Eight Days, Assassination Attempts against King Jeongjo

Eight Days, Assassination Attempts against King Jeongjo (Korean: 정조암살미스터리 8일) is a South Korean television miniseries starring Kim Sang-joong, Park Jung-chul, Jung Ae-ri, Lee Seon-ho, and Hee Won. The series ran for 10 episodes, and was aired by CGV from November 17, 2007 to December 16, 2007. This show is placed in the context of the eight days procession organized in 1795 by King Jeongjo of Joseon to visit the tomb of his father at Hwaseong Fortress. This historic event was a huge one, involving 5,661 people and 1,417 horses.[1]

Eight Days, Assassination Attempts against King Jeongjo
Also known asEight Days Mystery of Jeongjo Assassination
GenrePeriod drama
Drama
Based onJourney
by Oh Se-yeong
Written byKim Won-seok
Directed byPark Jong-won
StarringKim Sang-joong
Park Jung-chul
Jung Ae-ri
Lee Seon-ho
Hee Won
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producerHan Chang-hoon
ProducersGo Jang-won
Kim Do-yeon
Ahn Sang-hwi
Lee Joo-hyung
Running timeSaturdays and Sundays at 23:00 (KST)
Release
Original networkCGV
Original releaseNovember 17 (2007-11-17) –
December 16, 2007 (2007-12-16)
External links
Website
Korean name
Hangul
Revised RomanizationJeongjo Amsal Miseuteori Pal il
McCune–ReischauerChŏngjo Amsal Misŭtŏri P'al il

Synopsis

The screenplay is based on the novel Journey[2] (Korean: 원행; RR: wonhaeng; lit. "a round trip") written in 2006 by Oh Se-yeong. The background of the action is the 1795 procession organized by King Jeongjo of Joseon for the 60th birthday of his mother, Lady Hyegyeong, that also commemorated the 60th birthday of his deceased father, the Crown Prince Sado. During the eight days period when the Court left the palace for the ceremony, the show introduces several assassination attempts against the King. A first one comes from the Moon In-bang's group (a millenarist sect), but this plot is used by the Noron Faction to pursue its own agenda, attempting an armed suppression against the Sipa Faction and the King as well.

Apart from the fictional elements, a major focus is placed on two historical sources. The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong[3] is extensively used during many flashback sequences relative to events that occurred before the death (1762) of Crown Prince Sado, while the official documents from the Joseon Royal Library are used for the current events: the Wonhaeng eulmyo jeongni uigwe (Eulmyo=1795) for the procession itself, and the Hwaseong seongyeokuigwe[4][5] concerning the Hwaseong Fortress as a whole.

This series is often referred as Eight Days, Mystery of Jeongjo Assassination, a misleading translation since King Jeongjo won the 1795 confrontation and only died in 1800.[6]

