''Hwang Jini'' () is a

Korean drama Korean dramas (; RR: ''Han-guk deurama''), more popularly known as K-dramas, are television series in the Korean language, made in South Korea. They are popular worldwide, especially in Asia, partially due to the spread of Korean popular cultu ...

broadcast on

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

in 2006. The series was based on the tumultuous life of

Hwang Jini Hwang Jini or Hwang Jin-Yi (; 1506 – 1560), also known by her gisaeng name Myeongwol ("bright moon", ), was one of the most famous gisaeng of the Joseon Dynasty. She lived during the reign of King Jungjong. She was noted for her exceptional ...

, who lived in 16th-century

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 ...

and became the most famous

gisaeng Kisaeng (Hangul: 기생, Hanja: 妓生, RR: ''Gisaeng''), also called ginyeo (Hangul: 기녀, Hanja: 妓女), were women from outcast or slave families who were trained to be courtesans, providing artistic entertainment and conversation to men ...

in Korean history. Lead actress

Song Hye Kyo Song Hye-kyo (; born November 22, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She gained international popularity through her leading roles in the television dramas ''Autumn in My Heart'' (2000), '' All In'' (2003), ''Full House'' (2004), ''That Winter, th ...

won the Grand Prize (Daesang) at the 2006 KBS Drama Awards for her performance. The series was popular in the ratings, giving rise to a boom in gisaeng-themed entertainment—musicals, TV dramas, films, even cartoons.

Synopsis

Hwang Jini is the illegitimate child of a nobleman and Hyun Geum, a blind

. A gisaeng is a singer, dancer and hostess who lives a life catering to the whims of the

yangban The ''yangban'' () were part of the traditional ruling class or gentry of dynastic Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The ''yangban'' were mainly composed of highly educated civil servants and military officers—landed or unlanded aristocrats ...

elite. Fearing that her young daughter will follow in her footsteps and determined that she should become more than a mere plaything for men, Hyun Geum sends Jini to a remote mountain temple to be cared for by an old monk. But one day, the seven-year-old Jini slips away from the temple and comes across a gisaeng performance, and is drawn to her destiny. Enraptured by the beauty of their singing and dancing, Jini runs away and enters the gibang, or gisaeng house, where she meets her mother for the first time. They discover that she displays an outstanding talent for dancing and playing the

geomungo The geomungo (also spelled ''komungo'' or ''kŏmun'go'') or ''hyeongeum'' (literally "black zither", also spelled ''hyongum'' or ''hyŏn'gŭm'') is a traditional Korean plucked zither with both bridges and frets. ''Geomungo'' is a representative ...

. From that day on, Jini trains to become

's top gisaeng. She studies under Im Baek-moo, one of the best court dancers in the kingdom and a harsh and manipulative teacher. Jini then falls in love with Kim Eun-ho, son of a powerful nobleman, but his parents refuse to accept the relationship due to the difference in their social status. Jini's first love ends in tragedy when in a futile attempt to elope with her, Eun-ho catches

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

and dies. Unable to forget Eun-ho, Jini no longer has any desire to dance; for the next five years, she spends her days making music and conversation with the middle class (becoming enormously wealthy in the process) and her nights drowning herself in misery and alcohol. While drunk, she decides to kill herself, but the poet Kim Jung-han saves her. Thus, Jini begins a troubled love affair with Jung-han. Meanwhile, she continually rejects Byuk Kye-soo, a royal relative who is obsessed with her, and faces off against Bu-yong, her rival in dancing and love. At Jini's side in times of need is her devoted bodyguard Yi-saeng. Jini later finds out that Baek-moo's scheming had a hand in Eun-ho's death, and jealousy and bitterness build between the two as they prepare for what turns out to be a fateful performance of the crane dance. In an age when women were treated as if they were invisible, Hwang Jini becomes a celebrated

-singer-dancer-poet of the 16th century. Her beauty, wit and intellect propels her from obscurity into the company of

's most powerful aristocrats, eventually winning the acclaim of King Jungjong and his court. In a relentlessly class-based society, Hwang Jini was a woman ahead of her time, who pursued art relentlessly and saw life in beautiful colors. She was both revered and reviled in her lifetime, and left her mark in history.

