The King's Affection 연모 [2021]

[abs-oluteM]

I finished the episode. Two thumbs up from me - I thought it was a good premiere and story is not hard to follow. I felt a little sorry that the actual Prince Lee Hwi  had to die as I can see he had the makings of a good crown prince. He's intelligent and had character. Twin sis despite her lack of formal education is clever too seeing how she could read ( rare in those days for young girls who weren't from noble families) . Felt sorry for the Crown Princess who looked so longingly at the twin sister and having to give the order to send her away the second time. 

 

Hmm looks like the Crown Princess's father is the one that is manipulating the old King, and had a hand in the beheading of  Prince Lee Hwi's teacher / mentor. And now I can see what you mean by the Crown Prince likely being a puppet king @mademoiselle.

 

Anyway , I am so looking forward to seeing our leads tonight.

[Alice Wonderland]

Playing ep 1, this is bugging me everytime I see this scene in saeguk or any other period drama. Something that I could only thing possible in modern time. Since when CPR firstly learned actually? Was it already taught long hundred years ago? Or the writer only used this as a way to make the heart of viewers fluttering? Okay, brb later, continue watching again.

Edited October 12, 2021 by Alice Wonderland

[mademoiselle]

@Alice Wonderland Wikipedia said "Prior to the inception of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, there had been some techniques to keep patients alive that were developed in the 18th century in Japan and in Europe, and as far back as the 15th century in Persia."

 

@abs-oluteM Yeah I was surprised she can read! Honestly I thought the Consort (not sure if she's crown princess because they didn't address her as Seja-mama) would have at least ensure Dam was well taken care of living outside the palace. Like constantly send money to sustain her living but it didn't seem like that is the case. And also I wonder what's the story of her with the guard who took Dam away because he was the Crown Prince's guard (he was standing behind Crown Prince when she was begging him to let their daughter live).

[JenL]

On 10/8/2021 at 12:40 PM, abs-oluteM said:

Alice, what I find so funny is that it is not the guys who like her ( apart from Rowoon) ...the women both love Lee Hwi and want to marry her or ...him. LOL!

 

Hahaha well, you know, maybe those women are like the ancestors of people who stan super effeminate Kpop stars... I remember when that app that changed your gender came out and some of those Kpop guys did it and put it on their social media and they looked REALLY GOOD as females. I was like damn, they are just so much more girly than me  This is like the same thing, but back in the day! 

 

On 10/10/2021 at 1:00 PM, mademoiselle said:

In Sunbae, they did really well with most of the kiss scenes. Won Jin Ah got to sit on Rowoon's lap. Another scene Rowoon lifted her up and put her on the pole thingie and they kissed.  Hehehehehe the PD just have to be very creative to overcome the height difference else Rowoon will be out of the screen 

 

Hahaha they do have to be creative! Especially since in the past, he's been cast with actresses who aren't super tall  They're all apparently around the 1.6-ish mark.

I say this while also not even being this height...if I ever saw Rowoon, he would tower over me! 

But the creativity does make those scenes sound nicer...more romantic? 

Edited October 12, 2021 by JenL

[JenL]

6 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

I was wondering what or how they use the parrot blood to test the court maids? Like how does it work? Also at this point Lee Hwi’ dad is still the crown prince right ? 

 

I was also really curious! Like is it to make sure palace maids are not allergic to parrot's blood?  Honestly old medical knowledge was so weird! 

3 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

It is a tradition (from China) to test the virginity of the girls. All girls who entered the palace are considered the King's women so they must be a virgin. A drop of parrot's blood is dripped onto the girl's wrist and it must stayed as is. If it flows down then it means the girl is not a virgin and fail the test. A superstitious, unscientific, stupid test

 

So weird. So so weird. Like better be good at balancing your arm so liquid's don't drip 

But poor poor parrots. How many were killed for blood testing 

[JenL]

Episode 1

- I enjoyed the first episode. The child actors were really good. Is the little prince and twin sister played by one actress? She's quite talented if so! This gave me the whole Start Up vibe with the whole tragic backstory being told first through child actors 

- Glad this episode was pretty easy to follow. I think I'm sometimes a little hesitant to follow dramas with confusing first episodes. It's already work to try to invest in the main characters...too much work if you have to then try to keep forcing your brain to figure out what's happening 

- The fact that the crown prince's wife's father is like an evil advisor reminds me so much of Kingdom - I guess that was the tactic in the old days. Make sure you offer up a daughter for a royal marriage so you can brainwash the royals. Women's lives seemed so sad back in the day. Was so disgusting that he was choking her and wanting his granddaughter to be killed. Actually, I think that's one of my main frustrations with Asian period dramas - I think there's always at least one evil advisor who has a lot of power and I can't believe in every drama the royals are always so bad at judging characters that they would willingly listen to them 

