''The King's Letters'' (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: 나랏말싸미, RR: ''Naranmalssami'';

Middle Korean Middle Korean is the period in the history of the Korean language succeeding Old Korean and yielding in 1600 to the Modern period. The boundary between the Old and Middle periods is traditionally identified with the establishment of Goryeo in 91 ...

: 나랏말ᄊᆞ미,

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

: ''Nalasmalssomi''; ''Language of the Country'') is a Korean

historical 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 ...

film released on 24 July 2019. Set in the early

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 re ...

, it depicts

Sejong the Great 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 ...

and Shinmi as main characters in creating

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

. The film was directed by Jo Chul-hyun, and stars

Song Kang-ho Song Kang-ho (born January 17, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Song made his film debut in '' The Day a Pig Fell into the Well'' (1996), and came to national prominence with a series of critically acclaimed performances, including ''No. 3'' (1997 ...

Park Hae-il Park Hae-il (born 26 January 1977) is a South Korean actor. He began his acting career in theater, but soon gained the film industry's attention in 2003 with ''Jealousy Is My Middle Name'' and ''Memories of Murder''. Park's film career took off, ...

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 ...

Choi Deok-moon Choi Deok-moon (born 1970) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Television series Film Theater References External links * * * Choi Deok-moonat Daum Choi Deok-moonat Naver Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Deok-moon 1970 births Livin ...

, and

Jung Hae-kyun Jung Hae-kyun (; born August 16, 1968) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in '' The Villainess'', '' Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds'' and ''Confession of Murder ''Confession of Murder'' (; lit. "I Am the Murderer") is a 2 ...

. It grossed worldwide.

Plot

In the mid-

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian dates from 1 January 1401 ( MCDI) to 31 December 1500 ( MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the early modern period. M ...

C.E., the king of Korea, Sejong the Great wants to create a simple writing system so the general population can obtain literacy. Up to this point, the Joseon dynastic kingdom has been using

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

. Sejong calls upon a Buddhist monk, Shinmi, and his fellow monks to develop a new

alphabet An alphabet is a standardized set of basic written graphemes (called letters) that represent the phonemes of certain spoken languages. Not all writing systems represent language in this way; in a syllabary, each character represents a syll ...

. The monks have unique insights due to their knowledge of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and other languages that use phonetic writing systems. Sejong promises to build a Buddhist temple if the monks accomplish the task.

Queen Soheon Queen Soheon (소헌왕후 심씨, 12 October 1395 – 19 April 1446), of the Cheongsong Sim clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and queen consort of Yi Do, King Sejong and the mother of Yi Hyang, King Munjong and Yi Yu, King Sejo ...

is secretly a Buddhist and welcomes the monks to the palace. Due to the tensions between Buddhists and the dominant

Confucians Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a ...

, the servants are sworn to secrecy and the monks are disguised as court eunuchs. The difficult project worsens Sejong's fragile health, as he suffers from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

. He loses sight in his right eye and is urged by his doctors to avoid stress. The king relocates to a health spa in the mountains. In the remote location, he simultaneously receives eye treatments and the monks continue to work in total secrecy. They soon complete the writing system, now known as the Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl. The king returns to the palace and contends with the power struggle between Buddhists and Confucians. Both groups want credit for the writing system's creation within a published manual. The Buddhists expect Sejong to hold up his end of their deal. The Confucians are desperate to keep their power and remain on good terms with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The king gives in to the Confucians and sends the Buddhist monks away. In order to reunite the Sejong and Shinmi, the queen starves herself to death. Sejong is grief-stricken and decides to fulfill his wife's final wishes. Shinmi is recalled to the royal palace and there is a reconciliation. The king builds the promised Buddhist temple and Shinmi leads a funeral for the late Queen Soheon. King Sejong notes he has been king for thirty years and will leave only one book as his legacy. Shinmi replies with an allegory that suggests Sejong's one book will have an incalculable effect upon Korean society.

Cast

King Sejong the Great 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. Initi ...

as Buddhist monk Shinmi *

as Queen Sohun, King Sejong's wife *

as Jung In-ji *Nam Moon-chul as Choi Man-ri *

as Go Yak-hae *Jung In-kyum as Kim-Moon *Kim Joon-hak as Moon-Jong, Sejong and Sohun's eldest son *Cha Rae-hyung as Soo-Yang, Sejong and Sohun's second son *Yoon Jung-il as Ahn-Pyung, Sejong and Sohun's third son *Tang Joon-sang as Hak-Jo *

Keum Sae-rok Keum Sae-rok (born 6 September 1992) is a South Korean actress. She is known for her prominent roles in ''The Fiery Priest'' (2019) and ''Youth of May'' (2021). Personal life Keum graduated from the Seoul Institute of the Arts with a degree in ...

as Lee Jin-ah *Im Sung-jae as Hak-Yul *Oh Hyun-kyung as Noh-Seung *Park Dong-hyuk as Jung Chang-son *Song Sang-eun as Pyung-Nyu

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:King's Letters 2019 films 2010s historical films 2010s Korean-language films South Korean historical drama films Films set in the Joseon dynasty Films about language 2010s South Korean films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links