daunte29
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Posts posted by daunte29
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i haven't seen the last four episodes of the drama. i used to wake up early just to watch the current episode. i'm just not very eager to watch it anymore but i enjoy reading your posts daunte29 and the other posters. they are more interesting.
Thank you, viktoria.
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Ep 75 .... supplemental
As far as we can tell, Damdeok & his posse are still holed up in Magoseong (the Goguryeo migrants' enclave in Houyan) and what that means is this: his main army (plus his famed cavalry) is no where near.
Put simply, DD & his posse are still deep inside Houyan territory (which of course doesn't make logical sense since the real DD would have left Houyan after settling last week's case).
Now if you're Murong Bao or Murong Un or Batar or Lex Luthor with the lifelong ambition of killing DD, isn't now the best time to surround the Magoseong fortress with thousands of Houyan elite troops, fight your way in and then capture DD & his posse?
DD wouldn't even be able to despatch messengers because he'd already be surrounded unless he brought some homing pigeons to send back to Goguryeo's capital where his only wife Yakyeon might .... just might be able to mount a rescue force to fight their way into Houyan and then fight their remaining way, all the way to Magoseong.
If any surviving Goguryeo troops do reach Magoseong, DD & his posse would already be locked up somewhere else in the territory of Houyan, eating stale bread and fresh well-water as daily sustenance. If diarrhoea doesn't kill them, eventually, the mosquitos, rats and roaches would probably finish them off.
How is DD, his posse & whatever soldiers he has at his disposal in Magoseong gonna be able to fight off thousands of Houyans determined to tattoo their names on his body?
Then there's no need to lure DD away to Biryeo and have Batar & his merry-men stage an ambush because as we ll know by now after 75 episodes, out of the countless ambushes staged on DD, NOT A SINGLE ONE has even left a scar on him.
Just imagine DD wearing the wooden chopping block and he's stripped down to his swimming trunks and hanging from the ceiling while the happy-go-lucky staff at the Houyan Center for Pain & Information Extraction are busy giving DD full-body tattoos - etching all sorts of Houyan national slogans, logos, insignias and flags.... and plastered right across DD's forehead: I LOVE HOUYAN! FOREVER!
This alternate scenario just reiterates the point that a REAL DD would never consider going to Houyan in the first place as part of a condolence delegation because quite literally, he'd be walking into enemy homeland with no credible means of defending himself should the Houyans decide to give DD a one-way ticket to join the deceased Murong Chui. All thanks to our KBS writers for coming up with this ludicrous idea.
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KBSW Ep75.... I Spy, You Spy?, They Spy?, Who's the Spy?
The fun episode started with Murong Bao banging the table with BOTH hands and shouting:
MB: FENGBA! WHY ARE YOU RUINING EVERYTHING?
FENGBA speaking in meek pussycat voice: I'M SORREE.
MB: WHAT GOOD IS AN APOLOGY? NOTHING YOU DID EVER WENT WELL!
[ THREE Cheers for MB for finally realising what the senior citizens at the Houyan Home For The Aged already knew since ep 1.]
And that's when Fengba tells everyone the reason why he's failed again is due to a special species of termites living within their palace walls and ceilings called SPY.
And so to pacify his angry king, Fengba needs to catch the spy, and ep75 pretty much shows us how incompetent Houyan palace officials go about catching a spy, who we all know is the lovely babelicious Damju, with her awesome cheekbones.
Even jumbo-ears Fengba suspects it's her but his pea-brain just couldn't hatch a grade A plan; so he did the next best thing - capture Ha Muji part-time sidekick Changmyeong and in true Korean-style torture, burn the truth out of him by roasting his thighs.
Now you must understand that the happy-go-lucky staff at the top-secret Houyan Center For Pain & Information Extraction are superbly good at their job - they can make their victims scream in pain non-stop and yet there has not been an accidental death so far.
But even the hot ironbar and sizzling male flesh couldn't make Changmyeong talk so Fengba took it upon himself to beat the truth out of him - 5 lashes were all it took for Fengba to be told that the spy was Murong Un.
Fengba instantly got mad because he knew the chap was lying but a hearbeat later Fengba was walking briskly and then walking hurriedly and walking some more just to reach MU's hotel, arrest him and put a wooden chopping board around his neck.
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REALITY PAUSE: This is how badly deep and deeply bad our writers have sunk - all viewers know the real spy is Damju - heck, even Fengba himself knows it could only be her - but they had to make MU wear that wooden chopping board around his neck if only to hammer home the following:
1. Fengba is really dumber than any Houyan general who has lived or died since then.... the heavens gave him jumbo-ears to compensate for his tiny brain.
2. MU still doesn't realize that Houyans do not trust him nor his bedmate Batar. Houyans still believe MU wears two flags in his Calvin Klein underwear.
3. It's more fun to torture MU first because then we will truly see if he wears two flags in his shorts and anything else he keeps down there.
4. All that above only shows the regular KBS writers are on vacation in Bali and the scripting was done by a group of college students, but don't say you heard it from this thread.
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Meantime Seol Ji delivers a message from the office fax to Damdeok with the good news that Batar and the Biryeos are planning a rebellion. One glance at the above screencap will tell you Batar has major problems of his own and is far from playing rebel leader.
After banging the table and shouting "WTF IS YEON SALTA DOING IN BIRYEO? WHY MUST I ALWAYS JUMP ONTO MY HORSE AND RIDE FOR DAYS IN ORDER TO PROTECT WHAT'S NOT MY LAND IN THE FIRST PLACE?"
The Biryeo girl called ARI whom General Seok Jae wants to do naughty things with in her bedroom volunteers to go to Biryeo to find out the real situation but after days of waiting, actually only a few minutes had transpired, DD received no fax, no email or twitter from her, and so our Great King finally jumps on his horse and followed by his power rangers, giddy-ups to Biryeo.
This sideplot by our stand-in college scriptwriters was to give MU the chance to prove he's NOT THE SPY - he was the one who sent 'false' messages to lure Damdeok into thinking Yeon Salta has been having one too many orgies with the Biryeo sheep and goats, ad that Baltar is going to expel all Goguryeons from his land.
Additionally MU has also cut off all messengers' links between Goguryeo & Biryeo - hence DD has received no word from Ari.
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Even by college stage drama standards, it makes DD look like a total doofus:
1. DD knows and trusts Yeon Salta who IN REALITY would have a garrison of a few hundred men at least if not more. Don't you think YS would have despatched messengers to DD the moment they were under attack? Doesn't DD trust YS enough to know YS would have alerted DD long before trouble started?
2. Yes, the writers tell us MU has cut off all the messengers' traffic between Goguryeo & Biryeo.... and how many of you fell for that stupidity? Are you aware how long the border is between Biryeo & Goguryeo? Where has MU got the manpower to in effect seal off the long borders between the two lands? Messengers on horses do not need roads to go where they want.
3. Even General Hwang thinks it could be a Houyan ploy to lure DD out of Goguryeo and yet DD takes no precautions? Why can't DD send just Hwang and his few yes-men to Biryeo to check things out? Why must DD ALWAYS BE THE ONE to gallop over there and gallop over here to SET THINGS RIGHT?
Is that why the poor Great King died young - from physical exhaustion surely, at having to do everything, from exposing sex-crazed castle lords to unconfirmed reports of a rebellion and all the while he's not even planning to protect his only sister Damju or secretly smuggle her out from the Houyan palace, with or without her permission?
And can anyone, please tell me why the heck Ha Muji is still staying at the envoys' quarters in Houyan palace? Shouldn't he be at DD's side advising him to first pull Damju permanently out of the danger zone and then perhaps telling DD to adopt a wait-n-see attitude regarding Biryeo's situation?
