My picks for entertainment ~ suggested movies, TV shows, music, and books ~ so you can enjoy some quality ME time! (ATTN Korean drama addicts! This blog has lots of K-drama love.)
Masquerade (2012) is a Korean version of Mark Twain's "The Prince & The Pauper", only set in the Joseon Era. It WON Best Film-Movie of the Year. No surprise it a made into a series. The Crowned Clown (2019) has also enjoyed immense popularity worldwide.
King
Gwanghae swears that “somebody” or maybe “everybody” is out
to get him! He's convinced that a member of the royal court is
trying to poison him. Isn't that how they always get rid of members
of the royal family? The king comes up with a plan. Find a LOOK
ALIKE! Substitute the look-alike on the throne while he goes off to
hide somewhere. That way, the doppelganger who looks like him can get
murdered instead.
As
impossible as the task seems, the king's councilor finds a “twin”.
Initially, Ha-Sun tries to imitate the King Gwanghae speaks. It
works … for a while, although Queen
Heo Gyun
immediately suspects. After all, she is a wife, and the man who has
entered the bed chamber does not behave like her husband. There's no
way he's the king, i.e., the man she married. But??? … Who is he, and what is he doing in the palace? (O.o)
The
best-laid plans often go awry. While
King Gwanghae is hiding, he becomes gravely ill. That means Ha-Sun
has to continue pretending to be King. He finds it too difficult
pretending to be someone that he's not, and his true personality
emerges. He is nothing like King Gwanghae, and everybody notices the
difference. Even so, the king's enemies still want
to get rid of him.
Will
Ha-Sun end up dying in the king's place anyway?
♦
STORYLINE:
The Crowned Clown (2019)
This
is the
same story as
the movie “Masquerade”
with a few more details.
It tells
the story
Ha-Sun's childhood and how he became an entertainer. He worked with
a group of clowns
and they chose him to play the King during
their performances
because he looked so much like the real king. He
was spotted by the king's councilor during a performance and that was
the day his
life changed FOREVER! One of the best
things
that happened to him was
meeting and falling in love with the queen.
(6)
Mr. Queen (2020) A chef from modern-day Seoul falls off a hotel
balcony and into a pool. When he comes out of the water, he is in
the body of a queen during the Joseon Era. It seems that at that
moment a few hundred years ago, she had jumped into a lake because
she was trying to commit suicide. Somehow his soul entered her body.
He was in shock when he looked in the mirror and in even more shock
when he realized he had to sleep with the king! His first thought
was how to avoid the king's bed until he noticed the king didn't seem
to be interested in him … uuuhh? … her. So then he turned his
focus on how to get back to his time period and back in his own body.
Meanwhile
… he had to learn to live as the queen, which meant he was drawn
into all of the palace scheming, conniving, corruption, and
treachery. He had to learn the queen's friends and her enemies, and
how to get along with her father. The fun part of this
time-travel/body-swap misadventure was using his chef skills to
prepare dishes and win over the king’s enemies. Even though the
chef's identity and personality remain in her body, the queen’s
identity and personality gradually become dominant.
The
chef's memories get replaced with the queen's memories and the reason
she tried to commit suicide became clear. But by that time, the
romance between the king and the queen develops because the king also
understands her reason. The king was mistaken about her true
intention and her love for him. He believed she was part of her
family's corrupt plan for power. The queen learned the tragic story
of the king's childhood and that her father had knowledge of how his
family died. They became closer to each other and fell in love.
