[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

@LRM11219311 To your question, you can read my following post. Alice in Wonderland a source of inspiration

 

Another observation about Alice in Wonderland and The King

 

However, just like Lee Gon embodying two characters from Alice in Wonderland, Luna doesn't just resemble the White Rabbit, her actions remind us of Cheshire Cat as the latter keeps appearing and disappearing. Luna pops up in front of Lee Gon twice and in front of JTE in the car once. She just remains there for a few second. There is no logical explanation for her appearance and disappearance, only magic or fantasy can elucidate this.

- Lee Gon: Alice / Queen of hearts

- Luna: White Rabbit / Cheshire Cat

- JTE: Caterpillar / Alice

 

@YongZura⁷ @ktcjdrama @Ameera Ali

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

Alice in Wonderland, a source of inspiration for “The King: Eternal Monarch”

Before making connections between “Alice in Wonderland”, written by the mathematician Lewis Carroll, and the K-drama “The King: Eternal Monarch”, it is relevant to know about the major topics in that fairy tale. In this story, Alice is getting sleepy on a bench, when she suddenly witnesses a White Rabbit running while holding a clock. She gets curios and decides to follow him and that’s how she enters a new world: Wonderland. This land symbolizes the epitome of craziness and fantasy. Alice discovers strange animals and people like Cheshire Cat, Caterpillar, Mad Hatter and Queen of Hearts. No logical explanation can be applied in this world, like e. g. the baby of the Duchess turns into a pig or the Cheshire Cat appears and disappears or the Mad Hatter drinks tea with Dormouse and March Hare without changing the table. No rational thoughts and physical laws can rationalize the events.

Striking is that a mathematician, a representative of logic and sciences, wrote this book, where creativity knows no boundary and where sciences can not be used. However, at the same time, Alice tries to use sciences and her knowledge in order to understand this strange world because the female protagonist of this fairy tale keeps wondering if her adventure is a dream or a reality. As she attempts desperately to use her knowledge in order to solve this dilemma, she fails. Even the reader keeps wondering the same thing either as there are always allusions that she could be sleeping and as such dreaming.

Coexisting to this dilemma, the reader is following Alice on her journey from childhood to adulthood. Her strange adventure makes her experience different stressful situations (growing, shrinking, having a long neck etc.) and this should be interpret as a symbolization of her future puberty. The transformations of her body are not the only changes operating in Alice, she also questions herself and about her own identity. The Caterpillar asks her about her identity and she can not answer it right away. She even adds, she feels that she has changed since the morning too. And later after eating a mushroom, her neck streches out so that a pigeon calls her a snake. In other words, her identity quest suggests a initiatory journey. On her way to become an adult, she faces difficult and strange experiences which turns her into a different person at the end. When she leaves this land, she is no longer a child. That’s why time plays a huge part in this book. Remember that the White Rabbit held a clock in the beginning, later she meets the Mad Hatter who owns a strange clock as well. Transforming into a adult is definitely linked to time. Just before leaving Wonderland, Alice is put before a trial and the Queen of Hearts wants to condemn her. The latter embodies the adulthood, the parent who appears to teenagers strange, authoritarian and strict. At the end, Alice defies her and leaves Wonderland before getting any punishment. All this represents Alice cutting ties with her parent on her identity quest.

That’s why my comparison between the fairy tale and the k-drama “The King: Eternal Monarch” is not just about the characters, but also about the following topics: dream, reality, fantasy, sciences, identity quest, initiatory voyage, adulthood and time.

First, the fairy tale “Alice in Wonderland” is directly mentioned in the first episode. The main lead, the King of Corea Lee Gon, is reading this book in front of children. He even reads the passage where Alice is following the White Rabbit.

episode 1: Here is the scene where the king Lee Gon is reading the book “Alice in Wonderland” to children. On the left, we can see an illustration of Alice following the White Rabbit.

This scene is really important as it has two purposes. First, it gives a first overview of Lee Gon’s personality. We discover that this story is the king’s favorite and he considers himself as a mathematician therefore he feels connected to the author, Lewis Carroll, who is also a mathematician. Here, our main lead seems to know himself quite well, unlike Alice. Lee Gon is a scientist loving Physics and Maths and even using physic laws and mathematical formulas in order to grasp the world around him. Furthermore, he shares some similarities to Alice. Just like her, he is curios and shows a certain innocence. The second purpose of this scene is to elucidate the reason why Lee Gon will discover the parallel world, Republic of Korea. Since Lee Gon reads the excerpt where Alice is chasing after the White Rabbit, the protagonist is suddenly confronted in a similar situation: he sees a person running with a rabbit costume hence he decides to follow this Rabbit. It was, as if Lee Gon had become Alice.

