[Drama 2015] Hwajung 화정

irilight · May 8, 2015

Sorry for being late in responding.. I am finally getting some time, so I am going over this wonderful thread.

@SMP567 Thank you for all the photos and illuminations.

valsava said
Well you can say it's everyday life for them even the females do it I seen were men get drunk and take advantage of a woman but in the Kdrama society the women takes advantage of the men only to trap into marrying her.. I guess in the Joseon era there was no age limit for one to purchase alcohol especially if he or she comes from a nobel background and wearing the attire

In K-drama, most of the alcohol is milky white, looking almost like skim milk. It must be different from the typical red wine or white wine.
I don't drink but am just curious what kind of taste and smell that milky-color alcohol is like... It must taste quite strong since most drinkers look very painful squeezing their eyes after emptying out a whole glass
@smp567, I'm not a drinker myself but from what I know during the Joseon era the milky alcohol substance your talking about is Rice Wine another name for is mugul or something like that I don't know the correct spelling of it I think Soju came much much later I don't know the taste or the smells of these type of wines

@valsava, @SMP567 Makgeolli is pretty popular drink, not only in Korea, but also in Japan. I am not a drinker myself, but I see it in both Korean markets and restaurants.

@MaknaeC Thank you for keeping us informed about the ratings.

@valsava and @MadraRua Thank you for all illuminations and POV.

irilight · May 9, 2015

I so agreed. I don't understand how Gai-si and Yi-cheom could go around and killed off the king's family without his permission. It is murder and you can't even do that among commoners without being punished.

@smp567. I don;t get why GW didn't do anything to them granted they got rid of a lot of his headaches but I think GW was really afraid of the two of them will really kill him if needed YC killed for greed.. I do think if that coupe didn't happen he would have found away to get rid of them both after he had completed his mission

@valsava @SMP567 My guess is that GW was afraid that because they were the people who were closest to him, he would be blamed either way. But if he punished them, people would still believe they were doing his bidding, and yet he punished them to not look as the guilty party. He was sort of in a position of damn if you do, and damn if you don't. Either way - he would not gain people trust and love, but would have lost the 2 that were supposedly loyal to him - one of which loved him too.

Waving hi to @cedarwood.... great to see you here...!

@ororomunroe, @yayayim, @SMP567, @tulipw @Salma El Makhloufy Thank you for stills.

@MadraRua, thank you for pointing us to the Joseon period politics.

@SMP567 - may I please ask where you are watching Sejong the Great?

I am all caught up on this drama with Eng. sub. I like it a lot.

I think Cha Seong-Won did a fabulous job of showing GW with his inner conflicts, sorrow, regrets, and powerlessness.

The scene in which Lee Deok-Hyeong was killed was chilling and profound. He was one courageous man, to follow his inner guideline of honor and truth.

Like many of you - I find it horrifying how Lee Yi-Chum killed little Prince Youngchang. I hope there is karma in this drama.

I am curious of course, to see what comes next. The Princess was given the name of Hwa-Yi in the mines. She is told that it means either child of fire or child of flower. If I think of flower as reference to Silla's ancient warriors/flower-boys - Hwarang - and also when I think of her name with element of fire - the thought comes to mind that she will be messenger of fire who will avenge her little brother's death... And yet, everything I read here, does not show that she got involved in politics. In fact - she may have avoided politics because of her childhood experience. I wonder if this drama will have a different story to tell....

valsava · May 9, 2015

I so agreed. I don't understand how Gai-si and Yi-cheom could go around and killed off the king's family without his permission. It is murder and you can't even do that among commoners without being punished.

@smp567. I don;t get why GW didn't do anything to them granted they got rid of a lot of his headaches but I think GW was really afraid of the two of them will really kill him if needed YC killed for greed.. I do think if that coupe didn't happen he would have found away to get rid of them both after he had completed his mission

@valsava @SMP567      My guess is that GW was afraid that because they were the people who were closest to him, he would be blamed either way. But if he punished them, people would still believe they were doing his bidding, and yet he punished them to not look as the guilty party. He was sort of in a position of damn if you do, and damn if you don't. Either way - he would not gain people trust and love, but would have lost the 2 that were supposedly loyal to him - one of which loved him too.
Waving hi to @cedarwood.... great to see you here...!

