I'm sure MBC hasn't figured out how to market it, which is why it's still sitting unseen in their archives, but someone should whisper (the Korean translation of) the word
syndication in a couple executives' ears. It also seems that it would be perfect to round out a cable network's pregramming, especially since there's interest in some of the stories already and the production costs have already been paid. Some of the casting of the
500 Years shows look like they would easily attract a large audience. Prince Sado was played by Choi Soo Jong and Jang Hee-bin's conniving brother in Dong Yi was portrayed by none other by Lee Duk Hwa, the Archfiwend from AOW! Can you imagine?
There's got to be a way to convince the Korean networks to show some of the old series, not just the 11 different series that comprise
500 Years, but others like
West Palace and
Tears of the Dragon as well.
There's an unbelievably knowledgeable fan of historical dramas known as Mr. X, who does subtitles and reviews for WITH S2, my favorite fansubbing group. I like his reviews a lot, not only because they're incredibly informative, but he makes a very convincing case for trying to achieve historical accuracy in the dramas, and also to remain true to the original ideas of how the shows are visualized, rather than change plotlines and characters to fit the perceived audience's expectations. Here's a review of his of
Damo (from the YesAsia site)that's an excellent overview of Korean historical dramas that shows how
500 Years of Joseon Dynasty fits into the big picture. I know it's a long review, but it's very informative and interesting:
Sometimes all it takes to make a revolution is to stir the pot a little, mix ingredients few people would ever put together. A fusion, as they call it. At the dawn of the Seventies, Korean TV Dramas started what would become their first Golden Age. But contrary to today's TV Drama landscape, the situation was much simpler back then, with no Internet and no Korean Wave to deal with; even genres and target demographics were simpler, or so it looked on the surface. Daily dramas like Lady for her, police procedurals like Inspector Chief for him, unless he decided to watch a Historical Drama. With an incredibly complicated and fascinating history like that of the Korean Peninsula, it was like fishing in a water-less pond, with a sniper rifle. Although Historical Dramas were present right from the beginning in some way or form, the first serious examples of the genre started emerging in the early 70s, with Dramas like Jang Heebin, one of the half dozen versions of Lady Jang's story. Written by Lee Seo-Gu and produced by Yoo Heung-Ryeol, the 1971 show had much more significance than simply featuring one of the country's most (in)famous historical figures. It was MBC's first serious step in the Drama world, something similar to what happened for SBS in 1995 with their 'Special Project' Sandglass. With the Drama, set in King Sukjong's reign and telling the story of the most famous concubine in Korean history, the show was the first sign that the young station was a force to be reckoned with. Yoon Yeo Jung, the great veteran of films like Im Sang Soo's A Good Lawyer's Wife and countless TV Dramas, was the first to play the role of the famous concubine, which would later make stars out of Lee Mi Sook, Jeon In Hwa, and was also played on TV by Jung Seon Kyung and Kim Hye Soo.
Even though KBS and TBC were already very active in the "Sageuk" (historical drama) field, in the early 70s MBC started paving the way for what would become a two-decade-long domination of the genre. Yet, winds of change started appearing in the genre a few years later. Historical Dramas on TV used to be almost documentary-like historical accounts, following their original text sometimes even to an intimidating degree. But one of the first writer/pd combos of the period, writer Shin Bong Seung and PD Pyo Jae Soon, was able to make the first real Fusion Dramas, over two decades before the term would become popular thanks to films like Once Upon a Time in The Battlefield and Untold Scandal. What they did was really simple: noticing women weren't watching those somber, often stoic historical dramas, hard to follow even for the most navigated history buff, they added melodrama and moved the focus from the issues to the characters and their emotional rollercoasters. Their new style of Sageuk attracted a significant portion of the female viewership, and until the early 80s it became the easiest way to make a Historical Drama popular.