Since this is an adaptation of this passage from the book, we also need to compare the two scenes. The first difference is the gender. It doesn’t seem to be relevant, yet it gives us an illustration that everyone is like Alice. The second difference is that Alice is a child in the story and changes through the story so that at the end, she is no longer a child. Here Lee Gon is an adult. Yet he sometimes behaves like a child, e. g. when he yells at his captain of security Jo Young that everything in this palace belongs to him. He acts as a spoiled child who doesn’t want to share his belongings. In other words, despite his age, Lee Gon hasn’t lost his innocence completely. Therefore, when he sees a person dressed like a rabbit, he acts like Alice: he chases after the White Rabbit and the clock.

The White Rabbit in the episode 1 from “The King: Eternal Monarch”

Unlike the fairy tale, the rabbit is not a real rabbit but a person. Besides, the biggest contrast is that the rabbit jacket is not white at all but black. She doesn’t hold any clock but she is followed by thugs, hence she is under pressure. What caught my attention is that once Lee Gon notices her (the person is a woman called Luna), he says that he is chasing after the white rabbit and the clock. His words defy the reality as it is not correct. Then here is the question: why did the writer and director choose a black rabbit jacket? Is it a coincidence and is there a meaning behind it?

In my opinion, this choice could be deliberate as Luna, dressed as rabbit, is supposed to lead Lee Gon to the parallel world: Republic of Korea. Besides, during that first incident, Lee Lim, the villain and uncle of the King, appears at the rowing event. While white is associated to innocence and purity, black embodies the opposite: evil and corruption. Hereafter, this visit in Republic of Korea, is not supposed to be an initiatory voyage, rather a trap for the King.

However, the author of the k-drama has not just associated Lee Gon to Alice. During the 6 first episodes, our main lead has a terrible habit: he keeps threatening everyone to behead them, if they don’t follow his orders or disregard his wishes.

Spoiler

Episode 1: he is threatening his captain and friend Jo Young

He behaves just like the Queen of hearts who constantly orders the beheading of people when something isn’t to her liking (although these orders apparently never are actually carried out). In Monarchy of Corea, it is the same: no one has ever been beheaded since the beginning of the 20th Century. As I had mentioned above, Queen of Hearts, represents the adulthood and as such the absurdity of the adult world. Lee Gon had to act as an adult, the moment he lost his father. He had to fight his uncle and later to assume his function as the next King. That’s why Lee Gon is a combination of Alice and Queen of Hearts. Furthermore, the latter did act like a strange and even childish person… she never wanted to lose a croquet game hence she bent the rules to her liking.

Once the king arrives in the parallel world, he is surprised and confused, just like our heroine from the novel. Nevertheless, he adjusts himself very quickly as he tries to use his knowledge and sciences to grasp this new world. Strangely, Alice has a similar attitude: just like him, she attempted to use her knowledge in order to distinguish if this world was a dream or a reality. Although their behavior is a little similar, their purpose is different. Lee Gon is not questioning himself if he is dreaming or not. First, he is not alone because he traveled with his horse Maximus. So for him, this is all real. Here, Lee Gon is trying to assess how this world works and how it is different from his own world. He makes different experiences… for the first time, he learns f. ex. the value of money. Just like a spoiled child he was in his world, he doesn’t change his way of life therefore he is too spendthrift with his money. As result, he is left with no money (end of the second episode). Here, for the first time, he makes the experience that there is nothing free in this world.

As you can observe, although Lee Gon has been sent to Republic of Korea with some bad intention, his trip to that parallel world can be seen as an initiatory journey. For the first time, he is on his own… not surrounded by his bodyguards and his Lady Head of court No. That’s why he is able to become more mature. Then he confesses to JTE for the first time. It seems to me that his change from childhood to adulthood is much shorter than the one compared to Alice. First, he is already an adult hence his body doesn’t change so that he doesn’t need to deal with transformations. Secondly, the central topic of the k-drama is to fight against his uncle and not the loss of childhood. The loss of childhood and the initiatory voyage are just side issues.

Then in both works, the quest of identity is present. Contrary to the novel, here Lee Gon is not trying to find his own identity as he is already an adult. In “The King: Eternal Monarch” Jung Tae Eul, the lieutnant, is the one who is attempting to identify the weird man. Since she keeps asking about his identity, she could be associated to the Caterpillar. However she fails with every possible method. Her problem is that she doesn’t believe him at all, when he claims that he comes from a parallel universe and he is a king there. On her quest to identify him, she can’t help to find him weird and crazy. The craziness, existent in Alice in Wonderland, is shown in a subtle way in the k-drama. Lee Gon has no current money therefore he uses buttons to get money. Then what he says and the way he acts look weird to JTE and the others. They all keep calling him: “crazy bastard”, “weirdo” or “half-crazy bastard”. JTE even gives him a name connected to “dog excrement”. They sometimes give him a better description: a handsome man with a beautiful white horse. Yet JTE fails to really understand him, until he leaves her world. Only after his departure, his words are proved to be true. His weirdness fades away and JTE is finally able to identify the man.

