Dong Yi (TV Series) - Wikipedia

2010 South Korean television series

Dong Yi
Promotional poster
Hangul	동이
Hanja	同伊
RR	Dongi
MR	Tongi
Genre	Historical Romance
Written by	Kim Yi-young
Directed by	Lee Byung-hoon Kim Sang-hyub
Starring	Han Hyo-joo Ji Jin-hee Lee So-yeon Bae Soo-bin Park Ha-sun Jung Jin-young
Opening theme	"Walking on a Dreamy Road" by Jang Na-ra
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	60
Production
Executive producers	Kim Ho-young Ahn Seung-gak
Producer	Lee Se-joong
Running time	70 minutes[1]
Production companies	Lydus Contents Company AStory
Original release
Network	MBC TV
Release	22 March (2010-03-22) –12 October 2010 (2010-10-12)

Dong Yi (Korean: 동이) is a 2010 South Korean historical television series directed by Lee Byung-hoon.[2] It first aired on MBC from 22 March to 12 October 2010 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 time slot for 60 episodes.[3][4]

Starring Han Hyo-joo in the title role, Dong Yi tells the story of a simple water maid that rises high in the royal court as a consort and ultimately, mother of the 21st king of the Joseon dynasty. The series follows her journey to becoming Consort Suk, as she overcomes injustice and adversity while remaining true to her principles of loyalty and justice. Featuring elaborate Korean traditional culture, themes of ambition, love and sacrifice, it is also known for depicting the romance between King Sukjong and Consort Suk, highlighting their growing affection and the challenges they face as they navigate the complex political battles of the Joseon court.

Dong Yi was a huge hit across Asia and recorded the highest ratings for Korean dramas on Japanese network NHK.[5][unreliable source?] It also recorded impressive viewership ratings in the mid-20% to 30% range in South Korea.[6] Han Hyo-joo won multiple acting awards for her performance including Daesang (Grand Prize) at the MBC Drama Awards and Best Actress at the prestigious Baeksang Arts Awards.

Over the years, Dong Yi has developed a legacy as one of the best sageuk dramas of all time, commonly mentioned alongside Jewel in the Palace which also starred Ji Jin-hee in a leading role and was helmed by the same director.

Plot

[edit]

Childhood

[edit]

Set during the reign of King Sukjong in the Joseon period, the series is based on real-life historical figure Consort Suk.

Choe Dong-yi's father and brother are members of the Sword Fraternity, which is wrongfully accused of murdering noblemen. The King orders their execution and they are killed by soldiers while attempting to flee. Dong-yi hides her identity and enters the palace as a servant in the Bureau of Music, determined to reveal her family's innocence and find the true orchestrators of the noblemen's deaths.

As court lady in the Inspection Department

[edit]

Dong-yi rises from the humble position of a servant to a court lady in the Inspection Department through her shrewd investigative skills and relentless drive for justice.

The court is split between the Westerners faction (backed by the Queen Dowager and Queen Min) and the Southerners faction (backed by the King's favored concubine, Jang Ok-jeong). Unaware of his true identity, Dong-yi befriends the King and becomes his trusted confidante.

Originally, Dong-yi admires Jang Ok-jeong on the basis that both are clever, ambitious women from the lower classes. However, she is horrified to realize that Jang Ok-jeong and her brother, Jang Hee-jae, are poisoning the Queen Dowager for refusing to acknowledge Jang Ok-jeong as a royal consort. They also frame the innocent Queen Min for the Queen Dowager's death.

Queen Min is stripped of her title and exiled to the countryside. Dong-yi vows to find the evidence that proves Queen Min's innocence and bring her back into the palace. While investigating the Royal Treasury, Dong-yi discovers proof that Jang Hee-jae bribed officials and apothecaries to frame Queen Min. Before she can bring this evidence to the King, she is gravely injured by Jang Hee-jae's assassins and goes missing.