Remember Ha MJ first came to Houyan palace to check on Damju and her invisible baby and then assess the brotherly ties between MB & MX before MC croaked.... but look at how long HMJ has since been enjoying the free good food and herbal body massage given by Houyan palace maidens?
Or more likely HMJ is enjoying daily private yoga lessons conducted by Houyan palace eunuchs in skintight spandex who are more graceful in doing the splits and bending over backwards and forwards at ease?
Speaking of spandex, has anyone ever wondered why DD & his entire posse insists on wearing full battle armor in every indoor scene? Do they really expect enemy commandos to come blasting in with their flashbangs while they're at the long table busily discussing the dinner menu items? Or izzit their armor is to fend off bloodthirsty Houyan mosquitos?
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Heads up folks.... according to the KBS World TV schedule for this weekend, GTGC broadcast times have been moved to a much earlier time slot.
For those of us in East Asia, it will now be screened at 1500 hrs, Korea time, rather than after their KBS primetime news at night.
I've appended the link below so you folks can check the timings in your part of the world. CHeers!
KBS WORLD TV Schedule Sat 24 March
Click on the drop-down box to adjust the timezone and you can do the same to the date shown.
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^^ watchumlots... I see you're on a comedic roll today, eh? Hehe!
Gwanggaeto The Musical ought to be as successful as a group of heavyweight sumo wrestlers performing ballet .... not in tights but in their traditional mawashi attire.
The sight of masses of man-flesh jiggling and wobbling in your face will joggle and whip your brains faster than Will Smith's Gettin' Jiggy Wit It!
Speaking of korean men in tights, this comedy skit may be just what's needed in a hypothetical Gwanggaeto Musical: OR-TENSION! OR-TENSION!
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The director and the writers need to be flogged.
My only hope at this point is that when this travesty is over. Another channel will give this topic the proper treatment it deserves, a few years from now.
I really liked reading all the various points by dramafreak-13, DJG & watchumlots.... thank you one & all.
As DJG said, those guilty of producing this drama and insulting the glorious past of the real Gwanggaeto should be stripped and flogged, or flogged then stripped.
But I fear this drama may yet unleash its horse-poop on many more unsuspecting overseas viewers later when KBS releases the DVD/Bluray boxsets with multiple subtitle options, and for those with HD & 3D LED TVs, man oh man you're gonna be able to see pores on the faces and eyeliner on men the way you've never seen before....in amazing 3D & razor-sharp HD.
My advice is that if you do watch this series again on Bluray and in full 3D, please keep your precious pets away from the screen... they might end up with nightmares of the Damdeok kind and/or suffer partial brain damage after that - your usually quiet chihuahua starts barking everytime Damdeok or Asin appears and your pet tortoise might even set a new sprint record.
It may get even worse. In 2007, the same company that produced and made NANTA a global sensation, staged a musical version of Dae Jang Geum or Jewel in the Palace. Since then, nobody even dares mention that there ever was a musical version.
Can you imagine Gwanggaeto being made into a 2-hr musical version? Hmm... on second thought it might not be worse off than this KBS drama version - with some kpop stars thrown in wearing fake facial hair and using motorised horses, the kids might actually find it ...err.. interesting.
And for the all-important fight scenes, they might switch to using Star Wars type light sabers, with humming sound and sparks flying here & there.... and if you replace Ha Muji with a korean version of Jedi Grand Master Yoda, using korean chipmunk as the model... what can possibly go wrong?
DD: IT'S TRUE ASIN. YOUR MOTHER WAS MY MOTHER TOO. I WAS BREAST-FED EVERY DAY & NIGHT WHILE YOU HAD TO DRINK MILK SQUEEZED FROM OUR VERY OLD COW AND THAT EXPLAINS WHY YOU HAVE SO MANY ANGER ISSUES.
I HATE TO SAY IT BUT HA MUJI INSISTS WE ARE BROTHERS DUE TO THE WAY WE EACH LOVE BANGING ON THE LONG TABLE AND SNARLING LIKE A TIGER ON STEROIDS FOR THE KBS CAMERAS. AND JUST BEFORE DOYEONG DIED IN MY MUSCULAR ARMS, SHE TOLD ME WE BOTH HAVE IDENTICAL BIRTHMARKS IN A PART OF OUR BODY WHICH CANNOT BE SHOWN ON TV.
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As DJG also said, a remake of this drama sometime in the near future might help undo the damage done by KBS to the real Damdeok. I'm wishing and dreaming of perhaps a joint-production between North Korea, China & a South Korean TV network or cable channel.
Then we can have actual shots of the Goguryeo tombs lying around North Korea & parts of China, and using China's huge resources and cheap labor, we can build authentic forts and train scores of stunt horses clad in armor. CGI & digital effects can help replicate a 50,000 strong cavalry.
Korean actors will play the Goguryeo & Asin & Silla factions while the Houyans & Khitans will be played by chinese actors who will speak in their native dialects/languages for added authenticity.
However given the geopolitical climate presently, my dream will probably not come true.
Speaking of not coming true, this tall chubby fella below from KBS Gag Concert team who usually plays the barbarian on Gamsu Castle skit, could be borrowed by KBS later to play Gwanggaeto's heir, Jangsu. His cameo appearance for just a few episodes may well jack up its currently healthy ratings even more and if you also include his newly chosen queen, wow that might just fetch phenomenal ratings.
The pretty princess IU was so shocked at the sight of her newly-found husband she refused to look up (desperately shaking her head) even when commanded to do so by his royal highness.
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I just caught part of the variety show Let's Go Dream Dream 2 on KBSW and I was surprised to see King Asin playing penalty shootout with 15 other celebs.
Indeed Asin (Park Jung Chul, 3rd from left in screencap below) was among a team of 5 which included Murong Bao (Im Ho, 1st from left) & Mo Duru (Lim Dae Ho, 2nd from right) plus Sun Woo Jae Duk, Bae Do Hwan. Not sure if the last two ever made cameos on GTGC but the team unluckily didn't manage to reach the semis.
But it's good to see some cast members taking part in a KBS variety show.
Here'a a raw clip that shows Murong Bao & Asin in action; Murong Bao came late for the recording due to his filming schedule.
To watch MB just arrived, slide the cursor to 3:53, to watch Asin, slide it to 5:25. At 5:42, the MCs are joking that Mo Duru looks like Maradona. At 6:36, Mo Duru takes his penalty followed by Murong Bao.
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^^ Here's the thing.... the only other two but in actual fact only one, current sageuks to challenge GTGC every weekend are God of War/Soldier and Queen Insoo.
Since Queen Insoo is produced & aired by a cable channel, its ratings therefore are not 'nationally' reflective as those produced by KBS, SBS or MBC.
However judging by their own ratings over other shows on the same cable channel, the ratings for Q I have dropped since ep 4 to below 1%. Even Eunjung undressing and showing lots of skin for her bed scene couldn't excite viewers.
For me, I have a chronic aversion to Chae Si Ra so that's that.
The ding-dong ratings for GTGC still lies between position 4-8 in the top 20 TV shows over the weekend, and that's comparable to past sageuks produced by KBS.
As for GOW/Soldier, its ratings are anywhere from position 13 - way out of the top 20 with single digit ratings most of the time. Its highest position was position 10 for ep 7.
For me, I too have an aversion to GOW lead actor & one of his leading actress whose names I shall not mention.