However, there are two common denominators with the fairy tale in this drama: the importance of time and fantasy.

Spoiler

The importance of time is already pointed out in the poster that you can see above. In the title, there are actually two clocks. And it looks like there will be a time loop. Remember in the book that the white rabbit was running with a clock. Secondly, the Mad Hatter owns a strange clock that doesn’t give time but the day of the month. Just like the Mad Hatter, Lee Gon possesses a clock that is unique in both worlds:

episode 2: the unique clock of Lee Gon that was fabricated after Maximus’ first victory

Then while talking to Alice, the mad Hatter mentions time as a person: “If you knew Time as well as I do, said the Hatter, you wouldn’t talk about wasting it. It’s him. “[…] I daresay you never even spoke to Time”. He even adds that if Alice talked to Time, then he could help her to change time as she wished. She only needs to whisper to him about the time she would like to have. In my opinion, this excerpt could be seen as an indication that something similar will happen in the future. Lee Gon will time travel.

The time is even so relevant that’s why the writer uses a lot of expressions and situations around the time, like f. ex. The lady No and the prince Byeong are both annoyed by the disappearance of the king and are searching for a good excuse. Each of them keep saying “this time”. I could mention two scenes

1. when Lee Gon confesses how troubled he is. It took him 25 years to find JTE, yet this day felt so long for him. Notice the discrepancy, although 25 years is much longer than a day… Lee Gon pointed out that he felt the exact opposite. He, a scientist, who keeps measuring time in order to know the time difference between the two worlds, is making the experience that sometimes time can not be really measured.

2. when Lee Gon is asked if he has dated before then he kisses her. Indirectly, he is underlining the importance of the present. The kiss marks a turning point between the past (has he been dating before?) and the future (Is he dating now?)

The other common point is fantasy which is linked to time. Lee Gon discovers that time can stop there but first he has no idea why. Then his uncle doesn’t age. In 2020, Lee Rim doesn’t look like a 71 years old man. Then in the passage between the two worlds, Lee Gon the scientist has noted that there is no time there as the red balloon is still remaining at the same place. The air has not disappeared. This space defies the laws of Physics. Hence he wants to discover this world. Furthermore, the ID that was printed in 2019 already existed in 1994.

As conclusion, we find many elements from Alice in Wonderland existent in the k-drama. The viewer need to know the book in order to understand the insider jokes (like the beheading e. g.)

@YongZura⁷ @vangsweetie637@ktcjdrama@andy78 @Ameera Ali@CallieP @briseis

 

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

@Aleenaaa Great observation!!! And the difference you caught between the pictures could be a clue about the time travel Remember that in this scene, time stops and no one except LG notices it. So if time stops, then it means that he can leave the place and move elsewhere... travel in time and come back later to this scene so that JTE doesn't notice the change. Back then, he was surprised and didn't know the meaning of this. Only LR knows about it: the arrival of the other flute owner. In my opinion, LG couldn't do anything back then as he didn't have the tiger sword. I believe that the sword is linked to the space that linked both worlds. If he uses the sword, he can go to that place and the time travel can occur. 

@YongZura⁷ @ktcjdrama

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

@madmad min As good as my theory with the red balloon sounded, I made a mistake. LG brought the red balloon there in order to study the place. Let us not forget that he is a scientist after all. However, I find it interesting that he chose such a thing. A red balloon is a symbol for childhood and innocence and this travel to the parallel world should be seen as an initiatory voyage where he will gather experiences and knowledge in order to defeat his uncle. At the same time, JET's action (planting the seeds) outlines her different personality. She is not interested how the world there functions... she just hopes that something will grow. Deep down, she believes in magic (as she doesn't listen to LG's world: there is no time, air, etc.). Magic and sciences oppose each other as magic can not be explained with science. 

Like she said once to LG, she doesn't believe that the earth is round, although she knows the truth. So despite seeing or hearing this, her strong believes are what matter to her. That's why I believe that LG, the scientist, will also change and will come to believe that there is more than sciences and logical explanations. That's how LG will come to the theory that he can travel in time. That also explains why JTE is influenced by the moon rabbit, whereas LG only sees the form of the moon as a logical explanation: the relief of the moon with mountains and crevices.

