Kdrama 2021
The King’s Affection (Kdrama Review & Summary)
The King’s Affection poster
- Genre: Historical Costume Drama Fiction, Romance, Cross-dressing
- Release Date: 11 October 2021
- Origin: South Korea
- Kdrama: 16 Episodes
Cast
- Park Eun-Bin – Lee Hwi
- Ro Woon – Jung Ji-Woon
- Lee Pil-Mo – King Yejong
- Nam Yoon-Soo – Lee Hyun
- Choi Byung-Chan – Kim Ga-On
- Bae Yoon-Kyoung – Shin So-On
- Bae Soo-Bin – Jung Seok-Jo
- Jung Chae-Yeon – No Ha-Kyung
- Kim In-Kwon – Yang Moon-Soo
- Park Eun-Hye – Ji-Woon’s mother
- Jang Se-Hyun – Jil-Geum
- Kim Seo-Ha – Prince Changwoon
- Lee Il-Hwa – King Yejong’s mother
- Kim Jae-Chul
- Ko Kyu-Pil
- Choi Myung Bin as young Dam-i/Lee Hwi
Quick Precis
The crown prince’s wife gave birth to twins, a son, and a daughter. It was unfortunate that twins have a portentous connotation.
The daughter was quickly ordered to be killed but the crown prince’s consort secretly had her daughter fostered.
After some years, the son died; the crown princess hid the truth and brought back her daughter to become the new Prince Lee Hwi.
Prince Lew Hwi developed a crush on her handsome teacher, Jung Ji Woo. Now the fun begins
Episode 1
The first episode was really good. Fast-paced and interesting, a really good start.
The Crown Princess was giving birth. She had her prince, who will be the crown prince one day when the current Crown Prince becomes king.
But then she felt the urge to push some more and birthed a little girl.
The King was with the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess’s father. The king was going livid because a twin was an abomination. The Crown Prince tried to reason but it was no use.
The king ordered immediately that the little girl is killed.
So the Crown Princess’s father led a troop of assassins to kill everyone at the maternity ward of the palace, it was a complete massacre. They then went to the Crown Princess’ villa to take her daughter to kill, her father told her to give the baby to him but she said that baby had died.
The doctor had put the baby into a deep sleep by using an acupuncture needle to make it look like it had died.
They told the Crown Princess’ guards to cremate the dead baby girl.
As soon as they had left, Yoon Yung Chul, took the baby out of the palace and into a nearby temple.
10 years later…
What do you know? The young prince was playing football when the ball flew out of the place wall and right into Dam-i who was immediately noticed by the young would-be eunuch as the doppelganger of his young master.
The young prince who followed his servant boy noticed the resemblance as well.
He told his mother later that he met his twin. The girl who lived just outside the palace looks exactly like him. She was his mirror image.
The Crown Princess almost had a heart attack. She told her son never to mention that he saw someone who looked like his twin.
Even though he promised, the young prince could not help but be drawn to Dam-i, his girl lookalike. He invited her to the palace and made her changed into something the same as he was wearing.
They looked as if they were the same person. Before you know it, we were watching the Prince and the Pauper drama where the prince pretended to be the girl, Dam-i so he could go out of the palace freely and unescorted to visit his master (teacher) who got into trouble with the palace and would likely to be arrested and executed.
His master recognised him immediately despite being dressed as a girl.
Meanwhile, Dam-i was almost peeing herself when the Crown Prince came in for a visit. It seemed that blood is thicker than water because she liked him immediately without knowing that he was her father.
Anyway, Dam-i can go in and out of the palace as she had now. become a palace maid.
Young Jung Ji Woon was taken by his father, Jung Seok Joo, to the palace.
Jung Seok Joo was showing him around and told him that one day he will be working in the palace as well.
Jung Seok Joo was told that he was needed inside the palace.
While his father was inside the palace, Ji Woon saw a young maid dropped a blue cloth. He went after her and found her eventually just outside the palace wall from a secret gate.
He saw her reading and he fell in love at first sight with her.
