[Drama 2014] Secret Door 비밀의 문

[kanzcech]

@nancykimlee thanks for the insight regarding King Yeongjo and the royal families :-bd

I find a blog post trying to summarize King Yeongjo-Prince Sado's history:

But the biggest problem for Yeongjo was his own son, Prince Sado. At the age of 27, King Yeongjo forced Prince Sado to get into a rice chest, and then locked the chest so that Prince Sado died 8 days later. The official records at that time are very vague about why this terrible thing happened.

The book looks at several different records and explains what happens like so: Prince Sado was born when the king was already pretty old. He had no other heirs, and so the king was very hopeful for his son to become a Confucian ruler like him. So, Yeongjo really pushed his son to work hard and study Confucian thought. At first this worked well, and Prince Sado was a bright and happy son.

However, this wasn’t good enough. Yeongjo pushed him so hard, that eventually Prince Sado became depressed and started neglecting his studies. This made Yeongjo criticize his son more. This became a cycle over the next 10 years or so, where Yeongjo kept pushing his son, and his son would fall short, become depressed and give up more. Based on the diary of Lady Hyegyeong, Prince Sado was so afraid of his father, that he would become very upset in the morning when he had to get dressed (and meet him), beat his servants and sometimes kill them.

Prince Sado’s mental health became worse and worse, and eventually he became a threat to everyone. However Confucian law prevented King Yeongjo from killing his son, so he forced him into a rice chest and locked it. After Prince Sado died, records were destroyed and people tried to forget it ever happened. Sado’s son (Yeongjo’s grandson) became the next king, Jeongjo, and was one of the best kings of the Joseon Dynasty.

More: http://jkllr.net/2013/11/17/the-sage-king-yeongjo-of-korea/

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@hapha8714 @nancykimlee well, more than anything, this is my main gripes for Hwang Jin Yi. Sorry for being off-topic

As I said before the directing and acting from the casts are excellent. But, and this is very personal, I dislike HJY's writer because she destroys Kim Jae Won's character (Kim Jung Han) and I can't forgive her till now :-L
*spoiler here*
Kim Jae Won is one of my favorite actors and he's known for his trademark smiles. However, for the life of me, I can't understand why in HJY he has to wear fake beard (just like Kim Min Jong here) and almost never smiles, nor has any happiness. His life is full of tragedy and misery. From his appearance till the end, he's supposed to be main lead, but he has no kiss (while Jang Geun Suk's Eunho has), his undying love for HJY well, just died in the end, then his unborn child, his torture in ep 22, etc. Almost in every scene, he has weepy mopey face and even his happiness with HJY is just short-lived. ( (

You have posted really thoughtful post about Baek Moo and Hwang Jin Yi. I also feel like how you feel, and eventually learn about the moral values in it. I also really love the dance, the poems, songs, basically I love the artistic parts of it. But because I initially watched this drama for Ha Ji Won and Kim Jae Won, I was disappointed with their story. Sorry for the rant! I just frustrated with it.
It's like watching your favorite oppa onscreen but the writer turns his character into tragedy and you can't bear with it. >- >-

But I love sageuk and I won't hold grudges against her here as long as the story remains good and based on the previews, interviews and news, it looks really good. ) )

[liddi]

@nancykimlee, @kaeruchan, @irilightI just finished reading Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong. Certainly her descriptions of Prince Sado's descent into madness, the increasing wedge between a father and son that had been present since his early days, the deepening misunderstandings and dissatisfaction, as well as the political intrigues that are rife in the palace make for a truly dark, terrible read. I have to wonder how much of her version of the events will be incorporated into the drama. To be honest, am I even ready to watch her version of the events unfold onscreen?
@hapha8714I find the omission of the instrumental soundtrack for Tree with Deep Roots to be truly a huge loss to lovers of the drama. Wonder whether we will ever see a release of it ever... which I guess is highly unlikely. Still, I hold out hope.

[irilight]

@liddi,  I just started reading the last memoir...What a sad lonely childhood for Prince Sado...!