Their love story is beautiful and triumphant. Best time travel
romantic comedy ever!! [Where
to Watch]
Hong
Cheong-Gi is the main female character and also the name of a real
historical figure who was the only female painter accepted into the
Korean Royal Academy of Painting during the Joseon era. The leading
male character is Ha Ram. She is the divine painter and he is a
divine astrologer. They first meet as children; she is born blind
and he is a child with special power. The children get separated
because Ha Ram is chosen to participate in a rain ritual. On the day
he performs the ritual, he loses his eyesight and is possessed by a
demon. At the same exact
time, the blind girl gains her eyesight. When they grow up, they
meet again, and their bond of friendship is renewed and matures into
romantic love. However, their love and lives are endangered because
they are caught up in two webs: the political power games in the
human world AND the eternal power struggle of good versus evil in the
spirit world. This Viki Original series is a delightful historical
fantasy romance. [Where
to Watch]
(8)
Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist (2022) A royal physician who
works in
the palace and is called upon to treat members of the royal family
has such extraordinary medical skills, he is given the title “Divine
Acupuncturist”. But others hatched a plan to murder the king and
frame him. He is not aware that performing acupuncture would cause
the king's death. Consequently, he is accused of murder and thrown
into prison. The murderers hoped he would receive the death penalty
and their crime would be hidden. But the crown prince set him free
because he believed he was innocent and that he was also the only one
who could prove who had murdered the king.
He went
from working
as a royal physician to working in a village hospital. But he was
so traumatized that he could no longer perform acupuncture. He met a
young woman
and trained her to be an acupuncturist. When
she first saw him she had to talk him out of committing suicide.
When
he met her again, she a trying to commit suicide. Not only did he
have to treat her “heart”, he uncovered that she was a victim.
Her mother-in-law was trying to convince her to commit suicide so her
family would receive the Virtuous Widow
Honor.
The
royal physician who
was
no longer able to perform acupuncture started a new life and
developed a new
skill. The physician changed the way he treated patients by
diagnosing both their physical sickness and determining how to heal
their troubled minds. He became a “heart doctor” and he also
fell in love. This K-drama has 2 seasons. [Where
to Watch]
The
daughter of a nobleman owns
a guesthouse left to her by her father. In addition to being a
guesthouse, there are also secrets and romance. There are three
flower scholars are her guests.
One
is already paying for a room before the other two guests arrive. He
hopes to win the heart of the owner.
The
second guest came to town to take the civil service exam for martial
arts and hopes to become a member of the king's royal guard.
The
third guest has no money but he did try to help a damsel in
distress. Since the damsel is the owner
of the guesthouse, he arrives there and tells her she should repay
the debt by allowing him to stay there.
Two
of the scholars have a secret identity and are on a secret mission.
The owner
also has a secret and tells all of the guests they are not allowed to
go near the guestroom located at the back. It's haunted.
When
the owner was
a young girl, she protected a young boy who ran into her yard and hid
in the dog house. That boy was the crown prince but he did not tell
her his true identity. Thirteen years passed and one of the guests
is that prince and he' gong to fall in love with him. This is
a Viki Original series. [Where
to Watch]
(10)
Missing Crown Prince (2024)
A
royal physician was told that if his daughter married the crown
prince, he would die young and she would become a widow. His plan is
for his daughter to become the future crown princess so he kidnaps
the crown prince. They are both drugged and spend the night
together, lying side by side, technically making them a married
couple. He further plans to eliminate that crown prince and replace
him with another crown prince and get him to marry his daughter.
Before
he was kidnapped the crown prince was investigating her father. He
had information that proved he was having a secret affair with the
Queen Dowager and might be responsible for the death of a court maid
assigned to the queen dowager's palace.
The
best laid plan usually doesn't work out. The daughter wakes up and
helps the prince escape not knowing who he is. He also does not know
that she is the daughter of the royal physician he was investigating.
The other prince the father had hoped his daughter would marry was
very close to the crown prince. They grew up together and had a
strong bond. But that strong bond might be broken because both of
them fell in love with the royal physician's daughter. This K-drama
series is a spin-off of “Bossam:
Steal the Fate”,
another Viki Original which was released in 2021. This
is a Viki Original series. [Where
to Watch]
(1)
Dong Yi (2010) A true story: a real-life love story
between Dong Yi and King Sukjong. A concubine with a heart of gold,
who suggested to the king that there be a law preventing a concubine
from becoming queen (according to the TV series). She saw and
experienced the cruelty of the “palace flowers” toward each other
and the lengths they went to trying to eliminate their “competition”.
