be reunited with her son Iljimae. She throws away the jewelry that her master gave her to buy her silence and becomes a
gisaeng. Though she is from the servant class, she learns how to read and write by watching the privileged children learn the alphabet. She writes poetry. She has inner beauty as well as beautiful looks. Though she sets strict limits on what she will tolerate in a relationship or friendship, she has a warm heart but keeps that side of her under wraps most of the time. She comminted suicide upon hearing that her son had been sentenced to death. Unbeknownst to her, Iljimae has escaped with the help of Ja-myung, but he arrived too late to stop her.
Supporting cast •
Kang Nam-gil as Bae Seon-dal •
Park Geun-hyung as
Kim Ja-jeom •
O Yeong-su as Monk Yeol-gong •
Lee Kye-in as Jeol Chi •
Lee Hyun-woo as Cha-dol • Jeon Soo-yeon as Soo-ryun •
Park Chul-min as Wang Hyoeng-bo •
Lee Ki-young as Park Bi-soo • Lee Jung-yong as Yang-po • Kim Yoo-hyun as Princess Mo-ran • Moon Heo-won as Shim Chan-kyu • Baek In-cheol as Son Seok-joo • Kwak Min-suk as Kim Ja-jeom's servant • Jeong In-taek as Choi Se-woon • Yeo Min-joo as Choi Kyung-ok • Seo Hye-won as Choon-wol •
Jung Dong-hwan as
Choe Myeong-gil •
Harisu as Ki Seon-nyeo •
Park Hyuk-kwon as Lee Myung •
Cha Jun-hwan as Young-yi, Iljimae's son •
Lee Ga-hyun as Bong-hee • Jeon Hae-ryong
Special appearances • Lee Young-hoo as Princess Mo-ran's father •
Chun Ho-jin as
Hong Taiji •
Maeng Sang-hoon as Iljimae's adoptive father • Lee Ho-jae as Kim Joong-hwan, Iljimae's biological father •
Jung Joon as Kim Joon-seo, Iljimae's stepbrother •
Kang Shin-il as Kang Se-wook •
Jung Sung-il as Kotaro •
Sandara Park as Rie • Park Chan-hwan as Rie's father •
Yoon Yoo-sun as Rie's mother •
Hwang Jang-lee as Miyamoto Musashi •
Lee Do-yeop •
Oh Chang-seok ==Episode ratings==