@nancykimlee, @kanyaprasetyo, thank you for the recommendation of the book, The Confucian Kingship of Korea. I just ordered it from Amazon.

@kaeruchan, @nancykimlee, thank you for shedding light about the characters of the drama, and answering my question about Lady Hyegyong... @kaeruchan, I can see how people observing her might have thought her cold.  Based on the memoirs, she had to keep her public figure intact, and for that reason kept her pain and love inside.  I feel that she was such a remarkable brave woman.

@nancykimlee, I have watched both Bleak Night and My Paparotti based on your recommendation. I totally agree with you, and thank you for the recommendations. I have also seen The Front Line. One superb film..

@kanyaprasetyo, I loved Hwang Jin-Yi... Loved the music, the dances.. the poems... Loved her character and how Ha Ji-won portrayed her. And I do agree with you, that Kim Jae-won's character was a let down (for me too..). I loved the ending too, by the way. I'd say that the writer, Yoon Sun-Joo did a remarkable job with that drama. Some scenes (i.e. her dance with the poetry, her heart-breaking farewell to Kim Eun-Ho) will remain fresh in my mind forever.

I was hoping to find her drama The Great King Sejong, but it is not readily available.

BTW, here is Dramabeans coverage of the Press Conference.

http://www.dramabeans.com/2014/09/secret-doors-enthusiastic-press-conference/

[valsava]

hapha8714 said:

@hapha8714,  Hi love your post.. I wasn't aware that this is the writer that wrote Hwan Jim Yi love that drama.. I haven't seen it a while and that the games are on I shall seek to find it again and watch since it's on 16 episodes..  @nancykimlee,  Thanks for recommending LJH other works I shall try and find and watch.. 

[Guest hapha8714]

@liddi‌, where can we view hyegyeong's memoirs? is it available online for free?

i wish it'll be subbed quickly once it's released. i'm also excited for SD's soundtrack. yeaaahhhh!

@kanyaprasetyo‌

re: hwang jin yi. off-topic again. engk!

oh, jung han (kim jae won)

the way i saw it, the bond between him and jin yi was simply not meant to be. it was nothing but a one-way love. yeah, he was a very pitiful character... i could still remember that he said "he fell in love for the first time, and never again..."

jin yi did learned to love jung han to some degree. they even tried to live together under one roof. but to me, it was only an attempt for jin yi to resolve her matters - which is to settle down with him. and perhaps she realized eventually it won't work.

i still believe her true love was only eunho - her first love.

jin yi still was too preoccupied with her unresolved issues even during that time, seeking answers to her questions... she was on the process of recovering, reconnecting herself to her passion for art. and art was jin yi's life.

i also upset that she had a miscarriage by accident, which was supposed to be their first child together w/ jung han! ugh... fate was too harsh to both of them. a sad love story, it is.

[liddi]

@hapha8714The ebook for Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong is available from Amazon. It is a heavy, but fascinating read.And yes, let's hope for an instrumental soundtrack release for Secret Door!
@irilightAbsolutely agree about Prince Sado's tragic childhood... resulting in compassion, followed by dread as we read account upon account of his subsequent spiral downwards. I find it sad when she talked of wishing that he had died when he fell gravely sick and mourning the fact that he recovered, only to meet his horrific fate later on.

[Guest chenderella]

@valsava +1 from me for Bleak Night! After Nance's rec awhile back, I too checked it out and became a fan of not just Lee Je Hoon but the other two too. Good solid acting and that premise was just chillingly good. Where did you see Paparotti with subs @irlight? Can you PM me a link bc I've been looking. Thank you!

I'm enjoying reading these insightful comments and happy to be in good company as we await the first ep. You guys are great and sometimes I feel torn between the three buttons because I want to hit it all.

On a totally superficial note, I hope for some romance between Sado and the princess to balance some of the tears and heartache.

[valsava]

chenderella said: @valsava +1 from me for Bleak Night! After Nance's rec awhile back, I too checked it out and became a fan of not just Lee Je Hoon but the other two too. Good solid acting and that premise was just chillingly good. Where did you see Paparotti with subs @irlight? Can you PM me a link bc I've been looking. Thank you!



