...Hallyu began roughly 12 years ago when the rest of Asia discovered Korean soap operas. One of the breakthrough dramas was a series 'Winter Sonata' starring Choi Ji-woo & Bae Young-Joon. After that, more Korean dramas saw their way to foreign shores and Korean films and music started to follow suit. Korean marketing people started to see a Korea-centric trend. They dubbed this flow "The Korean Wave" or Hallyu....
ggeut ee upneun maheumae buhreelsugah upneun eeyokshimee nah eeruhkkae wonhagoh wonhaedoh nul gahjil jahgyukjohcha upneun naheenguhl
geureul jahgyukjohcha upneun naheenguhl...
Yun/Fate - Park Wan Gyu Lyric Translation
Because I'm so weak, Because I'm so bad, I'm still only looking at you I must have forgotten like an old memory my tired heart and my deep scars I can't handle it I come to cling to you
* Even though you leave like this my heart still calls out for you because I can't do anything anymore about this crazily cruel fate
Would my sad face your sad eyes be like the brief wind? I try to block my ear to the sound of violent winds but I can't close the eyes that look at you We must be looking at different places underneath the same sky
* Even though you leave like this my heart still calls out for you because I can't do anything anymore about this crazily cruel fate
In this endless emotion this greed that I can't let go Even though I want and want like this, I'm not worthy enough to have you
In episode 24, finally Chang Whe can’t keep Enok by his side and let her go back to Hong Gil Dong. But as Hwal Bin Dang have to been destroyed, Hong Gil Dong asked Enok to deliver a letter to Chang Whe who waiting outside their camp. Actually, it’s just a blank paper, Gil Dong intently send Enok back to Chang Whe.
Chang Whe: “As a king protecting my country, I may have to kill him. But to kill you along with him? You’re an irreplaceable person to me. I told you that it was because of you that I became a real person. But you want me to kill you and keep on living?”
But Enok told him, “The world I chose is Gil Dong’s, so I will go there. I’ve seen the good person in you. I believe you will be a good king.”
Chang Whe had no choice except let her go back. It’s her choice. While rushing back to the camp, Chisu step out to face Enok. But she just said to him, “Go back and protect him”.
After burn out Hwal Bin Dang’s Camp, Chang Whe now alone in his palace while listened the report from his soldier that everyone and everything had been destroyed. His tears is falling down quietly.
In his court, among his men, Chang Whe assured them that Hwal Bin Dang had been destroyed. And as a king, he’ll do things that he need to do to protect his people and his country.
Finally we come to the last episode of Hong Gil Dong. In this drama have 3 main characters; Hong Gil Dong, Chang Whe, and Enok. For me, the character that I impressed the most still be Chang Whe. He’s a great man. Most of you may think he’s not a good guy. Because at the end he kill his best friend like Hong Gil Dong, and even the one he loved like Enok. But if you’re in his position, can you say that you won’t do like him? All of his life he have to go through hard times just because he’s a prince. He had to go through suffers and pains, live like a dead man until he meet Enok. It’s true that at first what he do is for revenge. But he also have a king’s heart. He hurt when he saw his people in suffered. He cared for them and wanted to help them. His last decision is not for himself, but for his people.
And his love really heartbreaking when he decided to let Enok go back to Hong Gil Dong. Because he don’t want to hurt her. But that’s hurt him. As we all know, Enok is like a representative of all noble men who supported Chang Whe to rule the country. If she marry him and be his queen, Chang Whe’s position will be more stable. This group of influenced people will support him as long as Enok is by his side. I think, as a king, Chang Whe knows this fact so well but he don’t want to pressure Enok with this political game. He just want her to be by his side voluntarily.
Enok’s decision to left Chang Whe really hurt me. Not because she chose Hong Gil Dong instead of Chang Whe. I can understand her love to Hong Gil Dong. But because she’s too merciless to turn her back to him when he need her the most. It’s true that now he’s a king. But what a king can do without his supporters? She left him to fight alone.
Is Chang Whe wrong to destroyed Hwal Bin Dang? My answer is no. Actually, he did the right thing. Even what they have done is for good cause, but it’s illegal. They’re thieves. Chang Whe did the right thing, even it hurt him to death to kill his best friend and the woman he loves. Sometimes you can’t do what you like, but need to do what is right. That’s how to be a great man.