@ororomunroe, @yayayim, @SMP567, @tulipw      @Salma El Makhloufy    Thank you for stills.
@MadraRua, thank you for pointing us to the Joseon period politics.
@SMP567 - may I please ask where you are watching Sejong the Great?
I am all caught up on this drama with Eng. sub. I like it a lot.
I think Cha Seong-Won dd a fabulous job of showing GW with his inner conflicts, sorrow, regrets, and powerlessness.
The scene in which Lee Deok-Hyeong was killed was chilling and profound. He was one courageous man, to follow his inner guideline of honor and truth.
Like many of you - I find it horrifying how Lee Yi-Chum killed little Prince Youngchang. I hope there is karma in this drama.
I am curious of course, to see what comes next. The Princess was given the name of Hwa-Yi in the mines. She is told that it means either child of fire or child of flower. If I think of flower as reference to Silla's ancient warriors/flower-boys - Hwarang - and also when I think of her name with element of fire - the thought comes to mind that she will be messenger of fire who will avenge her little brother's death... And yet, everything I read here, does not show that she got involved in politics. In fact - she may have avoided politics because of her childhood experience. I wonder if this drama will have a different story to tell....

@SMP567, please yell me where are you watching this drama O have been trying to find online for over 2 yrs and no luck.. I have even look into trying to purchase this drama..

@irilight. Maybe she has a hidden agenda she may come off as a flower but carries the heart of fire due to all the political happenings that killed her brother and maternal G/father ans Uncles I don't see her letting that anger go and they caused her to be out of the palaces to.. I tell you irilight it's no way she stayed in the palace that long and not be involved in politics you know someone like her who has seen it all had a few minister doing things and nobody knew she could have been running that country and only few people knew about it..

SMP567 · May 9, 2015

Hello @irilight, @valsava

I watch it at

This is one great drama, a bit long though. And you can't stop once you start! It's just too interesting.

Enjoy

King Sejong is the 4th king of Joseon while King Gwanghae the 15th. They are both famous for being wise kings of this dynasty.

valsava · May 9, 2015

Hello @irilight, @valsava
I watch it at
This is one great drama, a bit long though. And you can't stop once you start! It's just too interesting.
Enjoy

@smp567, Thank you Thank you so much off to start my watch..

SMP567 · May 9, 2015

Hello @irilight, @valsava
This is one great drama, a bit long though. And you can't stop once you start! It's just too interesting.
Enjoy
@smp567, Thank you Thank you so much off to start my watch..

@valsava You are more than welcome. This drama is very educational and inspiring. Good for the brain and the heart. And in a way, it might help understanding King Gwanghae in this drama, Hwajung.

irilight · May 9, 2015

@SMP567 Thank you so very much for the info. for King Seojong. Will watch it for sure; starting now... but will take me a while..

SMP567 · May 9, 2015

@SMP567 Thank you so very much for the info. for King Seojong. Will watch it for sure; starting now... but will take me a while..

You are welcome @irilight.
You can see Neo-confucianism developed in full-blown and the fights in politics and thrones with somewhat parallel challenges King Gwanghae encounters. Have fun!

MadraRua · May 9, 2015

I put some of those stills to music by Hozier

SMP567 · May 9, 2015

I put some of those stills to music by Hozier

@MadraRua Thank you so much for putting together in one place, the still pics with music. Please do this again.

MadraRua · May 9, 2015

Then keep posting those pics! Unfortunately, because of the music I chose, the video is blocked in some countries, so if anyone has any suggestions for music let me know

SMP567 · May 9, 2015

Then keep posting those pics! Unfortunately, because of the music I chose, the video is blocked in some countries, so if anyone has any suggestions for music let me know

Oh my.... the little kitty with a giant headphone! Absolutely cute!!
And yes, I will make sure to send in the request for the music.
Everyone else, please do too.