I'm enjoying reading these insightful comments and happy to be in good company as we await the first ep. You guys are great and sometimes I feel torn between the three buttons because I want to hit it all.



On a totally superficial note, I hope for some romance between Sado and the princess to balance some of the tears and heartache.

[kanzcech]

class="largehead"Ch 15 - A Crumbling Dynasty

The Coffin King

Crown Prince Changhon, the son of King Yongjo and Lady Sonhui, grew up without direct parental guidance. Frightened of his father and unable to reveal his emotions openly, the prince's violent, psychotic behavior terrified the palace and ultimately prompted Lady Sonhui to urge King Yongjo to execute her own son to protect the kingdom.
more: http://www.koreanhistoryproject.org/Ket/C15/E1501.htm

Terrific account on Sado. I actually wanna buy Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong too, but it seems not available in my country.

[hoshichan]

new stills

[liddi]

@kanyaprasetyoThank you for sharing the link - a well-written summary of what transpired, and pretty much similar to the Memoirs.I don't see Lady Sonhui as one of the characters in Secret Door... so I have to wonder whether this version of the events will be adapted in the drama.

[Guest kaeruchan]

@liddi There is Lady Sonhui's character in the drama, which is listed as Lady Yi Young-bin but so far th actress for the role remains a mystery. They probably want to keep it a secret. The same goes to Yeongjo's second queen consort, Queen Jeongsun. We will also have the Deposed Moon Suk-ui, Yeongjo's young concubine who is full of jealousy towards the Crown Prince and Princess, stopping at nothing to drag them into problems.

Am I the only one who can't view the pictures posted by our @hoshichan? I saw new pics of our Prince Sado on naver..Removed the pics because hoshi has posted them above

Thanks @kanyaprasetyo for the insightful links And to all campers, have fun! Should we have a group name or something? Hehehe

Kinda sad that I won't be able to catch the premiere since I will have a very limited internet access from now on (ㅠ_ㅠ)

[hoshichan]

@kaeruchan i think the picture is broken LOL...mianhahnida....
 actually i've read the memoirs...actually i also curious about Pingae characters..the second consort of prince sado as it told as the woman that he loved yet the one that he killed too

[Guest nancykimlee]

Thanks for the stills @hoshichan and @kaeruchan! :x More Lee Je Hoon = a good thing in my books, hehe. FYI: From my experiences, linking pictures from Topstarnews and Newsen will always result in no imagery. You can link Topstarnews pictures from their Twitter account, but not for HD pics on their site. Other sites like TVDaily or Naver works fine though. Maybe @iguanasoap can offer some tips since she's good with posting stills and updates.
Thanks @kanyaprasetyo for the good reads and I enjoy reading your posts re: Hwang Jin Yi with @hapha8714. I'm vicariously reliving the drama through the posts, hehe. 
@liddi, because this is on SBS, I don't think we'll be given much or many of Sado's violent acts. In later episodes, it may be implied or downplayed because of its audience, which is fine for this drama, but I do expect the movie version to explore it at greater lengths especially with Yoo Ah In in the coveted role. I do hope that they include moments like Sado's clothing phobia (how he would go through sets of clothes before choosing one, and often times burning them, etc) before meeting his father. I think that would translate well onscreen, and give depth to his character and how fearful he can be of his father.
In other news, Block B's OST for the drama will be released on September 30th. There's already a countdown for it here.
Potential spoilers (?) re: the characters per the SBS website. This is just speculations, but stop reading here if you don't want to be spoiled by the possibility, if any.

On the SBS website with character descriptions here, it lists the characters and their 8 year timeline. For characters like Shin Heung Bok, whom we've seen die in the teasers, is noted at just the age of 23, whereas someone like Chae Je Gong (real historical figure) is listed with the year that he is born, and also his age in that time frame, which is 35-43. So, if one were to take a peek and do the math then does it hint at what lies ahead for certain characters..? I won't go on to say who, but just throwing it out there.

