500 Year-History of the Lee Dynasty's Women, Part 1.5

[𝔰𝔢𝔞𝔫𝔪𝔞𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔦𝔯]

Mostly referencing this post: m.blog.naver.com/siffler/222011288095

Okay so there are conflicting sources on which series is the true first season of TBC's 500 Year-History of the Lee Dynasty's Women. On one hand, Samogok came out first, but Yeonhwa is referred to as the first season in old newspapers. Still, Samogok is included in the series and unless I'm imagining things I did catch a clip of the opening title for Samogok in Episode 7 of TBC Memory Lane and saw that it's referred to as the first season of the series (should've screencapped that...) - anyway, i've found it easier to refer to Yeonhwa (1973) as Season 1.5. This show seems to have been just as popular as the last season, and even spawned two movies, Yeonhwa (1974) and Yeonhwa 2 (1975).

Episode Count: 192
Broadcast date: September 23rd, 1973 - May 3rd, 1974
Broadcast time: Sundays to Fridays at 9:35 PM.

Writer: Shin Bong Seung (500 Years of Joseon)

Director: Kim Jae Hyeong (Ladies in the Palace, King's Woman, West Palace, King and I)

In picture, from left to right - Lee Seung Hyeon, Kim Chang Suk, Go Eun Ah and Park Byeong Ho

(More pictures in the link at the top of the post)

Cast:

• Kim Chang Suk as Yeonhwa (child role: Choi Yuri)
  
• Go Eun Ah as Princess Seonhye
  
• Kim Dong Hun as Lee Yun Jae
  
• Park Byeong Ho as Monk Yeonpa
  
• Lee Seung Hyeon as Monk Inseong (adult role: Yeon Gyu Jin)
  
• Lee Sun Jae as Min Tae Ho (in the movie too!)
  
• Kang Bu Ja as Lady Yun (Min Tae Ho's wife)
  
• Heo Jin as Jeon Hyang/Miss Tapgol (Min Tae Ho's concubine)
  
• Kim Jong Gyeol as Min Jae Nam (child role: Bae Su Il)
  
• Lee Seung Ung as Choi Young Min (Lee Yun Jae's friend)

This show apparently has such heavy Buddhist themes that Hoeam Temple, a real Buddhist temple they used in the drama, awarded the cast and production team Buddhist names and thanked them with a commemorative plaque for contributing to the propogation of Buddhism. Park Byeong Ho, Lee Seung Hyeon and Yeon Gyu Jin all shaved their heads for real instead of wearing bald caps for the show.

Plot will be in the replies.

[𝔰𝔢𝔞𝔫𝔪𝔞𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔦𝔯]

Powerful official Min Tae Ho has everything he wants, except a child (from his legal wife, Lady Yun). He and Lady Yun go to Hoeam Temple in Yangju to pray for a child for 100 days. One day, a pregnant woman appears at the back gate of Hoeam Temple and encounters its head monk, Yeonpa, and his disciple Inseong. She gives birth to a girl, but nearly doesn't survive the delivery. After discussing with Lady Yun, Yeonpa lets her adopt the baby as Min Tae Ho's daughter. Days later, the strange woman recovers from childbirth and reveals herself to be Princess Seonhye, the King's half-sister through a concubine. Her backstory: She escaped to Hoeam Temple after Min Tae Ho frames her husband Lee Yun Jae for treason and tries to massacre his entire family.

Upon hearing this, Yeonpa suggests that the Princess enter Min Tae Ho's house as a nanny, but doesn't tell her the truth about what's become of her newborn daughter. Princess Seonhye enters the house and becomes the nanny of Min Tae Ho's new daughter, totally unaware that Yeonhwa is her own.

On the other hand, Prince Consort Lee Yun Jae joins forces with his friend Choi Young Min for revenge on Min Tae Ho. The assassin they hire fails and Yun Jae escapes to Hoeam Temple to plan for the future. While there, he learns the news of his wife and daughter from Monk Yeonpa.

Min Tae Ho's concubine Jeon Hyang sends her son Min Jae Nam away to Min Tae Ho's house, while she heads to her hometown in Tapgol Village. Min Jae Nam and Yeonhwa get along well, almost as if they were biological siblings. But one day, Lee Yun Jae pleads to Yeonpa to meet Yeonhwa and is refused. So, Yun Jae sends his servant Gyeongbo to jump over the wall and convey a letter to Princess Seonhye. Gyeongbo is caught and kills himself while under torture, but the Princess reads Yun Jae's letter, finding out that Yeonhwa is her daughter. She's then imprisoned for meeting with Gyeongbo, but escapes to Hoeam Temple with Lady Yun's help and reunites with Lee Yun Jae.

Sixteen years later, Min Tae Ho's power wanes as the official (not the eunuch) Kim Cheo Seon gains power. Min Tae Ho ensures his political future by arranging a marriage between Yeonhwa and Kim Cheo Seon's son. Yeonhwa opposes, on the condition that Min Tae Ho must find her long-lost nanny first. Pressed for time, Min Tae Ho begs Yeonpa to let her meet Princess Seonhye (still unaware of her true identity), and Yeonpa agrees. Yeonhwa is attacked on the way to Hoeam Temple, but is saved by Lee Yun Jae and the Princess.

Meanwhile, the King is curious about his half-sister and her husband's whereabouts after the treason case of 16 years ago, and gives the Chief State Councilor a secret order to search for them. However, the Chief State Councilor gives Min Tae Ho the secret order, so and sends men to capture Lee Yun Jae, who hides in Yeonhwa's room. Yeonhwa apologizes to Yun Jae for the incident, unaware of his true identity and that of the Princess until after he leaves her room and runs to the back gate. Injured, Yun Jae jumps the wall of a house on the way and finds Jeon Hyang, who treats his wounds. At the same time, Inseong, apparently of noble descent, leaves Hoeam Temple, takes the national examination, and comes first place.

Back at the Min house, days before her engagement date, Yeonhwa is torn between her real mother and her adopted mother, and runs away from home to find Princess Seonhye. The Min house rises in uproar to find her, discovering a fully recovered Lee Yun Jae at Jeon Hyang's house. He is subsequently captured, imprisoned and tortured. When Yeonhwa finds out, she diguises herself and tries to get Yun Jae out of jail but gets caught. While flogging her the next day, Min Tae Ho realizes that the woman in disguise is his daughter and ceases the flogging, but Yeonhwa is already at Death's door. Then, he finds out the secret of her birth, and that it was Yeonpa's plan all along. Min Tae Ho hatches a plot to kill both Lee Yun Jae and Princess Seonhye using Yeonhwa as bait. Yun Jae and the Princess see through the plot, but decide to go to Tae Ho's house anyway, aware that they'll never make it out.

On the same day in Court, Inseong reveals Min Tae Ho's wrongdoing and the King orders to capture Min Tae Ho. At the moment Min is captured, Lee Yun Jae and the Princess arrive, and have a joyful reunion with Yeonhwa after twenty years apart. The King calls Yun Jae and the Princess to Court, apologizes for the wrongful treason accusation and offers Yun Jae a high ranking post, but Yun Jae declines, ending the show after leaving the Palace with Yeonhwa and the Princess.