So it looks like there are still many loyal domestic fans for GTGC. Including me because I still find some moments which are too funny for words, especially because they are just trying so hard to portray historical people who are long dead and have insufficient reliable records.
Some of you may already know that GTGC replacement in May is Mr Dae Joyoung (Choi Soo Jung) playing King Taejong Muyeol. This itself hasn't raised any interest for me until I hear who his co-stars are, especially the ladies.
Judging by current trends, one or two young kpop idols might get the casting call, but after so many years watching KBS sageuks, I'm now looking for nothing else but pure unadulterated over-acting, and the ever-famous startled-dog look which each commander has to show the camera one by one in full face close-ups.
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I hate the cinematography of this show. Nothing but close ups.
You are certainly right. Close-ups of full face shots are necessary but this director & his cinematographer overuse it, and keep doing it all wrong & out of habit.
There are close-ups done by bad directors with one-shot objective and then there are some good directors who use close-ups to enhance the emotions the actors are trying to portray.
Allow me to show what I mean by using fan-made music videos from other past sageuks... my intention is NOT to generate opinions on the merits or demerits of the actors involved or the drama itself but to illustrate what words can only do in a limited way.
A picture is worth a thousand words but a well-timed, well-planned close-up shot can convey emotions beyond words.
The first one is from Queen Seon Deok.... as you can clearly see in this montage, the director too loves close-ups on occasions but notice how it's done... there is still subtle movement within that close-up frame, be it slight head movement, a glance with the eyes and more than once, this director uses the technique of eyes meeting eyes and then the resulting emotions conveyed to viewers speak volumes.
Additionally this director hardly uses the direct frontal close-ups that we see so very often in GTGC and instead he uses the angled close-ups - this captures the actors' side profiles as well, instead of only the face, and gives an heightened sense of dramatic effect.
Actress Lee Yo Won is masterful in many scenes involving only her eyes doing the 'talking', especially the ending scene.
Earlier sageuks didn't use as much close-ups as more recent sageuks do - so for example this montage from Yisan hardly has any close-ups and yet, no one would complain that the viewer didn't feel close enough to feel the actors' emoting.
The last 2 clips below are from Empress Chun Chu - this first one here shows the beginning of the misuse of close-ups (in particular Chae Si Ra with her medusa wig flying behind her) but if you're patient enough, observe THROUGH THE CLOSE-UP SHOTS the vibrant bright colors and beautiful costumes in the pavilion scene and again right AFTER the preview and then when the credits roll, the few ending scenes featuring CLOSE-UPS of the lovely Kim So Eun and the panoramic magnificent country landscape scenery, which we never see in Gwanggaeto.
This last one shows a fight scene involving Chae Si Ra and some baddies in weird masks that might have come straight from Tarsem Singh's Immortal movie set.
Around 0:44 you'll see that the baddy-warriors are riding horses which are PARTIALLY adorned with some semblance of armor or the proper term 'Barding'.
From 1:54 when the baddies are chasing CSR to the magnificent mountaintop, you can see more clearly that their horses are adorned with 'costume' armor/barding.
Then a cut-scene comes to show the younger Empress, played by Kim So Eun, being literally taken for a ride, and she ends up being dropped at around the same identical location site where King Sejong drama filmed the scene under the tree overlooking the valley below. I do believe KBS location scouts are really content in copying each other.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJE52bfCnQU
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KBSW Ep 74.... Damdeok pledges eternal protection for Goguryeo migrants living in Houyan who apparently have been persecuted to no end and because his snarl doesn't have the power to part mountains and lead his flock to safety, he slices his palm and donates blood to the Houyan soil.
Are the writers now trying to make Damdeok a 'savior' to his migrants living in enemy land? More than a just a grand conqueror, he takes time off to micro-manage and helps a father take revenge against the castle lord who raped his daughter.... and he does it by executing a 'sting' operation or if you prefer, a con-job on Fengba & Murong Un.
If you didn't find that scene dumbfounding enough, then think again.... What rights or power does Damdeok have on Houyan soil? Since the migrants already have had 'their farmlands' been taken away by Houyan, their men tortured or randomly killed, and the women ravished by the insatiable castle lord.... why not just pack their bags and scamper back to Goguryeo? What's stopping the thousands of migrants by making a mass exodus back to Goguryeo?
More silliness from TWO highnesses:
Murong Bao on at least two occasions reminds DD: THEY (the Goguryeo migrants) AREN'T GOGURYEO CITIZENS, THEY ARE HOUYAN CITIZENS. YOU CAN'T TELL US WHAT TO DO.
MB is obviously right, thanks to the writers. Then here's where the writers try to be over-smart:
DD: I'M GOING TO HAVE ALL THE GOGURYEO MIGRANTS SURRENDER TO BEIWEI. THAT WILL MAKE MAGOSEONG & THE NEARBY LAND BEIWEI TERRITORY. .... IT DOESN'T MATTER IF THEY LIVE ON BEIWEI LAND OR HOUYAN LAND.
If it was so easy for the migrants to surrender (Houyan) land which doesn't belong to them in the first place, why don't the migrants walk over to the other side of the map and 'surrender' themselves to Goguryeo?
To me, this doesn't sound logical even in the context of diplomacy/sovereignty in those ancient times.
DD: BEIWEI WILL HAVE NO REASON TO REFUSE THEIR SURRENDER.
Again I beg to differ - why would Beiwei help Goguryeo migrants, even if they were friendly to Goguryeo? Or even paying tribute to DD?
The Beiwei have no more rights than Damdeok to assimilate land which doesn't belong to them. To do that, Beiwei would have to go to war with Houyan.
Now why would Beiwei go to war with Houyan over a few thousand Goguryeo migrants? Does THAT make sense to any of you reading this?
All these 'big talk' in enemy territory to press for autonomy for his people living in a foreign land? Why should the Houyan listen to this gorilla? Does that make Damdeok a 'great' king or does it make him sound like a bully with a pea brain?
What's even more ludicrous is that the writers made Murong Bao tremble with fear when DD mentioned the idea involving Beiwei? How many times have we seen Murong Chui launch attack after attack on Goguryeo, even right from ep 1 itself?!! Does MB now think Houyan is a pushover for another dynasty to punch?
What makes Murong Bao think the Beiwei would even listen to Goguryeo and do as DD says? MB himself could also send an envoy that same day and make counter-offers to Beiwei in order to establish cordial relations between Houyan-Beiwei and negate DD's unworkable plan for good.
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A more plausible dialogue between Murong Bao & DD would be something like this:
DD: LIS-TEN CAREFOOLLY BECAUSE I VILL SAY TIS ONLY VONCE. DE NIXT TIME ANY OF MY MIGRANTS IS HARMED, HURT OR TORTURED, OR FORCED TO DO SOMETING AGAINST THEIR WILL, I WON'T HESITATE TO COME GALLOPING ACROSS OUR BORDER WITH MY 50,000 CAVALRY & ONE PRETTY BODYGUARD AND THEN I VILL ATTACK ANY HOUYAN PERSON, ANIMAL AND UGLY TREE I SEE. YOU GOT DAT?
MB: THAT WOULD START ANOTHER WAR BETWEEN OUR TWO PEACE-LOVING NATIONS. ARE YOU READY TO DIE EVEN BEFORE YOUR SON IS BORN?
DD: READ MY THIN BUT SEXY LIPS - I'M GOING TO ENSURE PEACE BY CHOPPING YOU UP INTO PIECES AND YOUR TOMBSTONE WILL SAY: RESTING IN PIECES.