He went to talk to her about the book she was reading but she realised that she had to go. Ji Woon tried to delay her which made her drop her book into the lily pond. They ended up both falling into a pond which was very very very deep.
Ji Woon almost drowned but Dam-i rescued him.
As he was unresponsive, she gave him the kiss of life.
Ji Woon could not believe that he had been kissed but she explained that it was not a kiss, it was first aid because he needed air in his lungs to be able to breathe again.
Anyway, Ji Woon asked her for a date which they enjoyed very much, he gave her a little present with a new name for her instead of just Dam-i which was really a description that she was found just by the wall.
She asked to meet him by the bridge in a few days because she had a gift for him as well. They were seen by Jung Seok Joo who immediately knew that she was the twin of the prince because of their extreme likeness.
On the day of her date with Ji Woon, the young prince asked Dam-i to change places again because he had to say goodbye to his old master.
So dressed like a girl, he went out of the palace and was seen by Jung Seok Joo, who went after him thinking that he was the girl, Dam-i, who had no right to be alive as per the edict of the King.
Yoon Yung Chul noticed what was going on and tried to save the Dam-i. Yoon Yung Chul realised that the girl was the prince.
They tried to run away but Jung Seok Joo was tenacious and got to them.
Jung Seok Joo was stronger than Yoon Yung chul so he prevailed. He then went after the fleeing prince who he thought was the girl.
It was just too late he shot the prince in the heart.
Episode 2
First and foremost I have to comment that young actress Choi Myung Bin for her stellar performance as Dam-i as well as Prince Lee Hwi. Her acting was really affecting.
Poor Crown Princess! She was absolutely heartbroken to receive the body of the young prince. Though the prince was dressed like a girl, it was confirmed that he was the prince. She knew already as she checked the prince’s neck and it did not have the scar on his neck. His sister had it because of the acupuncture when she was a newborn baby.
Anyway, the prince’s body was immediately cremated while the Crown Princess spoke to Dam-i that from that time on she was no longer be a maid but be Prince Lee Hwi.
Dam-i said she could not do it or even wanted to but the Crown Princess said that if she refuses they are all going to be dead.
Emotionally blackmailed into doing it, she started living as the prince. She had started to get used to many things but it was almost got derailed when she witnessed something heinous.
It was her birthday party. Ji Woon attended and then came to speak to her to tell the prince that he was leaving for Ming to complete his studies. He will be back to serve him one day.
Dam-i followed Ji Woon to try to say goodbye to him but he was otherwise engaged as he followed his father who was running after Il-woo the young maid.
Dam-i saw what happened.
Poor Ji Woon was shocked to see his father killing a defenseless girl.
Dam-i ran and hid from everyone.
The palace was all looking for her. Her young servant was so heartbroken and blaming himself for not protecting her well.
Dam-i came out of her hiding and told them that she felt guilty that it was all her fault that the prince died and her friend died.
The Crown Princess’ lady’s maid told her that nothing was her fault.
The Crown Princess spoke to her and told her that she was her daughter. In this part, I was not convinced because Dam-i did not have any question why she did not grow up in the palace? What had happened? etc.
Anyway, the Crown Princess told her that she was a very special person and she must live as the prince and behaved like the prince. The mother and daughter had a final bonding because for some reason the Crown Princess was dying in the next scene.
This was rather random. You are left scratching your head why the Crown Princess was suddenly in her death bed.
The young prince grew up into a shemale. She was annoyed that her cotton breast bands had been thrown away by a new maid so she had to make do with the silken variety which was a bummer because she was going hunting.
It was deer hunting season.
Her relatives were rather dismissive of her because of her delicate female look. Her uncle was saying that she only become the king’s favourite because of her material family influence.
She shot an arrow almost to his face which annoyed him so he chased after her and would do the same to her.
She was just about to shoot a deer when an arrow dislodged her neat bun making her long lustrous hair fall along her shoulders giving her a beautiful female appearance that shocked her uncle.
He said she was a girl.
As the other member of palace guards were coming in, the Prince went to look for a safe place to rearrange her breast band.
She saw some movement and threw her knife at it.
The man was a grown up Jung Ji Woon.