(04.05.2014) MBC Section TV Empress Ki Special

There are 2 MBC video cuts I have. One is about Empress Ki in general and one is Ha Ji Won’s interview.

 

A Brief Summary of Empress Ki 

The first one here is a summary of drama “Empress Ki” or as the narrator said “Empress Ki Last Goodbye”. The video explains a lot of things below:

1. Empress Ki’s death row - whereas almost all characters get killed. Wang Yoo, Ta Hwan, Empress Dowager, Lord Zhang, Golta

2. Supporting characters

3. Love triangle among Wang Yoo – Seung Nyang – Ta Hwan

4. Three best lines in the drama:

3rd place: SN to TH: "The power of the emperor does not come from the nobles, but from the people"

2nd place: Tal Tal to SN: "Betrayal is not caused by man, but by time"

1st place: TH to SN: "When I first broke out of my shell, you were my mother bird!"

         

5. Empress Ki’s men: Wang Yoo, Ta Hwan, Tal Tal

6. Empress Ki BTS

Ha Ji Won Interview - rough translation (Kor-Chi) credit EK Baidu

I only get translations for related to Empress Ki drama.

Ha Ji Won is photographed then she moved to interview. She introduced herself.

The MC says Tahwan's gets jealous really easily, and wonders if he'll ever be able to interview him after what happened (referring to the MC positioning himself as a 'choice' for HJW).

HJW: Don't worry. I can take him down easily with just one hand [on his neck].

HJW mentions JJM's skills at imitating other people's voices, and his skill at always being able to make the atmosphere on set more lively. 

The MC then asks HJW about the three men in "Empress Ki" - 

HJW: I would like someone who is funny, has a great sense of humour and is sexy.

MC: Aren't I the perfect one then? *takes off sweater*

HJW: I like tall people (thus rejecting the MC). 

Side note: JYH and JCW's heights are listed as 1.80, according to Naver/Nate, JJM's unlisted but assumed to be 1.80 by most sites.

MC: When we talk about memorable pairings, Hyun Bin from the hugely popular Secret Garden is someone that must be mentioned.

HJW: At the time, my collaboration with HB was the best. Now, my collaboration with Ji Changwook-sshi and Joo Jinmo sunbae are the best.

Source: EK Soompi

Drama Review: Empress Ki (2013-2014)

Rating: 8/10

Main Cast:

Ha Ji Won as Ki Seung Nyang/Empress Ki

Joo Jin Mo as Wang Yoo

Ji Chang Wook as Ta Hwan aka Pyeha

Baek Jin Hee as Tanashiri

Jeon Guk Hwan as Yeonchul/El Temur

Jin Yi Han as Tal Tal

Kim Jung Hyun as Dangkise

The Plot:

                Koryeo-born woman, Ki Seung Nyang fell in love with her king during their time together. However some bad fates made her end up in Yuan as maid in Yuan Palace. She wanted revenge to her family and country only to be loved by Yuan Emperor. The journey to be an empress, that’s what drama all about.

Review:

“A very rough and bumpy ride.”

                A long sageuk drama (51 episodes) as MBC trying to revive the glory of historical sageuk like Dae Jang Geum, Queen Seondeok, and Dong Yi, this drama proves to be very popular and reigns at number 1 spot in the entire run. A star-studded cast leads by Ha Ji Won, an actress considered as Korean beauty and box office hit.  To make up the central love triangle, Joo Jin Mo and Ji Chang Wook played as Koryeo King and Yuan Emperor respectively. The production behind of this drama is rather uneven pair, PD Han Hee of atrocious Dr. Jin and pair writers Jang Young Cheol and Jung Kyung Soon of Giant and History of Salaryman. But fear not, this drama actually has another PD who’s talented and the directing is pretty good. Besides, the cinematography and the clothes are feast on the eyes. We won’t likely get bored when watching this drama.

Coronation Scene

                The drama started off strongly. The first scene was coronation scene of Empress Ki which been shot in Forbidden City, China. Then, the story flashed back to the days when Seung Nyang was in Koryeo. In the first few episodes Ha Ji Won cross-dressed as a man and can play the part convincingly. The plot was interesting and moved fast. Then after episode 7, the majority story moves to Yuan Palace. For the majority of episodes the main villain is El Temur, played by Jeon Guk Hwan. After that, the villain is not clearly established because everyone can be enemy to everyone. That made identity crisis to the plot after the death of El Temur. The story is still interesting, but the writers appear to avoid making bold decisions.

Hero/villain?

                Afterall the real villains actually are the writers. For 51 episodes the writers made everyone suffer and give them a very little happiness. The characters had numerous fights against each other and killed each other. The love triangle is being dragged until the final week, even after Seung Nyang becomes an empress. Despite the story that sometimes frustrating, this drama benefits from great acting from everyone from main cast to supporting characters. Some become scene-stealer like Jin Yi Han, some are underutilized like Joo Jin Mo. The stars of the show are Ji Chang Wook and Ha Ji Won. Their journey and their multidimensional characters are a joy to watch. Their romantic scenes are truly romantic and melted the heart of viewers. Their confrontation scenes are great but painful to watch. Their relationship is facing many obstacles but their love to each other can’t be denied. Their height of the relationship ultimately results in a son, Ayushiridara, the crown prince. Their skinship scenes actually the most ever happen in any sageuk drama that usually restrained skinship.

Skinship

                 Ta Hwan, Yuan Emperor, once said in a episode, “I believed there was more than power and gold in life”. Yeah, if the characters don’t care about power and gold, they won’t kill each other and this drama won’t exist.

Plus:

-A great cast and great acting by everyone

-Good cinematography and has very beautiful clothes, especially Empress Ki’s clothes

 -Very addictive

-The most romantic and having most skinships sageuk ever.

Minus:

-long drama, 51 episodes

-Solid writing in the beginning, then suffered from writers’ indecisiveness and many illogical plots

-A bit difficult to find a good english sub and download this drama (but you can DL via torrent)

-Has many political plots

Life lessons:

1. If you love someone, make sure you tell him/her ASAP

2. Revenge is bad for everyone

3. Sometimes the one who will hurt you is the one closest to you

4. You can learn history (although distorted), geopolitics, diplomacy, culture, etc.