''Tamna, the Island'' () is a 2009

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n television series starring

Seo Woo Seo Woo (born Kim Moon-joo; July 7, 1985) is a South Korean actress. She made her breakthrough with the film '' Crush and Blush'' (2008). She is best known for her roles in the films ''Paju'' and '' The Housemaid'', as well as her roles in the TV ...

, Im Joo-hwan and Pierre Deporte. It aired on MBC from August 8 to September 27, 2009 on Saturdays and Sundays at 19:55 for 20 episodes. It is a historical drama set in the 17th century during the European colonial expansion into the Far East. Themes of

racial tension An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's positio ...

and

xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

social inequality Social inequality occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons. It posses and creates gender c ...

, and rumination on the effect of

foreign policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

and

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...

on the quotidien are prevalent throughout the series; however, the

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

aspect remains at the forefront for the majority of the narrative.

Synopsis

William J. Spencer (Pierre Deporte) is a young

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

in the year 1640 with a fascination for

East Asian East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea a ...

art, languages, and culture. He counts as his closest friend the young somewhat mercenary

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese merchantman Yan. William is swindled by a shady merchant into believing that a plain porcelain

chamber pot A chamber pot is a portable toilet, meant for nocturnal use in the bedroom. It was common in many cultures before the advent of indoor plumbing and flushing toilets. Names and etymology "Chamber" is an older term for bedroom. The chamber pot ...

is a mystical artifact; he then sails off to

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

in order to open the "aquatic silk road" between Japan and England, but mostly to escape his creepy and overbearing mother and an arranged marriage. Yan is promised a handsome reward if he can drag her son back in time for the wedding and hightails it after his "friend." Meanwhile, the

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 ...

Kingdom is operating under a foreign policy that strictly prohibits trade with Westerners, garnering the nickname "the hermit kingdom." Just south of the Korean mainland lies the island of

Jeju Jeju may refer to: * Jeju Island (Jejudo), an island near South Korea * Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo **Jeju City, the biggest city on Jejudo **Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo ** Jeju l ...

, which at this point in history is known as

Tamra Tamra ( ar, طمرة, he, טַמְרָה or ) is an Arab city in the North District of Israel located in the Lower Galilee north of the city of Shefa-Amr and approximately east of Acre. In it had a population of . History Tamra is an ancient ...

. The people who live on the island derive their livelihoods by diving for

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Haliotidae. Other common name In biology, a common name of a taxon o ...

, cultivating a large area of

persimmon The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus ''Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki'' ''Diospyros'' is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-pers ...

orchards, and basic

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

; much of what they produce is tithed to the King through a corrupt local government. Park Gyu ( Im Joo-hwan) arrives from Hanyang (the historical name for

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 ...

) on a secret mission from the King to uncover corruption, embezzlement, and whatever else he may find on Tamra. However, his cover story leads to a tangle of complications for him: used to being doted on as an aristocratic scholar and high government official, he is sent to Tamra on the pretense of having been at the center of a sexual harassment scandal for which he has been permanently banished to the island, where he will have to work for a local family despite not being used to manual labor. Tamna native Jang Beo-jin (

) is an abalone diver whose mother is the leader of all the village divers (''

haenyo (also spelled ) (Hangul: ; lit. "sea women") are female divers in the Korean province of Jeju, whose livelihood consists of harvesting a variety of mollusks, seaweed, and other sea life from the ocean. Known for their independent spirit, iron ...

'' lit. "sea women"). Unfortunately for Beo-jin, she didn't inherit her mother's gifts or prowess for diving. She is the lowest of the apprentice divers after eight years and she is constantly being berated by her mother and all the other divers; she manages to mess up every chance she is given. Her first meeting with Park Gyu comes when she is sent to deliver some abalone to the village elders for a religious ceremony but ends up knocking down the altar and Park Gyu, and losing the medallion that entitles her family to a lower tithe to the King. Believing it to be in Park Gyu's possession, she tries to get it back from the upright and uptight noble, who is later sent to live with Beo-jin's family on the same day that William is shipwrecked off the coast; Beo-jin hides him, and later Yan as well, in a cave outside the village.