Jang Ok-jeong takes her place as queen, and her son, Yi Yun, is declared crown prince. The Southerners are more powerful than ever. Meanwhile, Dong-yi is hiding in a distant province as she recuperates her health. There, she discovers that Jang Hee-jae is involved in a conspiracy with the Qing envoys: in exchange for the Emperor's approval of Yi Yun as crown prince, Jang Hee-jae will give them military records of the Joseon border.

Dong-yi escapes Jang Hee-jae and returns to the capital with proof that he planned to expose matters of state interest to a foreign government. The King is overjoyed to see her again, and he realizes that he is in love with her.

As royal consort

[edit]

Despite her status as a vulgar commoner, Dong-yi is brought into the court as the King's concubine. Through her new position, she exposes that Queen Jang, her brother and the Southerners faction had contrived to sell state secrets to the Qing envoys to strengthen the position of the Crown Prince. Jang Hee-jae and the majority of the Southerners are stripped of their courtly titles and exiled. Jang Ok-jeong should also be exiled; however, as the biological mother of the Crown Prince, she is merely demoted to her previous rank of royal consort of the first senior rank (Consort Hui). Queen Min is declared innocent and reinstated.

Dong-yi is highly favored by Queen Min for proving her innocence and convincing the King to reinstate her to her former position. She declares Dong-yi a royal consort of the fourth junior rank and an official member of the royal family. Dong-yi gives birth to the King's second son, Prince Yeongsu.

New Sword Fraternity and the past exposed

[edit]

A year has passed. The Sword Fraternity is resurrected. Unlike their former iteration, they are violent and murder noblemen who are involved in corruption and cause the commoners to suffer. Dong-yi fears that her identity as a traitor's daughter will be exposed, and she decides to investigate. She learns that the leader of the fraternity is her old childhood friend, Gae-dwo-ra. She realizes that Oh Tae-suk had previously murdered his fellow Southerners in order to consolidate power and had framed the Sword Fraternity, resulting in the death of her father and brother.

Jang Mu-yeol, a Southerner police chief, realizes the unusual connection between Dong-yi and the Sword Fraternity, and uses it to supplant Oh Tae-suk as the head of the Southerners faction and remove Consort Hui's enemy, Dong-yi. He murders Oh Tae-suk and blames the Sword Fraternity for his death, and sets a trap for Dong-yi into trying to help the injured Gae-dwo-ra.

The King finds out about Dong-yi's father and brother from Gae-dwo-ra and attempts to hide Dong-yi's identity. However, Consort Hui wants Dong-yi executed. She once again makes plans to guilt Dong-yi into confessing the truth and it works. Dong-yi is charged with hiding her identity and helping the leader of a rebel group. The Southerners petition to have her executed; however, in light of the death of Dong-yi's newborn son, Prince Yeongsu due to measles, the King exiles her from the palace but allows her to keep her title.

In exile

[edit]

The King is heartbroken by his separation from Dong-yi. Despite being forbidden to do so, he goes to her residence and spends the night with her. She gives birth to her second child, Yi Geum.

The six-year-old Yi Geum is bright and intelligent, but he longs to meet his father. On an undercover outing, the King meets Yi Geum and he realises he is his son. The King befriends him, posing as an administrative officer.

Consort Hui's mother learns about the King's secret meetings with Yi Geum and his lingering affection for Dong-yi, and hires assassins to burn Dong-yi's residence in order to kill her and her son. The royal guards, who were instructed to watch over the residence, rescue both mother and son from the fire. The King rushes to Dong-yi and upon meeting her again asks her to return to the palace with their son.

The King has been waiting to bring Dong-yi and her son to court and uses the failed assassination attempt as a pretext to bring them back. The King also used Yi Geum's age to convince the ministers that he must return to the palace because he is required to receive royal education.