- Haha, whoa so much romance already in youth!  I mean those teens/ tweens already went on a full date to the festival and gave each other gifts and practically kissed through the CPR, which I agree was totally suss because they would not have known to do that (totally a reason for lip to lip contact)  

- The settings were really nice. There was something about the pond they both fell into that was magical. So many flowers floating on top 

- I was so sad for the little prince! It was so tragic that he got killed. I guess I didn't read the plot beforehand and thought he'd still be around and they did a twinswap and he mistakenly left the palace or something. But I did think it was weird at some point they stopped running to answer questions?! Also I was hoping he would yell out he was the prince. Not that it would necessarily save him, but buy time people! Didn't happen though 

 

[mademoiselle]

Eun Bin is so gorgeous. So sexy too haha

The visual of both Eun Bin and Rowoon are no joke.

E3 Preview

 

[mademoiselle]

2021.10.12 Namooactors Naver Update

More pictures of Eun Bin 😍

[ktcjdrama]

Just finished ep.1. Like many of you, I really enjoyed it. 

Felt really sad thought for the young CP that he had to die. He has the potential to be a great king. But I know that's how the story is supposed to be. Just that we're introduced to him and got to know him quite a bit that seeing him killed made me so-so sad. And it's going to be a mellow one for sure, since it's the ML's father who killed FL's twin brother 

 

46 minutes ago, JenL said:

The settings were really nice. There was something about the pond they both fell into that was magical. So many flowers floating on top 

I like the pond, but I always wonder are the ponds in the palace compound always so deep??  I'm too lazy to name all the period dramas that have people drowning in the deep ponds.

 

46 minutes ago, JenL said:

I think there's always at least one evil advisor who has a lot of power and I can't believe in every drama the royals are always so bad at judging characters that they would willingly listen to them

I guess that's the main attraction of period dramas. Same like for dailies/weekends drama, we need to have the evil MIL or MIL-to-be, haha....

 

1 hour ago, JenL said:

So weird. So so weird. Like better be good at balancing your arm so liquid's don't drip

Not only that. It's also luck that the person dripping the blood onto your wrist has to do the job well too. Otherwise, it's a straight flow down the wrist 

7 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

The boy that plays the young Lee Hwi & his twin sis is good & convincing in a dual role .

It's a girl. She was the young Kang Kwon Joo in Voice 4. She is also in a weekend drama I'm watching that's airing now. @JenL yes, it's the same actress.

 

 

Edited October 12, 2021 by ktcjdrama

[stroppyse]

6 hours ago, Alice Wonderland said:

Since when CPR firstly learned actually? Was it already taught long hundred years ago?

 

CPR really started as a 20th century practice. Though as @mademoiselle said, wikipedia does note techniques that are mentioned to try to resuscitate and keep people alive. Reading the entries and doing a little digging, however, most of these don't seem to have involved chest compressions which is now stressed as being the most important aspect of CPR.

 

Haven't started watching this drama yet, btw. Park Eun Bin looks too pretty to be a guy, though. Not to mention, aren't they going to start wondering about lack of facial hair and why he(she) keeps refusing royal attendants to help her dress?

[ktcjdrama]

15 minutes ago, stroppyse said:

Park Eun Bin looks too pretty to be a guy, though.

I was going to say the same about this too. She is too pretty, and petite as well. She is a bit more convincing when she hardened her voice a little. 
 

16 minutes ago, stroppyse said:

Not to mention, aren't they going to start wondering about lack of facial hair and why he(she) keeps refusing royal attendants to help her dress?

Facial hair, I can’t think of good excuse. Especially since most of the other males in the palace are with facial hair. As for dressing up, maybe can still easily say he/she has foul temper and very picky about who gets to help him/her.... Okay, now I am confused. Do we address PEB character as him or her? Hahhaaa

 

Anyway, just finished ep.2. I cried quite a bit already and it’s only ep.2 now 😅 Will come back with more thoughts because it’s close to 2am and very sleepy now. 

[40somethingahjumma]

Two episodes in and I already like this much more than Moonlight Drawn by Clouds (Blasphemy right?). I am not a fan of fluffy historical dramas and this obviously isn't one of those. The first couple of episodes remind me of The Moon Embraces the Sun and the Princess' Man more than Moonlight.