The 80s brought many changes, including color TV, but some of the best writers of the genre started making their first important steps in the arena. Im Cho Ong wrote the second 'version' of the Lady Jang saga in 1981, which made Lee Mi Sook a huge household name. In the following 20 years, Im would become one of the most influential and talented writers in the genre, writing gems like Hong Guk Young, King of The Wind and another Jang Heebin version in the mid 90s. Much more political and allegorical than any other writer at the time, Im was certainly 'interpreting' the historical figures he was talking about through his political perspective, but it always made for great TV. Yet, one of the riskiest decisions MBC ever took completely changed the Sageuk landscape in 1983. It was March that year when 500 Years of Joseon Dynasty started what would become a legendary 8-year-long run, divided into 11 parts, and with over 500 episodes. Enlisting writer Shin Bong Seung and a young promising producer by the name of Lee Byung Hoon, the show followed the history of the Joseon Dynasty through 27 reigns, from the fall of the Goryeo Dynasty and the dawn of Joseon to its fall in 1910. Yet, as much as this series is considered a classic, around the 6-7th part it even risked an early departure, just like some of today's low rated shows.
Because of a huge controversy over some figures represented on one of those shows (shown in a different, less negative way than in the past), viewers started turning away from the show, until 1988's Queen In Hyun brought fame back to the series. With the country preparing for the Olympic Games, the show had two hugely popular older versions of the story people could compare it with, and the legacy of big stars like Yoon Yeo Jung and Lee Mi Sook. But instead of going for established actresses, MBC went for a new face, Jeon In Hwa. Trying not to repeat the same elements which made the previous series a success, except the obvious (history), Jeon's Lady Jang was a little different from the past, more graceful than the cunning, vicious femme fatale the other two versions (along with two films about the same argument). Queen In Hyung, the 8th part of the series, became a hugely popular show even amongst demographics who previously never cared about Historical Dramas, perhaps because they could relate a little more to Jeon In Hwa's Lady Jang, removed from the histrionics of the past heroines. We'd have to wait until the early 90s to see the start of another Golden Age, but MBC was already well on its way to become the 'Drama Kingdom' of Korean TV. A little under 4 years later, a little drama called Eyes of Dawn hit the airwaves, and TV Dramas started seeing the first signs of a revolution.
Although by no means a Historical Drama (the story was fictional), the show took elements of the genre as its background, and wrapped them around strong melodrama, some of the best acting ever seen in Korean TV history, and special effects never seen before in the country. The 'Blockbuster Dramas' were born, thanks to the magic duo of Song Ji Na and Kim Jong Hak, and MBC started a slow but inexorable ascent to the throne of most popular TV station in the country. Something else was happening: audience tastes were changing, with much more variety - especially Trendy Dramas, appearing in 1992 with MBC's Jealousy - and freedom of expression thanks to the country's democratization. TV had mostly been dominated, or targeted towards older viewers and housewives, and young people were rarely the focus on TV Dramas, with the possible exception of the Miniseries. What was the chance a 16-17 year old girl would spend 250 days a year watching a Family Drama about parents not accepting their daughter's latest love interest? But with TNS Media and AGB starting nationwide ratings surveys, the popularity of a show could be measured by everyone, not just industry insiders. And it became much more obvious how much influence younger viewers were starting to have on whether a Drama would become a hit or not. And with Historical Dramas mostly concerned with labyrinthine plots and political intrigue, only those versed in the history of the period could understand. Longer Sageuk would often end with dialogue-based cliffhangers to the tune of 'Your Majesty, the chief of the Noron Party sent a petition against the nomination of the new chancellor!", and younger viewers would mostly go 'Yeah. And?'. To make a long story short, Historical Dramas (all of them) were in serious crisis, enough to make stations reconsider their broadcasting plans. The traditional daily Historical Dramas were relegated to weekends, and although budgets went up thanks to the newfound prosperity of TV Dramas, few were really popular.
Between 1992 (when AGB started recording ratings nationwide) and 1998, only three Historical Dramas were able to really strike a chord with viewers: two were written by old fox Im Cho Ong, 1995's Jang Heebin and 1994's Ambition. But it was the third, KBS' Tears of the Dragon that turned the tables once again. One of the five best Historical Dramas of all time, the show changed the paradigm of the genre, unfolding through 160 Episodes over 2 years, upgrading old production techniques, and making Yoo Dong-Geun a huge star. Again focusing on the dawn of the Joseon Dynasty, from Lee Sung Gye's (a fantastic performance by the late, great Kim Mu-Saeng) coup d'etat against the Royal Goryeo Family to his bloody rule and palace intrigue to succeed his reign, Tears of The Dragon was high octane intensity from start to finish. Historical Dramas started to have an upsurge in viewership, not only because they improved in quality, but also for understanding the changing times, and putting as much effort on making an exciting show instead of the educational and historically relevant elements of the past only.
