Elements of Historical K-drama Romances
Read 1. Classic Hollywood- Gone with the Wind? Or Left with the Seoul here.
To criticize the romance genre as being predictable is missing the point. Romance by its very nature has to be predictable – there must be a happily ever after, life and hope must be affirmed or it’s just not romance. The HEA is the reward for coming along on the ride: the journey is the point. Because we know the ending and the stations the plot will pull in at, the writer has to be very, very good to keep us along on the ride. These stories are replete with comedy, suspense, injustice, deception, hopes built and dashed, and at least one love story.
When setting a period piece in the palace district of the Joseon Era, there are added restraints prescribed by the historical realities of the period. It’s a much prescribed world. Setting it up and then defying it makes for great comedy and easy suspense. Imagine the scope for mischief when you have a sprawling palace complex inhabited by legions of court maids who are the exclusive property of the king; a myriad of neutered male servants to serve the royal inhabitants; a private palace for every royal concubine; an army of guards to maintain the peace; and oppressive rules – no resident is allowed to leave the complex without the consent of the king if at all. Rules were made to be broken, of course, and so much the better if one has a disguise handy!
Princess Hours (2006) is a good introduction to the Joseon Era. It places a modern day high school girl from a working class background in a situation where she is impelled by family obligation to marry the Crown Prince. As she adjusts to life in the palace walls in the 21st Century, the social mores of the bygone era are imposed upon her. As she learns palace etiquette, so do we. Princess Hours (2006) is an enemies-to-lovers, cross-class-barriers romance starring the always effervescent Yoon Eun-hye and fittingly, imperious Joo Ji Hoon. It’s a modern K-drama classic.
What else can you expect from A K-drama period romance?
- Big acting – not ham acting
- Soliloquies that can be overheard, and often are
- Martial arts experts – where the one (or few) overcome the many
- The kingly sport of archery
- The royal hunt where the monarch becomes the prey
- Evil government ministers controlling an impotent monarch
- Loan sharks acting as tools or throwing a spanner into the works
- Conspiring Queen or Dowager Queen
- Or a benevolent Dowager Queen
- An emasculated, figurehead king
- Crown Prince seeking virtue and wisdom through the teachings of Confucius
- A HEA can’t be achieved until the Crown Prince rises to the challenge of good leadership and steers the ship of state
- Ambitious rival prince
- Broken family relationships between father and son and sibling princes
- Virtuous scholars and police commissioners/personal guards
- Loyal eunuchs and court maids
- Class clashes and peasant revolts
- superstition
- Cross dressing and disguise – often the Crown Prince
- Crown Prince / Monarch is very lonely – cannot trust anyone
- The truism that it’s better to live a simple life outside the splendour of the palace rather than survive within the walls of a palace riddled with greed, overreaching ambition and loneliness
- The belief that until the kingdom is in equilibrium there can be no happily ever after for its ruler
- The love of a good woman has the power to heal and transform her man – or in the case of The King’s Affection, it’s the love of a good man.
There is a lot that can be said about historical romances – from what they owe traditional theatre forms in terms of performance and character types to what they draw from Confucius and Christianity. If you haven’t seen one yet I can highly recommend these single season series:
100 Days My Prince – a classically well-made historic romance
The Red Sleeve Cuff – a historical fiction that engenders feminist rhetoric in a really fun way
The Crowned Clown – a brooding dark romance that is epic in scope, drama and presentation
Lovers of the Red Sky – a historical fairy tale blending fantasy, art and fiction. In a refreshing change, this one doesn’t centre around a Crown Prince but a female artist and a royal advisor hell-bent on revenge. Will love redeem him?
Love in the Moonlight – a cross dressing, artful ingenue catches the ire and attention of the Crown Prince who must navigate his coming of age and coming into his own as a worthy leader in the palace.
My Sassy Girl – an incognito drunken princess encounters a loyal scholar during a moonlit escape from the palace. Lightweight fun.
Happy binging!
crafty theatre 