Cast

Main Cast

as Jang Beo-jin * Im Joo-hwan as Park Gyu *Pierre Deporte (Korean name: Hwang Chan-bin) as William Spencer *Lee Seung-min as Seo-rin *

Lee Seon-ho Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

as Yan Kawamura

Supporting Cast

Kim Mi-kyung Kim Mi-kyung (born October 14, 1963) is a South Korean actress. She is most active as a supporting actress in television dramas. Kim has been a member of the ''Yeonwoo Mudae'' theater company since 1985. Filmography Television series Web ...

as Choi Jang-nyeo, Beo-jin's mother *Byun Woo-min as Jang Won-bin, Beo-jin's father *

Kim Yoo-jung Kim Yoo-jung (; born September 22, 1999) is a South Korean actress. She debuted as a model for a confectionery brand at the age of four. After her acting debut in 2003, she became one of the best known child actresses in Korea since then, aft ...

as Jang Beo-seol, Beo-jin's younger sister *

Yang Hee-kyung Yang Hee-kyung (born December 3, 1954) 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 m ...

as Mr. Eom's wife, Park Gyu's birth mother *Lee Ho-jae as Park Chul, Park Gyu's birth father *Seo Beom-shik as Jeon Chi-yong *Park Joon as nobleman Song *Park Woong as ancestral rites priest *Lee Ho-seong as exiled

King Gwanghaegun Gwanghae-gun or Prince Gwanghae (4 June 1575 – 7 August 1641), personal name Yi Hon (Hangul: 이혼, Hanja: 李琿), was the 15th ruler of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. As he was deposed in a coup d'état, he did not receive a temple name. ...

. *Jo Seung-yeon as assistant governor Kim Yi-bang *

Bang Eun-hee Bang Eun-hee (born Bang Min-seo on May 7, 1967) is a South Korean actress. Bang made her acting debut in 1988, and rose to fame after being cast as the lead actress in Im Kwon-taek's ''General's Son'' (1990). She has starred in films and televis ...

as Go Ba-soon *Jung Joo-ri as Han Kkeut-boon *Kim Ho-won as Hyang Dol-yi *Yoo Tae-woong as Han Philip *Jang Kyung-ah as Hong Shi-yeon *Kim Byeong-chun as public official Ahn *Song Gwi-hyun as Hong Goo-rak * Robert Holley as Jan Jansz Weltevree (Park Yeon) *

Lee Byung-joon Lee Byung-joon (; born January 27, 1964) is a South Korean actor. Active in film, television and theater since 1985, Lee is best known for his supporting roles in ''A Bloody Aria'' (2006), '' Highway Star'' (2007), and ''Eye for an Eye'' (2008). ...

King Injo Injo of Joseon (7 December 1595 – 17 June 1649), born Yi Jong, was the sixteenth ruler of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He was the grandson of King Seonjo and son of Prince Jeongwon. He was the king during the Later Jin invasion of Joseon, ...

*So Young-don as

Crown Prince Sohyeon Crown Prince Sohyeon (소현세자, 昭顯世子, 5 February 1612 – 21 May 1645) was the first son of King Injo of Joseon Dynasty. Sohyeon was a hostage in the Manchu court at Shenyang, by the terms of the peace treaty concluded after War ...

*Goo Bon-im as Jong-dal's mother *Jo Moon-ui as Jong-dal's father * Park Hee-jin as Jong-dal *Kim Hyun-ah as woman from Kang-jin *

Lee Han-wi Lee Han-wi (born June 17, 1961) is a South Korean actor. Since his acting debut in 1983, Lee has become a prolific supporting actor on Korean film and television. He is particularly known for his mastery of ad-libbing In music and other pe ...

as Lee Sa-pyeong, potter *Lee Jung-sub as Kim Hoon-jang *Lee Hae-woo as Hyang Dul-yi

Production

The drama had been planned for 20 episodes (and filmed months in advance) but in its original run, MBC cut it down to 16 episodes due to low ratings despite fan fervor and general praise. As a result, beginning with episode 11, the production had to quickly edit down the remaining ten episodes into six, leaving a lot of material on the cutting room floor. The overseas broadcasts aired all 20 episodes, while the Director's Cut DVD release features 21 episodes.

Awards

2009 17th Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards *Best New Actor: Im Joo-hwan

2009 MBC Drama Awards The 2009 MBC Drama Awards () is a ceremony honoring the outstanding achievement in television on the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) network for the year of 2009. It was held on December 30, 2009 and hosted by actor Lee Hwi-jae and actress ...

*Best New Actor: Im Joo-hwan *Best New Actress:

*Popularity Award, Actress:

International broadcast

It aired in Japan on cable channel Mnet beginning October 26, 2009. It aired in Thailand on Channel 7 every Thursday to Friday at 8.30 a.m. starting from October 11, 2012.

References

External links

''Tamra, the Island'' official MBC website

''Tamra, the Island''
at CineMart * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamra, the Island 2009 South Korean television series debuts 2009 South Korean television series endings MBC TV television dramas Television series set in the Joseon dynasty Television shows based on manhwa South Korean romantic comedy television series South Korean historical television series