Episode 84

[Alexa]

I think the more I watch this drama the more I admire Yi Soon-Shin. Like in this episode, it was so touching to see him encouraging YongGap (?) by telling him to "Fight, don't let the world defeat you, and don't let yourself defeat you!" And the intensity when he said those words, the fire in his eyes, man it gave me some encouragement as well
And it was so cool the way he came up with the new exam just for the Navy. I admire him for not caring about social class differences and only caring about the ability of the man. Everything he was talking about was so true. I can definetely see how he was trying to change things, but I can also see why the King would be worried. I don't know alot about Korean history but I've seen enough in dramas and movies to know that there was always someone either thinking about or trying to overthrow a King. And thats what amazes me more about YSS, he was not a greedy or power hungry man, he truly loved and cared for his country and his people. And I know he would've never tried to do such a thing as try to gain the throne. Oh there is an episode where he says that after the war is over all he wants to do is go back to his family and take care of the land(something like that). Meaning he was going to give up the Navy and go back to an ordinary but happy life with his family. If that is not one amazing man, I don't know who is.

And it was also nice to see the Crown Prince recognized that YSS didn't have any bad intentions and that what he was doing was for the good of the country. I think I might've missed something though, why is the Crown Prince making all the decisions and not his father?

[SKinz Unlogged]

Yeah, the more I watch these episodes the more I can see why the King and the royal court wanted to suppress him. YSS did do whatever he wanted to do whether it was bad or good in order to save the country, but by doing that he was killing the king's authority and we all know how powerful leaders can't stand to have competition. And from my understanding, wasn't the Chosun Dynasty founded by a rebelled officer from the Koryo Dynasty?

If that's true than that makes the King action more reasonable since history repeats itself. But the King sure did pick the wrong time to deal with YSS.

And the good thing is that there are some more excellent episodes up ahead fromwhat I've seen.

[Aging Warrior]

This was an odd episode to watch, because I knew that if I had been a minister back then I would have been telling the king to watch out for YSS. I think it was very realistic for the court to worry about the power the YSS was amassing.

[BungalowDweller]

YSS's modernity is what I find so amazing. The idea of providing opportunity across the classes was monumental. When one thinks that King George was shocked by the words in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal" in 1776 we can see how far ahead of his time YSS was! Unlike the Europeans, HE certainly didn't need an "Age of Enlightenment" to open His eyes!!!

[ginnycat5]

ac said:

And it was also nice to see the Crown Prince recognized that YSS didn't have any bad intentions and that what he was doing was for the good of the country. I think I might've missed something though, why is the Crown Prince making all the decisions and not his father?

It was a strategy of the king - either the prince succeeds and it shows whether he some ability to rule, or he fails and at least it wasn't the king who failed. There was a coldness in the king's attitude toward his son. He doesn't quite trust him.

[pakyownage4eva]

bungalowdweller said:

YSS's modernity is what I find so amazing. The idea of providing opportunity across the classes was monumental. When one thinks that King George was shocked by the words in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal" in 1776 we can see how far ahead of his time YSS was! Unlike the Europeans, HE certainly didn't need an "Age of Enlightenment" to open His eyes!!!

Admiral Yi is a beautiful man. EVen his name is beautiful!

imagine if he had become king. or if Gwang Hae wasn't ousted. Or if Sunjo wasn't dumb -_-

[TheBo]

Not to insert any unseemly devil-advocacy or anything, but are we sure this egalitarianism exhibited by YSS is not a fancy of the writers? I believe Florel has mentioned that the style of "historical" drama in Korea these days is to recite historical facts through a modern-day prism. That is, our sensibilities tend toward egalitarianism, and we believe YSS was a great man, wherefore, this is how we wish a great man to behave. Anyone have any historical perspective on this?

Bo

[BungalowDweller]

thebo said:

Not to insert any unseemly devil-advocacy or anything, but are we sure this egalitarianism exhibited by YSS is not a fancy of the writers? I believe Florel has mentioned that the style of "historical" drama in Korea these days is to recite historical facts through a modern-day prism. That is, our sensibilities tend toward egalitarianism, and we believe YSS was a great man, wherefore, this is how we wish a great man to behave. Anyone have any historical perspective on this?

Bo

I'd say that YSS behavior was more pragmatic than anything else--the right people in place could determine the outcome of the war--no social engineering here. And I agree,Bo. He was a man of his time and we cannot fully comprehend the motives of earlier peoples.

[Daemado]

In his correspondence with the court Chungmugong Yi Soon-Shin asked for a special military service examination for the navy on the grounds that the candidates had only a few days' notice of the official exams in Jeonju and had insufficient time for preparation and travel.

I'd agree with the comment about "historical facts through a modern-day prism." The show seems to touch on every hot social issue in contemporary Korea: draft evasion, academic dishonesty, juche, cronyism, regional/factional schisms in politics, arrogant foreign allies whose soldiers don't respect Korean women, the wisdom of hard-line policy toward starving northern neighbors who seek Chosun bows and other weapons of mass destruction, etc. And the battle scenes seem to be influenced heavily by computer games.