SON? MY PALACE DOCTOR SAYS I HAVE TO TAKE A BLUE PILL IN ORDER TO BE MANLY ENOUGH TO SATISFY MY YAKYEON. BECOS YAKYEON, SHE CHANGES INTO A WILD BUNNY ONCE WE GET UNDRESSED AND WHEN MORNING COMES, SHE STILL WANTS MORE.
NOW I DAMDEOK AM A CONQUEROR OF NATIONS, NOT WOMEN. I CAN RIDE MY HORSE FOR DAYS BUT I CAN'T DO THAT TO MY WOMAN FOR THAT LONG. HENCE THE WONDER BLUE PILL. AND LOTS OF RAW GINSENG TO POWER-UP MY MALE LIBIDO.
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What about Goguryeo migrants living elsewhere in that vast region?
When they dial 911 or shine a bright light into the night sky, will Damdeok gallop over to a neighboring nation and tell its king:
YOU BETTER NOT HURT OR HARM OR VIOLATE ANY MALE OR FEMALE GOGURYEONS LIVING IN YOUR COUNTRY. I WON'T HESITATE TO COME GALLOPING ACROSS OUR BORDER WITH MY 50,000 CAVALRY & ONE PRETTY BODYGUARD AND THEN I VILL ATTACK ANY PERSON, ANIMAL AND UGLY TREE I SEE. YOU GOT DAT?
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Having displayed exemplary conduct as a king on a condolence visit to a neighboring nation, and at the same time increasing the hatred from the Houyans without even lifting his sword, doesn't Damdeok realize that his actions and words would EVENTUALLY put his cute sister Damjoo in mortal danger?
Damdeok kneels and cries he couldn't do more to protect his migrants in Houyan (what a wuss! or if you prefer: Ah, an emo-king) but he should anticipate that the now-angry Houyans are going to find out who spilled the beans about their plans?
Princess Damjoo: Don't blame my idiot brother Damdeok for not protecting me when Houyan finds out who's been snitching.... blame it on the KBS writers.... I think the writers, not the Houyans, are planning to kill me off.
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Speaking of close-ups, just take a look at Houyan's General Fengba's elephant-size ears.
No doubt he thoroughly deserves to be nicknamed DUMBO for his long history of trying to kill or outsmart Damdeok. That's the KBS version.
The real Feng Ba later became Emperor Wencheng of Later Yan dynasty, and he was said to have had more than 100 sons, but after his death in 430, his brother and successor Feng Hong (Emperor Zhaocheng) had them all executed.
You like my big ears? Screencaps 2 & 5.
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Here's a short 5 min clip from ep 73 where DD pays his respects to the deceased Murong Chui.
I didn't notice it the first time around but somehow this very badly orchestrated scene (actually downright disrespectful & insulting) shouldn't have been even passed by KBS higher-ups.
If KBS is making a historical drama about royalty, then they should insist on at least 90% accuracy of royal customs and practices, granted that in the ancient 3 Kingdoms era, there's hardly any written royal protocols the way the later dynasties manage to record everything in detail, each and every royal protocol practised within the palace, including the disposal of the royal chamber pot (I no kid you).
So what am I dismayed about? Even though I'm not an expert in royal protocols? But for nearly 4 decades, I've watched enough dramas & films from Korea, Japan, & China to at least be familiar with basic royal customs.
Notice that when DD bows deeply and then gets down on his knees and (supposedly) puts his forehead to the ground, CUSTOMARILY THREE TIMES, ALL his posse behind him (with the noticeable absence of Seol Ji) merely stand and just lower their heads..
That is a NO-NO. If your own king gets down on his knees, everyone including the mosquitos, should follow suit. There are no ifs or buts or exceptions when it comes to dramatizing royal practices.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nh1aqbYQj8
I did like the orchestral music used when DD did his kowtowing x3 - very stately & martial.
The other thing which suddenly jumped into my mind was how come the two princes (and all the Houyan officials) are not dressed in mourning clothes?
I remember the earlier episodes when they staged the funerals for DD's father and Sagal, everyone was wearing white - are we to assume that just because the Houyans may be paganistic (but in that scene they still place a memorial tablet for MC), they therefore don't mourn and still wear their normal colorful robes and even more dazzling headbands?
Mind you, the Houyans did build magnificent tombs for their kings and so it doesn't stand to reason that the Houyans didn't have at least some form of mourning period rituals.
This next clip below shows the sudden appearance of Seol Ji just before they head out to quell the riots at the Goguryeo migrants' settlement..... just slide your cursor to around 2:20, and freeze frame .... she's on the right of your screen, 'hiding' way behind there because she came late. Even more so because her taxi driver's vehicle navigation system didn't have the proper coordinates for 'Houyan Palace" and he had to call KBS for directions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxifJyneae4
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^^ Now that's what I call entertaining & awesomely funny..... thanks mzeiya !
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Tell us what you notice when you observe the two long tables below.... the purple colored one for DD and the green colored one for Murong Xi
Doesn't it strike you they came from the same interior designer and indeed even the decor of the two rooms look eeriely sinilar..... right down to the flipchart just beside and behind the kings
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^ this drama has given me an aversion to long rectangular tables.
Hehe
.... that's a good one DJG.... actually those long tables serve only two purposes:1. nearest to the king is always a map with small colorful flags showing where the portable toilets are located on the battleground, which the guys nearest to camera can never see and that's why we have a flip-chart/whiteboard placed just beside and behind his majesty.
2. the king usually loves to bang the table hard whenever he hears bad news.
So when you really really think about it, removing the table wouldn't even be someting you'll miss - it's not an ESSENTIAL MUST HAVE palace furniture because our guys never eat or drink when waiting for messengers - but the king needs something to bang hard with his hand, usually once sometimes twice, hence the table.
If you look at the screencaps for ep 79 just above your post, we're now introduced to ancient Korean men with twin pigtails.... I'm sure the bit actor's proud mum would say this IN KOREAN to her friends:
HEY LOOK..... THAT'S MY DARH-LING BIG BOY ON PRIMETIME TV DRAMA. WHICH ONE? CAN'T YOU SEE THE ONE WITH THE BROAD FACE AND SHORT TWIN PIGTAILS? DOESN'T HE REMIND YOU OF ACTRESS KIM TAE HEE?
Kim Tae Hee? Yeah , maybe if I close my eyes and over-stretch my imagination....
If anyone ever invents or finds a time-travel device, be sure to zip back to Goguryeo times and introduce to these men in ancient Korea shaving blades .... I'll bet even the womenfolk there will think you're a god, and kings might name roads after you.
While you're there as a time-traveller from this century, be sure to open schools for hairstyling, including barbers, because I seriously think barbers and hairstylists were non-existent those days. Wigs were more in fashion and aplenty in those days due to large numbers of decapitations in palace execution grounds (if you believe k-dramas) and of course after every major battle, wigmakers would go around collecting horsetails from slain horses.
Which then makes me wonder how come we have a shiny bald-headed guy in the same screencaps above? How did that dude keep his head so smooth and clean-shaven?
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KBSW Ep 73..... Yet again our KBS (Keeping Bullcrap Secure) writers continue to strangely distort history by making Murong Chui die by knowingly drinking poisoned wine given by his darling son Murong Xi to prevent his other darling son Murong Bao from drinking the said wine.
Our writers created this scenario in order to prevent the two brothers from killing each other, therefore creating internal civil strife which in his estimation, would destroy his precious Houyan and expose itself to further penetrations from Goguryeo.
I'm sure some of you will find out from Google the true way the real MC died but I suppose that wasn't high drama enough to kill off MC.
On his deathbed he made the two idiots 'promise' to behave and stop killing each other and focus on DD, the real enemy.
