The King and I (TV series)
| The King and I | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Yoo Dong-yoon |
| Directed by |
Kim Jae-hyung Lee Jong-soo Son Jae-sung |
| Starring |
Oh Man-seok Ku Hye-sun Go Joo-won |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| No. of episodes | 63 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Yoon Young-mook |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 (KST) |
| Production company(s) | Olive9 |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Seoul Broadcasting System |
| Original run | August 27, 2007 – April 1, 2008 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Catching Up with Gangnam Moms |
| Followed by | Saranghae |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| The King and I | |
| Hangul | 왕과 나 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 王과 나 |
| Revised Romanization | Wanggwa Na |
| McCune–Reischauer | Wang'gwa Na |
The King and I (Hangul: 왕과 나; hanja: 王과 나; RR: Wanggwa Na) is a South Korean historical drama series that aired on SBS from August 27, 2007 to April 1, 2008 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55.[1][2] Starring Oh Man-seok, Ku Hye-sun and Go Joo-won, the series was moderately successful, with its ratings peak at 20%.
Plot
The King and I revolves around the life of Kim Cheo-sun, considered the best eunuch attendant who lived during the Joseon Dynasty.[3]
Cheo-sun secretly loves his childhood friend So-hwa, but he cannot confess his love because of their difference in social class. Eventually, when So-hwa becomes betrothed to King Seongjong, he castrates himself and enters the palace as a eunuch, determined to watch over her and protect her.
Initially the King's second concubine, So-hwa later becomes the Queen Jeheon. But she becomes a pawn of the intense strife among warring political factions, and is stripped of her title and cast out of the palace in disgrace. Despite Cheo-sun's attempts to help her, she is sentenced to death. Cheo-sun carries out his orders by handing her the bowlful of poison, as he watches the woman he's loved all his life die before his eyes.[4] After her death, he looks after her son, Prince Yeonsan.
Cast
Main characters
- Oh Man-seok as Kim Cheo-sun
- Joo Min-soo as young Cheo-sun
- Ku Hye-sun as Yoon So-hwa, later Queen Jeheon
- Park Bo-young as young So-hwa
- Go Joo-won as King Seongjong
- Yoo Seung-ho as young Jaeulsangun (later Seongjong)
- Jun Kwang-ryul as Jo Chi-gyeom, head of the eunuchs
- Yang Mi-kyung as Queen Jeonghui, Seongjong's grandmother
- Jeon In-hwa as Queen Insoo (Sohye), Seongjong's mother
- Ahn Jae-mo as Jung Han-soo, a eunuch
- Baek Seung-do as young Han-soo
- Jeon Hye-bin as Seol-young, Chi-gyeom's adoptive sister
- Lee Jin as Queen Jeonghyeon
Supporting characters
- Shin Goo as Noh Nae-shi, Chi-gyeom's adoptive father / former eunuch
- Kim Soo-mi as Old woman So-gwi, in charge of discipline at the eunuch training house
- Yoon Yoo-sun as Wol-hwa, Cheo-sun's foster mother / Soginopa's daughter)
- Kang Nam-gil as Choi Cham-bong, eunuch trainer
- Jung Tae-woo as Prince Yeonsan, King Seongjong and Queen Jeheon's son
- Jung Yoon-suk as Yi Yung, later Yeonsan
- Kim Sa-rang as Eoudong
Extended cast
- Yang Jung-a as Lady Oh, Cheo-sun's mother
- Lee Il-jae as Kim Ja-myung, Cheo-sun's father
- Sunwoo Jae-duk as Yoon Ki-kyun, So-hwa's father
- Choi Jung-won as Lady Shin, Ki-kyun's wife
- Han Da-min as Queen Gonghye
- Kim Hee-jung as young Gonghye
- Han So-jung as Royal Lady Um
- Yoon Hye-kyung as Lady Eom Gwi-in
- Ahn Gil-kang as Kae Do-chi
- Kim Jung-min as Beo Deul-yi
- Jo Jung-eun as young Deul-yi
- Kim Da-hyun as Choi Ja-chi
- Yoo Tae-woong as young Ja-chi