SMP567 · May 9, 2015

RECAP/REVIEW EP: 7 & 8

by talkingcupboard

Princess looks so cute and pretty in this pic.

[Episode 7]

Gwanghae found out about the truth behind Seonjo’s death
Right when Deok-hyung started to doubt the facts thanks to the works of Minister Kang ( he’s one vicious man!), Gwanghae accidentally found out about it..and also Deok-hyung’s suspicion that he was the one who instigated the poisoning of his own father. I pitied Gwanghae because he had to hear from someone who suspected him even when he had no idea about it, and the person who carried out the ‘mission’ was his most trusted friend, Lady Kim. Oh, how his heart must had broken into pieces at that time!

Jungmyung and the explosion at the sulfur mine
She didn’t die in the explosion although she went back to rescue Gu-bok and she was found under heaps of the broken bridge. I thought that they were going to hide Yeongchang’s death from her until later, but it was used to give a reason for her not to continue living anymore. Ah, poor princess! Maruno also learned about her real identity as a girl when she refused to be treated of her injuries and the truth about Yeongchang came out when she insisted that she was a Joseon princess.
Gwanghae, Yi-cheom, and Gae-si
Minister Kang knew that Gwanghae would choose the throne over everything else, including people around him. Gwanghae was so disappointed to know that the person he trusted all these years turned out to be the one who made him sit on the bloody throne, but he wasn’t in a position where he could simply address her (and Yi-cheom’s) crime and sentenced her to death, because he would eventually be dragged into the matter too. At last, he chose the throne and spared the duo, but at the price of burying everything about the poison and that included killing people who might bring upon harm to them by knowing about the mission.

The pawn Gwanghae
He knew that there’s someone more powerful than him. He knew that there’s someone playing puppeteer behind the scene. He knew about that person’s intention, so Gwanghae was willing to become the pawn that person wanted him to be. At this point, Gwanghae had proven himself to be someone who put his duty as the king above everything else and for him to realize his dreams, he had to protect the throne at all cost, even at the price of forsaking his humanity.

Yi Deok-hyung….goodbye
I didn’t expect to see him go this early because I didn’t read the character description carefully, that he was supposed to die of sickness after his failure to save Yeongchang. That was according to the history (and another fun fact: his father’s name was Yi Min-sung) but he was killed by Yi-cheom in this drama. It was a decision made by Gwanghae himself, but Deok-hyung knew that Gwanghae would be able to achieve his dream despite their different paths at that moment. It could be said that Gwanghae was willing to use dirty ways of proving himself while Deok-hyung believed in the opposite. Although he ended up dying, I love how he managed to inspire the young Joo-won and also his surviving friends.

Joo-won, the hot-blooded teenager
He realized that Jungmyung’s body wasn’t found through the report of the explosion at the jetty, thus there’s hope that the princess was still alive somewhere else. That was smart of him, but he was probably acting out of anger when he confronted Gwanghae during the king’s royal procession and that wasn’t a smart move. He was lucky that Gwanghae only saw him as a powerless child and Joo-won was even challenged by the king to talk when he had the power to face Gwanghae.

Live the present, bury the past
Jungmyung completely gave up on everything and didn’t even try to save herself when she was about to be sold off. Lucky for her, Ja-kyung suddenly found a reason to help her and tried to send her away before she was sold, but she pleaded for Ja-kyung to kill her. Well, thank God he’s still sane enough to give her some advice, causing her to remember the reason she had to stay alive. Ja-kyung roped Maruno (by threatening the man, HA!) into giving Jungmyung a chance to work there and the man gave in to that boy’s wish. Jungmyung decided to put everything behind her and Ja-kyung gave her a new name: Hwa-yi the child of fire, a name which once belonged to his dead sister.
[Episode 8]
It’s the tenth year of Gwanghae’s reign, so it would be around 1618~1619. Gwanghae had officially founded the Directorate of Artillery and Queen Inmok had been sent to the West Palace, plus it had been 5 years since last episode.
Hwa-yi, the sulfur expert
Jungmyung had grown up to become a significant part of Maruno’s sulfur business because of her skills. Her hidden skills of telling the future was being put into good use since she could tell when the mountain would explode. Unlike the teenage her who didn’t even touch the roasted potato in the past, Jungmyung became Hwa-yi the big eater and even made Gu-bok surrender his meals to her in return for saving his life. They encountered a problem with the contaminated sulfur and had to sell it to the Joseon smugglers, but Jungmyung realized that they weren’t experts like Maruno initially thought. They were actually paid by Minister Kang’s man, who told them to dump all the sulfur they bought from Japanese traders to prevent Gwanghae from getting the sulfur supply.
The familiar faces!

