[Drama 2019] Haechi, 해치

[spark101]

@lightbringer06Yeah, especially since crowned clown is still airing(and naturally has the momentum), haechi's numbers would especially be affected compared to the other dramas since the target audience is the same, both being sageuks and all.

 

I imagine yeoji blames yi geum for han jung seok's death, and that's why she's confronting him. 

[mari_may]

@spark101  thank you! that's really helpful. mostly bc while reading, Yeonryung's bio and facts are dificult to find n english that's why i was confused related his role.

 

 

regarding the ratings: i wonder if it the writer suffers more pressure when it's high. and when it's low she can have more freedon to developement without fails in the network and fans to make something beyond she wants.

also, did anybody watched Hwajung? i'm curious bc i read some mixed things, mostly negative.

 

[spark101]

1 hour ago, mari_may said:

@spark101  thank you! that's really helpful. mostly bc while reading, Yeonryung's bio and facts are dificult to find n english that's why i was confused related his role.

 

 

regarding the ratings: i wonder if it the writer suffers more pressure when it's high. and when it's low she can have more freedon to developement without fails in the network and fans to make something beyond she wants.

also, did anybody watched Hwajung? i'm curious bc i read some mixed things, mostly negative.

 

No problem! Yeah, looking at his korean bio, yeonryung's life was pretty uneventful, especially with his early death. 

 

Yeah, it depends. if it's too low, there's a different kind of pressure to make the drama...not flop. Or flop less. When it's successful, i guess people are happy but yeah, there definitely are other kinds of pressures to keep up the momentum, change things to please fans, possible extensions, etc. 

I didn't watch the whole of hwajung because i couldn't. It was neither high quality nor any fun. I...don't recommend spending your time on it, lol. Kim yi young sure as heck redeemed herself for me with haechi, ratings be damned. 

 

Contents Power Index for the week of 2/11-2/17:

Haechi no. 1? The ratings better show it next week, lol! (I do imagine people want to finish the dramas they already started, though)

I do love seeing the demographics of the drama article comments- as expected, there's a bigger percentage of male viewers for sageuks compared to other dramas that are romantic/sentimental. 

[lightbringer06]

Off topic but I just want to say, glad to see you, @bebebisous33, both here and from TCC forum . Happy to see a fellow chingu who enjoys both these sageuks .

[YongZura⁷]

 

Better preview from SBS Now.

 

I haven't watch last night's episode in full yet.  It feels too painful.  

 

 

Credit to the owner.

 

[rocher22]

YT enjoyed killing his brother.

I dont know if thats how this prince was killed in real history too.

Looks like only DM understood how dangerous YT is.

Even YG didnt believe at first that YT abandoned the convoy.

[gerrytan8063]

@rocher22

 

"I dont know if thats how this prince was killed in real history too."

 

In history 

 

Prince Mipunggun Yi Tan (밀풍군 이탄, 密豊君 李坦 1698-1729) revolt against Yeongjo in his 4th year of reign in 1728 under the Soron faction known as Yi In Jwa Revolt (이인좌의난, 李麟佐之亂 or 무신란,戊申亂), feature in the drama "Daebak") who wanted to place Prince Milpung gun on the throne but failed in the attempt, as it only lasted 4 days. Prince Milpung gun was executed in 1729 & strip of his title. Gojong in 1864 reinstated his princedom.

 

Ironic Prince Yeon Ryeong Gun, Yi Hwon (연령군 이훤, 延齡君 李昍 1699 -1719), Sukjong 6th son, borne from Royal Noble Consort Myeongbin of Miryang Park clan, died childless, although he was married in 1707. Yeongjo had Prince Milpunggun's 2nd son Seong Won Gun Yi Gong (상원군 이공, 商原君 李糿, 1715 - 1733) posthumous adopted (罷養) to Prince Yeon Ryeong Gun as a son in 1727 & escape death when his father revolt

 

Yi In Jwa (이인좌, 李麟佐) not to be mistaken for Yi Gwang Jwa (이광좌, 李光佐, 1674 -1740 who is from the Soron faction but a moderate) played by Im Ho in the drama who successfully suppressed the revolt & was bestowed Meritorious official 1st rank officialdom Bun Mun Won Jong Gong Sin ( 분무원종공신 1등, 奮武原從功臣一等)

 

[rocher22]

Poor prince Yeoning.

