Overview of The King’s Affection

‘The King’s Affection’ is a 2021 South Korean television series starring Park Eun-bin, Rowoon, Nam Yoon-su, Choi Byung-chan, Bae Yoon-kyung, and Jung Chae-yeon as lead characters. The drama is set in one of the oldest dynasties of Korea and revolves around historical instances of beautiful women who dressed as men. The story flips when the main female character gets involved in politics and becomes the King.

A princess posing to be the Crown Prince after her fraternal twin is killed in childhood is a visual treat with a glimpse of action and romance that ties the drama altogether.

Profile

• Drama: ‘The King’s Affection’
• Director: Song Hyun-wook
• Writer: Han Hee-jung
• Network: KBS2
• Episodes: 20
• Release Date: 11 October – 14 December 2021
• Language: Korean
• Country: South Korea

Cast

Main

• Park Eun-bin as Crown Prince Lee Hwi / Dam-yi / Yeon-seon
• Choi Myung-bin as young Crown Prince Lee Hwi / Dam-yi / Yeon-seon
• Rowoon as Jung Ji-woon
• Go Woo-rim as young Jung Ji-woon
• Nam Yoon-su as Lee Hyun, Prince Jaeun
• Choi Ro-woon as young Lee Hyun
• Choi Byung-chan as Kim Ga-on / Kang Eun-seo
• Ok Chan-yu as young Kim Ga-on
• Bae Yoon-kyung as Shin So-eun
• Jung Chae-yeon as Noh Ha-kyung

Supportive

• Yoon Je-moon as Han Ki-jae
• Bae Soo-bin as Inspector Jung Seok-jo
• Lee Pil-mo as King Hyejong

Synopsis

The drama is set in the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1897, where the twins were acknowledged as an ominous sign, so the daughter was supposed to be killed. Meanwhile, Crown Prince’s wife gave birth to fraternal twins but her mother secretly sends the girl child out of the palace to spare her life.

Abandoned for being a girl, she later comes to the palace as a court maid named Dam-yi at the age of 10 and meets her twin brother, Crown Prince Lee Hwi and her first love, Jung Ji-woon. Prince Lee Hwi and Dam-yi soon met and he identifies Dam-yi as his twin sister as they look alike and shares this incident with his mother.

Another character is introduced, Inspector Jung’s son, Jung Ji-woon. One day Ji-woong met Dam-yi carefully reading a book and they both accidentally fell into a pond and she saved Ji-woon’s life. Ji-woon finds himself starting to have romantic feelings towards Dam-yi, becoming each other’s first love.

Crown Prince Lee Hwi often convinces Dam-yi to switch places and roles with him so that he could meet his teacher who has been arrested as part of an accusation against the royal kingdom, but he soon loses his life through an instance of mistaken identity- leaving the throne vulnerable. When her brother Hwi dies, Dam-yi’s mother disguises her as a man and calls upon her to take his place and live as Prince Lee Hwi.

Dam-yi becomes the Crown Prince while facing the inner struggle to hold this dreadful secret. Later, she had sleepless days in the palace facing power struggles between her father, the King, and her maternal grandfather, Han Ki-jae. She was afraid for her real identity to get revealed in front of the royal household.

Dam-yi often struggles to trust people, so she accepts herself as an untalkative and emotionally distant person. Later, one day, Ji-woon who has grown to be an optimistic, handsome, and bright nobleman comes to the palace as Prince Hwi’s tutor. Things unfold as she finds herself attracted towards Ji-woon and he also feels drawn to Dam-yi. However, he becomes confused about their relationship as he starts to wonder about her true identity.

Ending Explained

Fights break out in the palace for the crown. Lee Hwi’s powerful maternal grandfather and the Left State Councillor Lord Sangheon (Yoon Je-moon) and his army come face to face. Lee Hwi’s personal bodyguard Kang Eun-seo (Choi Byung-chan) and Hwi stood toe to toe and managed to survive towards the very end.

Since Dam-yi no longer wants to hide her identity, she would step down as the King and Lee Hwi’s paternal cousin Lee Hyun (Nam Yoon-su) becomes the Royal Commander.

Dam-yi’s all records as Crown Prince Lee Hwi were erased and Dam-yi, who was abandoned just because she was born as a girl reclaims her identity, and finally Dam-yi was able to live for who and what she is. Dam-yi and Ji-woon later live a happy life together.

Theme

The period drama is adorned with a refined palace romance and imparts a significant note of genuine happiness related to living with one’s true identity. Pretending to live someone else’s life for the rest is definitely a daunting and troublesome task.

Fictional elements have always been admired in Korea. Historical drama, ‘The King’s Affection’ with well-developed casting, heavy fictionalization and flowing poignant narrative hailed for its storytelling style. The drama also features various affections and highlights how love embraces family relationships.

Awards

• Seoul International Drama Awards 2022
  Best Writer – Han Hee-jung
• International Emmy Awards 2022
  Best Telenovela – ‘The King’s Affection’
• Korean Broadcasting Awards 2022
  Best Actor/Actress – Park Eun-bin
• Korea First Brand Awards 2021
  Female Acting Idol – Jung Chae-yeon
• KBS Drama Awards 2021
  Best Couple Award – Park Eun-bin and Rowoon
  Best New Actor – Rowoon
  Best Young Actress – Choi Myung-bin
  Popularity Award, Actor – Rowoon
  Popularity Award, Actress – Park Eun-bin
  Top Excellence Award, Actress – Park Eun-bin

Interesting Facts about ‘The King’s Affection’

1. The first Korean drama series to win the ’50th International Emmy Award’ for ‘Best Telenovela’ award category.
2. Nam Yoon-su practised archery skills for his character to play his role as naturally as possible.
3. The character played by Choi Byung-chan used his eyes as a powerful tool for endowing the character.
4. ‘The King’s Affection’ is a story that takes place during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897).
5. The director had to cast other actors who were close to Rowoon’s height (1.89 m) because if there were a vast height difference, the rivalry in the drama wouldn’t be well portrayed.

FAQs

1. Who is the director of ‘The King’s Affection’?
   The drama is directed by Song Hyun-wook.
2. What is the genre of ‘The King’s Affection’?
   The drama falls into the historical, romance, fiction genre.
3. Who are the main characters of the Korean drama ‘The King’s Affection’?
   The lead characters are Crown Prince Lee Hwi (Park Eun-bin) and Jung Ji-woon (Rowoon).
4. What is the Instagram ID of Park Eun-bin?
   The Instagram ID of Park Eun-bin is @eunbinpark92.