Characters
  • Kim Sang-joong as King Jeongjo
  • Park Jung-chul as Jeong Yakyong
    Silhak philosopher, coordinator of the Sipa faction, pen name Dasan.
  • Jung Ae-ri as Lady Hyegyeong
    Consort of Prince Sado, mother of King Jeongjo, daughter of Hong Bonghan.
    • Kim Jin-hee as Hyegyeong (child)
  • Lee Seon-ho as Jang Inhyeong
    Recruited by Moon Inbang to assassinate the king.
  • Hee Won as So Hyangbi
    Gisaeng, Jang Inhyeong's lover.
  • Park Chan-hwan as Sim Hwanji
    Minister of War, head of Noron faction.
  • Lee Dae-yeon as Moon Inbang
    Rising Sun's ringleader, moniker Okpo.
  • Jang Gi-yong as Hong Jaecheon
    Head of Daedong merchants, born Sangpil, recruited by Moon Inbang.
  • Park Soo-hyun as Choi Gisu
    The King's bodyguard.
  • Jo Dal-hwan as Kim Chundeuk
    Officer of the Royal Guards, bodyguard of Jeong Yakyong.
  • Kim Tae-hoon as Kim Hanju
    Son of a male cousin of Queen Dowager Jeongsun, link between her and the Noron faction.
  • Kim Sung-gyum as Yeongjo
    Former King, Jeongjo's paternal grandfather.
  • Park Woong as Chae Jegong
    Sipa leader, presented as Chief State Councilor.
  • Kim Ki-hyun as Kim Jeongsu
    Former leader of the Noron faction.
  • Kim Hee-jong as Queen Jeongsun
    Yeongjo's widow, from the Gyeongju Kim clan.
  • Jo Han-joon as Crown Prince Sado
    Second son of Yeongjo (from Yeongbin), late Prince Regent Jangheon, father of Jeongjo.
  • Lee Yong-hwan as Gu Myeongrok
    Hidden son of Gu Seonbok, attending trainer of the Hunlyeondogam.
  • Hong Seung-il as Jeong Han-gi
  • Jung Yong-woo as Hong Byeongsin
    Assistant Section Chief of the Ministry of War.
  • Na Jae-gyoon as Hong Inhan
    Left State Councilor, brother of Hong Bonghan.
  • Heo Gi-ho as Hong Bonghan
    Father of Lady Hyegyeong, grandfather of Jeongjo.
  • Choi Gung-woo as Yi Gyeongmu
    Ogunyeong: Hunlyeondogam commander.
  • Lee Yong-jin as Jo Simtae
    Suwon governor.
  • Kim Sung-il as Dong Jung-seo
    Lord of Penghu.
  • Han Chul-woo as Jang Sonyi
    The sharpshooter.
  • Jung Yong-joo as Jang Sonsan
    The specialist of underwater operations.
  • Song Young-jin as Court Lady Hong
  • Lee Woong-jae as Hong Suyeong
    Oldest son of Hong Nakin, recipient of the 1795 Memoir.
    • Yi Dong-yeon as Hong Suyeong (child)
  • Hong Ae-bin as Princess Hwawan
    Third daughter of Yeongjo and Yeongbin (Sado's mother).
  • Won Jong-sun as Sim Yiji
    Ogunyeong: Sueo-sa daejang (commander).
  • Lee Hyung-joo as Yi Hanpung
    Ogunyeong: Eoyeong-sa daejang (commander).
  • Park Yong-jin as Yi Myeongsik
    Commissioner (Jejo) of the Royal Guards.
  • Oh Chang-gyung as Yi Yugyeong
    Jo Simtae's Deputy.
  • Park Jong-chul as Yu Eonho
    Member of the Noron faction.
  • Kim Gun-ho as Yun Si-dong
    Minister of the Right.
  • Choi Min-seo as Sin Daehyeon
    Ogunyeong: Chong-yung-sa commander.
  • Kim Yang-woo as Gu Seonbok
    1762 accusator of Crown Prince Sado, general executed in episode 1.
  • Shin Dong-hoon as Maksoe
    The Cheokseodan pedler.
  • Kim Seung-hoon as Daedong attendant
  • Lee Jae-wook as Bae Jeongtae
  • No Ik-hyun as Han Jangbok
    The Daedong spy at Hwaseong Fortress.
  • Jung Na-on as tavern keeper.
  • Oh Seo-yeon as Han Mae
  • Seol Ji-yoon as Cheongyeon Princess
    First daughter of Prince Sado and Lady Hyegyeong.
  • Yoon Young-min as Jeong Bok
    The King's Eunuch, brother of Jeong Hugyeom.
  • Seok Myung-sik as Kim Hanju attendant
  • Yang Jung-hyun as Munjung
  • Oh Hyun-shil as Lady-in-waiting of Lady Hyegyeong
  • Shin Gyung-sun as Lady-in-waiting of King Jeongjo
  • Byun Yang-ho as Seo Yubang
    Gyeonggi Governor, secretly helping the Noron faction.
  • Son Yung-kwon as Jeong Hugyeom
    Princess Hwawan's adopted son.
  • Han Hyuk-ju as Kim Gwiju
    Queen Jeongsun's brother.

Documents about the real-life 1795 procession

The main document of the 1795 procession is an eight-panel screen, the Hwaseonghaenghaengdo byeongpun. Nowadays, three copies of this screen exists: a sepia one,[7] a blue one and a colored one,[8] the King's copy. This last copy can be seen at Samsung Museum of Art Leeum and has been designated as Korean National Treasure 1430 on 15 April 2005.[9]

Tombs
화성성묘전배
Examinations
낙남헌방방
Banquet
봉수당진찬
Elders
낙남헌양로연
Seojangdae
서장대야조
Arrows
득중정어사
Procession
환어행렬
Bridge
한강주교환어
The Hwaseonghaenghaengdo Byeongpun

Map of the Hwaseong Fortress in the 1800 Uigwe.

Hwaseong Jeondo 화성전도

Artistic license
  • The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong are in fact a collection of four different documents, written at different times, for different audiences. The description of the controversial behavior of Crown Prince Sado occurs in the 1805 Memoir,[10] ten years after the procession, and not in the 1795 Memoir.[11]
  • In the real Court, the red robe was for the highest ranks, the blue for the intermediate ranks, and green for the lowest ranks. In the series, the blue dress is the uniform of the villains, while the red dress is the uniform of the "good ones". This helps the viewer to identify who's who, but this can also be a POV-시파 joke from the screenwriter.[12]

References
  1. "Performance Information". Suwon-City: Travel & Tourism. Archived from the original on 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2013-05-08.
  2. Oh Seyeong 2006.
  3. Haboush 1996.
  4. Chevalier 1800, p. 384-396.
  5. Doo Won Choo, 2010 & I, p. 82-213.
  6. Chung, Ah-young (9 February 2009). "Reformative King Jeongjo Was Not Fatally Poisoned". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  7. KCC (2013). "Hwaseong Haenghaeng" (in Korean). Korean Copyright Commission. Archived from the original on 2013-07-03.
  8. KCC (2013). "Kim Deuksin Hwaseongneunghaengdo" (in Korean). Korean Copyright Commission. Archived from the original on 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  9. "Royal Parade to Hwaseong Fortress". Cultural Heritage Administration. 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-08.
  10. Haboush 1996, pp. 241–336
  11. Haboush 1996, pp. 49–137
  12. Chung, Ah-young (13 November 2007). "Renaissance of Joseon King Jeongjo". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-04-02.

Bibliography
  • Oh, Seyeong (2006). Journey. 제목:원행; 저자:오세영; 출판사:예담. Yedam (Wisdom House). p. 315. ISBN 9788-9591-3167-9. (in Korean)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.