That was a really unsuccessful attempt when he asked YJ to

escort her, when it was night.

And she didnt even move her eyes from the papers on the table. 

 

[shynaz]

Im back

Last my superhero Goblin..Now my heart to poor Prince...

 

This drama make crazy again

[uripuppies]

@spark101 o, okay. Then, I will have to wait to see how it turns out.

[spark101]

New stills: Yeoji pounding rice for rice cakes, haha. Can't wait to see this scene. 

[guestra]

7 hours ago, spark101 said:

New stills: Yeoji pounding rice for rice cakes, haha. Can't wait to see this scene. 

 

Is she really yeo ji that we know haha

 

Anyway idk if someone already asked about this. Is yeo ji fictional character only? Thank you

[lightbringer06]

1 hour ago, guestra said:

 

Anyway idk if someone already asked about this. Is yeo ji fictional character only? Thank you

 

You know, I was about to ask that as well...ha ha. I know Moon Soo is gonna be one of the advisers of Prince Yeoning, I've read it somewhere, so really curious if Yeo Ji is just a fictional character, you know, if they just throw her there for the sake of a female lead. I know this is based on the history so not all details will be totally accurate.

 

Anyone knows? 

 

Those stills of Go Ara, though, I've seen the teaser of her in those clothes, can't seem to find it, but I remember her poking a man's eye there...lol.

 

Edit: Oh, wait, found it ^~^

 

 

 

[spark101]

@guestraYeo ji is fictional. 

 

More stills- more comical moon soo!

Source: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=076&aid=0003382504

[mari_may]

Hi!

 

i'd like to share a tumblr post from Of Swords and Parasols where talk about Yeo-Ji character that can clarify some doubts about her and gaves us a few takes on the drama. this tumblr is really nice and my go to go source to sageuks that offers historical context.

 

idk how to share the post properly, so here's the llink.

hope you enjoy.

http://swordsandparasols.tumblr.com/post/182967367305/haechi-the-damo-and-the-saheonbu

 

[spark101]

3 hours ago, mari_may said:

Hi!

 

i'd like to share a tumblr post from Of Swords and Parasols where talk about Yeo-Ji character that can clarify some doubts about her and gaves us a few takes on the drama. this tumblr is really nice and my go to go source to sageuks that offers historical context.

 

idk how to share the post properly, so here's the llink.

hope you enjoy.

http://swordsandparasols.tumblr.com/post/182967367305/haechi-the-damo-and-the-saheonbu

 

Great post for those who want to know more about damos. The wikipedia entry is also good- it uses some great articles. Thanks for sharing. 

(although I personally do deem the show outstanding- as of the 4 [full] episodes that have aired. )

[packmule3]

I think I'm going to blog about this kdrama. I don't care about the low ratings.   As far as I'm concerned, there's only ONE poll that matters: our own personal opinion. 

 

Here's what I think of the characters as of Episodes 3 & 4 (or Ep 2).  I'll just post an excerpt because I write long analysis as people here know.

 

source: http://bitchesoverdramas.com/2019/02/20/haechi-episodes-3-and-4-wizard-of-oz

 

Enjoy!

 

******************

 

The lead characters, Lee Geum, Moonsoo, YeoJi and DalMoon, remind me of Dorothy and her three companions in the Wizard of Oz. They’re imperfect. They start off the adventure searching for a missing piece of themselves: brains for the Scarecrow, heart for the Tinman, courage for the Cowardly Lion and home for the homesick Dorothy. In the end, they find that they were carrying the missing piece in them all along. They’re perfectly imperfect.

 

Take for instance, Lee Geum. He’s born a prince but he’s considered an outsider since his mother was a low-class servant. He’s neither fish nor fowl. But rather than live respectably and nobly, according to the royal status in which he was born, he chooses to become a good-for-nothing. It’s almost a wish fulfillment on his part to ruin himself. His own father the King pointed that out. Instead of proving his father wrong, he’s happy to ruin himself just as the father predicted.