In the actual history of Joseon, the
strict Confucian social hierarchy and the established court protocols
did make it difficult for concubines to rise to the status of queen
consort. Dong Yi, who was the king's favorite concubine, was
elevated to the status of Royal Noble Consort Suk-bin and became the
mother of King Yeongjo. [Where
to Watch]
(2)
Shine or Go Crazy (2015)
Set
during the period BEFORE the Joseon Era when the country was called
Goryeo. Wang So is the Prince of Goryeo who is kicked out of the
palace because they believed he is cursed. When his future was read,
it was determined that he was born with both a light and fire,
meaning he will either shine bright like a star OR he'll be a crazy
man. Shin Yool is a princess from Balhae who survived her country's
destruction and is included in a prophecy concerning Wang So. The
prophecy said she would help a prince of Goryeo ascend to the throne
and become king. They met each other in a most unusual way. They
were both in a foreign country and she was trying to escape an
arranged marriage.
Wang So
was a random man she saw on the street and she persuaded him to
participate in a fake marriage. When they met she was living as a
successful businesswoman. She didn't know he was a prince and he
didn't know she was a princess. Separately, he returned to Goryeo
and she came to Goryeo later to do business. She recognizes him when
she sees him but he didn't recognize her. This time, not only did he
not know she was a princess; he didn't even know she was a woman.
Shin Yool disguised herself as a man because her gender would prevent
her from doing business in Goryeo. They met again and would fall in
love, neither realizing that their relationship a part of a prophecy.
“Shine or Go Crazy” is based on a novel of the same name.
[Where
to Watch]
(3)
100
Days My Prince (2018) Yul is a young prince befriends Yi
Seo, a nobleman's daughter and told her that he would marry her when
they grew up. Unfortunately, his weak-minded and wicked father
authorized the slaughter of her family because they were preventing
him from ascending to the throne. He bravely helped her and her
brother escape. His father became king and he became the crown
prince who forced into a loveless marriage because his father-in-law
wanted more power. His father-in-law even tried to assassinate him
because the crown prince was simply getting in the way of his power
plays. The assassination attempt failed but in the process Yul lost
his memories.
Yi Seo
had been adopted and raised by a loyal servant from her father;
household. There was a royal command that all of the spinsters in
the villages had to be married. Since her father knew that Yul had
amnesia, he told him that he a his daughter's fiancé and they were
to be married. Yi Seo was about to be flogged for disobeying the
royal command. Just like that! Yul had inadvertently married his
first love, the young girl he had promised to marry. Only they did
not recognize each other. This series is based on a webtoon. [Where
to Watch]
(4)
Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung (2019) During the Joseon era, women
were very limited in activities they could engage in freely. Goo
Hae-ryung's older brother who raised her had decided that it was time
for her to marry. He had out it off long enough. At the same time,
the king decided to authorize the hiring of female historians. It
was a first! There had never been female historians but there was a
critical need. It was not to ensure that history was properly
recorded. It was a way for the king and his corrupt officials to be
able to gain access to the areas in the palace where only women could
go.
The
king and one of his corrupt court officials wanted to snoop on the
queen, the queen dowager, the crown princess, the concubines, and any
and all women in the palace. They wanted a record of people who met
with the “flowers in the palace” and what they discussed.
Hiring female historians was the perfect solution to “their
problem”. Goo Hae-ryung believed being hired as a female historian
was the perfect solution to “her problem”, i.e. avoiding an
arranged marriage and remaining independent free-spirited woman. She
passed the test and became a part of the group of the first female
historians in Joseon. Once inside the palace she met and fell in
love with a prince. Their romantic relationship hit a few
roadblocks. There was no way to avoid the palace intrigue and
treacherous schemes. They had to find a way to overcome them.