[TheBo]

I'm sorry, Daemado, I should know this, but what is "juche"?

Bo

[chigirl68]

Hi Bo. I saw your post and looked this up and Wikipedia has this.

Juche (pronounced "Joo-cheh"), officially called the Juche Idea in English, also dubbed by westerners as Kimilsungism, is the official state ideology of the Korean Workers' Party ruling North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK). The name is Korean and means self-reliance. It states that the subject of the revolution should be the masses, not any foreign power. It further develops that the nation must rely on itself; in this sense self-reliance or autarky. Juche is based on the teachings of Kim Il-sung.

Juche has been promoted by the North Korean government and educational system since the term was first used in a 1955 speech by Kim Il Sung. At first, the ideology consisted of two fundamental ideas: that the proletarian revolution belonged to the people, and that man is the master of the revolution.

From an economic standpoint, Juche also calls for North Korea to be self-sufficient in industry and services, while preserving the dignity and sovereignity of the entire nation, and it has been applied more strenuously since the 1960's. The economic focus has been on heavy industry, national defense, and agriculture.

The Juche-influenced Chollima (later known as Taean) economic campaign of the 1960s describes the rapid development of the DPRK economy and growth, and strenghtened the DPRK's Koreas independence from other nations.

In 1977, Juche replaced Marxism-Leninism in the DPRK constitution, solidifying its position in the state's government and society.

Some sociologists and other overseas scholars have likened Juche to a religious movement. Juche authorities state that the idea is a secular one and that the idea of a religious movement lacks any basis in reality as Juche only addresses the problems of life, not what happens after death.

The ideology was meant only for the national needs of the Korean nation and was never meant to be exported outside Korea although some people compare North Korea with Communist Romania. While Juche study groups exist in many Western countries, they are not numerous, they are often run by enthusiasts and they exist more for curious and interested people rather than actual study.

I also found this web site: www.cnet-ta.ne.jp/juche/DEFAULTE.htm

[Daemado]

Thanks for the summary and link chigirl!

And I forgot something from the list of hot-button issues: JAPANESE COLLABORATORS!

[TheBo]

My goodness, Chigirl, you are a one-"gal" research department, aren't you. Thanks so much. I guess "juche" is one of those things that sounds better than it usually turns out (like, say, dating two guys at the same time...who're brothers...from Scotland...without telling them...what? Me? Never.).



Bo

PS. The above is a joke.

[florel]

Fact & Fiction about Ep. 84

- Fact : Admiral YSS asked the branch court of Prince Gwanghae in Jeonju to permit him to open special military examination for navy officers on Hansan Island. And this request caused a tension between YSS and the royal court.

- Fiction : YSS was not an egalitarian in modern sense.

But, in real history, his attitude toward the commoners and the slaves were really special and exceptional for an aristocrat man in Chosun period. In his diary, he wrote names of slaves, commoners and lowers officers. He also wrote in his memorial to the court the names of those who were injured or dead in battle and who were meritorious in battle, even names of slaves and of commoners. He really loved his men and his people regardless of their social ranks.

[florel]

About "the prism of presentism" in the drama, it's a tradition of Korean historical dramas. They often have had tendencies to treat actual social and political problems.

The historical drama aired in 1986, "Namhan Mountain Castle (MBC)" - about the Manchurian invasion period, was forced to be shortened by the military regime because it contained political criticism. (Unfortunately I didn't view it. I was too young to understand its political connotation.) At that time, the democratic movement of Korean students against the military dictator was reaching on its height.

Another drama I mentioned recently on another board, "Huh Jun" (MBC, 1999-2000) was also tightly related with contemporary social issues. This biographic drama of the famous royal physician of king Sunjo reflects the serious actual conflicts between doctors and pharmacists that were ongoing in South Korea at that time.

"Tear of the Dragon" and "Emperor Wang Guhn" took also a great hit not only due to their dramatical qualities but also due to their allusions on actual political issues in Korea. If I view them now, it's certain that I feel something very different from my Korean compatriots at the time of their airings and I wouldn't understand their political connotation I ignore.


IYSS is not a political drama like "The Fifth Republic" or "Tear of the Dragon". But it reveals political connotations sometimes. The IYSS writers are those of the young generation who eagerly participated in the democratic movements. It's interesting to note that the IYSS drama also has been severely criticized in Korea, especially by conservative party partisans. It was concidental that the Dokdo issue came on the front page of newspapers when the drama entered in the Imjin War period. And, I dare to guess, the dramatists used it for a commercial purpose.


Unfortunately, the historical inaccuracies in the IYSS (some of them are intentional - like the Turtleship sunk scene, but others are just unintentional and due to ignorance of the young writers) have given good reasons to be attacked by their opponents. I found it deplorable and I think, as like skinz, rigorous historical researches for a historical drama is very important.