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 | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Promotional poster | |
| Genre | Historical |
| Written by | Yoo Dong-yoon |
| Directed by |
|
| Starring | |
| Composer | Oh Joon Sung (오준성) |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| No. of episodes | 63 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Yoon Young-mook (SBS) |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 (KST) |
| Production companies | Olive 9 Co. Ltd. SBS PD |
| Distributor | SBS |
| Release | |
| Original network | Seoul Broadcasting System |
| Original release | August 27, 2007 – April 1, 2008 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Catching Up with Gangnam Moms |
| Followed by | I Love You |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| The King and I | |
| Hangul | |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 王과 나 |
| Revised Romanization | Wanggwa Na |
| McCune–Reischauer | Wang'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
- 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 Yun-seok 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 Gwi-in Eom
- 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
- 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]
Ratings
| Date | Episode | Nationwide | Seoul |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-08-27 | 1 | 14.4 (7th) | 14.8 (6th) |
| 2007-08-28 | 2 | 18.8 (3rd) | 19.7 (3rd) |
| 2007-09-03 | 3 | 22.9 (2nd) | 24.9 (1st) |
| 2007-09-04 | 4 | 25.8 (1st) | 27.1 (1st) |
| 2007-09-10 | 5 | 22.3 (2nd) | 23.3 (2nd) |
| 2007-09-11 | 6 | 21.0 (2nd) | 22.0 (2nd) |
| 2007-09-17 | 7 | 25.6 (2nd) | 26.5 (1st) |
| 2007-09-18 | 8 | 23.1 (2nd) | 24.2 (2nd) |
| 2007-09-24 | 9 | 12.9 (4th) | 13.6 (4th) |
| 2007-09-24 | 10 | 19.8 (1st) | 20.1 (1st) |
| 2007-10-01 | 11 | 23.3 (2nd) | 23.4 (2nd) |
| 2007-10-02 | 12 | 24.0 (2nd) | 23.6 (2nd) |
| 2007-10-08 | 13 | 22.0 (2nd) | 22.7 (2nd) |
| 2007-10-09 | 14 | 23.3 (2nd) | 24.2 (2nd) |
| 2007-10-15 | 15 | 22.4 (2nd) | 23.4 (2nd) |
| 2007-10-16 | 16 | 23.5 (2nd) | 24.6 (2nd) |
| 2007-10-22 | 17 | 23.1 (2nd) | 24.5 (2nd) |
| 2007-10-23 | 18 | 24.1 (3rd) | 25.5 (3rd) |
| 2007-10-29 | 19 | 26.0 (2nd) | 26.5 (2nd) |
| 2007-10-30 | 20 | 22.2 (2nd) | 22.3 (3rd) |
| 2007-11-05 | 21 | 21.8 (2nd) | 23.1 (3rd) |
| 2007-11-06 | 22 | 22.9 (2nd) | 24.4 (2nd) |
| 2007-11-12 | 23 | 20.5 (3rd) | 21.4 (3rd) |
| 2007-11-13 | 24 | 22.6 (3rd) | 23.6 (3rd) |
| 2007-11-19 | 25 | 19.7 (5th) | 20.6 (4th) |
| 2007-11-20 | 26 | 20.8 (4th) | 21.5 (4th) |
| 2007-11-26 | 27 | 21.3 (4th) | 22.1 (3rd) |
| 2007-11-27 | 28 | 21.0 (3rd) | 21.1 (3rd) |
| 2007-12-03 | 29 | 20.0 (3rd) | 19.6 (4th) |
| 2007-12-04 | 30 | 20.2 (5th) | 19.9 (4th) |
| 2007-12-10 | 31 | 19.2 (5th) | 19.2 (5th) |
| 2007-12-11 | 32 | 24.8 (1st) | 25.4 (2nd) |
| 2007-12-17 | 33 | 17.0 (6th) | 17.4 (6th) |
| 2007-12-18 | 34 | 16.1 (6th) | 15.6 (6th) |
| 2007-12-24 | 35 | 13.2 (8th) | 12.7 (8th) |
| 2007-12-25 | 36 | 16.0 (6th) | 15.7 (6th) |
| 2008-01-01 | 37 | 15.9 (7th) | 15.6 (7th) |
| 2008-01-07 | 38 | 15.1 (6th) | 14.8 (6th) |
| 2008-01-08 | 39 | 15.0 (7th) | 15.1 (7th) |
| 2008-01-14 | 40 | 15.0 (7th) | 15.0 (8th) |
| 2008-01-15 | 41 | 15.6 (6th) | 15.6 (8th) |
| 2008-01-21 | 42 | 14.5 (8th) | 13.9 (8th) |
| 2008-01-22 | 43 | 15.6 (8th) | 15.5 (8th) |
| 2008-01-28 | 44 | 14.5 (8th) | 13.5 (9th) |
| 2008-01-29 | 45 | 14.8 (8th) | 14.5 (9th) |
| 2008-02-04 | 46 | 12.9 (10th) | 11.5 (11th) |
| 2008-02-05 | 47 | 16.7 (6th) | 16.1 (6th) |
| 2008-02-11 | 48 | 15.0 (8th) | 14.5 (9th) |
| 2008-02-12 | 49 | 14.3 (8th) | 14.0 (10th) |
| 2008-02-18 | 50 | 13.6 (10th) | 12.9 (11th) |
| 2008-02-19 | 51 | 16.6 (7th) | 15.9 (8th) |
| 2008-02-25 | 52 | 14.7 (7th) | 14.3 (8th) |
| 2008-02-26 | 53 | 19.5 (5th) | 19.2 (6th) |
| 2008-03-03 | 54 | 17.0 (6th) | 16.8 (6th) |
| 2008-03-04 | 55 | 17.9 (6th) | 17.5 (6th) |
| 2008-03-10 | 56 | 15.5 (6th) | 15.2 (6th) |
| 2008-03-11 | 57 | 15.7 (6th) | 15.6 (6th) |
| 2008-03-17 | 58 | 14.9 (6th) | 14.8 (6th) |
| 2008-03-18 | 59 | 14.9 (6th) | 14.0 (7th) |
| 2008-03-24 | 60 | 13.9 (7th) | 13.0 (9th) |
| 2008-03-25 | 61 | 16.1 (6th) | 15.7 (6th) |
| 2008-03-31 | 62 | 17.2 (6th) | 16.7 (7th) |
| 2008-04-01 | 63 | 19.7 (5th) | 18.9 (6th) |
| Average | - | - | |
Awards
- 2007 SBS Drama Awards[10]
- 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 (September 18, 2007). "TV Falls in Love with Epic Dramas". The Korea Times. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
- 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.
- "About The King and I". Arirang TV. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
- "Ingredients of poison used during the Joseon Dynasty to kill traitors". KBS World. February 23, 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
- "Park Ji Hoon, the wink guy in Produce 101 was in drama 'King and I'". Kpople. April 16, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- Lee, Eun-joo (January 2, 2008). "Real life punch-up upstages SBS drama". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
- Chung, Sung-hee (December 31, 2007). "Page Scripts Symbolize Darker Side of Korean Drama Industry". The Dong-a Ilbo. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
- "TV Ratings for January" Archived February 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Soompi. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
- "2008 K-DRAMA: First Half Wrapup". Twitch Film. July 18, 2008. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
- "2007 Year-end Korean drama awards round-up". Hancinema. January 7, 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
External links
- The King and I official SBS website (in Korean)
- The King and I at HanCinema