''I Am the King'' (, also known as ''I Am a King'') is a 2012

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

n historical comedy film, starring

Ju Ji-hoon Ju Ji-hoon (born May 16, 1982) is a South Korean actor and model. His first leading role was in the 2006 hit drama ''Princess Hours''. His other notable works include ''The Devil'', '' Antique'', ''Mask'', '' Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds'' ...

Park Yeong-gyu Park Yeong-gyu (born 28 October 1953) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Attack the Gas Station ''Attack the Gas Station!'' ( ko, 주유소 습격 사건) is a 1999 Korean crime-comedy film directed by Kim Sang-jin ...

Baek Yoon-sik Baek Yoon-sik (born 16 March 1947) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his characteristic near-expressionless facial acting. Career Baek Yoon-sik made his debut in 1970 on KBS TV. In the coming years he would appear in four films, taking l ...

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 droppin ...

and

Kim Su-ro Kim Soo-ro (born Kim Sang-joong on May 7, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Career Early career Kim Soo-ro studied Theater at the Seoul Institute of the Arts and Dongguk University, then joined the Mokwha Repertory Company. In 1993, he made hi ...

. Inspired by Mark Twain's 1881 novel ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547 ...

'', the film is set in the

Joseon Dynasty 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 r ...

with Ju playing the

dual role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

of a king and a beggar. It was released on August 8, 2012 and ran for 120 minutes.

Background

The movie depicts the three months before Choong-nyung (the future Sejong the Great) becomes king. The

Annals of the Joseon Dynasty The ''Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty'' (also known as the ''Annals of the Joseon Dynasty'' or the ''True Record of the Joseon Dynasty''; ko, 조선왕조실록 and ) are the annual records of Joseon, the last royal house to rule K ...

, which follow the history of the

between 1413 and 1865, leave out records of this crucial period. While to future generations

King Sejong Sejong of Joseon (15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), personal name Yi Do (Korean: 이도; Hanja: 李祹), widely known as Sejong the Great (Korean: 세종대왕; Hanja: 世宗大王), was the fourth ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. Initial ...

would stand as a legendary figure for his creation of the Korean alphabet and advancing the country’s scientific research and law, as Prince Choong-nyung he was known to be a bit of a reclusive bookworm.

Plot

When his older brothers Yangnyeong and Hyoryeong fail to impress their father King Taejong, the king makes a royal command for Choong-nyung to become the next ruler of the kingdom instead. The prince, who strongly refuses to become the king and just wants to live a happy and stress-free life buried in his books, chooses to escape the palace before his coronation ceremony. After hours of contemplation, Choong-nyung escapes by climbing over the palace wall. There he runs into a bad-tempered drunken slave named Deok-chil, who happens to be at the palace to save the love of his life who was captured by government officials and put in prison for being the daughter of a suspected spy. Deok-chil perfectly resembles the prince, so Choong-nyung instantly grabs the chance to disguise himself as a slave and they exchange clothes with each other. In a terrible twist of fate, when Choong-nyung wakes up after being knocked unconscious, he is mistaken for a slave and Deok-chil gets put on the throne. As Choong-nyung ventures outside the palace walls, he begins to open his eyes to the people living in extreme poverty and experiences the life of the common man.

Cast

as Grand Prince Choong-nyung / Duk-Chil *

as Hwang-Hee *

as Shin-Ik *

as King Taejong *

Im Won-hee Im Won-hee (born October 11, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Im was an alumnus of the legendary Daehak-ro theater troupe ''Mokhwa'' (), starring in many of Jang Jin's stage plays. He made his film debut in Jang's black comedy ''The Happenings'' ...

as Hae-Koo *

Lee Hanee Lee Hanee (; born March 2, 1983), also known as Honey Lee, is a South Korean actress, model, classical musician as well as beauty pageant titleholder where she represented her country at Miss Universe 2007. She has acted in several films and te ...

as Soo-Yeon *

as Hwang-Koo *Baek Do-bin as Grand Prince Yang-nyung *

Im Hyung-joon Im Hyung-joon (born May 10, 1974) is a South Korean actor. Personal life On January 2, 2012, Im married his non-celebrity girlfriend, who is ten years younger than him, at Gimpo Gimpo () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It border ...

as Jang Young-shil *Kim Eung-soo as an old butcher *

Kim So-hyun Kim So-hyun (; born June 4, 1999) is a South Korean actress who began her career as a child in 2006, initially gaining public attention for playing pivotal roles in ''Moon Embracing the Sun'' (2012) and '' Missing You'' (2013). She took on he ...

as Sol-Bi *Han Yeo-wool as a virgin *Lee Mi-do as the Crown Princess Consort *

Yoon Kyung-ho Yoon Kyung-ho (, born 5 July 1980) is a South Korean theatre, film and television actor. He debuted in 2002 in SBS's documentary drama ''Savage Age''. He came into prominence in KBS's 2017 legal drama ''Witch at Court'' and tvN's 2019 TV series ...

as Geun-Bae *Kwon Hyuk-soo as Soo Yeon-boo *Lee Dae-gwang as ''

Tteok ''Tteok'' ( ko, 떡) is a class of Korean rice cakes made with steamed flour made of various grains, including glutinous or non-glutinous rice. Steamed flour can also be pounded, shaped, or pan-fried to make ''tteok''. In some cases, ''tteok' ...

'' seller 1 *Lee Jung-hoon as ''

'' seller 2 *Kim Wang-geun as Lee-Bang *Yang Myung-hun as Hwang-Hee's warrior *Jang Tae-min as a Slave *Byun Joo-hyun as a Royal officer *Jung-Woon as Yang-nyung's group *Ham Jin-sung as Yang-nyung's group *Lee Chul-hee *Im Hak-soon

Special screening

On August 13, 2012, a special screening was held at

Deoksu Palace Deoksugung, also known as Gyeongun-gung, Deoksugung Palace, or Deoksu Palace, is a walled compound of palaces in Seoul that was inhabited by members of Korea's Royal Family during the Joseon monarchy until the annexation of Korea by Japan in ...

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 of ...

, the first Korean movie screened outdoors on the palace grounds. Some 500 citizens as well as independence fighters and their families were in attendance. The event marked National Liberation Day, which commemorates Korea's independence from Japanese colonial rule.

Reception

The film ranked third and grossed in its first week of release, and grossed a total of domestically after two weeks of screening.

References

External links

''I Am the King'' official website
* * {{The Prince and the Pauper 2012 films 2010s historical comedy films South Korean historical comedy films Films set in the Joseon dynasty Lotte Entertainment films 2010s Korean-language films Films based on The Prince and the Pauper 2010s South Korean films