 

I like this father-and-son conversation of the King and Lee Geum:

 

K: You didn’t cry. On the day you were born here in Bogyeondang you didn’t cry. Because of that your mother’s and the court physician’s faces went white with fear. But I thought to myself that it would be best if you just died like that. It would have been had you been born a girl. I wondered if a prince born from a low-class mother could ever live up to his name. Who in this world would willingly call you a prince?
LG: What is it that you want me to say? “I’m sorry for not dying” or --

 

He's being defensive. He thinks his father called him out there to protest his reappearance in Hanyang and to wish him dead.

 

K: So are you happy? I’m asking whether you’re happy to have ruined yourself just as this father of yours had sneered. You could have proven me wrong by living differently. No matter how much lowly blood flows through half of you, you could have lived a decent life had you wanted to. So then why are you living like this? Why is this all that you’ve let yourself amount to?

 

But his father only expresses reproof for his squandered opportunities.

 

LG: I guess it was because I was born too great. You want to know why I live like this? Fine! I was born so high and mighty that this is the only way I can live, Your Majesty. Even if I wanted to try to do something, there’s nothing I could ever do, so I figured I might as well try to become a good-for-nothing.
K: Indeed. That’s who you were, Prince Yeoning. Extremely quick-witted and exceptionally gifted. That’s what made my heart hurt even more every time I saw the makings of a king in you.

 

His father had high hopes for him, and he still does. He wants his son to show his truth worth.

 

LG: Why are you being like this? If it’s because of my insolent jest...
K: I’m dying soon, Prince Yeoning. Before that happens, isn’t possible for you to show the world the you that I know? I’m asking whether you can’t restrain yourself just a little more and show the rest of the world that worthy and respectable side of you.
LG: Your Majesty.

 

The sad part here is that when he leaves the King behind, he calls him "Father."

 

 

It doesn’t help Lee Geum that he refuses to correct and defend himself against the false impression which his father, and even younger brother, Prince Yeonryeong, have of him as a troublemaker.

 

The town crier said that, "If you're born a male and you can't let your name be known to the world, it's better to go and live in the mountains." For Lee Geum, his name "Prince Yeoning" is not something he can be proud of.

 

However, because Lee Geum moves in both circles in society, the elite ruling class and the commoners, he has the advantage of being an “untouchable.” He’s untouchable because none of the political factions consider him an asset to have in their partisan fighting. He’s shunned because of his low-class mother.

 

But he’s untouchable, too, in the sense that he can rise above the fray. The concerns of both the ruling class and the commoners don’t concern him so he can make a judgment between right and wrong without favoritism. In an odd way, that’s his added value to the Haechi: his cynicism.

 

To balance him, there’s the idealistic Moonsoo.

 

Moonsoo’s known to be the fool because he’s failed state civil exams eleven times. In the same way that Lee Geum accepts that he’s a scoundrel, Moonsoo is resigned to being a fool.

 

 

But he’s smart. He’s ingenious. When Prince Milpoong’s men came dangerously close to discovering Lee Geum’s hiding place, Moonsoo rescues him by imitating an animal noise. He’s observant. On test day, he struck a friendship with Lee Geum because he noticed his regal horse outside. Not only that, he could smell the alcohol on Lee Geum. He’s adaptive. Lee Geum can fool him once, but he can’t fool him twice. He’s also witty. When Lee Geum told him that he didn’t need to apologize for creating a ruckus about his test-cheating, he retorted, “What are you saying? Why should I apologize when someone else committed the crime?” But above all, he’s smart because he knows right from wrong.

 

I think his failure says a lot about his character. Anybody who fails the test ten times, and still goes back to try it again, with the same eagerness and optimism, isn’t a fool. Rather, he’s a believer. He believes in the inherent fairness of the test. He thinks he’s the one at fault for failing, not the test.