In episode 20, as Chang Hwe watching Enok who is in her dream. He’s heartbreaking while Enok whisper Gil Dong’s name. He feels like have been stabbed at heart and ask her,
“Even if he causes you pain, will you still choose him in the end?” “Please… just once… look at me.”
His love to Enok torture him now. Chang Whe lean over and kiss her. His kiss cannot wash out her pain, or him as well.
In episode 21, when Enok feels desperate with her own dumb because she need to learn how to be a noble lady. Chang Whe encourage her and insist to help her. But at last Enok fall asleep before his eyes. Chang Whe just watch her sleep. He just want her not to be under pressure. He never want Enok to be a perfect noble lady for him as everyone expected. He just want her to be by his side whatever she is. Just one thing that Chang Whe don’t want to do is send Enok back to Hong Gil Dong, even in her dream…
In episode 15, when the two brothers encounter outside Chang Whe’s tomb, his own tomb that he never step in. Of course, Kwang Whe can’t believe his eyes that his death brother really came back from hell. I can tell that for Kwang Whe, he love his brother but at the same time he afraid of him. That’s why he said Chang Whe had to die to keep him alive. And Kwang Whe is right about that. Because Chang Whe is so smart guy, he’s too smart. Even his young age but he can realized that Hong Gil Dong is the one who can help him get his life back.
Kwang Whe: “How did you survive? Did you work together with Hong Gil Dong? Are you a thief too?” Chang Whe: “He’s not just any thief. He’s someone who fights all the dirty things you’ve created in this world. He may be wandering right now, but he will face you and fight your world in the end.” Kwang Whe: “Hwal Bin Dang? How funny. A thief saves the poor?” Chang Whe: “Brother, you have no right to sneer at one who saves the poor. You are the one who made him — because the world you made is poor. The poorer you make your people, the bigger he will become.”
In episode 17, when Chang Whe had been shot by poisoned arrow and Enok try hard to keep him conscious. She call him and tell him he can’t die. Chang Whe remind her that this scene had happened once and he nearly kill her. And he know at that moment , that he can’t kill her or even hurt her. For Enok, even she love Hong Gil Dong, but Chang Whe also important to her, she can’t let him die in front of her like this.
Chang Whe: “With you by my side, I became a true person.” Enok: “With you by my side, your luck will be good, and you’ll live.”
Chang Whe ask Enok to be by his side and this is a promise. (I think it’s his one side promise to keep her by his side. Whatever it is, that keep him alive). For Chang Whe when Enok with him, he can feel that he’s human. Not a monster or demon who can kill everyone to get what he want.
Let’s get back through memory lane to Hong Gil Dong. Most of Thai fans known Jang Keun Suk from this drama series as his beautiful face capture their hearts. The ill fate of Prince Chang Hwe made people feel heartbreaking…
Prince Chang Hwe appeared since the 1st episode, on the ship from China to Chosun (or Korea). How can you resist that beautiful face when he turn to you with tear in his eyes…
Enok run outside with her precious bun in hand , suddenly she spots an elegant shape of one man in the darkness. Lee Chang Hwe who lost in his painful memory about his tragic past and crying that capture Enok’s interest. But at last, she nearly strangle to death because Chang Hwe think that she’s going to attack him. The worst is he step on her precious bun. Even he’s so good looking, but for Enok her bun is more precious….
In episode 11, as Chang Hwe desperately search for Enok because he think she had been killed. He looking for her through all smoking and his thought travel back when he lost his mother in fire. He told himself repeatedly that “I can’t lose her again”. For me, I think for Chang Hwe, Enok is like feeling of love, warm, and joyful that he lost in his childhood and he’d like to keep it as long as he can.
Suddenly, Enok appear among the fog. He run to her and hug her tightly. He said, “I thought I’d lost you”, and going to let her go. But he notice Hong Gil dong , so Chang Hwe hold Enok in his arms securely to keep her from seeing Hong Gil Dong. His eyes focus on Hong Gil Dong, but said to Enok “I don’t want to lose you”. The emotion that shown in his eyes for this scene is like someone who going to lose his precious thing and try to hold on with it as long as he can…
As Chang Whe admit to Chisu why he don’t say a word to Enok about Hong Gil Dong still alive.
“I didn’t tell Enok about him. Saying I had no reason to reveal a secret he’d taken care to hide is just an excuse. In truth, I couldn’t tell her because I knew that if she met him, I’d lose her.”
