It was a fixture of Korean TV ever since the late 70s, and it arguably became the spark that influenced all the 처녀귀신 (virgin ghost)-themed summer horror films. But the, well, legendary 전설의 고향 (Hometown of Legends) eventually fell prey to the constantly changing environment of Korean TV, and slowly disappeared along with the entire horror genre. There were tentatives to resurrect horror on TV, such as the hilariously campy 1994 Shim Eun-Ha "shocker" M, and a remake of the original "Legend" series in the late 90s, but they both didn't quite live up to expectations. If you want to get pedantic, the genre did resurrect on Cable TV in recent years, but it's mostly as an excuse to make quasi-softcore porn, with some scares thrown in the mix. Ironically, whereas the genre seems on its last legs on the film side, it's coming back to Korean TV after almost a decade, with the new Hometown of Legends.

It could feel like a little out of place in 2008, particularly as we're dealing with period dramas with a very traditional notion of horror (again, the virgin ghost, the goblin and the like), but it suddenly becomes interesting when you look at the cast & crew. The show is structured just like the old format: 8 self-contained stories, with different producers, writers, and cast. The most interesting of the 8 is certainly 구미호 (Fox with Nine Tails), produced by the insanely talented Kwak Jung-Hwan of last year's 한성별곡 正 (Conspiracy in the Court). Among the list you can also find PD Lee Jung-Seop of 쾌도 홍길동 (Hong Gil Dong). The real interesting point is the cast: for a relatively low-profile show like this, Hometown of Legends is full of sageuk veterans and interesting youngsters. Just to name a few, Choi Su-Jong of 대조영 (Dae Jo Young), Lee Deok-Hwa, Ahn Jae-Mo, Kim Ha-Eun of Conspiracy in the Court, Ahn Seok-Hwan, Park Ha-Seon, Song Ok-Sook, Kim Jin-Tae, and more.

Teaser trailer below the break is rather teasing (and kind of corny), but it's good to start. This might just become the surprise of the year, considering the talent involved. First story airs on August 6.