''Hur Jun'' () is a South Korean television series about the
life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
of
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 ...
-era doctor
Heo Jun
Heo Jun (허준, 1539 – 9 October 1615) was a Korean physician. He was the royal chief physician of ''Naeuiwon'' during the reign of King Seonjo and King Gwanghae of the Joseon Dynasty in Korea.
Biography
Heo Jun was born in 1539 to an afflue ...
. The
period drama
A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...
was broadcast by
MBC from November 22, 1999 to June 27, 2000, and reached record-breaking viewership ratings of 64%.
Internationally, it aired on
Taiwan Television
Taiwan Television Enterprise, Ltd. (), commonly known as TTV and formerly known as Central Television and Voice of Taiwan, is the first terrestrial television station in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was established on April 28, 1962, and ...
in 2002 and Hong Kong's
TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB ...
in 2005, after the finale of ''
Dae Jang Geum
''Dae Jang Geum'' (; literally "The Great Jang-geum"), also known as ''Jewel in the Palace'', is a 2003 South Korean historical drama television series directed by Lee Byung-hoon. It first aired on MBC from September 15, 2003 to March 23, 20 ...
'' (which was also directed by ''Hur Jun'' director
Lee Byung-hoon
Lee Byung-hoon (born October 14, 1944) is a South Korean television director and producer. Lee is best known for directing period dramas, notably ''500 Years of Joseon'' (1983-1990), '' Hur Jun'' (1999) and ''Dae Jang Geum'' (2003).
Career
Lee ...
). Because of the similarities between the protagonists of both shows, ''Hur Jun'' has often been called the male version of ''Dae Jang Geum''. It aired in Thailand on
Channel 3 in 2006.
Synopsis
The story is set in
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 ...
, primarily during the reign of
King Seonjo
Seonjo of Joseon (26 November 1552 – 16 March 1608) was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1567 to 1608. He was known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign. However, politi ...
, 50 years after the death of
Jang Geum
Jang-geum (fl. early 16th century) was reputedly the first female Royal Physician in Korean history. She was mentioned 10 times in the ''Annals of the Joseon Dynasty''. It is known that King Jungjong was pleased with Jang-geum's medical knowled ...
(reputedly the first female doctor in Joseon).
Hur Jun was the son of a devon ("
untouchable") mother. Due to his mother's social position, he was also considered sangnom under Joseon law at the time, even though his father was from the ruling
caste
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
and held office as a local
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
. As a result, he faced much discrimination, which caused him to lose focus and direction, and eventually led him to participate in smuggling operations. At this time, Hur Jun became familiar with Da-hee, an upper-class lady who was in exile. Her father was branded a traitor and died in exile. Hur Jun sympathized with her and handled all of her father's funeral affairs. Not long after that, Hur Jun's smuggling activities were discovered, and his life was saved by his erstwhile uncaring father, who also rescued his mother and Da-hee, and smuggled them out of their town. Hur Jun and Da-hee eventually got married and moved to Saneum, in
Gyeongsang
Gyeongsang ( ko, 경상도, ''Gyeongsang-do''; ) was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon dynasty. Gyeongsang was located in the southeast of Korea.
The provincial capital was Daegu. The region was the birthplace of the Kingdom ...
Province.
Once, Hur Jun's mother fell ill, and he sought the help of a famous local physician, Yoo Ui-tae. Hur Jun became interested in medicine and became Yoo Ui-tae's pupil to study it. He proved to have an aptitude for medicine, and being very studious, he progressed very quickly. His studies attracted the attention of Ye-jin, an orphaned lady who lived with Yoo Ui-tae and began to mentor Hur Jun in the area of medicinal usage.
Hur Jun's medicinal prowess continued to grow, but he still had no chance to practice. He received his first patient when an elderly couple brought their unconscious daughter to his house. Apparently, she tried to hang herself and had almost died. Hur Jun, with some innovative remedies, managed to revive her, but refused to accept payment for his services. The couple decided instead to spread news of their benefactor's deeds to their friends and neighbors. This unwittingly brought Hur Jun many impoverished patients who had heard he was both skilled and offering free examinations.