What our two ignorant ahjumma writers have done is to over-simplify human nature .... brothers killing each other to usurp the throne in that era was as common as bribery & corruption in Korean politics and civil administration today.
We are made to believe and accept that a wily old king (the real Murong Chui) would issue a deathbed wish that would be obediently followed by the two idiot sons? And the writers expect us viewers to accept that? If it was a fairytale, or kindergarten play maybe....
Is there anyone reading this who hasn't disobeyed papa & mama or told lies?
The other distortion was that the real Murong Chui actually sired more sons than just the 2 idiot sons you only see in our gripping drama GTGC.
So our two ahjumma writers have conveniently reduced the chess game to just two, instead of the real power struggle which involved the queen, her sisters and ruthless treachery on the part of the real Murong Bao immediately after he took over the throne. Ah well.... fiction is good or else this drama might go on to 150 episodes.
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Pay attention to the sudden appearance of Seol Ji in this ep 73.
When Damdeok & his posse travels and enters the Houyan palace to pay their respects to the deceased MC and at the same time show their usual flair for offending the Houyan hosts, clearly Seol Ji WASN'T PART of the posse - only the other two lowly female bodyguards were seen behind DD.
(So who's protecting the pregnant Yakyeon back home, eh? Oh sorry, I forgot that Yakyeon was once a Xena Warrior type so she's more than capable of defending herself from 50 or more assassins who usually don black hoods and black ninja-style suits in an era of Korean history when even ninja or their trademark black uniforms had yet to be invented. In fact there's no evidence even among the Japanese experts that real ninjas in the feudal period ever wore black as camouflage. That's like a plainclothes cop who displays his police badge on his T-shirt, a weapon strapped to his hip and a sign on his forehead that says 'COP").
LATER..... when one of the female bodyguards rushed back to tell DD of the riots at the Goguryeo migrants settlement, Seol Ji is STILL visibly absent.
Then when DD & his posse moves out to the migrants settlement to stop the rioting, Seol Ji is SEEN galloping just behind him and when they were ambushed, there is another clear shot of lovely Seol Ji showing the usual anxious expression which says, OH NO! WE"RE BEING AMBUSHED FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME AND SHUCKS, THIS TIME I FORGOT TO WEAR MY KEVLAR BRA.
OK.. since as you know I'm a bit partial to Seol Ji, the only explanation I have is maybe Seol Ji overslept when DD & his posse left for Houyan earlier that day but she managed to catch a taxi and arrived in Houyan just in time for the ambush.
AND here we moan that the writers have no more surprises left for us viewers.
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Supplementary: don't you like the way our KBS writers make these warring kings still show proper respect and organize condolence visits when the other king croaks?
The last time we checked, wasn't the Houyan & Goguryeo still at war? Can the state of war suddenly be 'forgotten' just because one ruler died?
Do we want to believe our KBS writers that it's okay to send condolence delegations to an enemy state with the full trust that neither one of the delegation will be harmed, disembowelled, beheaded or be ripped apart by four bulls?
What's wrong with these ahjumma writers? Did they forget that REAL Goguryeo soldiers who die defending their country have fathers and mothers (assuming they themselves were not slaughtered too) who grieve for their sons but suddenly all is forgiven when the enemy king croaks and we can have a few weeks of peace while the enemy state mourns their beloved leader?
Fearless as he was, I seriously doubt even the real Damdeok would have attended the funeral wake for an enemy king - in all likelihood, the entire Goguryeo palace would be celebrating the death of an enemy king rather than send a condolence delegation to show crocodile tears.
Sometimes I'm not sure if these ahjumma writers are really dumb and ignorant of historical political affairs - for sure they neglect to do thorough pre-production research - or they think they're very clever in imposing their own world view and rewriting diplomacy and the conduct of nations at war?
Another hilarious thing our KBS writers love to do is make Damdeok & his entire posses waltz in and out of the Houyan palace like it's part of the KBS studio set. No guards to stop them or at least disarm them by taking their swords away at the reception counter (of course we know Seol Ji always has a few daggers up her sleeves).
If DD & his posse could casually walk into Murong Bao's private office, with no Houyan palace guards in sight, not even a single pesky eunuch, then why not just slash Murong Bao and his brother to pieces and then fight their way out of the palace and back to Gungnaseong in time for dinner and beer?
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^Some actors just look better in traditional sageuk wear.
U think? How about this fella?
Stop lookin' at my nipple... fix 'em on my pecs
Man, my tummy feels like a blender... just can't stop fartin'.... I hope Doyeong has a strong nose...
If Yakyeon calls, tell her I've gone squirrel hunting....
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Mr Ha Mu Ji was a Baekje King Biryu in Geunchogo, and also played minor forgettable characters in The Princess Man & Age of Warriors.
He certainly has the historical experience in k-dramas.
"Dang! I used to have my magic wand but they took it away from Ha Muji.
Whatcha lookin' at? Don't yer like my V-shaped eyebrows? And the 'X' on my face?
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Perhaps the most serious distortion done by these two female writers was to insert Ha Mu Ji into Gwanggaeto's inner circle.
While we may never know if the real Damdeok had an advisor such as HMJ, I'm more inclined to think Gwanggaeto would have chosen someone closer to his age - the reason being if you're a boy king installed at age 17, and then let's say he met HMJ sometime around 20 or early 20s, I doubt very much if he would appoint someone 'so-fatherly' (or grand-fatherly) to be his closest advisor.
It works both ways too: an old geezer like this HMJ would most likely find a young conquering king (NOT the Lee Tae Gon version) too impetuous and rebellious to ever listen to his grandfatherly advice.
It might have been more plausible if HMJ was a friend of the royal family or an aide to his daddy or uncle or grandpa but to appoint a total stranger to be his closest advisor to me is stretching the relationship dynamics a tad too much.
For sure, Damdeok (LTG's version) is already surrounded by generals (mostly KBS historical drama regulars) but why the writers choose to make ALL his generals just sit there at the long table and parrot "YEA, PEY HA" without any tactical suggestions of their own surely doesn't reflect a typical general's behavior.
On no less than 3 occasions, chief General Hwang has responded: PEY HA, THE SOLDIERS HAVE BEEN FIGHTING NON-STOP. THEY NEED TO REST. WE CANNOT SEND THEM INTO BATTLE NOW.
Folks, don't you now think General Hwang's lines were written by a mother?
With all due respect to ZhuGe Liang and the many ancient Chinese kings who fought against him and lost, you would imagine DD's copycat strategist to be equally cocky and brimming with brilliant audacious plans but has our HMJ live up to even being a brilliant general? HMJ looks more and more like a senior citizen whose only solid military doctrine is KILL ALL ENEMY PRISONERS so that they don't live to fight us again another day.
Besides that, look at how Baekje, Houyan, and for a while Biryeo made DD look like any ordinary lame king, and then when DD went out to recapture or save his beleagured fortresses, half the time HMJ is not even at DD's side on a white horse. Being DD's only strategist, why is HMJ not out there beside DD on the battlefield half the time?
Is HMJ conducting the battleplan from an underground concrete bunker in Gungnaseong (DD's capital) surrounded by giant LED screens, watching real-time images relayed by an array of orbiting satellites and then relaying coded instructions using pigeons and messengers on horseback?
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Furthermore the real Damdeok is credited with training and leading into battle his awesome 50,000 strong armored cavalry, and I'm inclined to believe DD needed no one other than himself and his cavalry division commanders to do the job. If he had a strategist, he would probably be his best cavalry commander.
Just pause and think: it's already difficult enough to lead and command 5,000 modern battle tanks and using modern radio comms to direct the movement of 5000 war machines against your enemies.