In episode 12, when Chang Hwe keep his promise and tell Enok his real name. He whisper his name to her and tell her not to call his name out loud or tell anyone. Chang Hwe explain to Enok why he told his name to her, “The thought that you know my name makes me think I can live my life more honorably”. Chang Hwe must be suffered for so long time to live as a death person, no one can’t call his real name out loud. How painful is to have name but no one can call you. I think at least he’d like the one he love call his name for him once…
Posted on March 28th, 2008 // by javabeans Thai Translation by Ladymoon @http://twssg.blogspot.com
A few NG scenes — Kang Ji Hwan bursting into laughter when Sung Yuri feels him up, and repeatedly losing a hold on his weapon in a fight scene, and Jang Geun Seok delivering a convincingly serious line on “horseback” —
When asked if any of the actors had been particularly enamored with Jang Geun Seok at first (for being so pretty), Kim Jae Seung (In Hyung) immediately raised his hand and related a story about playing soccer together and being struck with his good-looking features. He tried to add that he didn’t mean it in a sexy sort of way, merely in appreciation of his looks, but naturally the rest of the cast teased him for the rest of the special.
Kim Rina (Eun Hye) seemed quite humble and well-spoken — she’d been quoted as being afraid of the director. The way she spoke, it seemed she was one of the least experienced actors and was very self-deprecating about her abilities (and lack of experience), but very praiseworthy to Kang Ji Hwan for taking time to teach her and guide her through.
Jo Hee Bong (Kwang Whe) seemed the most different of the others — the serious eccentric — and was teased for being long-winded. When the director commented on his ability to endure through the cold in his thin king’s costume (often open-chested), he admitted that he’d learned an important lesson: Always fasten the top button well. By which he meant, at first it wasn’t so bad, but the longer he had to act in that garment, the more painful the cold became. It was his mistake for leaving the front of the robe open in the first place, because then he was stuck for the rest of the series with that look. I don’t think he’s comfortable in these kinds of loud, jokey settings, and for whatever reason he had a separate one-on-one segment with one of the hosts.
Kang Ji Hwan was asked about the rumor that he’d agreed to do the series immediately upon hearing Sung Yuri was cast as his love interest. He clarified that he’d actually been the one to be cast first, but had mentioned at one point that if he had it his way, he’d like for Sung Yuri to be selected. Knowing that filming would cover months, he figured he might as well shoot for someone he always wanted to work with (sounds like he was a FinKL fan).
He was also teased for blushing in his kiss scene with Sung Yuri (in the final episode), suggesting that he’d enjoyed it overly. Kang Ji Hwan explained that he’d actually reddened from being angry — that the kiss was over too quickly, just when he’d been prepared to launch into a longer one.
Thai Translation by Ladymoon @http://twssg.blogspot.com
Well, Hong Gil Dong is officially over. A “special” broadcast Thursday wrapped things up with the cast and director on the set of the series and ran through the usual dog and pony show — behind-the-scenes snippets, some outtakes, hosts asking the cast a bunch of soft questions about the experience.
The entire series spanned eight months of filming. In the director’s words, they started in relatively warm weather, suffered through bitterly cold filming conditions through the winter, and now are coming back round to a warmer season.
The cast gathered after filming concluded on the last episode, all still dressed in their standard costumes. Because of the way the stories divided up the cast members, some actors were just meeting for the first time — Jang Geun Seok and the actor playing Merchant Wang, for instance, as well as Merchant Wang and Jo Hee Bong (playing Kwang Whe).
Jang Geun Seok took the camera behind the scenes for a bit, looking through his costumes and delivering pizza to the actors on set. The special (seeing him in streetwear, for instance) only heightened the real-life age differences that are completely different from their drama ages — Jang Geun Seok is the youngest main cast member (20), Sung Yuri is 27, and Kang Ji Hwan is 31 (Korean age 32).
In real life, Jang Geun Seok’s much more playful and immature (and I don’t mean that negatively — just that he’s got some growing up to do still, since he’s barely out of adolescence) than his character, while Sung Yuri seems rather self-aware and coy. Kang Ji Hwan speaks extremely well and strikes me as a very savvy sort of guy — he knows how to present himself confidently and comfortably. He conveys sincerity but I feel like we’re definitely not getting the whole picture, which is what I mean by savvy. It’s a mature-actor (or is it serious-actor?) trait, I think.
