5.2 - Episode 2 of Mr. Queen

08/25/23 • 50 min

2 Listeners

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 2 of Mr. Queen, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Shin Hye-sun as Kim So-yong, Kim Jyung-hun as King Cheojong, Seol In-ah as Jo Hwa-jin, Na In-woo as Kim Byeong-in, and Choi Jin-hyuk as Jang Bong-hwan.

We discuss:

The song we feature from the OST, Like a Star is by Hanbyul Jang, an Australian-born singer and songwriter.
We wonder if modern day Koreans would know about the reign of King Cheoljong, including the Andong Kim and the Pungyang Jo families.
How nothing happened during the King and Queen’s night; the King even fabricated “the Red” on the bedding with pig’s blood.
How the King and Jo Hwa-jin appear to be in love, and Queen So-yong finds out, through flashbacks, that she loved the King, but the King did not love her.
How Jang Bong-hwan is fascinated by the court politics and the history unfolding before her.
The Queen’s hilarious antics, including how Kim So-yong acts and moves like a man, how he hates the queen’s clothing and headgear, her awkward exit from the palanquin, how he sits with his legs spread while at court, how she flirts with concubine Jo Hwa-jin, and how he hikes up his dress when running around the palace.
What a gisaeng house is, and how gisaeng are official government entertainers who were trained in fine arts, poetry and prose.
How King Cheoljong acts the fool in front of the court, and how his facial expressions change depending on who he’s with and the persona he wishes to project.
The roles of concubine, Grand Dowager Queen, and Grand Royal Dowager Queen.
The K Drama elements we see in this episode: beautiful actors, beautiful court clothing, food, new triangles forming between the characters, flowers, talking to someone while they’re sleeping, and quirky best friend.
Our favorite lines from this episode.
The cliffhanger at the end of the episode. Will the King attack the Queen? What did the Queen overhear and did she understand it all?

References

We discuss:

The song we feature from the OST, Like a Star is by Hanbyul Jang, an Australian-born singer and songwriter.
We wonder if modern day Koreans would know about the reign of King Cheoljong, including the Andong Kim and the Pungyang Jo families.
How nothing happened during the King and Queen’s night; the King even fabricated “the Red” on the bedding with pig’s blood.
How the King and Jo Hwa-jin appear to be in love, and Queen So-yong finds out, through flashbacks, that she loved the King, but the King did not love her.
How Jang Bong-hwan is fascinated by the court politics and the history unfolding before her.
The Queen’s hilarious antics, including how Kim So-yong acts and moves like a man, how he hates the queen’s clothing and headgear, her awkward exit from the palanquin, how he sits with his legs spread while at court, how she flirts with concubine Jo Hwa-jin, and how he hikes up his dress when running around the palace.
What a gisaeng house is, and how gisaeng are official government entertainers who were trained in fine arts, poetry and prose.
How King Cheoljong acts the fool in front of the court, and how his facial expressions change depending on who he’s with and the persona he wishes to project.
The roles of concubine, Grand Dowager Queen, and Grand Royal Dowager Queen.
The K Drama elements we see in this episode: beautiful actors, beautiful court clothing, food, new triangles forming between the characters, flowers, talking to someone while they’re sleeping, and quirky best friend.
Our favorite lines from this episode.
The cliffhanger at the end of the episode. Will the King attack the Queen? What did the Queen overhear and did she understand it all?

References

Previous Episode

5.1 - Episode 1 of Mr. Queen

1 Recommendations

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 1 of Mr. Queen, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Shin Hye-sun as Kim So-yong, Kim Jyung-hun as King Cheojong, Seol In-ah as Jo Hwa-jin, Na In-woo as Kim Byeong-in, and Choi Jin-hyuk as Jang Bong-hwan.

We discuss:

The historical context for the show. King Cheoljong was a real king! He was illiterate and untrained when he came to power, and was a known womanizer and drinker.
The name of this K Drama in Korean is Queen Cheorin.
The different characters in the show, including Jang Bong-hwan, King Cheoljong, Kim So-yong, Jo Hwa-jin, Heon Yeong, Court Lady Choi, and Kim Byeong-in.
How Jang Bong-hwan fell into the pool, was kissed by Kim So-yong and ended up in Kim So-yong’s body.
The hilarious wedding between King Cheoljong and Kim So-yong.
The two types of concubines in the Korean court during the Joseon period.
There are so many K Drama elements in this first episode!
How the episode ends on a cliffhanger. What will happen on King Cheoljong and Kim So-yong’s wedding night?
How Joanna has discovered C Dramas and is absolutely obsessed with Hidden Love!
Instagrammer Ina Kim on expressions we hear a lot in K Dramas.

References

Next Episode

5.3 - Episode 3 of Mr. Queen

3 Recommendations

Today, we’ll be discussing Episode 3 of Mr. Queen, the hit K Drama on Netflix starring Shin Hye-sun as Kim So-yong, Kim Jyung-hun as King Cheojong, Seol In-ah as Jo Hwa-jin, Na In-woo as Kim Byeong-in, and Choi Jin-hyuk as Jang Bong-hwan.

We discuss:

The song we feature, The Great Recipe by sEODo.
The awesome puns and double entendres in this show.
The Royal chef calls the queen’s ramen Samyang ramyeon, or literally ‘three fragrance small pot ramen’, but this is also the name of a popular ramen brand in South Korea.
How inviting someone to have ramyeon with you at your place is an invitation to get physical and spend the night.
How the king and queen mistrust each other and this is the central theme of this episode.
All the cooking in this episode and the queen’s antics with her cooking.
How we learn more about the queen’s past, including that she loved King Cheoljong but the king did not love her back.
A new triangle brewing between the king, the queen, and Kim Byeong-in, who has loved the queen for a very long time.
How the Queen wins the favor of the Grand Dowager Queen through her cooking.
We learn more about how the king lost his entire family, his nightmares, and his secret identity.
How everyone is watching everyone else.
The amazing court ladies, where they came from during the Joseon Dynasty, why the court needed so many court ladies, and their jobs at the palace.

References