Now multiply that ten times and imagine using just signal flags, drums, horns, fire and sound-emitting arrows plus soldiers who can shout long distances to give orders to 50,000 men on horseback and direct battle formations against your enemies.
Does a HMJ-character sound like he's capable of devising a battleplan assault involving 50,000 cavalry plus an additional few thousands more archers, light cavalry and the ever effective infantry?
That is why in all probability, the real Damdeok would spend half of his free time training and practising his battle formations with his grand army..... instead of sitting at the long table and looking at the map.
In those days, generals have to train REGULARLY and 'rehearse' their entire troops TO FOLLOW orders that are given by flags, drums, horns and arrows and form the various battle formations for one simple reason - about half or more of their soldiers are actually conscripts, not professional soldiers.
The ancient kings in Korea, just like their Chinese and Japanese counterparts, could never have kept a large enough professional standing army because of the huge costs involved, and so conscripting males from the region was very necessary. And that's why these recruits have to be trained and rehearsed until they get the basics right before they go out to fight and die, or fight and live to fight another battle.
To augment their huge armies, slaves (captured citizens from conquered nations) would also be forcibly put into the moving army, carrying the supplies, handling the supply carts and of course, feed the war horses and donkeys and cows ..... and when they use the siege engines and battering rams, it's usually the slaves who are made to push these war machines right up to the fort, and of course these slaves get slaughtered first before the regular soldiers moving behind them take over the job and finish it.
Of course dramas & most films won't ever show slaves in action during a battle for the same reason nobody is ever seen smoking in a contemporary TV drama.
That's why it's more plausible to believe that Damdeok's 50,000 strong armored cavalry would probably be professional soldiers because you need a cohesive unit of 50,000 to move as one and coordinate well with the other Goguryeo units on the battlefield. And that's also why the real DD, being a young man, king and leader in his 20s, would probably spend more time training and perfecting his battlefield maneuvers, with his battalion commanders and generals.
Most unfortunately, our writers have made Lee Tae Gon play DD like he's already past his youth and prime, and Goguryeo generals spend more time sitting at the long table awaiting messengers to come running in to say, "PEY HA, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK BY UNKNOWN FORCES FROM UNKNOWN COUNTRY FROM MULTIPLE DIRECTIONS. WE ONLY KNOW THEY SPEAK SAME LANGUAGE BECAUSE THEY KEEP SCREAMING OBSCENITIES AT US, SOME OF WHICH ARE BETTER THAN OURS.
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daunte29, they finally mentioned on episode 72 that Damju gave birth to a son. what about Yakyeon? i wonder when they will show her pregnant. isn't King Jangsu supposed to have been born in 394? the war with Baekje was in 396, so Jangsu supposed to be one or two year old already.
For all we know these KBS (Keeping Baby Secret) writers can surprise us in one future episode where Jangsu suddenly appears as a strapping 10-yr old boy (played by 2AM Jo Kwon) and then he'll tell us Queen Yak Yeon died of chronic diarrhoea when he was 1 year old, and that he was brought up by his wet nurse who looks suspiciously like a former Miss Korea beauty queen.
Believe me, k-dramas are famous for making the impossible possible and the implausible totally real.
Indeed Ha Muji & Seol Ji went to visit Damju in Houyan capital ostensibly to pay a courtesy visit on her recent delivery but once again look how lazy the writers were - they couldn't even bother to borrow a baby from somewhere for that scene and make Damju look more like a proud queen mother rather than sitting there all alone. I mean, they could have put a doll in the crib and make do with sound effects of baby crying.
Instead the writers wanted us viewers to focus on Ha Muji's small eyes poking big insults on the two Houyan brothers - just so he could report back to Damdeok that the two Houyan princes are at each other's throats for the high chair.... or throne if you prefer.
This will happen this weekend when Murong Chui finally croaks and then joins his old buddy Ko Mu in the afterlife where they will continue their swordplay uninterrupted and where no one dies because all cuts and wounds are self-healing.
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One possible answer to DJG post:
Damdeok (Lee Tae Gon's version, not the real McCoy) would probably tell us in his deep sore-throaty voice:
Now is not the time to be making love to make babies: now is the time to make war every week and deplete the population of both Gorguryeo & its neighbors.
Only when I have conquered what the KBS writers want me to conquer, then I will promote procreation seriously and replace asap all those lousy soldiers who could not stay alive.
Any couple who tells me they're too busy or too tired to make babies because of work will suffer the following consequences: the man shall be castrated and join my palace team of eunuchs while his wife will undergo bodyguard training and work under Seol Ji, if I can find her one of these days.
But make this one thing very clear: all babies born in Goguryeo or in any nation conquered by Goguryeo must grow up fast and shall fight and defend the nation whenever I, Damdeok, send out royal decree by SMS or email.
Only when you citizens respond to my call to war will you be able to enjoy 100% free prosthetic replacements for any limbs missing after a battle, including fake eye and/or fancy eye-patch, but unfortunately there's not much my Goguryeo plastic surgeons can do for decapitations or pulverized genitals.
In these two aforementioned cases, I suggest you just die quietly and then collect your appearance fee from KBS.
Of course how many troops we can put in front of the KBS cameras to show that we're busily fighting on the battlefield, which by the way is always the same one, depends on the budget given to hire drama extras - those guys you see running around with colorful banners and always quickly die whenever any general swings their fake swords.
THis one stroke death policy is to ensure my generals, especially my lovely bodyguard Seol Ji, do not perspire and ruin their makeup as the perspiration can also undo our fake mustaches and beards.
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Another thing missing entirely from this drama is an OST.
All previous historical dramas produced by KBS had an OST and a grand theme song or two but so far for Gwanggaeto, they've been playing the same tune every episode, and the suspense background music seems to have been recycled from past sageuks.
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For ancient history pundits, here are Goguryeo tomb murals digitally reproduced and enhanced in this clip below.... probably the only time we'll ever get to see Goguryeo people's mythical creatures
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I didn't see Seol Ji on the last two episodes. Yeon Salta is also missing for 4 episodes now. as of last night when i checked the official site of the drama, they didn't have a preview for last sunday's episode and for next saturday's episode. i wonder if they're filming the episodes few days before it's being shown.
Thanks for the heads-up, viktoria.
Actor Hong Kyeong-in a.k.a Yeon Salta got married on Feb 12 2012 to his girlfriend of 8 years whose 6 years his senior. So I'm guessing Mr Hong may have taken time off for his honeymoon.
In the just-aired ep 72 KBSW, Yeon Salta had volunteered to be sent to Biryeo to act as Goguryeo's overseer general to make sure the Biryeo are observing their alliance, behaving like nice little kids and are not secretly conducting uranium enrichment activitites to build a nuclear weapon, strap it to a horse, and send it to Gungnaseong (Damdeok's capital) where 98.9% of happy Goguryeon citizens would be instantly vaporised.
Remember how distraught Yeon Salta was at seeing Doyeong with a feathered stick sticking out from her belly? In order to prevent PTSD (post-traumatic stress syndrome) from taking root, Damdeok saw it fit to station him at Biryeo where he could perhaps enjoy the fresh clean air of the Mongolian steppes, eat delicious lamb chops every day, and drink wholesome sheep's milk freshly squeezed every hour.
As for Kim Jung Hwa a.k.a Seol Ji, I have no idea.
The recent screencaps do show the other two lowly female bodyguards present as part of DD's posse but no Seol Ji at DD's side.