Yet, nothing changed Historical Dramas like Lee Byung Hoon's Hur Joon in 2000. The large majority of Historical Dramas since the early 70s focused on the palace intrigues of the Joseon Dynasty, or on important figures of earlier periods (generals becoming kings or emperors after overthrowing the former ruler, famous concubines plotting to gain power, politicians scheming against each other etc.). As interesting as they were, and although many of them had a degree of allegory which sort of captured the mood of time, they still felt distant to most people, with the exception of history buffs and older male viewers. Young females and even college-age viewers wouldn't touch Historical Dramas with a ten-foot pole, as they couldn't find anyone they could relate to. It was mostly the evil Yangban plotting against the good one, or vice versa, but it was like staring at two Millionaires fighting each other to make more money. Not exactly something exciting for people raised on Choi Jin Shil Trendy Dramas and Family Dramas with the kind of realism even social protest films of the 80s could rarely reach. So Lee changed everything: he moved out of the palace.
First dramatized in the 1975 show Tenacity, and later in PD Lee Jae Gab's 1991 Miniseries Dongui Bogam (adapted from Lee Eun Sung's original novel), the show told the story of legendary physician Hur Joon (1546-1615). Son of a commoner who became a court physician thanks to his deeds, Hur Joon wrote The Treasures of Eastern Medicine, unifying all previous Ming Dynasty-influenced theories about herbal drugs and Joseon's own interpretation, still considered the 'bible' of Traditional Korean Medicine. The show, written by master Choi Wan Gyu, starred Jeon Gwang Ryeol as Hur Joon, and reached ratings of over 60%, making it one of the most popular of all time. But why so much popularity, setting aside for a moment the figure's historical importance and his achievement? The show focused on his personal struggle and successes more than simply being a realistic account of the period. Also, Hur was a hero of the people above everything else: he tried to stay out of politics, simplified medicine by writing in Hangeul instead of Hanja (Chinese characters), and tried to use herbs just about every commoner could find, instead of the expensive and exotic excesses of other doctors. It was no longer about a group of corrupt court politicians plotting against each other (or at least that wasn't the focus), but someone like us, fighting to the death to fulfill his dreams and aspirations, with a little melodrama thrown in. Hur Joon didn't only change the way MBC intended Historical Dramas, but forced the competition to sit down and learn from them - although they wouldn't do so until last year, despite sometimes producing great works like Wang Gun and The Great Ambition.
What followed was a complete U-turn in subject matter, from palace intrigue to the struggle of single figures, like legendary merchant Im Sang Ok in Sang Do and royal cook Seo Jang Geum in Dae Jang Geum. SBS tried to copy the formula with shows like The King's Woman but failed miserably, whereas KBS moved their territory to the Goryeo Dynasty for a few years, with three consecutive Dramas set in the period. Although by 2003 traditional Sageuk still existed, they were few and far between, substituted by this brand of 'new age' Historical Dramas, or more lucrative fictional stories with a historical background. These new Dramas offered things the old classics never even tried to do. They immersed the viewer in the daily life of its characters in ways that were never explored before, moving the educational elements of the genre to the actual social and technological changes happening in the period. Be it medicine with Hur Joon, commerce with Sang Do or cuisine with Dae Jang Geum, the shows attracted a bigger audience as they offered more points of interest for different demographics. There was the intrigue and political scheming for the older male viewers, the melodrama and love stories (albeit in a much subtler way than the average Trendy Drama) for younger females, some action for the boys, and an overall allegorical, inspirational feeling which appealed to everyone. It was 2003, when a young PD embarked on a project which was started and halted a dozen times over the last decade, something which was going to change TV Dramas forever, in a way nobody expected. His name was Lee Jae Gyu, and his debut as producer was on a show called Damo.
Here's the link for the full review (this is only part of it!):
www.yesasia.com/global/the-legendary-police-woman-aka-damo-the-undercover-lady-detective/1004000755-0-0-0-en/info.htmlHere are a couple other interesting reviews by Mr. X that also refer to
500 Years of Joseon Dynasty:
twitchfilm.net/news/2008/08/sageuk-world-hometown-of-legends-ep-4-ghost-letter.phptwitchfilm.net/news/2008/08/sageuk-world-special-pt1-conspiracy-in-the-court.phpYou'll find that a lot of his observations are
so true.