@YongZura⁷ @ktcjdrama

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

58 minutes ago, kboramint said:

 

This is why I have a theory that Luna is not from KOC but a third alternative world that the viewers aren't aware of. 

@syntyche Based on character descriptions, Luna has no ID in Mon. Corea because Lee Rim erased every trace of her. She is supposed to be an orphan. Since there is a spy in the palace, the latter must have seen the ID of JTE and Lee Rim could have looked for the doppelganger before him as he had traveled to Rep. Korea first. So he got aware of the existence of doppelgangers before LG, while the King only searched for someone with the name of JTE or with lieutnant position.

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

@Aleenaaa Thanks for the GIF. That is exactly what I meant. He will go back to the past. The time loop is represented in the logo/title. And in my opinion, the sword will play a huge part because "sky and earth" are mentioned on it and this reminds me of the passage where you only see the sky and a small path (earth).

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

4 minutes ago, mamabear said:

Didn't he mentioned that he was the one who brought the balloon in there? I have to rewatch episode 6 to confirm this. 

You are right!! I had totally forgotten it. Nonetheless, the interpretation of the red balloon doesn't change entirely in his significance. LG is on his way to discover LR's moves.

 

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

@1ouise Some people don't live really opposite lives because they belong to the middle classes. The closer to the mirror (middle), the closer they are to each other. However, the photograph has definitely a lower income than the tea shop owner. So she is just from a lower social class from the middle class and has just a lower income in Mon. Corea than in Rep. Korea. And I would like to remember about the life of the Prime minister. Since she comes from a low social class and was able to climb up the social ladder, we have to wonder if the opposite didn't happen in Rep. Korea. I have the impression that despite her greed and ambition, she could reject Lee Rim's offer as the latter has not worked hard in order to get rid of the King. He is just using dirty tricks in order to achieve his goal... Sure, the mother helped LR with the cane. And we have to wonder if the PRime Minister is not related to Lee Rim, like an illegitimate child, and was raised by her single mother. It would be interesting to see a riff between mother and daughter... But that's just a theory from my part.

 

Actually, I was already thinking that this place must have taken in Mon. Corea because JTE knew about the brother and the king. Besides it looks like Lee Rim has just killed his own brother. He was wearing the same clothes than in the night in 1994. He has blood on the collar... So there is a huge indication that LG must have changed the timeline.   If you look at the sign under LG, you'll recognize one clock... indicating that there time is important. However, if you pay closer attention, you'll notice a circle which reminds us of another clock. In my opinion, the time travel is here already represented. And the second clock could symbolize LG's actions (his other self in the future). That's why both clocks are drawn under him. Furthermore, I wonder if LG has decided to switch SJ and JTE from Rep. Korea to Mon. Corea. Both are cops in Mon. Corea and not in Rep. Korea... so maybe Luna will die in Rep. Korea and take her identity, while LG is able to give her a new identity in Mon. Corea.

 

Finally, I would like to add another observation: the presence of the red balloon in the passage between two worlds. I find it interesting that LG didn't wonder about the presence of the red balloon. He only explained why the red balloon would remain there but he never wondered how it came there. In my opinion, this is the clue about the switch of SJ as kid. A red balloon is associated to childhood and innocence. SJ left it there on his way to Rep. Korea. Since he left it behind, it reinforces the idea that SJ witnessed something terrible. Losing the red balloon symbolizes the loss of innocence.  

 

@YongZura⁷

 

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

1 hour ago, cpt_falcon said:

 

Like I said in my post, I had really nothing to base it on, just thought it might be an interesting twist.   

 

 

I haven't read the character descriptions yet and maybe there's something already in there to refute this, but are we definitely sure Luna and JTE are two different characters?  What I've been wondering is if Luna IS JTE, but just JTE from the future.  Like a future version of JTE who's possibly been working alongside a future version of LG to try to avert some catastrophic event LR possibly causes, all the while "Luna" sick/dying of cancer.

That doesn't necessarily mean present!JTE will die of cancer, but if Luna is future!JTE?  It could be she warns either present!JTE and/or present!LG and the cancer is caught in time to treat it.

Well, Luna is definitely a doppelganger of JTE. She is working with Lee Rim, as she has no identity in LG's world. This is mentioned in her character description. She is not someone from the future.

Like I had mentioned it before, the parallel world Mon. Corea is a reflection of Repu. Korea hence we have the mirror in this picture 

Look at the reflection of LG: upside down..