 

I really like the vibe of the show as it befitts something set in the 13th -14th century. People actually die at the whim of the emperor and there are ruthless court officials. Superstition abounds. The Crown Prince doesn't have a great deal of power. That's what a sageuk should be like. Of course I'm sure there'll be fluff and from the looks of the trailers, there's prospect of a love polygon. 

 

The reality is that she can't hide the fact that she's a woman forever. Especially because she lacks facial hair and has a menstrual cycle. And real antagonists who have reasons to unmask her. Plus every Crown Prince has to have a wife eventually. It'll be interesting to see how all that plays out. Park Eun-bin who I really liked in Hot Stove League passes off for a cross-dressing character well although we haven't seen much of what she's capable of. I'm not familiar with the male lead but he's certainly a good-looking fellow.  It appears that Jung Ji-un has broken with his father. He seems to have become a physician of sorts. 

 

The show is off to a good start. The pacing is decent so far. It doesn't do anything particularly original but whatever it's doing, I'm on board so far.

[cess4evah]

I read many praising tweets about Yeonmo coming from a non-fans of both lead. The emotions I had while watching the two episodes. The child actors specially the young Lee Hwi is astonishing. The amount of the acting she has to be able to pull of the twins scenes. Good job indeed. 

 

I am just a little worried for this one. You know knetz are merciless when it comes to canceling. I hope KBS will do necessary actions for this one. Yeonmo is really had a good start to begin with. 

 

 

 

Anyway Good Data has released its Top 10 buzzworthy dramas for the first week of October 2021. Drama — The King's Affection at #6. It's for the first week, meaning that yeonmo has really been anticipated a lot before the first broadcast!! 

[mademoiselle]

Behind the Scenes #1

 

[mademoiselle]

2021.10.13 Jung Chae Yeon's agency MBK's Naver Update

Love this group shot!

More beautiful and colourful photos of Jung Chae Yeon → HERE

 

Ohhh, little Ji Woon (child actor Ko Woo Rim) is also from the same agency as Park Eun Bin.

 

Edited October 13, 2021 by mademoiselle

[ktcjdrama]

I like the story telling... They don't dwell on the death of CP Lee Hwi, but they don't gloss it over either. We get to see each related person mourned for his death, at the same time effectively revealing the true identity of Dam and her reaction to it. Not long-winded as well about her adjusting and adapting to this new identity. It's really too bad that her mother died so unexpectedly sudden. Dam really has good loyal people around her while growing up. Like I said, I cried quite a bit watching her taking in and going through the revelation of her fate and future.

[Mizv]

Anyone notice the bad edits or scene cut in episode 2.  The queen comforts Dami then 360 scene to the queen dying.  Had to replay the scene to make sure I didn’t miss anything. 
 

Am glad watched straight 2 episodes at one time,  very frustrating watching episode 1.  The attitude towards females is difficult to digest.  overall this is very good drama that I hope Dami gets revenge.  
 

 

[mademoiselle]

Two episodes in I think it gives us enough to set the tone of the drama. It's more mature, and definitely not going to be light-hearted. Eun Bin's stan mentioned the manhwa is literally a sad story of a female king. Other than making viewers nervous of watching Dam keeping up the façade of hiding her identity, which is proven to get harder as she ages as you guys pointed out the lack of facial hairs and menstrual cycle, Prince Changwoon is onto her now. There is a clear conflict between her and first love, Jung Ji Woon — who is the son of the man who killed Hwi and her friend.

 

As this time I chose not to peek into the manhwa, I'm not sure this is a journey of Dam seeking revenge. Not a fan of revenge theme so personally I hope it'll be about her personal struggle as well as political struggle of keeping her Crown Prince's status, and also the development of romance against her will.

 

As I watch more and more on Dam disguising as the Crown Prince, I must say perhaps she was really born to be a royalty.  She was courageous and brave and was able to hold herself in place, albeit nervous, and fooled a number of highest authority figures such as her father, the King and Queen, as well as her evil grandfather. I'd expect normally the maids would have been scared to death and don't even dare to make eye contact with the Royals.

 

I did forsee her mother passing away as I knew it was only a cameo by Han Chae Ah, and I accept this as the way of the story to make Dam even more lonely in the palace as well as helpless, and eventually gives us the cold prince we now see 10 years later.

 

Jung Ji Woon, what can I say but *SWOOOOON* Love his big and crystal-clear eyes already. So far I think he's done ok (not much of him anyway) and sageuk tone seems acceptable too.

 

Spoiler

source

 

Eun Bin, needless to say, already killing it the moment she came on screen. I do love it when both finally appear since I've been anticipating to see them since ... forever.