Maybe her brother Seol Doan realising his reproductive system has been irreparably damaged by years of bouncing on the horse and being kicked in the groin by barbaric enemies, and by a few stubborn donkeys, decided to matchmake his sister Seol Ji to another long-haired rastafarian who looks like Won Bin (an offer she could never refuse) to ensure that the Mohe bloodline doesn't disappear.
If the writers do kill off Seol Ji before this drama ends, I might actually go help the Biryeos to build several weapons of mass destruction.
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KBS has again distorted history in ep 72 and this time it wasn't for entertainment purposes. Some Korean viewers were aghast when this episode finished airing in February.
Here was the contention: according to more than one historical source, when Asin surrendered to Gwanggaeto, he actually handed over his brother as a Goguryeo captive as condition for maintaining his own rule over Baekje.
This hostage principle was a routine practice among royalties fighting for power in China, Korea & Japan of that era but as you saw in our KBS (Keeping Bullcrap Smelly) version, Asin doesn't even have a brother much less a pet chihuahua.
Why didn't KBS write in a 'brother-character' for Asin is only known to our writers but it does expose the lackadaisical attitude KBS has paid to dramatising one of only 2 Great Kings of Korea.
Furthermore the episode showed cheering crowds of Goguryeo people celebrating the surrender of Baekje but what they should have also done was to show the reaction of the Baekje people.... both kingdoms have been at each other's throats for many many years and therefore one assumes the cessation of war might be a relief for both nations.
In reality however the deep hatred between the two nations, between two different cultures, were never extinguished even after Asin's defeat & surrender; at best, it was a truce.
Korean viewers themselves including university scholars, said the speech by Damdeok in that episode stating that Goguryeo & Baekje people were of one blood was as naive and fake as saying the division of North & South Korea is nothing but a line drawn on a map.
At least I'm glad that some Koreans are not as naive to be drawn into what this drama is trying to promote, but one cannot say the same for non-Korean viewers - distortions in Korean history by Korean historical dramas can be easily refuted by Korean people but these same distortions may be accepted as 'truths' by non-Korean viewers overseas.
And that is why distortions made by historical k-dramas can be harmful to how non-Koreans eventually perceive ancient Korean history.
Let's cite another example: in this drama King Asin is depicted as a raving lunatic but the real Asin actually delegated most of the military campaigns against Goguryeo to his uncle-general (the one who expired last week).
By so doing, the real Asin was freed of constantly fighting one-on-one with Damdeok and the real Asin continued the Baekje tradition of promoting trade and cultural ties with Japan (more than Goguryeo or Houyan ever did) and laying the the strong foundation of Buddhism in both Baekje and Japan.
Put simply, there was more, much more to King Asin than what our KBS drama writers make him out to be.
While it is true Asin led his forces against Damdeok and was soundly defeated resulting in his surrender, it was equally true before the penultimate battle at Wiryeseong that Damdeok forces burnt about 58 walled fortresses of Baekje: this equates to hundreds, more likely thousands of Baekje citizens, soldiers, livestock and homes being totally destroyed by Goguryeo soldiers.
You wouldn't realize the realities of WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS to a conquered fortress because in K-dramas, they want us to believe that whenever there's fighting, only the soldiers die, and once in a while, a general.
History students would know that within a fortress also contains the civilians who usually outnumber the defending troops, and within the fortress would also be their homes, their livestock and everything they consider as belonging to them.
Therefore the real Gwanggaeto as a great conqueror has had to kill, burn and destroy thousands of livelihoods, Baekje for now, and therefore it's naive to think that everyone in Baekje would also be jumping for joy now that their King Asin has had to surrender to Damdeok.
In that regard and for once, I think the drama version of Asin who was bitterly crying and pleading to Damdeok was acting his part most appropriately that time - the deep agony of defeat and subjugation - and if I were him, I would already start planning my next strategic move to try to recover the independence of my Baekje kingdom.
A defeated sportsman may shake hands and smile and collect the silver medal, but in war & politics, even a defeated king is still thinking of how he can protect his country and his people. There are no silver medals for a defeated nation.
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KBSW ep 72.... when DD kills his own wifey...
...but the way it was done was absolutely the work of writers who should themselves be shot.
Main plot premise: Does anyone really think Doyeong's death (or what the writers call 'sacrifice') was powerful/significant enough to make our two boys stop yelling and fighting and SUDDENLY realise - HEY BRO, let's stop shedding blood and henceforth start sharing hot warm showers with each other. Whaddaya say?
Come on...Doyeong's been OUT OF THE PICTURE for so long now and in fact had absolved herself of all and any allegiance to Goguryeo & to Damdeok himself just because some birdbrain Goguryeo ministers and even she herself pronounced herself as daughter of a traitor = traitor.
Indeed there were several horrifically illogical things in those scenes prior to Doyoung taking the arrow for Asin that deserve reviewing from the hilarity-point-of-view. Let's begin:
1. In the first blardee place, why should Doyoung jump in front of the arrow meant for Asin? By all accounts, they haven't even slept together much less hold hands or played strip poker until wee hours of the morning.
Ok... some of us did suspect that actress Oh Ji Eun a.k.a Doyoung wanted out from being Damdeok's self-exiled wife because she was getting more airtime (and male attention too) in her other drama I LIVE IN CHEONGDAM-DONG, and I guess there's only so much Doyoung could do walking around by herself and shopping in Baekje's capital.
IN short, Doyoung wanted to die and had to die so the writers just shoved the ex-queen in front of a flying arrow released by none other than the Great King. Let's forget, shall we, that one still needs the reflexes of a cat to be able to jump in front of an arrow AND unless history proves us wrong, the greatest injustice is that the REAL Damdeok never even killed his wife, or any one calling herself Doyeong in that era.
2. Murong Un was the only one who had the presence of mind to pick up a bow & arrow but who did the writers use to stop MU from saving his only sister? I hate to say it but it was our lovely Seol Ji.
So one HAS to ask why did Seol Ji saw it necessary to throw her dagger at MU when she could have thrown the same dagger much earlier at the Baekje General Bu holding Doyoung? We KNOW she NEVER misses and she could have quietly snuck up from a more advantageous position instead of just standing there like rocks, watching the show.
Here's the thing: if she didn't throw her dagger at MU & allowed him to shoot, it might have been possible that MU either hits the General Bu or kills his own sister. Think about it. Or the arrow might miss both and hit a poor old lady selling vegetables. Collateral damage.
3. After DD was grazed by MU's arrow, General Bu released Doyoung and went to Asin's side - in effect Doyoung was no longer under threat and yet, DD didn't order Seol Ji or anyone else to fetch his ex-queen to safety. By right, Seol JI would have taken the initiative to quickly fight her way to Doyeong and pull her away to safety but no such thing happened, because the writers were determined to let DD kill Doyeong.
4. Indeed MU wanted to rush over and save his sister at this same point when swordplay resumed, but he was held back by his 3 stooges and for the sake of his safety, they bundled him away to safety. Or so we thought.
Moments later, these same 4 clowns came running back only to see Doyoung dead in DD's muscular arms.... in other words, while the fighting went on and later when Doyeong bled to death, MU & his 3 stooges instead of running to safety and out of that place, were in fact running around in circles or else they wouldn't have stumbled back just in time to see Doyeong dead in DD's bulging arms. This is the funniest scene to see the 3 stooges bundling MU around to safety but they ended up in the same place.
4. Before Doyoung was taken hostage and DD's entire posse were busy reducing Baekje's populatiion, you folks I'm sure saw the freshly-slaughtered soldiers all dropping to the ground.... but in the next shot there IS NOT A SINGLE BODY LYING ON THE GROUND! Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE is still standing and fighting. Did the dropped soldiers miraculously evaporate away like what happens in some PC Games?