 

And this mindset is helpful in re-creating the Haechi. He believes the justice system is fair and the ones at fault are the people who fail to uphold the standards of fairness. Unlike Lee Geum who believes that the world is unfair,

 

 

 

he believes that justice will prevail. He tells the prince that ideally, or in the world he imagines in his head, a just world is where people who commit crimes get punished accordingly, regardless of who they are.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Hence, he follows the test-cheater Lee Geum “until the truth is revealed and justice flows like a river.”

 

As for YeoJi, it’s too soon to tell what she’s missing. She’s a woman in a male-dominated profession. I suspect that, although she likes her job as a detective, she likes to show her feminine side, too. It’s telling that she didn’t remove the geisha hairpiece outfit right away. She was dressed in her damo clothes but her hair was still up. When asked about it, she explained, “I just tried wearing it up. Women wearing their hair up looked so pretty.”

...

 

source: http://bitchesoverdramas.com/2019/02/20/haechi-episodes-3-and-4-wizard-of-oz

 

****************

And here's my First Impressions of Episodes 1 & 2 

 

http://bitchesoverdramas.com/2019/02/17/haechi-episode-1-first-impressions/

 

 

[spark101]

@packmule3 Loved reading your thoughts! Really good points. 

[lightbringer06]

That eps 7-8 is such a sad episode, it's painful to watch. That back to back death of Prince Yeon Ryong and Inspector Han is just cruel...and add that bonus at the end, the death of the King. That's a hard blow on Yeoning's part, losing the two most important people in his life at once. I couldn't even imagine what it might feel like. Inspector Han, too, why did they have to kill him ..he was such a good person too. But then again, without those deaths, the story wouldn't be able to move on. 

 

I admire the trust that Moon Soo and Yeoji has for Yeoning, they don't jump the gun and go blaming him after the arrest of Inspector Han. They know he isn't that type of  a person, and that there may well be a reasonable explanation why he did what he did. Trust is the most delicate thing one can give to another, once trust is betrayed, we look at that person differently and we don't believe that person as easily. So Moon Soo's words to Yeoning.."Thank you for letting us trust you again. This might be strange for you to hear, but I didn't want to hate my brother somehow. I'm saying that it's a relief. I can keep calling you Brother." Even Yeoning, after feeling so useless that he can't do anything, when Yeoji told him that Inspector Han surely still trust him, that look of disbelief after hearing it made him realize someone still believes in him and that there's still something he can do. 

 

Dal Moon, our charismatic leader of the homeless, at first, I never quite know what to make of him. After spreading rumors about Yeoning, I thought, ah, he's the type of a person who's impartial, he doesn't really care about anyone but the homeless people. That confrontation between him and Yeoning explains it all, what he need is power, as power is what can protect the powerless. But what interests me is that surprised look Dal Moon had when Yeoning told him, "So you just let someone else get hurt instead?" Pretty sure Dal Moon's perception of Yeoning will certainly change after this. His joining in the group is one of the things I'm looking forward for, his contribution to make Yeoning king. He'll become the fourth brother, I guess?^^.. don't know who's older bw him and Yeoning tho.

 

Speaking of the brotherhood, it confuses me a little bit as to why Yeoji doesn't know why people feel uncomfortable treating her as a sister, coz for a moment there, I for one was asking that myself, isn't the fact that because she's a woman, that's why? I was about to think maybe she doesn't have much self-awareness that she's a woman but from episode 1, she was even disguised as a courtesan. So I think it might be because she's in a place dominated by men that she also considers herself more of a man...Moon Soo even acknowledges that. I wonder if Moon Soo actually never see Yeoji as a 'woman'...lol. Yeoning very much sees her a woman, though, even calling her beautiful during their first meeting. Yeoji fascinates him. I am also interested on what her background story could be.

 

2 hours ago, packmule3 said:

I think I'm going to blog about this kdrama. I don't care about the low ratings.   As far as I'm concerned, there's only ONE poll that matters: our own personal opinion. 

 

 

I like that kind of thinking^^...I mean, why should we determine a certain drama good, bad or a flop solely on the ratings, right? Btw, I enjoyed reading your blog, thanks for sharing .

[YongZura⁷]

 

 

Credit to the owner