[Where
to Watch]
Nok Du
is a prince who thought he was a commoner because his adopted father
kept his true identity a secret from him. Why? Because his own
father, the king, tried to kill him to thwart a shaman's prediction
of his future. Nok Du was content to be a commoner. He had a happy
home with his father and brother on a beautiful island with friendly
villagers. But one day female assassins showed up at his house. He
overpowered them so they tried to escape. Nok Du chased after them
and he was relentless in his pursuit. He followed the assassin into
a widows' village and … they beat him up and kicked him out!
Nok Du
needed to know why assassins showed up at his home and he knew the
assassin was in that village. There was only one way to get inside
that village. He dressed up like a woman and pretended to be a
widow. In the village, he met a young woman, Dong Dong Ju, who
dressed up like a man whenever she left the community. Dong Dong Ju
was not a widow, but the head of the village allowed her to stay
there. It was a safe haven for her because members of her noble
family had been killed. Dong Dong Ju was on a mission of revenge.
She
planned to kill the man responsible for the death of her family
members, i.e. king, Nok Du's father. They end up sharing a room
together in the village, and she learns he is a man. They fall in
love but it's gets complicated. [Where
to Watch]
"Queen
for Seven Days" is a Korean drama series released in 2017, with 20
episodes, categorized as Romance, historical period, sageuk, costume
and period; and streaming on Viki. It is based on a true Joseon
queen who only lasted on the throne for literally 7 days.
SUMMARY:
A dramatization of the life of Queen Dangyeong. TRUE STORY: Shin
Chae-kyung became Queen Dangyeong. She married Grand Prince Jinseong.
In 1506, when Prince Jinseong ascended to the throne, he became King
Jungjong and Shin Chae-kyung became the queen. Just seven days later,
she was deposed and expelled from the palace. Her father, Shin
Su-geun, was implicated in a coup against King Jungjong, which led to
her deposition. She remained deposed until her death in 1557. Her
title was posthumously restored, i.e. she was honored with the title
of Queen after her death.
♦
Based
on the True Story of Queen Dangyeong
In “Queen for Seven
Days”, Shin Chae-kyung is the daughter of the king's most
trusted official. That official is also a relative of the queen and
is well-connected in many ways. Even so, he did his best to hide his
daughter in the countryside and she doesn't know why. She thinks her
parents are ashamed of her. However, her parents were told a
prophecy. If their daughter married into the royal family, there
would be a bloodbath. Her mother and father believed that.
(Although, truth be told, during the Joseon Era, weren't there always
bloodbaths in the royal family?) Nevertheless, Shin Chae-kyung
overheard servants talking and saw that an important document was
supposed to be delivered to her father. She stole the document,
dressed up like a young boy, and traveled from the countryside to
Hangyang to visit her family's home. It would be a surprise!
Surprise? More like a SHOCK!
Before she finally
reached her home, she had a few misadventures.
First,
she accidentally met Grand
Prince Jinseong,
the boy who would become her husband and would also become the king and she would be his queen. Having never been to Hangyang or the palace, she was clueless and thought he was just a rude child of a nobleman who acted like a gangster.
Second, that important document that she was carrying to give to her father was stolen by a pickpocket. She wrongfully accused the grand prince of stealing it.
That misunderstanding led to more misunderstandings.
Third,
she thought she was chasing after the grand prince but crossed paths with the current king, the older brother of the grand prince instead. Once again, she was clueless, not realizing that she was interacting with her future brother-in-law.
By the time she finally
reached her home, her mother and father were meeting with the royal
family, discussing her marriage to the grand prince. She was
standing outside the door and could hear her parents making all kinds
of excuses
about why she was not a suitable match. The grand prince noticed
that someone was eavesdropping and when he pushed the door open, she
fell down. Her parents were shocked and yelled out her name in the
form of a question. “Chae-kyung????“ It was their turn
to be clueless. What
was their daughter doing in Hangyang? That was their question. Her
question was why were her parents saying such terrible things about
her? She was a suitable match for the grand prince and she was
going to prove it!
