#lee geum

[watchlisting]

Haechi - 2019

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Jung Il Woo

Before I watched the drama "Haechi", I had not even heard of Jung Il Woo. I didn't know he was a famous actor in Korea who's known for his comedic acting skills. That his best friends from childhood are Lee Min Ho and Kim Bum. That he went into social service for his mandatory military duty because he was diagnosed with cerebral aneurysm. That he's actually born into a wealthy family.

I only found out about all of those things because I saw him in "Haechi" and I became curious as to who he was.

At first, I thought he looked too cheerful and KPop-idol cute to be able to pull off the role of Yeoning, Lee Geum, the dark horse prince who became one of Joseon's greatest kings in history. His photo in the Haechi drama page of Kissasian showed a young man with hair falling into his chinky eyes, flawless skin and a bright smile. I remember thinking to myself that here was another K-idol with possibly mediocre acting talents being thrust into a lead role in a major network drama, just for his eye candy value. I was very much interested in the premise of Haechi, but I was afraid of being totally disappointed because of the acting. So I was very happy to be proven wrong.

Jung Il Woo, the actor that I saw in “Haechi”, turned out to be very good. I was very much surprised with the skill and depth of his acting. The drama spans the time from when Yeoning was just a prince whom nobody really considered as a possible heir to the throne, until the time he becomes king. It shows his transition from a young man who deliberately lives a self-destructive life and has very little sense of self-worth, to a leader so singleminded in his focus, charismatic and self-assured that he manages to win not only the loyalty of his people, but the respect and trust of his political adversaries. It’s not an easy role to play because the actor needs to convincingly radiate the gravitas and demeanor of a ruler who’s confident about his role, yet at the same time switch into an attitude of self-doubt or even bashfulness in private. The role requires the actor to convincingly portray a man who is both self-assured yet vulnerable. Decisive yet unsure.

I must say Jung Il Woo did that and very splendidly too. He manages to convey so much with so little. There were many scenes where his eyes just did all the acting, showing a world of complex emotions with just a slight widening, or a very slight shift in their expression. Sometimes he just uses his hands. A slight twitch, a tremble. Or the tone of his voice. That’s why his scenes with the actor playing Minister Min Jin Heon were my favorites. That actor is a true veteran of nuanced acting. They played wonderfully against each other, one talented actor to another.

Jung Il Woo has made me not only sympathize but love the character of Yeoning. To me, he was Yeoning. And what’s amazing is that his role as Yeoning is light years away from his roles in his earlier works.

I hope to see him in other projects in the future. From what I’ve found out, his earlier projects were either your typical romcom, fantasy historical dramas, or melodrama. I hope his next projects will allow him to play more complex characters where he can showcase and even hone further his already considerable acting skills. I hope he does more films because then, he would have more artistic freedom.

For now, I’m just glad I discovered an actor who truly gives justice to his profession. His being easy on the eyes is just icing on the cake.

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Yeoning:  The Favored Son

In history, Prince Yeoning, Lee Geum, was said to be a favorite of his father.  It was said that King Sukjong was very proud of him and celebrated his marriage with much lavishness, something that was the subject of criticism against the king. Perhaps it’s not surprising that Sukjong loved and favored Yeoning among all his sons, despite the fact that his mother, Choi Suk-bin, was just an ordinary peasant girl.  It might have been precisely for this reason that Sukjong loved Yeoning very much, because being a peasant, it’s highly likely that the King made Choi Suk-bin his consort out of love than political alliances.  So Yeoning could very well have been borne out of his parents’ love. However, because Yeoning is the second prince and his mother being lowborn, the favors his father lavished on him was subject to examination and doubt among the nobles, especially those in the government.

In “Haechi”, this angle of Yeoning’s story was clearly portrayed in those few scenes he had with King Sukjong.  Since only the Crown Prince is allowed to live in the palace, Yeoning lives in a mansion somewhere in the capital, Hanyang. Hence, he seldom sees his father and practically lives his own life.  But despite the fact that they are not living on the same roof, it’s clear that Sukjong monitors his second son closely through others.  Everything he does, his escapades, his decadent lifestyle, is reported back to Sukjong.  

It’s a great tragedy of royal life in those times that princes who are not heirs apparent are more useless than lesser-ranking personages.  Noblemen had more value; they could serve in the government as ministers, or they could rule over their own jurisdiction (e.g. provinces, etc.).  On the other hand, these lesser princes are little more than symbols of the kingdom, pampered men who have very little value to the country in general.  They’re spares, kept in readiness just in case something happens to the crown prince. They’re not even allowed to involve themselves in government, because of fear that they might overthrow the king and usurp the throne.  Hence, their talents are often wasted.