Return to the palace

[edit]

Queen Min has no children of her own and adores Yi Geum (now titled Prince Yeoning). She and her supporters seek to promote Prince Yeoning as crown prince, replacing Consort Hui's son after she finds out that the Crown Prince is infertile. However, she suddenly collapses from an illness, and Consort Hui uses a shaman and black magic to make sure Queen Min dies.

The ministers initially push for Consort Hui to become queen once again, but then rumors spread throughout the palace that the Crown Prince is infertile due to an undisclosed condition. Since the Crown Prince is infertile, Prince Yeoning would be the natural alternative to be the King's heir. Consort Hui's supporters begin to abandon her and the Crown Prince in favor of Dong-yi and her son.

Desperate to retain her son's position, Consort Hui attempts to assassinate Dong-yi and Prince Yeoning. Dong-yi is injured, but the Prince is unharmed.

The King executes Consort Hui for using black magic to kill Queen Min, hiding the Crown Prince's infertility, and attempting to kill Dong-yi and Prince Yeoning. Before her execution, Consort Hui acknowledges her wrongs and begs Dong-yi to protect the Crown Prince.

The king asks Dong-yi to become the new queen but she refuses in order to protect both princes. She cites all the chaos Consort Hui has caused in the royal court, and asks the King to pass a new law preventing royal consorts from becoming queen in hopes that similar power struggles will not occur again. The King agrees and appoints Lady Kim as queen.

The King knows that the Crown Prince's supporters will always regard Prince Yeoning as a threat to the Crown Prince. For both to survive, both must become kings. Because the Crown Prince is infertile, he will rule first after the King; Prince Yeoning will follow him. Because Prince Yeoning has a biological mother of low status, the King knows that the ministers will not respect his position, so he decides to abdicate so that Yi Yun would become king and Yi Geum will be cemented as crown prince. However, Queen Kim adopts Prince Yeoning, legitimizing his position and ensuring that he will follow the Crown Prince to the throne after his death.

Dong-yi decides to leave the palace so that she can help the poor commoners and so that Queen Kim can be the only mother of Prince Yeoning.

A new king

[edit]

Dong-yi's son later becomes the 21st ruler of Joseon, King Yeongjo, father of Crown Prince Sado and grandfather of King Jeongjo.

Cast

[edit]

Main

[edit]

• Han Hyo-joo as Choe Dong-yi, Consort Suk[7]
  • Kim You-jung as young Choe Dong-yi
• Ji Jin-hee as King Sukjong[8]
• Lee So-yeon as Jang Ok-jeong, Consort Hui
• Bae Soo-bin as Cha Chun-soo[9]
• Park Ha-sun as Queen Min
• Jung Jin-young as Seo Young-gi

Supporting

[edit]

• Jung Dong-hwan as Oh Tae-suk
• Lee Kye-in as Oh Tae-poong
• Choi Cheol-ho as Oh Yoon
• Kim Yu-seok as Jang Hee-jae
• Son Il-kwon as Hong Tae-yoon
• Shin Guk as Royal Secretary
• Na Sung-kyoon as Jung In-gook
• Kim Dong-yoon as Shim Woon-taek
• Park Jung-soo as Queen Dowager Hyeonryeol
• Kim Hye-sun as Court Lady Jung
• Kim So-yi as Court Lady Bong
• Ahn Yeo-jin as Court Lady Jo
• Lim Sung-min as Court Lady Yoo
• Jeong Yu-mi as Jung-eum
• Kang Yu-mi as Ae-jong
• Oh Eun-ho as Shi-bi
• Han Da-min as Eun-geum
• Choi Ha-na as Mi-ji
• Lee Jung-hoon as Lee Jong-ok
• Choi Jae-ho as Park Do-soo
• Yeo Ho-min as Oh Ho-yang
• Lee Hee-do as Hwang Joo-shik
• Lee Kwang-soo as Park Yeong-dal
• Jung Sung-woon as Choe Dong-joo
• Jung In-gi as Kim Hwan
• Jung Ki-sung as Kim Hwan's disciple
• Lee Sook as Lady Park
• Kim Hye-jin as Seol-hee
• Choi Ran as Lady Yun
• Yeo Hyun-soo as Gae-dwo-ra
  • Choi Soo-han as young Gae-dwo-ra
• Jung Eun-pyo as Gae-dwo-ra's father
• Jung Sun-il as Park Doo-kyung
• Kwon Min as Cha Soo-taek
• Choi Jong-hwan as Jang Mu-yeol
• Lee Hyung-suk as Yi Geum, Prince Yeoning
  • Lee Seon-ho as King Yeongjo
• Shin Gyu-ri as Seo Hye-in, Princess Consort Dalseong
  • Jung Mo-rye as Queen Seo
• Yoon Chan as Crown Prince Yi Yun
• Heo Yi-seul as Young-sun
• Maeng Sang-hoon as Kim Goo-sun
• Oh Yeon-seo as Queen Kim
• Nam Da-reum as Prince Eunpyeong
• Chun Ho-jin as Choe Hyo-won
• Lee Jae-yong as Jang Ik-heon
• Choi Il-hwa as Seo Jung-ho