Yoo Ui-tae was initially angry because he thought Hur Jun had not acquired sufficient medical knowledge to treat patients in the first place and was only making use of his own name to earn some money quickly. Nonetheless, Yoo Ui-tae investigated Hur Jun's diagnoses and prescriptions for each of the poor patients he treated, and realized Hur Jun was indeed competent and correct in his practice. He was further pleased that Hur Jun had not profited at all from the poor patients. To reward Hur Jun, Yoo Ui-tae placed him in charge of the local drug store.
Later, Hur Jun received the opportunity to treat the wife of a high-ranking gentry. She had suffered a stroke, which rendered her paralyzed and bedridden. All of the physicians who had examined her had concluded that her condition was hopeless, but Hur Jun managed to cure her completely. This earned the respect of the gentry, who wrote a letter of recommendation for Hur Jun to join the Imperial Hospital; the letter was written to help Hur Jun circumvent the rigorous testing normally needed to enter. This angered Yoo Ui-tae, a strict traditionalist who saw this as a grave ethical lapse in judgement to use personal connections to bypass the exam system.
Meanwhile, two other doctors began to mentor Hur Jun, who eventually decided to join the medical examination in
Hanyang Hanyang may refer to:
China
*Hanyang District (漢陽區, 汉阳区, ''Hànyáng Qū''), Wuhan, Hubei
:*Hanyang Arsenal (漢陽兵工廠), founded in 1891 as one of the oldest modern arsenals in Chinese history
:*Hanyang 88 (漢陽八八式步槍), ...
(modern day
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
). When Hur Jun arrived in Hanyang, he failed to join the examination because of his decision to treat a critically ill patient. This increased his popularity, and also enabled the re-acceptance of Yoo Ui-tae. Conversely, Yoo Ui-tae's own son, Yoo Do-ji, who had refused to treat the patient, placed first in the examination. Yoo Ui-tae rebuked his son for his lack of compassion for patients and using his medical skills to advance his political aspirations. Yoo Do-ji was unrepentant and his father subsequently disowned him.
Not long after that, Yoo Ui-tae became terminally ill with stomach cancer. He committed suicide and left his body to Hur Jun to dissect it and increase his understanding of anatomy and physiology. This greatly advanced Hur Jun's medical knowledge and made him even more committed to medicine, and in an examination for entry into the Imperial Hospital he placed first and was granted entry.
In the Imperial Hospital, Hur Jun met his mentor's son, Yoo Do-ji, who had been diligently and unscrupulously progressing through the ranks. Hur Jun also met the Chief Imperial Doctor, Yeong, who lost in an acupuncture competition to Hur Jun's mentor 20 years ago. Knowing how Hur Jun was connected to Yoo Ui-tae, Yeong placed Hur Jun in an unimportant department in the Hyeminseo Hospital.
Upon his arrival at Hyeminseo, Hur Jun encountered Ye-jin (who worked there as a nurse). Ye-jin was secretly in love with him, but their relationship would always be solely platonic.
During this time, Yeong restricted Hur Jun's career in every way possible, which ended when the brother of the King's favorite concubine suffered from stomach cancer. The doctors in the Imperial Hospital exhausted all possibilities in treating the patient, but to no avail. Hur Jun successfully treated the patient in five days before Yeong could. This ended the restrictions imposed by Yeong.
During the 22nd year of Seonjo's reign, a national epidemic occurred. An officer who had arrested Hur Jun some time ago was transferred to the palace. Hur Jun, though troubled, went to the epidemic areas to perform research for a cure, which he found. Upon his return, Hur Jun surrendered himself to the arresting officer, and was sentenced to banishment.
Just when he was preparing to leave, the King's concubine, Kim Gong-bin, fell critically ill with heart problems and none of the Imperial Doctors could cure her. In desperation, the King recalled Hur Jun, who cured Kim Gong-bin. To reward Hur Jun, the King absolved him of all crimes and wrongdoings, and assigned him to be the personal physician for Gong-bin.