When asked about her character’s personality, Sung Yuri explained that she’d considered Enok her opposite, while others surprised her by saying she was just like the character. Apparently there was no consensus on what her “real” personality was — the actor playing Su Geun thought she was like Enok in that they both had a tough and “low-brow” quality to them (i.e., a salty sense of humor).
Notable was the extreme cold, made worse by wind. Kang Ji Hwan’s muscles were hidden, as a fan noted on the online message boards, by layers and layers of clothing — sometimes up to four layers of underclothes. It was just that cold (see Su Geun hiding behind Mal Nyeo; Kang Ji Hwan comes and takes cover behind both of them in a moment)
There were lots of action sequences, and wire work in particular for the more fantastical, comic-book elements. Kang Ji Hwan accidentally hit an actor for real and sent him to the hospital, and had his own troubles staying on his feet for his wire sequences.
The rapport between the actors seemed pretty friendly, more for some actors like Gom and Yeon. Jang Geun Seok joked that his “Yuri noona” would always come sit by him, no matter where he chose to sit (she answered that it was to steal his youthful energy).
Hong Gil Dong is a South Korean drama airing on KBS2 , starting from January 2, 2008, every Wednesday and Thursday. It is set in historical times with much modern influences and comedic tones.
Based on a fictional book about a Robin Hood in Korea; Hong Gil Dong , this drama is very loosely based on that book and the time period it was set in.
Hong Gil Dong is the illegitimate son of a minister. He is very bright and smart, however was told that he could not accomplish anything in this world, due to his illegitimate status. Thus he grew up spending most of his time being lazy and causing trouble for the people around him. However, a local monk thinks he is destined to be much more, and has taught Gil Dong martial arts. As the series progresses, Gil Dong realizes the severity of the injustices of the ranked world, and starts to fight against these injustices, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.
Heo Yi Nok is an upbeat, naive and carefree girl. At the beginning of the series, she arrives from China with her grandfather, who has raised her. She meets and befriends Gil Dong. Yi Nok has a past she is unaware of: she does not know her grandfather is not her blood-related grandfather, and that her real parents were murdered. She eventually develops feelings for Gil Dong, who reciprocates her feelings.
Lee Chang Hui also has arrived in Korea from China at the beginning of the series. He seems cold and calculating, as he also has a dark past in which his older brother, the current king of Joseon (Korea), tried to murder him. Chang Hui is planning a revolution, in which he tries to overthrow the king and takes his place as, he believes, the rightful king of Joseon. He coincidentally bumps into both Gil Dong and Yi Nok. Both Gil Dong and Yi Nok help Chang Hui realize what it takes to become a good king. He forges an alliance with Gil Dong and develops feelings for Yi Nok.
As the question of rightful succession comes into play, Hong Gil Dong and Yi Nok are forced to take sides, all the while having to deal with their own personal problems: their love, Gil Dong with his father issues, Yi Nok with her murdered parents and their revenge.
Hong Gildong is a fictitious character in an old Korean novel, Tale of Hong Gildong (Hangul : 홍길동전; Hanja : 洪吉童傳), written in the Joseon Dynasty. The story was authored by Heo Gyun and is believed to have been written in the late 16th or early 17th century. Hong Gildong is famous for his robbing the rich to feed the poor, much like the English folk hero Robin Hood.
The author of the novel, Heo Gyun (허균), is usually known in Korea as the writer of the first Korean novel, but was also a radical intellectual. He was born in a studious scholar family, as Korea at the time was a Conficianist state. Heo Gyun had long dreamed to change Korea into a fair society with no pressures within a hierarchy.
Due to the strict Confucian laws of the Joseon Dynasty, Heo expressed his ideas in this novel, where Hong, born an illegitimate child, is not accepted by his father and family. His father, after hearing from a shaman that his son is cursed, attempts to kill him but fails. Shocked and appalled at his father's actions, he goes out into the world, where he becomes a bandit leader. He becomes a bandit for the people, and steals from the rich only to give to the poor. His popularity within the peasant society soars, and many view him as a hero. Because of this, he is wanted by the government under Yeonsangun and is marked as a national traitor. With the order from the King, the government forces try to capture him many times, only to capture three hundred of his manifestations. Eventually, to control him, the government offers him the job of War Minister in which he accepts. For a while, he is satisfied with his occupation, but later, he realizes that the people still suffer. To find out the truth, he departs for Nanking to seek truth there. On his way, by chance he discovers the nation of Yul-do, which was oppressed by demons. He defeats the demons, and is elected the king of Yul-do. However, he hears the news of his father’s death, and hurries back to Joseon to serve his father’s funeral for three years, according to tradition. After his service, he returns to Yul-do, where he lives happily as a king and hero.