[hoshichan]

Thank you for the tips @nancykimlee it's really helpful since iam still new in this field
as for the potential spoiler i agree with you...actually when the first time i read it, i found it strange because there are some characters that have life span less than 8 years, if it was right then we might lost some major character in the drama =((
better prepare for major heartbreaking....

[ucieh]

Hi guys I am interested in watching Secret Door and do hope it's gonna be a good one.The casts are great so I heard, it will be my first time seeing Han Suk-Kyu & Lee Je-Hoon.Kinda wondering here since I dont have any idea about Korean history and have never seen the previous works of the writer, would I be able to follow the story? (I know it's a silly question lol...)

[Guest kaeruchan]

@nancykimlee

When I first heard about SD, I thought that the murder case would be centering around the victims killed by Sado when he lost control, but with Heung-bok's dying first, I'm more curious whether we will see that part or not. The clothing phobia will be one amazing thing to be shown onscreen, because it's one of the major signs how Sado was beyond repair. I think we will see bits and pieces of the history from various sources and I notice that they also include a scene in which Yeongjo is cleaning his ears angrily, as what Lady Hyegyeong recorded.

As for the lifespan of the characters...well, we gotta enjoy their presence while it lasts (Trying to be super duper positive over here) I don't mind if this drama will make me cry tears of blood. Hummm

@hoshichan Hehehe it's okay..and I'm wondering why the spoiler tag isn't working today..

About Pingae, that's another interesting side of the history. My take is that Sado was obsessed with her but it's not impossible if he did love her. It's just unfortunate that she was beside him when he lost his mind, resulting in his death. To be honest, I was scared if Ji-dam was going to be Ping-ae in this drama after seeing a picture of her in royal dress. But Ping-ae was originally Queen Inwon's lady-in-waiting and in this drama, there's no mention of Queen Inwon or Ping-ae (yet), so that will be a surprise for us..And another thing that makes me more curious is Ji-dam's age..because if we are to follow the lifespan, she will die one year before Sado, just like Ping-ae. Argh, must stop thinking about it!

@ucieh Welcome aboard! I don't think it will be a big problem, as long as you're willing to enjoy the story Ah, I'm kinda jealous of you since you haven't been spoiled by the history!

[hoshichan]

@kaeruchan.....totally agree with you..let just stop thinking about that.....
but what to do the image keep swirling in my head right now. i'm beyond hopeless LOL
@uchieh i don not see it as the problem at all....iam a newcomer as well and welcome to the thread...the more the merrier

[liddi]

@nancykimlee, @kaeruchanI never thought of who Ping-ae could be in this drama... but now that you mention it, especially with the timeline, this could potentially be the case, and that sets chills down my spine, knowing her fate. Can you please point me to the timeline on the official website?
From the looks of it, the cast for a lot of characters have not yet been revealed. Is that normal to still keep it quiet by now? Lady Moon is already identified, so it stands to reason the troubles she and her brother contributed to the Crown prince and princess will be a part of the drama. But definitely the scenes both of you identified with regards to Prince Sado's phobia and madness, as well as King Yeongjo's paranoia and superstitious behavior - it was really painful reading about them in the Memoirs, and I imagine would be even more so, seeing it brought to life on screen.
I am actually torn right now about the portrayal of Prince Sado's fate. Perhaps because it is so painful... and there are several different theories which allude to the reason he died the way he did, I do not know whether I feel more accepting about him being portrayed as a victim of political intrigue, or truly his own worst enemy. Sorry if I am not making sense. In any case, we shall see what the drama holds for us.

[ucieh]

@kaeruchan, @hoshichan
Thank you for your warm welcome and rest assurance.I have been reading your discussions and it seems you guys have a strong background about Korean history.Well, I am jealous of you actually
I am excited and worried at the same time cause I have high expectation of this drama (dont know why...)Looks like it's a promising saenguk of the year..(a real saenguk, not based on fantasy)
May I know what kind of role Kim You-Jung plays here?