Two more Daewongun adaptations: KBS 1966 and MBC 1972

[𝔰𝔢𝔞𝔫𝔪𝔞𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔦𝔯]

Daewongun (KBS, 1966)

Episodes: 27

Broadcast Date: October 12th 1966~April 12th 1967

Broadcast Time: Wednesday at 9PM

No other information about this one, not a cast, description or even a picture (most times the show was listed in guides as "history drama" because the concept was still new). This was before daily historicals were a thing, so the Wednesday historical slot was most popular at the time.

Daewongun (MBC, 1972)

Episodes: 229

Broadcast Date: February 1st 1972~October 28th 1972

Broadcast Time: Mon~Sat at 7PM

Cast:

• Jeon Woon as the Daewongun
  
• Yun Yeo Jeong as Empress Myeongseong
  
• Kim Min Jeong as Grand Lady Min
• Tae Hyeon Shil as Courtesan Chuseon
• Choi Bul Am as Kim Byeong Gi

After the immense success and infamy of Jang Hee Bin, Yun Yeo Jeong was immediately casted in her next femme fatale role as Empress Myeongseong. Not aware if she faced as much backlash as she did for Jang Hee Bin. This adaptation of Daewongun was written by Lee Eun Seong, who wrote the novel "Mirror of Eastern Medicine" from which every adaptation of Heo Jun from the '70s to 2013 is based on. Writer Lee intended for this show to "teach a lesson by portraying the broadminded character of a man of fervor and desire." Like other daily historicals by MBC before 1976, the tape for this show was reused and so it's totally lost. There's still one picture confirmed to be from the show though:

That's Yun Yeo Jeong and Jeon Woon in their respective roles. The actual scene shows reversed on TV, according to the 1991 MBC 30th Anniversary Special:

[sageuk]

Empress Myeongseong as a femme fatale?

Am I missing something?

[𝔰𝔢𝔞𝔫𝔪𝔞𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔦𝔯]

They used to portray her that way a lot from the 50s to the 70s because of her reported jealousy towards the concubines. There's actually a 70s movie called Women of Gyeongbok Palace where she stabs a concubine in the vagina with a spear... I think Prince Ui (MBC 1980) and Wind and Cloud were the first dramas to portray her more sympathetically, although I also think Queen Min (MBC 1973) might also have portrayed her in a better light as a contrast to the 1972 drama.

Edit: Also how could I forget gunslinger Empress Myeongseong from 1965's "The Sino-Japanese war and Queen Min the Heroine" lmao that one portrayed her quite positively

[sageuk]

Oh yeah, I remember reading about the jealousy towards the concubines.

[𝔰𝔢𝔞𝔫𝔪𝔞𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔦𝔯]

Okay, some info about the 1966 version:

Director - Choi Sang Hyeon

Writer - Jang Deok Jo

Theme Song - Lee Mija

Composer - Park Chun Seok

KBS was sued by the Joseon Ilbo when this broadcasted because they were publishing a serial novel at the same time under the same name, written by Yu Ju Hyeon. Yu's version would later on be adapted to the 1972 version.

[sageuk]

Something occurred to me. The Joseon kings whose fathers were Daewonguns had to deal with foreign invasions in their reign.

Deokheung Daewongun-Seonjo-Imjin-War

Jeong won Daewongun- Injo-Manchu invasions

Heungseon Daewongun-Gojong-The French, the Americans, the Japanese, the Russians (arguably)

[ajk]

That lawsuit is a very interesting twist. I wonder if the 1972 series was the settlement of the lawsuit. KBS did the series using the serial author's version of the story, he got his money in the end, everybody wins. Except for the viewers having to see the same story twice within six years--which really isn't too bad. Would make perfect sense.