I just want to express how happy I was to see them…Kim Kwang-gyu, Park Won-sang, Park Jun-gyu, and Jang Gwang! Athough we lost Lee Sung-min, I’m looking forward to these actors.

Directorate of Artillery and the ministers
Joo-won was already working as a government officer and his place of work was at Hwagi Dogam. I love how Gwanghae had came a long way since his failed attempt to produce gunpowder and he could brag about the directorate’s achievement in front of his ministers! He was full of sass and snide remarks, but the presence of Kim Ryu and Yi Gwi among the ministers reminded us of the things coming at Gwanghae soon. If you’re familiar with those sageuk about Injo, names such as Kim Ja-jeom and Kim Ryu might be familiar since they were the important figures behind Gwanghae’s dethronement and Injo’s rise to the throne. Maybe we will see Injo soon too…?

Joo-won and Gwanghae <3
Oh my, I have never thought that I’d love this pairing more than anything else, but it could be because of their (almost) constant bickering! Gwanghae had never stopped challenging Joo-won and Joo-won, despite constantly gritting his teeth in front of the king, had never stopped showing progress in his work to prove his worth and achieving Gwanghae’s goal at the same time. He was reluctant, but the reason why Joo-won worked under Gwanghae was probably because of what Deok-hyung told him in the past. Am I the only one who could see Deok-hyung’s aspiration in his eyes? By the way, Seo Kang-joon’s eyes ARE pretty…

To Edo they go!

Jungmyung heard about Joseon envoys coming to Edo and decided to try her luck by going there, although it was said to be impossible for women to enter the city without permission. The so-called strict immigration point was put to halt to make way for the arrival of the envoys…and Jungmyung, who was caught cross dressing, was just released, free to enter the city in the process. Well..I will just consider her lucky then. Joo-won also joined the envoys under Gwanghae’s order to make a deal with the sulfur merchant, but Minister Kang won’t let Gwanghae have his way that easy..

The first encounter
Jungmyung, followed after Joo-won while he was on his mission to meet a sulfur dealer but Joo-won’s luck probably didn’t follow him abroad: he ran into criminals and Jungmyung had to rescue him from them. They escaped and exchanged their names, and Jungmyung knew that the young master who promised to protect her was right in front of her!
Episode 8 managed to raise the stake for me, and I’m really anticipating the upcoming episodes! Gwanghae’s arc was interesting but with Joo-won in the mix (and in direct confrontation against him!), it’s getting even better. I can’t wait to see how the Westerners would come to the decision to go against Gwanghae and I bet Minister Kang would play his part very well in fanning the flames, especially with Gwanghae’s ambition to be at least on par with Ming. Plus, I am also curious about Joo-won and Jungmyung, especially how they will be able to resolve their differences in the future.
I know that there are many doubts about Lee Yeon-hee and Seo Kang-joon’s abilities to carry out their roles but they’re doing good so far. Jungmyung has grown up to be a fearless girl, but she has not lost the fire in her eyes and the look she had when she was still a princess. I think Lee Yeon-hee is carrying Jungmyung/Hwa-yi’s persona well. Joo-won has my affection since he was young and I enjoy the fiery Joo-won, especially when he’s with Gwanghae. Since this is Seo Kang-joon’s first attempt in sageuk, I think he will improve but I like what I’ve seen of his portrayal of Joo-won so far.