Shin Chae-kyung had no
idea about the prophecy. She also had no idea that the document she
was bringing to her father was the “secret order” of the late
king. It was that king's will that the grand prince ascend to the
throne. Grand Prince Jinseong was also clueless about these matters.
They were both innocents who had unintentionally walked directly
into a fire, a hotbed of treachery and treason, and a bloodbath. They
would eventually marry but Shin Chae-kyung would not survive?
If only that young innocent girl had remained hidden in the countryside and/or her parents had told her about the prophecy.
More importantly, if only the Joseon noblemen, government and court officials, and the royal family didn't always engage in politics based on treachery and treason!
Would
her history have been different? We
will never know.
Park
Min Young has had a loyal following
ever since “Healer”
but “Marry
My Huband” made her even more popular. Fans may want to visit or revisit some of her earlier work like “Queen for Seven
Days”.
“Tomorrow With You” is a 2017 drama series,
with 16 episodes, and can be categorized as Time Travel, Romance,
Comedy (Rom-Com) and Fantasy or Supernatural.
SUMMARY: Suppose you meet someone on one day and that chance meeting saved your life. Then on another day you see your lifeless body being a carried away and the lifeless body of the woman who saved your life is also being carried away. Since you have the ability to time travel, maybe you can go back and sever the relationship you have with her. That should be fix everything. Right? That might work IF ... the ability to travel through time also gives you the ability to change the future. But if it doesn't ...
Yoo
So-joon is a handsome, young and wealthy CEO. You could say he has
it all. What more could he ask for? Love? Well, that's obvious.
But what else? How about the ability to travel through time? That
wasn't exactly something that Yoo So-joon had on his wish list. But
one day while riding the subway train, he felt a terrible pain in his
head. The next thing he knew he was in a different time period. As
soon as he got off the train he met another time traveler. The time
traveler told him he'll have to get used to going back and forth
between past, present, and future. But the most important rule is to
never be in the same time period with yourself. He can't be with his
present self and his future self at the same time. That's bad!
OK!
Important safety tip! But guess what happened? Yoo So-joon saw his
dead body being carried away on a stretcher. There was also a woman
who had died and her name was Song Ma-Rin. Yoo So-joon wondered if
it was possible to change the outcome of this tragic event. He time
traveled again and it turns out he and Song Ma-Rin were married. In
another time period, he and Song Ma-Rin were both on the same train.
They got into an argument with each other and got off the train.
While they were still arguing, the train blew up! Yoo So-joon had
intended to stay on the train that day. If he had, he would have
died.
Somehow
the timelines of their lives were intertwined. In one period, she
saved his life. In another, they both died together.
Song
Ma-Rin is unaware that Yoo So-joon has already seen her future. She
is barely managing to live in the present because her past keeps
getting in the way. Song Ma-Rin used to be a child star but when she
grew up she did not pursue an acting career. The problem is
reporters keep writing articles about how she has not accomplished
anything since her fame as a child actress and this gets in the way
of her moving forward. When she met Yoo So-Joon he gave her this
advice: "Life is shorter than you think. You shouldn't be
hung up on the past.” He
could say that, since Yoo So-joon already knew her future.
Yoo
So-joon decided to traveled back in time to see if he could break
their connection. If he could somehow sever their relationship, they
wouldn't be together, they wouldn't fall in love and get married, and
they probably would not die in a terrible accident. But does
having the ability to time-travel also give you the ability to change
your future?
This
Kdrama series had mixed reviews. Some did not give high marks for
the acting or the script. Others said it was underrated and thought
the chemistry between the couple was great.
I
am always interested in how a scriptwriter will spin a
time travel fantasy / love story. In “Tomorrow
With You”:
The
female lead had a difficult time trying to get away from her past,
so that she could live productively in the present.
The
male lead was trying to get away from his grim future that had her
in it.