Interestingly, Hong is shown as returning to serve his father's funeral for three years, whereas his father attempted to murder him years ago. This reveals Hong's heroic state of mind furnished by Heo Gyun.
As it mentioned in the story of Hong Gil Dong that he is in the period of Yeonsangun, so I do some research and found out that Yeonsan-gun (1476 – 1506, r. 1494-1506), born Yi Yung, was the 10th king of Korea's Joseon Dynasty. He was the eldest son of King Seongjong by his second wife, Lady Yun.
In history, King Yeonsangun setting off a cycle of revenge which lasted for fifty years. He also seized a thousand women from the provinces to serve as palace entertainers. His mother, Queen Yoon, was chosen to be a new queen after King Seongjong’s first wife’s death. She had proved to be temperamental and highly jealous of Seongjong's concubines living inside the palace, even stooping to poisoning one. And she physically struck the king one night, leaving scratch marks. Despite efforts to conceal the injury, Seongjong's mother, Grand Queen Insu, discovered the truth and ordered Lady Yoon, now known as the Deposed Queen Yoon, into exile. After several popular attempts to restore the deposed Queen to her position at court, government officials arranged for her to be poisoned.
After Yeonsangun succeeded his throne from Seongjong and known what happened to his biological mother, the king was shocked and arrested many officials who supported the idea of executing his mother, and put all of them to death. In court flooded with blood from his revenge and people outside have to be in suffered from straving. Later, a group of minority officials but notable had launched their coup and replacing him with his half-brother, Grand Prince Jinseong, who later became King Jungjong of Joseon.
Jungjong of Joseon (1488 – 1544, r.1506–1544), born Yi Yeok, ruled during the 16th century. He succeeded his half-brother, Yeonsangun, because of the latter's misrule, which culminated in a coup placing Jungjong on the throne.
During the early days of his reign, he worked hard as the new king to wipe out the remnants of the Yeonsangun era. King Jungjong was clearly a generous, good and able administrator. However, his reign was mostly marked by political confusion created by the many corrupt officials, and the failure of his reforms. His policy had always faced opposition from his council members; and unlike his predecessors, he did not have much power to appoint his court officials because true power rested with the leaders of the 1506 coup that placed him in power, and later the queens' family members. He didn't accomplish much during his reign, but it was a very calm era compared to that of Yeonsangun.
Jungjong is also well known for appointing Jang Geum as one of his personal doctors. Never in Korean history had a woman become a royal physician. It is also worth noting that since Jungjong's reign, Korea has never had a female royal or presidential physician, even to this day.
After compare these 2 kings in history with Kwang Hwe (the insane king in Hong Gil Dong) and Chang Hwui, there’re some similarities and can be possible to assume that they’re the same one. The 2 characters may be adapted from these 2 kings into Kwang Hwe and Chang Hwui.
Yeonsangun had appeared in several korean dramas, such as in Dae Jang Geum, the first episode was shown with government officials in the reign of King Seongjong poisoning the deposed Queen Yun, while he was the first born but not yet the Crown Prince. After discovering the incident during his reign, he ordered an investigation leading to the Second Literati Purge. He was deposed when a civil rebellion occurred. His half-brother, Grand Prince Jinseong, the future King Jungjong, succeeded him, through the coup. And in The King and I, the story of Queen Yun, his mother.
พระเจ้ายอนซานกุนปรากฏอยู่ในละครหลายเรื่อง อาทิเช่น ในแดจังกึม ตอนเริ่มเรื่องที่มีคำสั่งให้พระนางยุนต้องโทษดื่มยาพิษ และต่อมาพระเจ้ายอนซานกุนก็สั่งประหารทุกคนที่มีส่วนเกี่ยวข้อง (รวมทั้งพ่อของจังกึมด้วย) ก่อนที่จะถูกยึดอำนาจและพระเจ้าจุงจงก็ได้ครองราชย์สืบมา และในเรื่อง The King and I ซึ่งเป็นเรื่องของพระนางยุน มารดาของพระเจ้ายอนซานกุนองค์นี้นี่เอง
Jungjong also appeared in the dramas “Hwang Jin Yi” and “Dae Jang Geum”. He is portrayed as a righteous man who wants the best for the people of Joeseon but is always being persuaded by his officials.