- Kang In-hyung as Moon So-woon
- Jeon Ha-eun as young So-woon
- Kim Ha-kyun as Jang Soon-moo
- Kim Myung-soo as Yang Sung-yoon
- Han Jung-soo as Do Geum-pyo
- Kim So-hyun as Lady Jung, Ji-gyeom's wife
- Kim Byung-se as King Sejo
- Yoo Dong-hyuk as King Yejong
- Kim Jong-gyul as Han Myung-hoi
- Kim Young-joon as Hong Gwi-nam
- Shin Tae-hoon as young Gwi-nam
- Kang Jae as Kim Ja-won
- Choi Soo-han as young Ja-won
- Lee Gun-joo as Song Gye-nam
- Maeung Chang-min as young Gye-nam
- Lee Sang-won as Shim Ki-soo
- Park Ha-sun as Pye Bi-shin, Yeonsan's wife
- Kim Hyuk as Park Deok-hu, So-hwa's first love
- Jung Eun-chan as Yoon Ki-hyun, So-hwa's older brother
- Ho Hyo-hoon as young Ki-hyun
- Lee Young-eun as palace member
- Kim Yong-heon as Eom Nae-kwan
- Kim Byung-choon as Yang Sung-yeon
- Park Dong-bin as Goo Sung-gun
- Choi Ha-na as Hong Bi
- Lee Ji-oh as the Crown Prince, Yeonsan's son
- Jun Hyun-ah as court lady Kam-chul
- Oh Soo-min as Jang Nok-su
- Nam Hyun-joo as Han-soo's mother
- Jung Ki-sung as Jogeobi
- Song Young-gyu as Lee Ki
- Shin Soo-jung as Hoo Koong
- Seol Ji-yoon as Court Lady Kim
- Jung So-young
- Kang Soo-han
- Noh Young-hak as Grand Prince Jinseong
- Jun Tae-soo as Han Chi-geun
Production
Park Sang-min was originally cast as King Seongjong, but had to back out. He was replaced by Go Joo-won.
Yeo Woon-kye was supposed to portray Old Woman So-gwi but had to quit due to health reasons, even though she had already filmed a few episodes. Her replacement was Kim Soo-mi.
Reportedly enraged because the scripts were routinely turned in late, resulting in exhaustion for the actors in the cast, Jeon In-hwa's husband Yoo Dong-geun assaulted two producers on the The King and I set on December 29, 2007. He later apologized for the incident.[5][6]
Episode ratings
The King and I performed moderately well, getting ratings in the 20%-25% range and ranking in the top 10. However, in late January 2008, due to competition from MBC's Yi San, ratings fell to the mid-tens, barely cracking the Top 20 in Korea.[7]
SBS first extended the episodes from the originally planned 50 to 67, then back to 61 because of bad ratings, and finally to 63.[8]
Awards
- 2007 SBS Drama Awards[9]
- Top Excellence Award, Actor Jun Kwang-ryul
- Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama: Oh Man-seok
- Top 10 Stars: Jun Kwang-ryul
- Best Teen Actor: Yoo Seung-ho
- Best Teen Actor: Joo Min-soo
- Best Teen Actress: Park Bo-young
- Achievement Award: Shin Goo
- New Star Award: Ku Hye-sun
References
- ↑ Lee, Hyo-won (18 September 2007). "TV Falls in Love with Epic Dramas". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ Chun, Su-jin (19 September 2007). "Eunuchs make me long to get my hands on father's remote". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
- ↑ "About The King and I". Arirang TV. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ "Ingredients of poison used during the Joseon Dynasty to kill traitors". KBS World. 23 February 2008. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ Lee, Eun-joo (2 January 2008). "Real life punch-up upstages SBS drama". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ Chung, Sung-hee (31 December 2007). "Page Scripts Symbolize Darker Side of Korean Drama Industry". The Dong-a Ilbo. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ "TV Ratings for January". Soompi. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
- ↑ "2008 K-DRAMA: First Half Wrapup". Twitch Film. 18 July 2008. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ↑ "2007 Year-end Korean drama awards round-up". Hancinema. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 2013-08-25.