Production

[edit]

Dong Yi was written by Kim Yi-young and directed by Lee Byung-hoon. Lee previously directed the hit 2003 period drama Jewel in the Palace.[10]

It was filmed at Yongin Daejanggeum Park located at Cheoin District, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, where other historical dramas such as Moon Embracing the Sun, Jumong and Queen Seondeok were also filmed.[11]

Ratings

[edit]

In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Broadcast date	Episode	TNmS[12]		AGB Nielsen[13]
		Nationwide	Seoul	Nationwide	Seoul
22 March 2010	1	11.4 (15th)	12.9 (8th)	11.6 (16th)	12.8 (11th)
23 March 2010	2	11.5 (12th)	12.6 (10th)	11.6 (13th)	13.1 (10th)
29 March 2010	3	11.8 (14th)	12.9 (12th)	12.7 (13th)	13.7 (12th)
30 March 2010	4	12.3 (11th)	13.4 (10th)	13.6 (9th)	15.2 (8th)
5 April 2010	5	15.3 (6th)	16.4 (4th)	14.7 (7th)	15.6 (6th)
6 April 2010	6	14.2 (7th)	15.2 (6th)	15.7 (7th)	17.4 (5th)
12 April 2010	7	17.2 (5th)	18.9 (2nd)	17.9 (4th)	20.1 (4th)
13 April 2010	8	17.2 (5th)	18.5 (2nd)	18.8 (4th)	20.4 (4th)
19 April 2010	9	19.0 (4th)	20.4 (2nd)	19.2 (3rd)	20.9 (1st)
20 April 2010	10	19.7 (1st)	21.3 (1st)	18.2 (4th)	19.7 (4th)
26 April 2010	11	21.6 (2nd)	23.5 (2nd)	21.0 (3rd)	24.0 (1st)
27 April 2010	12	22.5 (2nd)	24.5 (2nd)	21.6 (2nd)	23.9 (2nd)
3 May 2010	13	22.9 (1st)	25.2 (1st)	20.0 (3rd)	22.0% (3rd)
4 May 2010	14	20.4 (2nd)	21.9 (1st)	19.9 (2nd)	22.6 (1st)
10 May 2010	15	25.8 (1st)	27.9 (1st)	25.1 (1st)	28.1 (1st)
11 May 2010	16	28.5 (1st)	30.8 (1st)	26.2 (1st)	30.2 (1st)
17 May 2010	17	25.0 (1st)	27.1 (1st)	25.0 (1st)	28.0 (1st)
18 May 2010	18	25.6 (1st)	27.3 (1st)	25.0 (1st)	25.9 (1st)
24 May 2010	19	24.1 (2nd)	26.2 (2nd)	24.6 (2nd)	28.1 (2nd)
25 May 2010	20	23.8 (1st)	26.0 (1st)	22.4 (2nd)	25.3 (1st)
31 May 2010	21	25.1 (1st)	27.7 (1st)	23.0 (2nd)	25.5 (1st)
1 June 2010	22	26.6 (1st)	29.3 (1st)	24.2 (1st)	26.9 (1st)
7 June 2010	23	28.1 (1st)	30.9 (1st)	23.9 (1st)	27.2 (1st)
8 June 2010	24	30.3 (1st)	33.2 (1st)	25.8 (1st)	29.7 (1st)
14 June 2010	25	31.0 (1st)	33.3 (1st)	27.4 (1st)	30.1 (1st)
15 June 2010	26	33.1% (1st)	35.6% (1st)	29.1% (1st)	32.3% (1st)