He
felt should she could easily fix her problem if she just wasn't hung
up on her past. Whereas the best way to fix his problem was to get
her out of his life, because she is the problem!
Kim Dan
is an angel who knows the rules of the heavenly realm. He must never
touch a human. If he does, he'll disappear, as in “cease to
exist”. He doesn't want that. He wants to go to heaven. But even
though he knew the rules, the female was badly injured and pleading
for someone to save her. Lee Seul-hwa was blind but she could hear
that someone was there at the accident and they were close enough to
help her. She used to be a prima ballerina, but while performing on
stage one night there was a terrible accident which resulted in her
losing her eyesight. People are afraid to be around her because she
is an angry, bitter, cold-hearted former ballet dancer who takes out
her frustration on everyone else, as if it's their fault. What is
even worse is that the Fantasia Ballet Company that her parents built
for her to inherit has almost been stolen from her by greedy
relatives.
So many
times Lee Seul-hwa had wanted to die. But now that she might
actually die, she's begging to live. Her pitiful pleas were too much
for Kim Dan and he yielded to temptation. He broke the rules and
touched a human to save her life. When Lee Seul-hwa woke up in the
hospital she could see! Meanwhile Kim Dan was getting ready to
receive his punishment. But wait! He didn't disappear! Why does he
still exist? It's true, he does exist, but no longer as an angel.
Now he is a human who is being given a chance to re-earn his wings.
This will be his last mission. If he fails he can forget about a
heavenly reward. What's the mission? LOVE. He must find true love
for Lee Seul-hwa. Even though she is no longer blind, she is still
disgruntled, angry and a terrifying person to be in the same room
with.
Lee
Seul-hwa has so many emotional scars. She is afraid to love because
all of the people she loved have died. Loving someone is too painful
so she avoids becoming vulnerable. Kim Dan starts trying to play
matchmaker, but starts to develop genuine feelings for her and
unintentionally creates a love triangle. This wasn't supposed to
happen. Aren't angels only supposed to love God? Will he be
punished for loving Lee Seul-hwa?
AWARDS:
This delightful Korean drama won several awards at the 2019 KBS
Drama Awards ceremony. Shin Hae-Sun won Top Excellence Award,
Actress. Kim Myung-Soo won Best New Actor and K-Drama Hallyu Star.
Together they won Best Couple Award.
Viu
Singapore. “Angel’s Last Mission: Love 단,
하나의
사랑 TRAILER
| INFINITE’S L, SHIN HYE SUN.” YouTube Video. YouTube,
May 23, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TSA7zVmmx0.
Fans of Jang Hyuk will enjoy this intense action-packed historical period Korean drama series.
Lee Dae-gil
(played by Jang
Hyuk) is the son of a noble family,
who fell in love with Kim Hye-Won (played by Lee
Da-Hae), a slave. Her brother destroyed
his master and everything he owned. He thought he had killed Lee
Dae-gil. The brother destroyed the slave ownership papers and
created a new life for himself and his sister.
Since Lee Dae-gil had lost his family's wealth, he became a slave hunter. Mainly, because he was searching for the woman he loved, assuming that she was still a slave on the run. He would capture slaves, collect the reward, and then help them escape again but this time to freedom. Lee Dae-gil is also hunting for Song Tae-Ha (played byOh Ji-Ho). He has been labeled as a slave but he is a brave and noble warrior who will one day reclaim his honor.
To continue establishing
his reputation and wealth, Hye-Won's brother arranges a marriage for
her. On the day of the wedding, she runs away. She is about to be
attacked by bandits but Tae-Ha rescues her. Their relationship grows
into romance, all the while she believes her first love, Lee Dae-gil,
has died. Eventually, Lee Dae-gil finds her but realizes that she in
now in a loving relationship with the man, the slave, he has been
hunting. From there …. (NO SPOILERS!)