Since it is a reflection, it means that people from Mon. Corea are living the opposite of their life in Rep. Korea, we can name many examples:

- Luna: thief and has cancer ≠ JTE: detective and healthy

- Lee Rim's doppelganger: weak, suffered from poliomyelitis ≠ Lee Rim: strong warrior, healthy

- Ji Hun's father was a violent man and had a lot of debts ≠ LG's father was caring and was the richest man in the country

- ES: seems to be married, caring, warm and funny, relaxed  ≠ YJ is distant, works a lot, has no family on his own, serious 

- LSD: gambler, married with three kids, poor ≠ we don't know yet, but he seems to be close to LJI (due to the cellphone). So my assumption is that his wife followed him with the kids and his doppelganger was not married. 

- the pregnant woman in Rep. Korea, pregnant without a partner, living in hell ≠ the granddaughter of the founder of a large pharmaceutical company marries the first son of a rich family

 

That's why I suspect that SJ is actually someone from Mon. Corea who was switched and sent to the other world... in Rep. Korea, we hear that his family's company went bankruptcy but strangely, he has not been killed. We see that both mothers still exist which led me to the conclusion that LR could have seduced SJ's mother to go to Rep. Korea by telling her that her doppelganger was living a very nice life and didn't need to work. In Mon. Corea, SJ's mother is not gambling, but spying for Lee Rim and works as a tea lady.  

@YongZura⁷ @mrsj3n

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

This is what I found about the Dragon King of the East Sea.

folktale rabbit and Dragon King (page 367 ff.)

I find it quite interesting that the writer mentioned the King Sinmum and the Silla dynasty because the folktale about the rabbit and the Dragon king is connected to him as well. 

What caught my attention is that the rabbit is here quite clever, although he is manipulated by the turtle. On the other hand, the Dragon King, although powerful, is quite stupid. We have a lot of fables, where the rabbit is not described as an innocent and selfless animal, quite the opposite, unlike the moon rabbit. I could mention the fable of the rabbit and the turtle... here the rabbit is quite arrogant and overlooks the turtle's perseverance. In other words, Luna as the white rabbit and the moon rabbit could have other qualities (cleverness, even arrogance ...) and let us not forget that LG is also associated to the white rabbit, like I wrote it before.

 

As conclusion, I have the feeling that our writer has used a lot of tales for her story and not just Alice in Wonderland. Hence I couldn't help myself thinking of the tale: Pied Piper of Hamelin. There are some parallels between our k-drama and this folktale:

1. We have the flute which is supposed to bring peace and protection (disease would disappear, rain would fall during drought etc...) and the pied piper used his flute in order to gather all the rats that were invading the city Hamelin. As you can see, when the flute was played, the rats disappeared from the city. So the flute did help the citizens.
2. Yet since the pied piper wasn't paid, he decided to get revenge and played the flute. This time, all the children were influenced by the music and left Hamelin. Their parents couldn't stop them. This time, the flute brought misery and chaos. Striking is that in our k-drama, Lee Rim is partially the owner of the flute. He also seduces people from Rep. Korea to disappear from their world and asked them to kill their doppelgangers. As conclusion, Lee Lim is using the flute with a bad intention. He brings chaos and misery. I could say that he can only use the flute for some bad purpose as he only owns the half of it. On the other hand, LG received the half of the flute that is used for a good purpose (see my first point above). He brought JTE to his world with a good intention and he will have to use it in order to bring peace and protection. This leads me to the conclusion that LG will have to use the flute in order to bring the rats (the citizens from Rep. Korea who were addicted to gambling, poor and ruthless) away from his country. Our protagonist LG should be perceived as the pied piper in the first phase.

@YongZura⁷ @ktcjdrama@sassylove      

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

45 minutes ago, YongZura⁷ said:

 

As expected... Well take your time ... There're still more clues to come.  There's a fusion of the west and east folk tale + the writer's own creativity and for us to interpret it.

 

p.s

1. Thanks for the tag.

2. It took me a while to see JET 

 

@bpwinces! That is so beautiful...  

Thanks for the reminder... 

Actually, only after the episode 3... I realized why LG would make certain comments... a lot is inspired by Alice in Wonderland. But it didn't catch my attention right away. Now, I am trying to figure out which character resembles to the characters of the novel. 

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

@cpt_falcon You mentioned that SJ's doppelganger was in Japan... how did you come to this thought?

You made quite interesting observations like Lee Rim is working with Japan... this would explain the aggressiveness from Japan and divert attention from himself and buy some time. He is well aware that once LG went to JTE's world, LG would question the authenticity of his death.