21 June 2010	27	29.1 (1st)	31.0 (1st)	26.9 (1st)	29.8 (1st)
22 June 2010	28	30.1 (1st)	32.6 (1st)	28.0 (1st)	30.6 (1st)
28 June 2010	29	31.1 (1st)	32.8 (1st)	28.0 (1st)	30.4 (1st)
29 June 2010	30	31.9 (1st)	33.8 (1st)	28.7 (1st)	31.5 (1st)
5 July 2010	31	30.8 (1st)	33.3 (1st)	26.1 (1st)	28.6 (1st)
6 July 2010	32	31.3 (1st)	33.8 (1st)	27.5 (1st)	30.4 (1st)
12 July 2010	33	29.1 (1st)	31.1 (1st)	26.3 (1st)	29.1 (1st)
13 July 2010	34	29.7 (1st)	31.7 (1st)	27.4 (1st)	30.6 (1st)
19 July 2010	35	27.6 (1st)	30.0 (1st)	24.3 (1st)	27.0 (1st)
20 July 2010	36	29.4 (1st)	32.0 (1st)	25.3 (1st)	27.9 (1st)
26 July 2010	37	28.8 (1st)	31.2 (1st)	24.4 (1st)	26.8 (1st)
27 July 2010	38	30.6 (1st)	33.3 (1st)	25.7 (1st)	28.3 (1st)
2 August 2010	39	23.9 (1st)	25.8 (1st)	21.5 (1st)	23.3 (1st)
3 August 2010	40	23.1 (1st)	25.0 (1st)	21.9 (1st)	25.1 (1st)
9 August 2010	41	23.7 (1st)	25.9 (1st)	22.7 (1st)	24.8 (1st)
10 August 2010	42	23.2 (1st)	25.2 (1st)	21.3 (3rd)	23.3 (2nd)
16 August 2010	43	23.3 (1st)	25.0 (1st)	22.7 (1st)	25.2 (1st)
17 August 2010	44	24.8 (1st)	26.6 (1st)	21.6 (2nd)	23.6 (2nd)
23 August 2010	45	24.7 (1st)	26.5 (1st)	24.3 (1st)	27.7 (1st)
24 August 2010	46	26.8 (1st)	29.3 (1st)	25.1 (1st)	28.1 (1st)
30 August 2010	47	30.7 (1st)	33.0 (1st)	27.3 (1st)	29.9 (1st)
31 August 2010	48	30.3 (1st)	32.5 (1st)	27.4 (1st)	30.0 (1st)
6 September 2010	49	29.5 (1st)	31.8 (1st)	27.7 (1st)	30.1 (1st)
7 September 2010	50	28.6 (1st)	30.7 (1st)	25.3 (1st)	27.3 (1st)
13 September 2010	51	26.4 (1st)	28.8 (1st)	24.5 (1st)	26.5 (1st)
14 September 2010	52	27.0 (1st)	29.8 (1st)	24.5 (1st)	26.4 (1st)
20 September 2010	53	23.0 (1st)	25.5 (1st)	22.7 (1st)	24.4 (1st)
21 September 2010	54	20.2 (1st)	21.1 (1st)	19.7 (1st)	21.9 (1st)
27 September 2010	55	25.7 (1st)	28.3 (1st)	24.4 (2nd)	26.7 (1st)
28 September 2010	56	23.6 (3rd)	25.7 (1st)	24.4 (2nd)	26.7 (2nd)
4 October 2010	57	20.9 (2nd)	23.2 (1st)	22.2 (2nd)	24.3 (1st)
5 October 2010	58	20.3 (2nd)	22.2 (1st)	22.6 (2nd)	24.7 (2nd)
11 October 2010	59	24.9 (2nd)	27.9 (1st)	24.4 (2nd)	27.4 (2nd)
12 October 2010	60	22.3 (3rd)	24.2 (1st)	24.3 (1st)	26.4 (1st)
Average		24.5%	26.6%	23.0%	25.4%