However, the King began to favor another concubine, and Gong-bin's condition deteriorated. Upon her death, Hur Jun decided to travel through the country for herbs and more uncured illnesses for several years. On his return, he hid in the imperial medical library to research and refine his skills.
In the meantime, Do-ji was steadily moving up through the ranks in the Imperial Hospital, and was prepared to take over the post of Chief Imperial Doctor. However, a prince of whom he was in charge developed a strange and serious illness. Not wishing to admit his mistake, which could have cost him his promotion, Do-ji decided to assign the prince to Hur Jun and let him take the blame. However, Hur Jun successfully treated the prince, for which the grateful King promoted Hur Jun to 3rd grade officer and Chief Imperial Doctor.
A war soon broke out as the
Japanese invaded Joseon. Hur Jun was credited for saving all the medical annals when the imperial court went into exile, and for reorganizing the Imperial Medical Annals after the war was over, for which Seonjo promoted him to first grade officer. A few years later, Hur Jun recommended to Seonjo to make all the Imperial Medical Annals available to the public, in an effort to make sure that all Joseon citizens could prevent illnesses before they happen.
Later, an imperial battle between Prince Yeongchang and
Prince Gwanghaegun began, and at first, Hur Jun refused to participate, reasoning that doctors should only treat patients and not get involved in politics. The conflict was ultimately won by Gwanghaegun, who ascended to the throne after Seonjo's death in 1608. Once installed as King, Gwanghaegun immediately branded Hur Jun a traitor since the law stated that if the king were to die of illness, the Chief Imperial Doctor would be responsible. However, Gwanghaegun thought that Hur Jun was a respectable doctor who had a lot of accomplishments including saving the queen's life, but since he could not go against the law, he lightened the punishment, and sentenced Hur Jun to exile in the Southern part of the country.
In the south, Hur Jun, with the help of imperial doctors who smuggled medical books to him, published a medical book, ''
Dongui Bogam
The ''Dongui Bogam'' (동의보감 東醫寶鑑) is a Korean book compiled by the royal physician, Heo Jun (1539 – 1615) and was first published in 1613 during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. The title literally translates as "A Precious Mirror ...
'' (Mirror of Eastern Medicine), in 1610; it is considered a classic among Oriental medicine literature.
In 1611, Gwanghaegun issued an imperial pardon to Hur Jun, and ordered him to return to the palace. This time, Hur Jun refused, and returned to his hometown to treat patients. At this time, a national plague epidemic began, and Hur Jun was called back to the Imperial Hospital to research a cure. The research was successful, but exhausted Hur Jun, who unknowingly contracted the plague himself and died in 1615, amid national mourning.
Cast
*
Jun Kwang-ryul
Jun Kwang-ryul () is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series '' Hur Jun'', ''Jumong'' and '' King of Baking, Kim Takgu''.
Filmography
Television series
*''Jinxed at First'' (2022)
*'' Kingmaker: The Chan ...
as
Hur Jun
*
Hwang Soo-jung
Hwang Soo-jung (; born December 24, 1972) is a South Korean actress. After her acting debut in 1994, Hwang became famous for her role as the quiet and classic beauty Lady Ye-jin in the tremendously popular period drama series '' Hur Jun'' in 199 ...
as Lady Ye-jin
*
Lee Soon-jae
Lee Soon-jae (; born November 16, 1934) is a South Korean actor. He has had a prolific career on the small and big screen spanning over six decades, and was given a second-class Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit for his work as an actor.
Early an ...
as Yoo Ui-tae
*
Kim Byung-se
Kim Byung-se (born September 26, 1962) is a South Korean actor. Kim attended California State University Long Beach. Kim is an avid golfer and can be often seen golfing on his Instagram. Him and his wife have two dogs.
Filmography
Film
...
as Yoo Do-ji, Ui-tae's son
*Jung Wook as Kim Min-se
*
Jung Hye-sun
Jung Hye-sun (born Jung Young-ja; February 21, 1942) is a South Korean actress. Jung made her entertainment debut as a voice actress with the KBS Daejeon
Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 m ...
as Mrs. Son, Hur Jun's mother
*Hong Choong-min as Lee Da-hee, Hur Jun's wife
*
Joo Hyun
Joo Hyun (; born Joo Il-choon, ; March 1, 1943) is a South Korean actor.
