''Masquerade'' (; lit. ''Gwanghae: The Man Who Became King'') is a 2012 South Korean period drama film starring Lee Byung-hun in dual role as the bizarre King

Gwanghae ''Masquerade'' (; lit. ''Gwanghae: The Man Who Became King'') is a 2012 South Korean period drama film starring Lee Byung-hun in dual role as the bizarre King Gwanghaegun of Joseon, Gwanghae and the humble acrobat Ha-sun, who stands in for the mona ...

and the humble acrobat Ha-sun, who stands in for the monarch when he faces the threat of being poisoned. With 12.3 million tickets sold, ''Masquerade'' is the ninth highest-grossing South Korean film. Also, it swept the

49th Grand Bell Awards The 49th Grand Bell Awards (), also known as Daejong Film Awards, are determined and presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards were first presented in 1962 and have ...

, winning in 15 categories, including Best Film, Director, Screenplay and Actor.

Plot

The confusing and conspiratorial 15th ruler of Korea's Joseon Dynasty King Gwang-hae ( Lee Byung-hun) orders his Secretary of Defense, Heo Gyun ( Ryu Seung-ryong), to find him a double in order to avoid the constant threat of assassination. In constant fear of being poisoned, the king becomes obnoxious and threatens everyone around him, including the kitchen maids. Heo gyun finds Ha-sun, a lowly acrobat and bawdy joker who looks remarkably like the king to replace the king occasionally whenever the king is out of the palace. In few days, just as feared, King Gwang-hae is drugged with Poppy by his favorite consort, conspired by the law minister. Heo Gyun proposes Ha-sun fill the role as the king until King Gwang-hae fully recovers and grooms Ha-sun to look and act like the king. While assuming the role of the king at his first official appearance, Ha-sun begins to ponder the intricacies of the problems debated in his court. Being fundamentally more humanitarian than King Gwang-hae, Ha-sun's affection and appreciation of even the most minor servants slowly changes morale in the palace for the better. Over time he finds his voice and takes control of governing the country with real insight and fair judgments. Even Heo Gyun and the Chief Eunuch are moved by Ha-sun's genuine concern for the people, and realize he is a better ruler than Gwang-hae. Ha-sun even fights for the respect of the Queen's safety and protects her and her brother from death sentences. However, his chief opposition, Park Chung-seo ( Kim Myung-gon), notices the sudden shift in the king's behavior and starts to ask questions. The queen (

Han Hyo-joo Han Hyo-joo (Korean: 한효주; born February 22, 1987) is a South Korean film and television actress, model and singer. She is best known for her leading roles in television series such as ''Heaven & Earth'' (2007), ''Iljimae'' (2008), '' Brill ...

) is also conflicted between the real king and the fake king's secret. The Chief Eunuch and the Secretary of Defense ask Ha-sun to leave the country for good. The king was again brought back to the throne to punish the revolts.

Cast

* Lee Byung-hun as King Gwanghae/Ha-sun * Ryu Seung-ryong as Chief Secretary Heo Gyun *

as Queen Consort Yoo * Jang Gwang as Chief Eunuch Jo *

Kim In-kwon Kim In-kwon (born January 20, 1978) is a South Korean actor. Known for playing memorable supporting characters, he starred in his first leading role in the sleeper hit '' He's on Duty'' (2010), followed by '' Almost Che'' (2012), '' Born to Sing' ...

as Captain Do, the king's personal bodyguard *

Shim Eun-kyung Shim Eun-kyung (born May 31, 1994) is a South Korean actress. She has starred in the box office hits '' Sunny'' (2011), ''Miss Granny'' (2014) and ''Fabricated City'' (2017), as well as television series ''Naeil's Cantabile'' (2014). In 2020, s ...

as Sa-wol, a food taster * Park Ji-a as Chief Court Lady Han * Shin Jung-geun as Lee Jung-rang * Kim Myung-gon as Interior Minister Park Chung-seo *Jeon Guk-hyang as Court Lady Jeong *Yang Joon-mo as Kim Joo-seo *Moon Chang-gil as the Left state councillors * Jeon Bae-soo as Hyung-pan *Do Yong-goo as Byung-pan *Yoo Soon-woong as Ho-pan *Lee Yang-hee as Gong-pan *Park Kyung-geun as a musician *Shin Woon-sup as Ye-pan *Kim Jong-goo as Gwanghae's royal physician * Lee El as Lady Ahn Gae-shi * Lee Joon-hyuk as a Lord *Seo Jin-won as General Overseer Do *Kim Hye-won as Courtesan Pearl *Kim Hak-joon as Yoo Jung-ho, Queen Yoo's father *Kim Hye-hwa as Plum Blossom Pot servant *Kim Seung-hoon as Yi-bang * Lee Bong-ryun as court woman 1 *Kwon Bang-hyun as court woman 2 *Lee Ran-hee as court woman 3 *Lee Soo-yong as Kal Ja-gook *Kim Gil-dong as a Military officer * Kwon Eun-soo as Gwanghae's court lady *Seo Eun-jung as Gwanghae's court lady *Joo Young-ho as Gwanghae's astrologist 1 *Jo Sung-hee as Gwanghae's astrologist 2 *Min Jung-gi as Gwanghae's eunuch *Kim Bi-bi as Queen Yoo's maid