 

As for Luna, JTE and the connection to the moon rabbit. Luna is the white rabbit for LG and not JTE. He followed Luna and ended up in JTE's world. Since Luna means moon in latin, then Luna is the one who has to be associated to the moon rabbit and not JTE. In my opinion, we shouldn't perceive Luna as the same person than JTE. She might be her doppelganger but she has a different personality. Just because they look alike, we shouldn't treat them as if they were the same. Since in the folktale, the rabbit sacrificed himself, then I would rather say that Luna will be the one who sacrifices herself. 

As for JTE, she followed LG to his world... so in her eyes, he was her white rabbit. And let us not forget that once she returned to Rep. Korea, she claimed that she had been in Alice in Wonderland. So she perceived herself as Alice... In other words, LG is the white rabbit who let her discover his new and strange world and as such, he will be the one who could sacrifice himself for JTE. On the other hand, LG is a scientist hence he doesn't believe in the folktale of the moon rabbit and his sacrifice. He gave an objective explanation for the form on the moon hence LG will find a way to prove that he was able to overcome the adversity and his "sacrifice" was just temporary. Furthermore, in the folktale, the god lets him live as the rabbit is not burnt. 

 

@YongZura⁷ I have already planned to write an analysis about the connection between Alice in Wonderland and The King... but it will take some time.

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

30 minutes ago, mrsj3n said:

@Joanna Alfson I was the one who thought kissing won't happen in episode 5 and 6!!! Lol

I obviously underestimated our King. 

 

@bebebisous33 Lend your brain power here please.

There are existence of 2 SJ's mum. So the one in Palace is from Korea and the one gambling is from Corea? Hence the fell in riches?

It doesn't add up. Because lady noh will do background checks to ensure none of them have money trouble before employing them unless she skipped the check years ago.

But again, seeing the mother in Korea is crazy with money, it seems impossible for her to agree to switch isn't it?

Another thing to note is that everyone in Korea know they were rich before.

And JTE assumed SJ's family are rich in Corea too. 

 

But I do agree with the memories on SJ. It could have been manipulated since young hence the "nightmares".

Hmm.. questions and more questions.

 

@Dramafreak Why would the same people of two different universe have the same DNA?

I think scientifically there are no 2 humans beings having the identical DNA.

If I'm not wrong, LG did explain to JTE when she gotten his DNA to figure out his identity back in Korea.

And that brings us to the doubt he had regarding the autopsy of his evil step uncle and he questioning Prince Lee.

 

Again. I'm having more questions now. Lol

 

I really really hate drama not giving us backstory first and dropping tidbits here and there every single episode.

And here we are, getting our brain fried trying to figure it out. Lol

 

 

Remember that I wrote that the social status of people from one world is reversed, like a mirror. So if SJ's family in Rep. Korea was rich, then it was the opposite in Mon. Corea. They had to work hard. Hence I came to this theory:

SJ's family from Rep. Korea has been rich but was about to experience bankruptcy. What if in their case, LL proposed to the family from Mon. Corea to switch places with the family from Rep. Korea? He gave them pictures from SJ's family living in a huge house aso and the mother agreed. She thought that she could get a great benefit from it. She no longer needed to work and she accepted the offer.

On the other hand, LL knew exactly about the real financial situation of the family from Rep. Korea and had misled the woman. Once she arrived in Rep. Korea, she enjoyed the new life style for a while... until the bankruptcy was declared. However, SJ must have witnessed a murder... due to the nightmare. Either the husband refused the deal and was killed or SJ witnessed the murder of his doppelganger. She started gambling because she had been used to her new life style or maybe LL influenced her to gamble after the bankruptcy... Remember my assumption that LL could have gathered his fortune due to illegal gambling.   

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

@YongZura⁷ Sure, I will tag you now.

I can understand why we were all confused about Shin Jae but it was a deliberate move from the writer and director. We were shown Shin Jae the cop visiting his old neighborhood. It only became clear while listening to the conversation with the psychiatrist. I do think that Shin Jae will play a huge part, as I am wondering if there is a doppelganger of Shin Jae. So far, we didn't see him and this could be a clue that Shin Jae from Rep. Korea who was supposed to replace Shin Jae from Mon. Corea could have died back then.

 

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

So my theory that people from Rep. Korea were sent to Mon. Corea in order to replace their doppelgangers was correct. So this means that the body of the gambler belongs to the parallel world, Mon. Corea. However the gambler made a mistake as he didn't take away the cellphone belonging to the doppelganger from Mon. Corea that's why LG's uncle Lee Jong In was mentioned. In my opinion, JET's time spent in Corea is important as she will meet LJI and discover that the cellphone came from the other world. That's how she can realize the switch. And the more people get switched, the more Rep. Korea gets in danger as it means that at the end, Rep. Korea would be left empty... people from Rep. Korea would be sent to Mon. Corea, while in Rep. Korea many bodies would be discovered: all murdered. 