This was Yeoning’s situation, and he was resigned to living a useless life, because not only was he just a second son, but his mother was lowborn. He had no value in terms of political alliances.  It was Yeoning’s great frustration, because he was a highly-gifted man, actually a prodigy. And it was also the frustration of King Sukjong, because he knew that of all his sons, Yeoning was the most intelligent and had the qualities of a king.  Yet Sukjong couldn’t very well depose his eldest son, Crown Prince Hwiso in favor of Yeoning, even with just cause, because the political ramifications of such a move would have been tremendous and Sukjong knew that.  

In the drama, the scenes between Sukjong and Yeoning are often tinged with great sadness and pain.  In those moments, Sukjong’s kingly façade breaks and all one sees is the heart of a father who loves his son very much and wishes the best for him.  Yet he remains a king, because he keeps Yeoning away from him, probably knowing this was the best way to protect his son from those who would want to harm him or use him for their own political agenda.  Yeoning, on the other hand, swings from a rebellious son to one who only wants to make his father proud.  

My heart especially broke in that scene when Sukjong told Yeoning that he was dying and asked him to try to show the world the kind of person that he knows his son to be.  Yeoning had walked away with tears in his eyes, calling the King “father” in his mind.  And then when Sukjong confronted Yeoning on his decision to have himself exiled because he’s not good for anything anyway, Sukjong was clearly crying as he watched his son walk away for the last time, asking Yeoning why he thinks he could not be king when in his father’s heart it should be him.  

If the incidents in this drama are truly based on history (or whatever can be deduced from the limited records of that time about the life of King Sukjong and his son, King Yeongjo), then I think Sukjong’s firm faith in his son’s ability to become a great king was a major factor in actually making Yeongjo one of Joseon’s greatest monarchs.  His belief in his son was a sort of blessing, a prophecy if you will, of the kind of greatness that Yeoning will achieve.        

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In the 2011 Korean drama “Dong Yi”, the story was told of a simple slave girl named Choi Dong Yi with whom King Sukjong fell in love.  She became his confidante and his friend and eventually became his most beloved consort.  She bore him several children, and despite her humble origins, one of her sons became king. This son’s name was Prince Yeoning, Lee Geum, who eventually became King Yeongjo.

The new drama “Haechi” that’s currently airing on SBS chronicles Yeoning’s life before he became King Yeongjo.  The story begins about a year before King Sukjong’s death, when Prince Yeoning is about twenty-five years old.  With the impending death of the current monarch, political factions within the government are starting to align themselves behind their chosen candidates.  Despite the fact that there is already a designated successor, Crown Prince Yi Yun, King Sukjong’s eldest son, the ministers and other high-ranking nobles are still pushing for their chosen candidates to become king.  This is because Yi Yun has been proven to be sterile, which is a very big no-no when it comes to a future monarch, as one of his main duties is to provide continuity and stability in the kingdom by begetting an heir.  

The nobles are choosing between Prince Yeon Ryeong, Lee Hwon, the King’s third son, and his cousin Prince Milpoong, Lee Tan.  The Noron faction, currently the majority party, is planning to support Milpoong, despite rumors of his violent temper and apparent madness.  On the other hand, the Sorons, the minority, are throwing their support behind Yeon Ryeong.  Amidst all the power struggle, there is Prince Yeoning, Lee Geum, the second son, whom nobody considers as an option at all.  That is, except for King Sukjong himself, who sees in his second son all the qualities that a wise and good king of Joseon should have.  However, to his dismay, Yeoning himself doesn’t seem to realize this.  

Despite being born a prodigy and the second prince, Yeoning is an outcast, both in the circles of royalty and nobility, and with the common folk.  This is because Yeoning is considered a lowborn prince (an oxymoron, if one thinks about it) his mother having been an ordinary water maid in the palace who was made a royal consort because she had won King Sukjong’s heart.  To the royals and the nobles, his blood is tainted, while to the common folk, he’s too high-ranking even though his mother was one of them.  Yeoning is neither here nor there, and this feeling of not belonging anywhere leads him into a life of decadence and apathy.

However, when his father the King speaks to him one night and openly tells him that he is dying and he sees in Yeoning the qualities that would make him a great king, his attitude starts to change.  And when Prince Yeon Ryeong, his half-brother whom he apparently cares for very much, is assasinated by Milpoong, and Sukjong dies shortly thereafter, Yeoning decides that he will now be part of the game for the throne.  (Yes, it is a pun intended, because this is exactly what the story of “Haechi” is all about). 