Biography
Joo graduated from Konkuk University in Seoul, where he majored in political science and diplomacy. He began his acting career after being selected through a ...
as Heo Ryun, Hur Jun's father
*Jo Kyung-hwan as Yang Ye-soo
*Park Chan-hwan as
King Seonjo
Seonjo of Joseon (26 November 1552 – 16 March 1608) was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1567 to 1608. He was known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign. However, politi ...
*
Jang Seo-hee
Jang Seo-hee (born January 5, 1972) is a South Korean actress. She has starred in numerous television dramas, including ''Miss Mermaid'' (2002) and '' Temptation of Wife'' (2008), which were both extremely successful in the ratings and earned J ...
as Kim ''
In-bin''
*
Park Joo-mi
Park Joo-mi (born October 5, 1972) is a South Korean actress.
Career
Park made her entertainment debut as an Asiana Airlines model, then began acting in 1991, starring in television dramas such as ''Beautiful Seoul'' (1999) and ''Feels Good'' ...
as Kim ''
Gong-bin''
*
Kim Seung-soo
Kim Seung-Soo (born July 25, 1971) is a South Korean actor.
Filmography
Television series
* '' Hur Jun'' (1999)
* ''Bad Boys'' (2000)
* ''Rookie'' (2000)
* ''Cool'' (2001)
* '' Mina'' (2001)
* ''Fox and Cotton Candy'' (2001)
* ''Remember' ...
as
Prince Gwanghae
*
Im Hyun-sik
Im Hyun-sik (born December 31, 1945) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading role in the family drama ''Three Families Under One Roof'' (1986-1993), and supporting roles in the period epics '' Hur Jun'' (1999) and ''Dae Jang G ...
as Im Oh-geun, Ui-tae's secretary
*
Park Jung-soo as Mrs. Oh, Ui-tae's wife
*
Sung Hyun-ah
Sung Hyun-ah (born July 23, 1975) is a South Korean actress and former Miss Korea.
Biography
Sung Hyun-ah placed second runner-up (or third place) at the Miss Korea pageant in 1994. She was the country's representative at the 1994 Miss Internati ...
as medicine lady So-hyun
*Lee Hee-do as Goo Il-seo
*
Choi Ran
Choi Ran (born November 30, 1960) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 1979 and became best known as a supporting actress in television dramas, notably those written by the Hong sisters
Hong Jung-eun (born 1974) and Hon ...
as Hong-choon
*Han In-soo as Ahn Kwang-ik
*Kim Eun-soo as So-bi
*Im Dae-ho as Yang-tae
*
Im Ho
Im Ho (; born January 27, 1970) is a South Korean actor, best known for his roles mostly as an emperor in historical dramas. His notable roles were included in the television series ''Jang Hui-bin'' (1995) and ''Dae Jang Geum'' (2003).
Personal ...
as Lee Jung-myung
*
Yeo Hyun-soo
Yeo Hyun-soo (born September 21, 1982) is a South Korean actor.
Filmography
Film
Television series
Variety show
Awards
References
External links
*
*
*
*
1982 births
Living people
South Korean male film acto ...
as Kim Sang-hwa
*
Kwak Jung-wook
Kwak Jung-wook (born 12 June 1990) is a South Korean actor.
Personal life
On January 24, 2022, it was confirmed that Kwak and Park Se-young are getting married in mid-February, and the wedding ceremony would be held privately in Seoul. They ...
as young Sang-hwa
*
Maeng Sang-hoon
Maeng Sang-hoon (born October 29, 1960) is a South Korean actor from the Sinchang Maeng clan
Sinchang Maeng clan () is one of the Korean clans. Their Bon-gwan was in Asan, South Chungcheong Province. According to the research held in 2000, th ...
as Kim Man-kyung
*
Byun Hee-bong
Byun Hee-bong (born Byun In-chul; June 8, 1942) is a South Korean actor.