Perfect
Marriage Revenge Could Easily Be Turned Into a Korean Soap Opera That
Could Go On and On and On and …
Perfect Marriage Revenge is a 2023 VIKI Original Korean Drama Series with 16 episodes. The scriptwriters should consider stretching it out to 160 episodes. Loaded with hostile family drama where the relatives dream up ways to plot evil against each other, and then spend their waking hours making their dreams a harsh reality. You pity the children born into their homes because they are raised to carry on with the family traditions of performing acts of malice. Without a doubt, Perfect Marriage Revenge could be the best Kdrama soap opera ever!
“Perfect
Marriage Revenge” is a romance/drama that tells the story of Han
Yi-Joo, a young girl who was adopted into a rich family but
never accepted as a part of the family. Meanwhile, her little sister
is showered with love and spoiled rotten. Yi-Joo is constantly
reminded by her “mother” who adopted her that she is “fake”
and her little sister is “real”. Meaning that she should be
thankful she was adopted and never try to receive all the wealth and
property that should go directly to her little sister. Growing up in
that home was hellish for Han Yi-Joo! Someone even tried to poison
her, but they failed.
Han
Yi-Joo was a gifted artist. No doubt she could use her God-given
talent and create her own wealth. Instead, her mother convinced her
to “copy” the originals of famous artists. Her mother told her
the copied paintings would be donated to orphanages as a charitable
donation. However, she sold them as “originals” to make money.
One day her mother's fraud was exposed. She told Yi-Joo to submit a
false confession and go to jail. Yi-Joo was so upset she jumped in
her car and drove off. Sadly she got into a car accident and almost
died. While hanging between life and death, she prayed for a second
chance. If she could only relive her life she would not make the
same ignorant and foolish mistakes.
Her
prayer was answered. Instead of waking up in a hospital bed,
she woke up in her own bed. When she checked the time she realized
that she had gone back one year in the past. She had been given a
second chance and now had the opportunity to change her past. But she
only had one year to accomplish this. She
overheard her little sister say that she wanted to get married to Seo
Do-Kook, a man who was one of the heirs to Taeja Group, a Korean
conglomerate. Han Yi-Joo made up her mind that getting Seo Do-Kook to
marry her would be the perfect marriage revenge.
MAIN
CHARACTERS:
Han
Yi-Joo (played by Jung Yoo-Min)
Seo
Do-Kook (played by Sung Hoon)
This
Viki Original Korean drama series is based on the webcomic
“Wanbyeokhan Gyeolhonui Jungseok”. But in my opinion, it was the
best soap opera ever!
King
the Land is a modernized Korean version of Cinderella, a fairy tale
written by Charles Perrault and published in 1697.
Cinderella
is Cheon Sa-Rang (played by Im Yoon-ah)
Prince
Charming is Gu Won (played by Lee Jun-ho)
Revisions to the Old Cinderella Fairy Tale
Instead of Cinderella having 2 wicked stepsisters, she had 2 BFFs (best friends forever) who always had her back. It was Prince Charming who had a wicked half-sister.
Instead of a fairy godmother, Cinderella has a wise, industrious, and generous grandmother who teaches her valuable work and life skills,
raises her to be independent, gives her good advice, and supports her endeavors.
It turns out that Cinderella and her 2 best friends all work for businesses owned by the King Group. The supervisors where the friends work, don't do anything to help them achieve success. Each supervisor acts like a wicked stepmother.
Initially,
Cinderella has a jerk for a boyfriend, but Prince Charming replaces him.
These
changes or revisions do not make the love story of this Cinderella and her Prince Charmin any less enchanting.
My
personal rating for this K-drama series is 8.4 out of 10 stars.
Treathyl Fox aka Cmoneyspinner – Home Business Entrepreneur. Think. Dream. Focus. Believe in yourself? Hire yourself! Be your own boss! Do it! Self-employed and loving it! ♦ DISCLOSURE: In compliance with FTC rules and guidelines, be advised that some links shared via this websites might contain affiliate referral links which means commissions might be earned if product sales resulted from your click-through to the vendor’s website.