Then after Doyoung was hit and DD goes to prop her up in order to make her bleed faster, nobody even dares to attack DD or the suddenly-paralysed Asin. It was like these 3 were surrounded by a force field while the soldiers in the background continue to play with their swords.
5. After Doyeong expires, this was what DD tells Asin after Asin tells everyone he has been completely defeated:
DO YOU STILL NOT KNOW WHY DOYEONG DIED? IT WAS FOR US TO JOIN FORCES AND OPEN UP A FUTURE FOR GOGURYEO & BAEKJE. IF I KILL YOU NOW, DON'T YOU KNOW THE PEOPLE OF BAEKJE WILL ONLY HAVE REGRETS & SUFFERINGS?
HOW DARE YOU TAKE YOUR LIFE SO LIGHTLY WHEN HER INTENTION WAS SO DEEP?
This makes our great king so laughable because he himself has been fighting Asin one-on-one so many times in the past and hasn't DD himself been trying his best to kill Asin? Now Damdeok CONVENIENTLY USES Doyeong's death to unbalance Asin's guilt and conscience? And Asin concedes!!
Doyeong's intention was so deep DD saw it fit to blast an arrow into his queen's intestines.
Well, well, if only the current tension and hostile situation on the Korean Peninsula that has been going on since 1953 could be as easily resolved. All we need is a stupid famous woman to 'sacrifice' herself so that idiot politicians in Pyongyang & Seoul can start singing HEAL THE WORLD, MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE, FOR YOU AND FOR ME AND THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE.
Lastly, check out the voice narration when Baekje & posse bows to DD: According to the Gwanggaeto Stele: THE KING OF BAEKJE SURRENDERED. 1000 PEOPLE & 1000 ROLLS OF FABRIC WERE OFFERED & SWORE TO BE A SERVANT FOREVER.
A nation surrenders and only 1000 slaves were offered? I've a feeling Gwanggaeto's real son was not telling the entire truth.
REALITY CHECK: How come no grand state funeral for Doyeong? Last time I checked, Damdeok still wanted her to come back and in effect, Doyeong is still A queen of Goguryeo even though Yakyeon is the official replacement queen.
If they (the writers) staged a grand funeral for Sagal Hyeon, why nothing for Doyeong? Can't Damdeok write a royal decree (especially since Doyeong was a fictional character added by our writers) to instantly and permanently erase all accusations and doubts as to Doyeong's loyalty to Goguryeo, even though her daddy was the real traitor?
Man, that really sucks bigtime for poor Doyeong.... she sacrifices herself but her hubby didn't even bother to stage a grand state funeral for her soul. OR Maybe Damdeok doesn't want his citizens to know Doyeong died from an arrow that he shot.
Speaking of stage, just take a look at how HIGH Damdeok is sitting in the last screencap below: Damdeok is already sitting on a super-high chair which is placed on a pedestal. No wonder Asin is crying buckets because of the neckpains at being forced to tilt his head skywards just to look at DD.
[Drama 2011] Gwanggaeto, The Great Conqueror 광개토태왕
in k-dramas & movies
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KBSW Ep 76..... when a non-spy admits to being THE SPY, to save a princess.
The story thus far had to resolve the unmasking of Damju as the real spy for Goguryeo, and ep 76 did it wonderfully!
For once I'm not being sarcastic when I say ep 76 is one damn good unravelling of the spy, and just when Damju was about to face the heavenly music in front of her husband, out steps the sacrificial lamb who declared himself to be THE SPY, and so Damju lives on for a few more episodes in the Houyan palace together with her invisible baby.
I must admit I did not see THAT coming - how the writers threw a curve-ball (finally) and gave everyone a HUGE SURPRISE - but the most surprised was Murong Ba, Murong Xi, Fengba & even Murong Un.
There was one outstanding scene in Damju's quarters (and that shocked me too because it was amazingly well-scripted and actress Jo An gave a sterling royal performance, especially the moment Murong Un & his asst Do Gwang left, and Damju dropped her mask and indeed showed cold fear at the prospect of being executed, in spite of the RAH_RAH speech she just gave). Here's the reason Damju gave Murong Un & Do Gwang as to why she did what she did:
DAMJU: THE PRIDE & HONOR OF BEING A GOGURYEO CITIZEN & THE FUTURE OF THE GOGURYEO PEOPLE. YOU ARE SUFFERING SINCE YOU ABANDONED THAT. I'M SURE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING.
MU: THAT'S NOT WORTH MORE THAN YOUR LIFE. IF ANYTHING HAPPENS, LIE. YOU SHOULD SPARE YOUR LIFE.
DAMJU: I.... I'M GOING TO PROTECT MY HONOR. I WON'T LIVE WITH REGRETS LIKE YOU.
While her words didn't affect MU, I think her words did strike a chord in MU's asst Do Gwang.... a relatively insignificant sidekick character so far but his unexpected valiant act did save Damju from joining Doyoung in the afterlife.
Damju's look of fear upon knowing her time's up is what reminds me that this drama, for all its silliness, is still damn entertaining and makes for delightful watching on weekends.
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Ep 76 did also give us many more scenes of unintended humor like more juicy close-ups of jumbo-ears Fengba who showed us his range of facial expressions:
1. puppy-dog eyes look when MB again shouts at him, followed by the fine mist of saliva spray hitting Fengba's facial pores;
2. horrified look of dismay when MB caves in again to DD'd bully tactics and demands;
3. creepy sly look when hatching or executing a dastardly plot;
4. squint-eyes look of supreme overconfidence, soon to be followed by,
5. jaw-dropping look of utter shock at being outplayed, again.
Even though he's in a supporting role, Fengba shows more range of emotions in an entertaining way than the other hero in the other sageuk, who's only capable of two expressions: serious and crying/wailing. Mind you, that chap was supposed to be an ex-monk but you wouldn't know that at the speed in which he starts to cry buckets, and man, if there's one thing I cannot stand is watching Korean male actors cry and cry, in every episode!
I believe many Korean male actors actually regard crying and wailing to be good acting, and that's why they practise very hard, but for me, it's the ability to hold back the tears, even as they keep welling up, and to refrain from fullblown crying and that resistance makes the facial muscles twitch ever so slightly and/or tremble - NOW THAT's good acting and Jo An gave us a glimpse of that in her pivotal scene with MU described above.
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In the end scene of Ep 76, as DD & his posse finally leaves Zhongsan, the Houyan capital, he actually delivers a speech which amounts to: I'LL BE BACK.... TO CONQUER HOUYAN TERRITORY WHICH DD SAYS BELONGS TO THEIR ANCESTORS.
This undisguised threat of future invasion is an offshoot of what he told his posse at the start of ep 75 yesterday - that DD finds the Houyan soil to be absolutely the best for farmland and if Goguryeo OWNS such fertile farmland in future, generations of Goguryeons would never face starvation.
Of course what DD and the writers didn't dare to say was 'WHAT ABOUT THE HOUYANS WHO CURRENTLY OWN THE LAND AND ARE ALSO DEPENDING ON THE SAME FARMLAND FOR SURVIVAL?
WHAT RIGHTS DO THE GOGURYEONS HAVE TO INVADE HOUYAN AND TAKE OVER THE LIVELIHOODS OF HOUYANS?
Is it legitimate enough in the olden times to just say 'HEY THIS LAND OF YOURS USED TO BELONG TO MY ANCESTORS AND SO NOW I'M JUST RETAKING BACK WHAT WAS ONCE MINE".