Career
Byun In-chul was born in Jangseong County, South Jeolla Province, and attended Salesian High School in Gwangju. He took up law at Chosun University before dropping ...
as Sung In-chul
*Park Young-ji as Jung Sung-pil
*Lee Jae-po as Park Man-joo
*
Kim Hae-sook
Kim Hae-sook (; born December 30, 1955) is a South Korean actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in ...
as Ham Ahn's wife
*Cha Kwang-soo as Sung Myung-hoon
*Uhm Yoo-shin as Deok-geum
*Lee Hyun-kyung as Se-hee
*Lee Joo-hee as Chae-sun
*Oh Tae-kyung as Heo-gyum
*Choi Eun-joo as Uhn Nyeon-yi
*Lee Sook as Ha-dong's wife
*Kwon Yeon-woo as Soo-yeon
*
Jung Ho-keun
Jung Ho-keun (born September 28, 1964) is a South Korean actor and shaman, who mostly was a supporting actor in television dramas.
In 2008, Jung played the leading role in a stage musical production of ''Hi Franceska'', adapted from ''Hello Fran ...
as Jung Tae-eun
*Jung Myung-hwan as Bae Chun-soo
*Jo Hyun-sook as Sook-jung
*Joo Min-joon as Kim Byung-jo
*Park Jong-kwan as Jung-jak
*Moon Hee-won as Song Hak-gyu
*Jung Seung-ho as Jang Hak-do
*Lee Young-ho as Gong-bin's younger brother
*Kim Joo-young as Guhwang Kwan Chal Sa
*Kim Young-min as Byung-ja
Reception
When ''Hur Jun'' was broadcast in South Korea, it became a strong commercial success.
When TVB bought ''Hur Jun'', the network had great hopes for its success, as it was a Korean drama aired immediately after the finale of ''Dae Jang Geum'', which had a successful run. However, viewers were not very receptive to the show, and its ratings were considerably lower than ''Dae Jang Geum''.
This has caused concern that the
Korean Wave is ending, but many stated that the show had flat plots and generally uninteresting premise. Many cast members from ''Dae Jang Geum'' had been cast in ''Hur Jun'' in considerably different roles (e.g. the Emperor as a law enforcement official and Jang Geum's mentor as a palace chef), which earned a negative reaction from viewers outside of South Korea who were unaware that ''Hur Jun'' preceded ''Dae Jang Geum'' by a number of years.
Remake
A remake, titled ''
Hur Jun, The Original Story
''Hur Jun, The Original Story'' () is a 2013 South Korean television series about the life of Heo Jun, a commoner who rose up the ranks to become a royal physician in Joseon (he used the pen name "Guam"). It aired on MBC from March 18 to Septembe ...
'' (in Korean, 구암 허준 ''Guam Heo Jun''), was produced in 2013 and aired daily. Late actor
Kim Joo-hyuk
Kim Joo-hyuk (3 October 1972 – 30 October 2017) was a South Korean actor. He was known for his leading roles in the films ''My Wife Got Married'' (2008), ''The Servant (2010 film), The Servant'' (2010), and ''Yourself and Yours'' (2016), his s ...
portrayed the titular doctor; Kim's late father
Kim Mu-saeng
Kim Mu-saeng (16 March 1943 – 16 April 2005) was a South Korean actor.
Early life and education
Kim was born in the town of Daesan, Seosan in March 1943. He studied at Dongguk University in Seoul, beginning his career as a voice actor for Ton ...
had the role in 1975.
References
External links
''Hur Jun'' official MBC website (archived)
''Hur Jun''at
TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB ...
* {{hancinema film, Heo_Jun, Hur Jun
1999 South Korean television series debuts
2000 South Korean television series endings
1990s South Korean television series
2000s South Korean television series
Korean-language television shows
South Korean historical television series
South Korean medical television series
MBC TV television dramas
TVB dramas
Ho Chun
Television shows written by Choi Wan-kyu