Yeoning decides that he will make his way to the top by fighting the injustice that he sees in Joseon society.  Along the way, he encounters a group of ordinary people:  Inspector Han Jeong-Suk of the Saheonbu (which is like the Office of the Inspector General), a morally upright man who inspires him into action, Inspector Han’s friend Park Mun Su, a nobleman (possibly not very high-ranking) who’s been trying for eleven years to pass the civil service exam to no avail, Mun Su’s friends Ah Bong and Jang Dal, Han’s subordinates in the Saheonbu, and Yeo Ji, a female inspector who’s an expert in languages and martial arts.  He also meets Dal Moon, a mysterious man who’s an expert in martial arts and swordfighting and knows a lot of information about everything that goes on in the capital.  Through them and with them, Yeoning discovers the reality of the lives of the people he will one day rule.    

The ending of this story is already determined, since in history Yeoning  became King Yeongjo and ruled Joseon for 52 years, the longest reigning monarch of the country.  But what’s interesting about the drama is that it will show the road that Yeoning had to travel to get to the throne: all the odds he had to defy, the battles he had to fight and win, the heartbreaking losses he had to endure and the sacrifices he had to make.    

Prince Yeoning is played by Jung Il Woo.  This is the first time I’ve ever seen him in a drama, though he seems to be very well-known and his acting quite well-commended.  He does turn in a very sincere and genuine performance as the underdog prince and future king.  And he does have the look and gravitas for it.  The other actors are not very familiar to me, although some of them I do recall having seen in other dramas.  The only other actor that I know who’s also in the drama is Go Ara, who plays Yeo Ji.  I’ve only ever seen her in “Hwarang” (and I didn’t really like how they developed her character in that one) but I like her in “Haechi”.  Interestingly enough, Yeo Ji wins Yeoning’s heart in the drama.  I’m not sure if Yeo Ji’s character is based on a real figure in Joseon history, though.  

In any case, I’m going to sit back and look forward to this drama.  I don’t really care that others don’t seem to appreciate it (ratings are not very high though not so low either).  I just hope the story arcs are developed well and the characters continue to become interesting and three-dimensional. 

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A Tale of Two Princes

Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Joseon, there was a prince who lived a useless life.  Although born a prince, everyone said he could not become king, because his mother was only one of the king’s concubines.  They looked down on him and treated him with disdain despite his royal status.  Then one day, he became crown prince and decided that he would fight against the corruption in the kingdom and change the lives of his people.  

This is actually the brief summary of two sageuks that I’m watching this year.  The first one is “Kingdom”, which stars Ju Ji Hoon.  It is the fictional account of Crown Prince Lee Chang.  The drama shows his fight against the deeply entrenched corruption in the government, and the challenges he faces in order to protect his position and his people.  The second one is “Haechi” starring Jung Il Woo, which is a fictionalized (as opposed to “fictional”) story of King Yeongjo’s years as Prince Yeoning, Lee Geum, shortly before he becomes Crown Prince and eventually ascends the throne.   He, too, fights against the corruption in the government and does his best to change the lives of his people.

The difference between “Kingdom” and “Haechi”, however, is the fact that in the former, the manifestation of corruption and greed is in the form of zombies. The latter has no supernatural or fantastical elements. However, the effects of such corruption on the people is shown as just as horrifying: parents sell their own children and children murder their masters in cold blood. 

 I realized as I was watching both dramas that Lee Chang has so much in common with Lee Geum. Both are princes born from concubines. Ridiculed and looked down on by royals and nobles alike. Not even considered an option as an heir to the throne despite their superior talents and intellect. Yet against all odds, they both become the crown prince who will lead their people and save their country from destruction. 

Perhaps the fictional Lee Chang was based on the real Lee Geum. I can’t wait to see how both dramas turn out. For “Haechi”, I’ll find out in a couple of weeks. In any case, I already know the ultimate outcome because Lee Geum did eventually become King Yeongjo and ruled for 52 years. As for Lee Chang, I’d have to wait until 2020 for the second season to find out if he manages to defeat his enemies and finally end the zombie plague to ascend the throne, or if he becomes a zombie as well and sacrifices himself to save his people.

On another note, the actors playing both princes are hitting all the right notes with their characters. It also helps a lot that they’re both tall and look extremely fetching in their silk robes with their swords. And they both have that level of gravitas that suits the weight of their position. I’m quite spoiled for good sageuks this year. 😊

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Yeoning...Yeo Ji...Cho Hong...and that little thing called "Chemistry"

There's been a bit of comment about who is better suited to be Prince Yeoning's love interest in "Haechi". Apart from his principal wife, Lady Seo (who doesn't count because they were married as children for political purposes and Yeoning clearly doesn't feel anything for her), there are two important females in his life in the story. There is Heo Cho Hong, the wineseller who became his loyal friend and confidant as well as court lady. And then there is Cheon Yeo Ji, the female investigator of the Saheonbu who fights alongside him and is among the small circle of his most trusted friends.