 

Then the persons coming from Rep. Korea have all something in common: their social status is rather low and they are all suffering and this made me think that the parallel world could be seen as a mirror of the real world. Rich or important people from Mon. Corea are living the opposite life in Rep. Korea. Notice that LG and his family was poor and in Mon. Korea, it is the opposite. 

Then we heard from Lee Lim that the people from Rep. Korea are forced to kill their doppelgangers in Mon. Corea but this is not the case for Shin Jae and his mother. They both survived... However, there is no husband... so maybe the person from Repu. Korea offered a deal to Shin JAe and his mother: switch their life without getting killed. Maybe only the father was killed... and I am even wondering if Shin Jae's memories are false. Maybe the bankruptcy is connected to the switching... Maybe the mother told him that they had lost their company and had to leave... without realizing that in the end, they went to a different world. Furthermore, the boy must have been very young. And the nightmare could be related to a murder... maybe he witnessed the murder of his father... 

[[Drama 2020] Find me in your memory, 그 남자의 기억법]

10 minutes ago, celebrianna said:

@bebebisous33, I wish we had an gif/smilie with “hands rubbing in glee and anticipation”. That’s how much I would like your prediction to happen and how much I want to see the professor’s work on JH go down in flames. I don’t expect TE to cut ties with his father though since it seems to be frowned upon in Korean society and I don’t think the writer would have guts to do that. Consequently, I will be content with the professor losing his career by his own actions and infamy.

 

@thistle, JH was too busy dealing with the stalkers and HJ to give thought to the professor lurking in the shadows. Poor guy.

But this would mean that at the end, the father has to apologize to his son and even admits his wrongdoings, if TE decides to do so. And let us not forget that professor Yoo criticized his son many times for his incompetence in the past which could be a clue that deep down, he felt threatened by his son's career and needed to put him down in order to feel better. So imagine that once he loses his good reputation and even his son, he has no one to turn to in order to get recognition. In other words, I do wish to happen so that the father can realize his shortcomings and wrongdoings.   

[[Drama 2020] Find me in your memory, 그 남자의 기억법]

@celebrianna In the recent episodes, the focus was shifted to HJ hence we didn't get to see much of LJH as anchornim interviewing a guest. However, I have the feeling that we will see it again. Let us not forget that professor Yoo is seeking for fame and wealth through his ex-patient LJH and such an interview could represent the climax for professor Yoo... but at the same time it would mark the pivotal moment of his career, his downfall. It started with the CEO and it can end with professor Yoo's ruined reputation as doctor.

 

Since LJH hasn't paying much attention to the professor, he is not really aware of his true intentions. But the way he investigated the stalker and MSH as a fugitive, outlines how good he is at his work: gathering info and evidence. So LJH will investigate professor Yoo. Either he hears from HJ what he told her or he hears from MSH what happened at the hospital... or even both. That's how LJH will realize his true intention. It would be great if we saw him investigating the father of his best friend. Finally the publication of his book serves as a clue for his true motivation why he kept looking over LJH and even claimed that he was his patient. First, Yoo made a huge mistake... he keeps recording every conversation, so his words spoken to HJ could turned against him. Furthermore, LJH could refute his thesis by revealing his identity (he is the one suffering from that illness) and he has been dating HJ for a while. I am quite sure that his memory and method will corner the professor... and TE will cut ties with his own father.

[[Drama 2020] Find me in your memory, 그 남자의 기억법]

I hope that the professor Yoo is invited by LJH to his news after the publication of his book. During the interview, his misdeeds are revealed, especially his recorded conversation obtained without the consent of the partner... Actually, I have been missing LJH's interviews with guests where he is shown ruthless and honest at the same time as he is determined to unveil the truth and reveal the true personality of the guest. 

[[Drama 2020] Find me in your memory, 그 남자의 기억법]

@sadthe1st You are right: he wanted to kill himself right after. His reasons for this were quite simple: in his eyes, his gesture would prove his great love for her and at the same time, he wouldn't feel guilty and responsible. He wanted to put all the blame on JH... not only by witnessing her death but also as only survivor. So the suicide was a way to escape from his responsibility.

 

But since he failed to kill himself, he has to live with the guilt and to witness how JH is able to move on. In other words, he failed with his murder: he achieved nothing at all and even lost more than what he thought, he would gain. He lost SY and his freedom, while JH, despite his struggle, could escape his "guilty conscience", find a new love and even move on. And his next action (going after HJ) proves to me that he is still caught in the past, living in the past because he has no future and that's his way to escape from his responsibility.