Awards

[edit] 2010 3rd Korea Drama Awards

• Best Actress: Han Hyo-joo
• Best Supporting Actor: Jung Dong-hwan
• Achievement Award: Lee Byung-hoon

2010 MBC Drama Awards[14]

• Daesang (Grand Prize): Han Hyo-joo
• Top Excellence Award, Actor: Ji Jin-hee
• Excellence Award, Actress: Lee So-yeon
• Best New Actress: Park Ha-sun
• Golden Acting Award, Supporting Actor: Kim Yu-seok
• Best Young Actor: Kim You-jung and Lee Hyung-suk
• Popularity Award, Actress: Han Hyo-joo
• Viewer's Favorite Drama of the Year: Dong Yi

2011 1st Hong Kong Cable TV Awards

• Best Drama
• Best Actor: Ji Jin-hee
• Best Actress: Han Hyo-joo

2011 47th Baeksang Arts Awards[15]

• Best Actress – Television: Han Hyo-joo

References

[edit]

1. ^ "Dong Yi". MBC Global Media. Archived from the original on 8 September 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
2. ^ Lee, Ji-hye (7 May 2010). "Han Hyo-joo says she "hold fast" to her role in Dong Yi". 10Asia. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
3. ^ Han, Sang-hee (21 March 2010). "Will Dong-yi Become Next Jewel in the Palace?". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
4. ^ Oh, Jean (22 March 2010). "Upbeat rom-com vs. court romance". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
5. ^ "'Always' Han Hyo Joo, 'Hallyu Queen'?". 9 June 2012. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
6. ^ Hong, Lucia (13 October 2010). "Giant places on top and Dong Yi finishes run". 10Asia. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
7. ^ "Han Hyo-joo Changes Tack in Costume Drama". The Chosun Ilbo. 13 April 2010. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
8. ^ Wee, Geun-woo (7 May 2010). "Ji Jin-hee says "happy to break stereotype" as a king". 10Asia. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
9. ^ Kim, Jessica (5 January 2010). "Bae Soo-bin joins cast of drama Dong Yi". 10Asia. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
10. ^ Kim, Jessica (9 June 2010). "INTERVIEW: Dong Yi director says Ji Jin-hee "mischievous"". 10Asia. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
11. ^ Lee, Cin Woo (16 March 2012). "Beyond Seoul: 19 reasons to explore Korea". CNN Go. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
12. ^ "TNMS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNMS Ratings (in Korean). Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
13. ^ "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
14. ^ Hong, Lucia (31 December 2010). "Kim Nam-joo, Han Hyo-joo win grand prize at MBC Acting Awards". 10Asia. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
15. ^ Hong, Lucia (27 May 2011). "Hyun Bin, Lee Byung-hun win top prizes at Paeksang". 10Asia. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2013.

External links

[edit]

• Official website (in Korean)
• Dong Yi at MBC Global Media
• Dong Yi at HanCinema
• Dong Yi at IMDb
• Dong Yi on NHK (in Japanese)

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