 

Oh @ktcjdrama I'm surprised when they showed the scene at Yanjing the men speaking in Chinese were fluent and I'm super glad that the show didn't ask Rowoon to speak Chinese. For us who could understand the language it'd have ruined the viewing experience if it wasn't spoken fluent enough.

 

Edited October 13, 2021 by mademoiselle

[mademoiselle]

19 hours ago, JenL said:

Haha, whoa so much romance already in youth!  I mean those teens/ tweens already went on a full date to the festival and gave each other gifts and practically kissed through the CPR, which I agree was totally suss because they would not have known to do that (totally a reason for lip to lip contact) 

Hahahahahaha I thought there weren't enough for the youth romance, well, at least not shown to us because it felt really quick that they liked each other xD but there was a scene that I saw in preview that weren't shown in these two episodes, which is them playing chase-after-me at the pond. You should have checked out Hong Cheon Ki episode 1. The youth romance was cuter there and she actually kissed the boy on his lips, unlike CPR here. Hahaha.

19 hours ago, ktcjdrama said:

I like the pond, but I always wonder are the ponds in the palace compound always so deep??  I'm too lazy to name all the period dramas that have people drowning in the deep ponds.

I wondered the same too although I don't remember drowning in ponds in period dramas. I just know Empress Dowager killed a consort by pushing her into a well. I find palace a bit eerie because so many people died there.

15 hours ago, stroppyse said:

Haven't started watching this drama yet, btw. Park Eun Bin looks too pretty to be a guy, though. Not to mention, aren't they going to start wondering about lack of facial hair and why he(she) keeps refusing royal attendants to help her dress?

I think the plot of the story is about how people are beginning to doubt her.

14 hours ago, ktcjdrama said:

Okay, now I am confused. Do we address PEB character as him or her? Hahhaaa

I've the same problem. For now I'm calling her Dam. Hahaha.

6 hours ago, cess4evah said:

I am just a little worried for this one. You know knetz are merciless when it comes to canceling. I hope KBS will do necessary actions for this one. Yeonmo is really had a good start to begin with.

OMG. I really REALLY want to be able to watch this till the end! I don't think it'll be as serious as cancelling the whole show but he's like a main villain here so it'll be hard to edit him out. That said, his DUI incident was back in 2017 so hopefully knetz had forgotten about this.

 

Nearly forgot to post this... did you guys LOL when you saw this? Joseon's style facial sheet masks!

 

[abs-oluteM]

Oh gosh...I am crying my eyes out watching eps 2  ....eh...I thought this was going to be a light sageuk???? 

[ktcjdrama]

58 minutes ago, mademoiselle said:

I'm surprised when they showed the scene at Yanjing the men speaking in Chinese were fluent and I'm super glad that the show didn't ask Rowoon to speak Chinese. For us who could understand the language it'd have ruined the viewing experience if it wasn't spoken fluent enough.

Count me pleasantly surprised too! I could actually understand them! Either they have recruited Chinese actors, or they dubbed it. Either way, I'm grateful.

 

46 minutes ago, mademoiselle said:

I don't remember drowning in ponds in period dramas.

You tempted me to make a list, hahaha...

 

46 minutes ago, mademoiselle said:

I've the same problem. For now I'm calling her Dam. Hahaha.

That's what I've decided to do too 

 

47 minutes ago, mademoiselle said:

did you guys LOL when you saw this? Joseon's style facial sheet masks!

Are we going to research too when was facial sheet mask created? LOL

 

11 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

Oh gosh...I am crying my eyes out watching eps 2  ....eh...I thought this was going to be a light sageuk???? 

I thought I was the only one crying too much in ep.2... LOL...

[abs-oluteM]

@ktcjdrama @mademoiselleOne of the saddest parts was when the young eunuch who served Lee Hwi was crying for the dead Lee Hwi and crying for Dami when she went missing. The child actors in SK are really good. 

 

I can say that the premiere episodes for Affection are very good. I was a bit worried before this. But the way the backstory was told and how they set everything up was very interesting. One of the scenes that touched me was when Dami and her mother had that heart to heart. I sympathize with the Crown Princess ( this actress is so beautiful & elegant) who had to quietly mourn for the son that died and encourage the daughter who doesn't know of their true relationship. I am assuming Dami doesn't know she is the twin right?

 

Also I have to say I was so impressed with Park Eun Bin! I love how she brought arrogant Prince Lee Hwi to life. I can imagine that Lee Hwi like the uncle said has to overcompensate because she knows that her place as the CP is not secure, & more importantly she has to make sure no one knows she is a girl. So the father seems to favour the current queen's son right? 