[[Drama 2020] Find me in your memory, 그 남자의 기억법]

I find it interesting to see how the professor and MSH are still affected by the past, while JH, diagnosed with hypermnesia, has been able to move on which contradicts the professor's thesis.

Actually, if you pay attention to their actions, you'll notice the contrast between MSH, the professor and the anchornim. First, the professor mentioned to HJ that he was JH's doctor, while in reality, his true doctor is TE and the other doctor. Yoon used his connections with JH, TE and the doctor Kim to have access to JH's file. Then he keeps telling people that JH as a patient is not able to move on, while it is the opposite. He is the only one who is not able to move on. And this explains why he wants to publish a book about JH. He got famous thanks to JH's diagnosis but in order to maintain his reputation, he needs to publish another book... that's why he chose JH again. That's the only thing he knows because he has never paid attention to other diseases and patients.

Then MSH is exactly like the professor... but he has a different reasoning. He thought that by killing SY, JH would be affected for his whole life but now he has realized that JH has moved on, while MSH has to live with the loss of SY. He has lost a purpose in his life: he is in jail, suicidal because he knows that he is responsible for SY's death. 

Both are narrow-minded, selfish and too caught by the past that they are unaware of their wrongdoings. MSH is responsible for his own situation and the professor's move will definitely ruin his career. His misdeeds will be revealed as he ignored all the warnings his colleague Kim told him: MSH is unstable, suicidal aso. Yoon was just focused on his own goal... he needs to break up the couple so that his thesis (JH as patient suffering from hypermnesia can not moved on) can be proven correct. He is definitely manipulating the results and while he looks down on his son, TE is definitely the better doctor/psychiatrist as he listens to them.

[[Drama 2020] Find me in your memory, 그 남자의 기억법]

4 minutes ago, rukizie said:

havent seen some episode since last week but please enlighten me that if Hajin knew Jung Hoon was Youngi’s boyfriend in the past 

Yes, she knows now! But at the end of the last episode, she decided to go to JH's side.

[[Drama 2020] Find me in your memory, 그 남자의 기억법]

I guess, the professor should lose his license as doctor and his job as professor. He is actually not entitled to reveal anything to the girlfriend. Furthermore, he is not his real doctor.

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

19 minutes ago, jerboa83 said:

I'm not sure about that: you might be overthinking that detail... Touching an unexpectedly scalding object would startle you more than touching an unexpectedly cold one. It's how somatic reflex arcs work: excessive heat is dangerous, so when sensory neurons detect it, spinal motor neurons instantly activate and your body responds to it even before the signal is routed through the brain and the brain has finished analyzing it. The resulting movement is involuntary, and there's a trade-off between speed and control: jerking away from a mug, you might end up spilling the content and make the damage even worse, but (statistically) it's a risk worth taking, and that's why evolution selected that automatism. Cold might be dangerous too, but not as much, so the reaction to it is often mediated by the brain and much more controlled.

But the point is: why should the director shoot such a scene if it is not relevant at all? The overlapping of what happened Mon. Corea and Rep. Korea to the same person is a weird coincidence and it happened at the same time... That's why I thought about it.  

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

54 minutes ago, jerboa83 said:

I don't get it... How is that supposed to work? Even if he substituted a bunch of people, what about all the other dopplegangers? There are like, 7.5 billions of them... Would they disappear or something? And what about the cities, the buildings etc? Would they merge/superimpose? If not, which one of the two worlds would disappear altogether, and why? 

The fact that Eun Sub could feel the heat from the mug of coffee, although he was holding iced tea, clearly showed that both worlds overlap. Furthermore both persons were doing something similar. That's why I said that it seems that both worlds are merging and I would say that Rep. Korea would be the world to disappear, since the sensation of the heat coming from Mon. Corea was stronger than the coldness from the iced tea. I think, the more LG and LL are going from one world to the other and they are sending people from Rep. Korea to Mon. Corea, the more the influence of one Mon. Corea will increase over Rep. Korea.

As for the doppelgängers, I would say that people from Rep. Korea would disappear.  

But that's just a theory based on these observations.

[[Drama 2020] The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹: 영원의 군주]

I have thinking about Lee Lim's financial situation. We saw that Lee Lim from Rep. Korea was not rich, he was even handicapped. But now, Lee Lim in Rep. Korea has a driver and is well dressed. He even has bodyguards. All this is pointing out that Lee Lim was able to get rich. Where does he get his money? In my opinion, it could be related to illegal gambling. Notice that we have two persons involved in gambling: Shin Jae's mother and the victim of a murder. I wrote in an earlier post that I suspected that Shin Jae's true origins were Mon. Corea and his mother and himself had switched places with the ones from Rep. Korea.