The King and I (TV series)

The King and I (Korean: 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%.

The King and I
Promotional poster
GenreHistorical
Written byYoo Dong-yoon
Directed by
  • Kim Jae-hyung
  • Lee Jong-soo
  • Son Jae-sung
Starring
Composer(s)Oh Joon Sung (오준성)
Country of originSouth Korea
No. of episodes63
Production
Producer(s)Yoon Young-mook (SBS)
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running timeMondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 (KST)
Production company(s)Olive 9 Co. Ltd.


SBS Productions
DistributorSBS
Release
Original networkSeoul Broadcasting System
Original releaseAugust 27, 2007 (2007-08-27) –
April 1, 2008 (2008-04-01)
Chronology
Preceded byCatching Up with Gangnam Moms
Followed bySaranghae
External links
Website
The King and I
Hangul
Hanja
王과 나
Revised RomanizationWanggwa Na
McCune–ReischauerWang'gwa Na

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

Supporting characters

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
  • 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
  • Park Ji-hoon as Eunuch[5]

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 King and I set on December 29, 2007. He later apologized for the incident.[6][7]

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.[8]

SBS first extended the episodes from the originally planned 50 to 67, then back to 61 because of bad ratings, and finally to 63.[9]

Awards
2007 SBS Drama Awards[10]
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References
  1. Lee, Hyo-won (September 18, 2007). "TV Falls in Love with Epic Dramas". The Korea Times. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  2. Chun, Su-jin (September 19, 2007). "Eunuchs make me long to get my hands on father's remote". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  3. "About The King and I". Arirang TV. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  4. "Ingredients of poison used during the Joseon Dynasty to kill traitors". KBS World. February 23, 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  5. "Park Ji Hoon, the wink guy in Produce 101 was in drama 'King and I'". Kpople. April 16, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  6. Lee, Eun-joo (January 2, 2008). "Real life punch-up upstages SBS drama". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  7. Chung, Sung-hee (December 31, 2007). "Page Scripts Symbolize Darker Side of Korean Drama Industry". The Dong-a Ilbo. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  8. "TV Ratings for January" Archived February 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Soompi. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  9. "2008 K-DRAMA: First Half Wrapup". Twitch Film. July 18, 2008. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  10. "2007 Year-end Korean drama awards round-up". Hancinema. January 7, 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
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