 

Apart from that,  was happy to see our handsome Rowoon...I am glad he became a physician. So how does he become her tutor then? Actually it must have been traumatic that he witness his father killing the court maid. Was there any mention about what happened to his father? 

[JenL]

21 hours ago, ktcjdrama said:

I like the pond, but I always wonder are the ponds in the palace compound always so deep??  I'm too lazy to name all the period dramas that have people drowning in the deep ponds.

 

Hahaha should have been a lake. I always think of the lake in Kingdom where the evil people dumped the bodies after they murdered people....like it looked so beautiful on the surface and so evil under the water 

 

21 hours ago, ktcjdrama said:

It's a girl. She was the young Kang Kwon Joo in Voice 4. She is also in a weekend drama I'm watching that's airing now. @JenL yes, it's the same actress.

 

Oooh thank you! She had most of Episode 2 as well. She held the story together pretty well for the childhood of Lee Hwi! 

 

17 hours ago, stroppyse said:

Haven't started watching this drama yet, btw. Park Eun Bin looks too pretty to be a guy, though. 

 

She does have a cool streak in her attitude though. I feel like it's more passable as long as she doesn't have her hair down. She's super girly when the hair frames her face.

 

I do know some guys who don't have much facial hair though! I mean they get like one whisker and try to brag about having 'a beard'...this one particular guy who I'm thinking of is now a dad too. Granted, he doesn't look girly, but I guess it's possible not to have much to shave your entire life. 

 

5 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

2021.10.13 Jung Chae Yeon's agency MBK's Naver Update

More beautiful and colourful photos of Jung Chae Yeon → HERE

 

Aw I like Jung Chae Yeon. She's so pretty 

 

3 hours ago, Mizv said:

Anyone notice the bad edits or scene cut in episode 2.  The queen comforts Dami then 360 scene to the queen dying.  Had to replay the scene to make sure I didn’t miss anything. 

 

Yeah, I found this scene super choppy. Like it's weird that they didn't just put in a time jump there...like 3 months later etc. I felt like it needed some explaination. It's not like she died 2 hours later right? 

 

2 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

Oh @ktcjdrama I'm surprised when they showed the scene at Yanjing the men speaking in Chinese were fluent and I'm super glad that the show didn't ask Rowoon to speak Chinese. For us who could understand the language it'd have ruined the viewing experience if it wasn't spoken fluent enough.

 

YESSSS...I was really pleasantly surprised. They had correct accent and spoke very well too. There's nothing that breaks the illusion more than language. I hate when they say a character is fluent in English/ Chinese/ some European language and got top grades/ lived abroad for 10 years...and then the depiction doesn't match the description 

 

1 hour ago, ktcjdrama said:

Are we going to research too when was facial sheet mask created? LOL

 

I LOL'ed at the face masks too 

[mademoiselle]

1 hour ago, ktcjdrama said:

You tempted me to make a list, hahaha...

Hahaha will you?

1 hour ago, ktcjdrama said:

Are we going to research too when was facial sheet mask created? LOL

Bwahahahaha → https://skinlibrary.co.uk/blogs/librarian-edits/sheet-mask-101

1 hour ago, ktcjdrama said:

I thought I was the only one crying too much in ep.2.

No no, I was tearing up too. But maybe by JenL's definition it can't be counted as crying coz the tears didn't flow down my cheek hahaha.

14 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

@ktcjdrama @mademoiselleOne of the saddest parts was when the young eunuch who served Lee Hwi was crying for the dead Lee Hwi and crying for Dami when she went missing. The child actors in SK are really good. 

Oh the chubby child actor is really cute. I like him too.

14 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

I am assuming Dami doesn't know she is the twin right?

She knows. She overheard the mother's and grandfather's conversation and found out there and then the heart-to-heart talk, the mother mentioned she was carrying both her and Hwi.

14 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

So the father seems to favour the current queen's son right?

Yeah that's what the annoying Prince* said. This prince based on how he was addressed is Hwi/Dam's uncle so that makes him their father's younger brother I think.

14 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

So how does he become her tutor then? Actually it must have been traumatic that he witness his father killing the court maid. Was there any mention about what happened to his father?

Hmm didn't he promise Dam he wants to serve the Crown Prince after he grew up? I think that's somehow he was appointed (plus might be planted by her grandfather since Ji Woon is son of the man who works for the grandfather). Ji Woon's father continue to serve the court and the grandfather.

 

The child actress already knows how to cry in the way I like xDDD

source: mood_otd

Edited October 13, 2021 by mademoiselle

[mademoiselle]

source