“Yi San” (2007), “Dong Yi” (2010), and “The King's Doctor” aka “Horse Doctor” (2012) are three of the most-popular dramas that have been aired on Korean television. These dramas have also been broadcast in numerous countries, including the Philippines via GMA7.
(I love these three dramas and have watched numerous episodes at least 3 to 5 times. But my all-time favorite Korean drama is the worldwide hit “A Jewel in the Palace” starring Lee Young-ae.)
What’s interesting is that these three dramas were all written by one person, Kim Yi-young, who was born in 1974 and graduated from Sungkyungkwan University (yes, the famous institution that started during the Joseon Dynasty).
Kim Yi-young’s interview titled “Applying Past to Modern, Modern to Past” by “The Granite Tower” at
http://www.thegranitetower.com/news/articlePrint.html?idxno=649 gives us some insights on her approach towards writing historical dramas:
“Like candies that are sweet on the outside but bitter inside, historical dramas are like that too, presenting concrete history with enjoyable wrap-ups.”
“However, while such a role exists, from my perspective, the dramas present problems with people’s overall view of history,” said Kim. In this genre, the imaginations of writers are added into the scripts with the historical record as the basis. Thereby, Kim asserted a high probability that cases and figures can be described or interpreted wrongly, being distorted and not matching accordingly with the historical record or reality.”
“Regarding such negative influence, Kim emphasized the importance of having critical minds in viewing historical dramas. ‘It cannot be denied that producers do share the responsibility in deciding what historical distortions are allowed in the dramas,’ said Kim. ‘But above all, viewers are required to actively view the dramas critically in order to prevent themselves from obtaining incorrect historical knowledge.’”
What the dramas “Yi San” and “Dong Yi” are about in a nutshell“Yi San” aka “Lee San, Wind in the Palace” tells the story of Yi San, who later became King Jeongjo, one of the most benevolent rulers during the Joseon Dynasty. During the first 25-plus episodes, a major character in the drama is Yi San’s grandfather King Yeongjo (formerly, Prince Yeoning), who reigned as king for 52 years.
On the other hand, “Dong Yi” tells the story of the historical characters King Sukjong, Dong Yi (Choi Suk-bin), and their son Geum (Prince Yeoning, later known as King Yeongjo).
To avoid any confusion, remember:
1. King Yeongjo (aka “Geum” or “Prince Yeoning” was Joseon’s 21st king)
2. King Jeongjo (aka “Yi San” was Joseon’s 22nd king)
Connections between “Yi San” and “DongYi”: the “King Yeongjo / Geum / Prince Yeoning” character and the double jade ringsKim Yi-young primarily connects “Yi San” and “Dong Yi” through her character King Yeongjo. In “Yi San,” she portrays King Yeongjo (formerly, Prince Yeoning) near the end of his reign as Joseon’s longest-reigning king and as he prepares his grandson Yi San to take over as king. In “Dong Yi,” she portrays King Yeongjo as the 7-year old prodigy named Geum (Prince Yeoning).
She also connects these dramas through the double jade rings that viewers know so well and have come to love. In “Yi San,” King Yeongjo takes the double jade rings that his mother Choi Suk-bin (a Royal Noble Consort) gave to him and gives it as a secret, farewell gift to Song-yeon, who was a “damo” (slave) and an artist at the Bureau of Paintings.
In a later episode, Song-yeon, now a Royal Concubine, gives the double jade rings to her son, who Yi San (King Jeongjo) wants to appoint as the Crown Prince. But the court ministers object to his plan because of Song-yeon’s slave status. The opposition vanishes, however, when the Queen Mother finds the double jade rings being worn as a necklace by Song-yeon’s son.
Three years after “Yi San” was broadcast in 2007-2008, Kim Yi-young then wrote “Dong Yi” where she also incorporated the double jade rings into the story. She goes back in time and portrays King Yeongjo as the 7-year old Geum (Prince Yeoning), son of King Sukjong and Dong Yi (Choi Suk-bin). In Episode 31, King Sukjong brings Dong Yi into the palace as a Special Court Lady; while confessing his love for her, he gives her the double jade rings.
Now, that's an amazing storytelling that spans two dramas written three years apart.
Although “Dong Yi” shows after Episode 31 the title character wearing the double jade rings, it doesn’t show or mention Dong Yi giving the rings to her son Geum (Prince Yeoning). Perhaps at that point in time, Kim Yi-young thought that her fascination with her character King Yeongjo/Geum/Prince Yeoning was over.
“Haechi”: Kim Yi-young’s newest drama about her King Yeongjo/Geum/Prime Yeoning characterBut it seems that she isn’t done yet with her King Yeongjo/Geum/Prime Yeoning character. Nine years after “Dong Yi” was broadcast, her newest drama “Haechi” now tells the story of Prince Yeoning (Geum) as a young man who’s caught in the conflicts of the warring political factions over who the next king will be.
The biggest question in my mind, of course, about “Haechi” is this: Will Kim Yi-young also incorporate the double jade rings into her new drama?
Plain-English synopses of the dramas cited above:“Haechi” at
https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2019/02/haechi-synopsis.html“Yi San” at
https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2017/04/yi-san-lee-san-wind-of-palace-synopsis.html“Dong Yi” at
https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2017/06/dong-yi-synopsis-by-episode.html“The King’s Doctor” at
https://campusconnection.blogspot.com/2015/05/kings-doctor-horse-doctor-episodes-recap.htmlP.S. You’ll notice that in this topic’s headline, I didn't use the serial comma (aka Oxford comma). I wanted to use the Oxford comma because it’s part of the Plain-English guidelines. But this forum limits the number of characters in the subject area, and I had to choose between the comma or the double quotation marks at the very end.