Cast

Main

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 young Hwang Jini *

Kim Young-ae Kim Young-ae (; 21 April 1951 – 9 April 2017) was a South Korean actress. Career Kim Young-ae began her acting career when she joined MBC's 3rd Open Recruitment in 1971. She made her acting debut in the TV police procedural ''Chief Inspe ...

as Im Baek-moo *

Wang Bit-na Wang Bit-na (born April 15, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for playing Bu-yong in the popular historical drama ''Hwang Jini''. Filmography Television series Film Awards * 2018 Korea Drama Awards: Top Excellence Award, A ...

as Bu-yong *

Kim Jaewon Kim JaewonThe actor indicates a preference of spelling his name "Jaewon" (without a space or hyphen) on hiofficial website (born 18 February 1981) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for the television dramas ''Romance'' (2002), '' Listen t ...

as Kim Jung-han *

Ryu Tae-joon Ryu Tae-joon (born December 7, 1971) is a South Korean actor and singer. Career In April 2017, Ryu signed with new management agency Coridel Entertainment. Personal life In March 2022, Ryu announced that he had been married to his non-ce ...

as Byuk Kye-soo *

Jang Keun-suk Jang Keun-suk () is a South Korean actor and singer. He is best known for starring in the Korean television dramas ''Beethoven Virus'' (2008), '' You're Beautiful'' (2009), ''Mary Stayed Out All Night'' (2010), '' Love Rain'' (2012), ''Pretty M ...

as Kim Eun-ho *

Jeon Mi-seon Jeon Mi-seon (December 7, 1970 – June 29, 2019) was a South Korean actress. Though best known as a supporting actress in films and television series such as '' Memories of Murder'' (2003), ''Moon Embracing the Sun'' (2012), and ''Hide and See ...

as Jin Hyun-geum, Hwang Jini's mother * Lee Shi-hwan as Yi-saeng *

Kim Bo-yeon Kim Bo-yeon (born Kim Bok-soon on December 31, 1957) is a South Korean actress. Career Kim Bo-yeon graduated from Anyang High School of Arts, and on the principal's recommendation, she was cast in her acting debut, the film ''A Season of Bloom ...

as Mae-hyang

Supporting

Jo Sung-ha Jo Sung-ha (; born August 8, 1966) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in '' The Yellow Sea'' (2010), '' Helpless'' (2012), and ''Korean Peninsula'' (2012) and ''The K2 ''The K2'' () is a 2016 South Korean tele ...

as Eom-soo *

Lee In-hye Lee In-hye ( 이인혜; born 21 February 1981) is a South Korean actress. Career Lee started her career as child actress in 1992 at her age 11 years old, and appeared on a lot of TV dramas like ''The King's Path'' (1998, MBC), ''Spread Your Dr ...

as Gae-ddong/Danshim *Jung Kyung-soon as Geum-choon *Song Yi-woo as Aeng-moo *Yoo Yeon-ji as Seom-seom *Kim Sun-hwa as Gae-ddong's maid *Jo Ye-na as Hyang-rim *Mi Se as Ae-rang *Lee Ji-eun as Geum-hong *Hwang Eun-ha as Han Yeon-woo/Wol-hyang *Hyun Seok as Sung Ik-hwan *

Seo Hyun-jin Seo Hyun-jin (born February 27, 1985) is a South Korean actress and singer. Seo debuted as the main vocalist of South Korean girl group M.I.L.K. in 2001 and continued until the group disbanded in 2003. She contributed songs as a solo artist af ...

as Jung Ka-eun *Kim Seung-wook as Jang Soo-man *Lee Dae-ro as Joo-ji *Jo Jae-wan as Jang-yi *Lee Hee-do as Kim Cham-pan *Ahn Hae-sook as Lady Cha *Moon Chun-shik as Deok-pal *Jung Sang-hoon as Sang-soo *Choi Sang-hoon as Jung-chook *Yoon Jae-rang as Yeon-hong *Park Kwi-soon as Sang Jwa-seung *

Son Seong-yoon Son Seong-yoon (Korean: 손성윤, born Kim Min-jung on 24 August 1984) is a South Korean actress. She is alumni of Kyonggi University, Department of Multimedia and Imaging. She made her acting debut in 2006, since then, she has appeared in num ...

as Gisaeng * Lee In

Production

The shooting schedule for ''Hwang Jini'' was particularly arduous for a television series, sometimes going on for seven days without a break. In addition to such popular younger actors as

Ha Ji-won Jeon Hae-rim (; born 28 June 1978), better known by her stage name Ha Ji-won () is a South Korean actress. She is best known for the historical dramas '' Damo'' (2003), '' Hwang Jini'' (2006), and '' Empress Ki'' (2013), as well as the melodra ...

and

, the series featured many noted veteran Korean actors, including

and

. The costumes (designed by Kim Hye-sun), dances and music in the series were noted for their flamboyance and sensuality.

Ratings

Source
TNS Media Korea

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hwang Jini (TV series) Korean Broadcasting System television dramas 2006 South Korean television series debuts 2006 South Korean television series endings Korean-language television shows Television series by KBS Media South Korean historical television series Television series set in the Joseon dynasty Television shows based on South Korean novels