Both women are of the peasant class. Both are confident and independent. Both are smart and outspoken. Both care for Yeoning, though Cho Hong is more aware of her feelings than Yeo Ji. For all intents and purposes, they are on equal footing and have the same chances in winning his heart, notwithstanding the fact that Yeoning is already married and probably already even has one or two consorts.

Yet Yeoning feels only friendship and camaraderie for Cho Hong, the woman who's been his drinking buddy and sort of partner in crime when he was still living the life of an irresponsible prince. On the other hand, he is attracted to Yeo Ji from the moment he first laid eyes on her. It didn't matter that in their next meeting, she kicked him in the balls and effectively belittled his capability to fight.

The drama shows more scenes of Cho Hong interacting with Yeoning on a personal level, whereas with Yeo Ji, their discussions center around the political battles they have to fight, the enemies they have to face. From the onset, Cho Hong looks at him with love shining in her eyes, while Yeo Ji treats him like a buddy, a comrade-in-arms, or her liege lord. She is oblivious to how he feels (and how she feels) until that point when he holds her hand to tell her about the duties of a court lady.

Therein, I think, lies the problem. Yeo Ji is supposed to be the woman he will fall for, yet the writer and director didn't put in enough scenes of them talking or interacting on a more personal level. There are also no scenes of Yeo Ji's growing awareness of Yeoning as a man, and her own awareness of herself as a woman when she's with him. Except I guess for that scene when she was dressed in a kimono and wanted Yeoning's affirmation if she did look like a woman, but it was a case of "blink it and you'll miss it". Other than that, there is little of that sexual tension that should characterize their interactions.

On the other hand, Yeoning's interactions with Cho Hong are characterized by personal conversations and banter on the part of Cho Hong. She is very much aware that he's a prince, but she interacts with him as a woman to a man she likes. In their case, it is Yeoning who's oblivious. Or perhaps he's aware of her feelings but cares for her too much as a friend so he doesn't touch upon it to avoid embarrassing her.

To me, it's not so much a lack of chemistry between Yeoning and Yeo Ji but more a case of lack of build up. The writer and director seemed to have employed the usual drama trope of girl being oblivious to guy's feelings then suddenly realizing she's in love with him when she's threatened with its loss.

If they want the viewers to become emotionally invested in Yeoning and Yeo Ji's romance, they had better double up on the exposition in the last 8 episodes. The drama's already doing great on oyher fronts. It would be a shame if they drop the ball on this part of the story.

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His Majesty, King Yeongjo

In the last scene of the preview to Episode 22, His Majesty, King Yeongjo is shown wearing his armor and going out of the gates of the capital city.  He is about to meet the rebels who are marching into the capital, ready to defend his kingdom to the death if need be.  More than any other time, this is the moment when Yeongjo looks every inch the ruler of Joseon that he is.

If his father, King Sukjong, his older brother, King Gyeongjeong, and his younger brother Prince Yi Hwon, could see him now, they would weep out of pride and joy.  They had always known that Yi Geum was meant to be king, despite Geum’s own misgivings.  And his mother, Choi Suk-Bin, would probably be so proud of her son.  I doubt she ever imagined that she would be the consort of the King, much less bear him a son who will one day succeed him on the throne.

What’s beautiful about the way the story goes is how it shows Yi Geum’s growth.  When it started, he was a prince who deliberately led a self-destructive life and saw himself as unworthy.  And then he decided to fight for the throne, if only to spite those who looked down on him and to avenge Yi Hwon’s death.  Yet somewhere along the way, his motivations changed. He began to want to be king not just for his own sake, but for the sake of the people.  And he has decided to accept and embrace the pain and the loneliness that will go with the position.    

Gone is the man who wallowed in self-doubt, overlooking the fact that regardless of his mother’s peasant lineage, he is the son of King Sukjong, a royal prince, and the blood of kings flow in his veins just as surely as the blood of his people.  The man that stands before his people now is a man who knows that, despite everything, this is exactly where he’s meant to be, a man who seems to have finally made peace with his destiny.

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Because I haven't gotten over this drama yet and until I get the chance to distill my thoughts and emotions about it, it will never be over for me.

Especially on the matter of these two. So much that should have happened between them in the drama but never did. And those that did were so little and so limited that it only left me wanting for more.