Background

Historically,

, the 15th

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

king from 1608 to 1623, attempted diplomacy through neutrality as China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) set their sights on the country. He also tried his hand at other reforms and reconstruction to try to make the nation prosperous, including an emphasis on the restoration of documents, but met with opposition and was later deposed and exiled to Jeju Island. Since he was deposed in a coup by the Westerners faction, historians did not give him a temple name like Taejo or Sejong. The premise behind the film is an interpretation of the missing 15 days in the Seungjeongwon ilgi or Journal of the Royal Secretariat during Gwanghae's reign—designated by his 1616 journal entry, "One must not record that which he wishes to hide." That premise is entirely fictitious in nature. This is because * The Journal in itself is largely incomplete due to records being destroyed several times and reproductions of the destroyed documents also eventually being destroyed, leading to large missing chunks of records or questionable reproductions that may or may not have been edited every subsequent reproduction. * Relevant records written during the reign of Gwanghae are also largely missing. * Even if the Journal were complete, it is highly unlikely the Secretariat would delete or omit records, even by order of the King due to protocol. In fact, due to that same protocol the only thing that would happen is that after having received word or having witnessed a certain incident and subsequently ordered to not record it, the Secretariat would record the incident in full and finish the entry stating the King ordered him not to do so. * A prime example of the above would be when

Taejong Taejong of Joseon (13 June 1367 – 8 June 1422), personal name Yi Bang-won ( Korean: 이방원; Hanja: 李芳遠), was the third ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea and the father of King Sejong the Great. Before ascending to the throne, ...

fell off his horse when hunting one day and asked the Secretariat to not record this in the journal. The Secretariat however went and recorded the incident and ended his entry with 'and His Majesty asked that the Secretariat not record this'

Production

Announced in early 2011 and initially titled ''I am the King of Joseon'', '' The Prince and the Pauper''-inspired historical film was to be directed by

Kang Woo-suk Kang Woo-suk (born November 10, 1960 in Gyeongsan) is a South Korean film producer and director. He has often been called the most powerful man in Korean cinema, topping Cine21 magazine's list of '50 Most Powerful Men in Korean Cinema' for seven ...

and star Jung Jae-young as Gwanghae/Ha-sun and

Yoo Jun-sang Yoo Jun-sang (born November 28, 1969) is a South Korean actor and singer. Yoo is best known for starring in the Hong Sang-soo films '' Ha Ha Ha'' (2010), ''The Day He Arrives'' (2011), and ''In Another Country'' (2012). He was also praised for h ...

as Heo Gyun, but Kang left the project over differences of opinion with production firm CJ E&M. In November 2011, they were replaced by director Choo Chang-min and actor Lee Byung-hun in his first ever historical film. A month later,

was cast as Lee's co-star. The film was shot at the Namyangju Studio Complex in Gyeonggi Province.

Reception

Called by one review as one of the best South Korean costume dramas in years, the film drew praise for being beautifully written and emotionally involving, as well as for its accomplished acting, sure-handed direction, ambitious scale and commercial appeal. It became the second biggest hit film at the 2012 South Korean box office, attracting 8.2 million admissions in 25 days of release, then 9,091,633 after 31 days. On its 38th day, it became the 7th film in Korean cinema history to surpass the 10 million-milestone attendance. At the end of its theatrical run it was listed as Korea's all-time third highest-grossing film with 12,319,542 tickets sold nationwide (as of April 2015, it is currently sixth).

Adaptations

In theater

The film was adapted into a stage play which ran at Seoul's Dongsoong Art Center from February 23 to April 21, 2013. It was produced by Lee Byung-hun's agency BH Entertainment. Bae Soo-bin and musical theatre actor Kim Do-hyun alternated in the lead role of Gwanghae. As part of the promotion for the play, Lee, Bae and Kim were featured in a photo spread in the inaugural issue of '' Grazia Korea'', published on February 20, 2013.

In television

Cable network tvN acquired rights for a television adaptation, starring Yeo Jin-goo. Developed for the station by Studio Dragon and produced by GT:st, it is to air in January 2019.

In other media

South Korean rapper

Agust D ''Agust D'' is the debut mixtape by South Korean rapper Agust D, better known as Suga of boy-band BTS. It was released on August 15, 2016, by Big Hit Entertainment on SoundCloud. Background and development Prior to launching his career as th ...

draws from the film in his 2020 track Daechwita. The lyrics reference King Gwanghae, as well as rising through the ranks from poverty and servitude to become a king, while in the accompanying music video Agust D portrays a scarred Joseon tyrant, confronted by a modern doppleganger.

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * * * *
''Masquerade''
at

Naver Naver (Hangul: 네이버) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. It was launched in 1999 as the first web portal in South Korea to develop and use its own search engine. It was also the world's first operator to in ...

{{Paeksang Arts Award Best Film 2012 films 2010s historical drama films South Korean historical drama films South Korean political drama films Films about politicians Films set in the 15th century Films set in the Joseon dynasty Films set in Seoul Films directed by Choo Chang-min Best Picture Grand Bell Award winners 2010s Korean-language films CJ Entertainment films Gwanghaegun of Joseon 2012 drama films 2010s political drama films 2010s South Korean films