''The Last Empress'' () is a 2018-2019 South Korean television series starring

Jang Na-ra Jang Na-ra (; born March 18, 1981) is a South Korean singer and actress active in both the South Korean and Chinese entertainment industries since 2001. She rose to prominence with her hit studio album ''Sweet Dream'' in 2002, and starred in wel ...

Choi Jin-hyuk Choi Jin-hyuk (, born Kim Tae-ho, February 9, 1986) is a South Korean actor. He gained attention for his supporting roles in ''Gu Family Book'' and ''The Heirs'', and then went on to star in lead roles in '' Emergency Couple'', ''Pride and Prej ...

Shin Sung-rok Shin Sung-rok (born November 23, 1982) is a South Korean actor. He frequently appears in films and television series, but is better known an active in musical theatre. Early life Shin had initially aspired to become a basketball player togethe ...

Lee Elijah Lee Elijah (born February 19, 1990) is a South Korean actress. She debuted with leading role in 2013 tvN's drama ''Basketball''. After several years in major supporting roles, she was cast as lead again with JTBC's ''The Good Detective'' (2020) ...

, and

Shin Eun-kyung Shin Eun-kyung (born 15 February 1973) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in '' Downfall'' (1997) and '' My Wife Is a Gangster'' (2001). Shin is most prominent Korean actress in the 1990s, alongside Shim Eun-ha, ...

. It aired on SBS Wednesdays and Thursdays at the 22:00 KST time slot from November 21, 2018, to February 21, 2019, for 52 episodes. Originally slated for 48 episodes, ''The Last Empress'' was extended to 52 episodes due to its popularity. It received high viewership ratings and positive reviews for its fast-paced and unpredictable plot. On its 24th episode on December 27, 2018, ''The Last Empress'' garnered nationwide ratings of 17.9%, making it the highest rating weekday mini-series for Korean

terrestrial television Terrestrial television or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the signal transmission occurs via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV receiver having an ant ...

in 2018. It surpassed the record previously held by the drama ''

Return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

.''

Synopsis

''The Last Empress'' is set in an alternate universe, in which Korea is a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

in 2018, Oh Sunny is a bright and vivacious musical actress who marries the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

of the

Korean Empire The Korean Empire () was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by Emperor Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire stood until Japan's annexation of Korea in August 1910. During the Korean Empire, Emperor Gojong oversaw the Gwa ...

. She becomes involved in the palace power struggle and a mysterious murder that sets off events that threaten the monarchy itself, while searching for true love and happiness. She teams up with Na Wang Shik who works as a bodyguard for the imperial family in order to uncover the crimes of the Imperial family. Na Wang Shik started working in the palace to take revenge on the person responsible for his mother's death.

Cast

Main

as Oh Sunny – an aspiring musical actress with a bright and cheerful personality. She became an overnight

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

after marrying the Emperor. In the palace, she fights to uncover the truth behind the death of the Grand Empress Dowager and topple the corrupt imperial family. *

as Na Wang-sik / Chun Woo-bin – seeks vengeance on the imperial family after his mother's death. To infiltrate the imperial household, he changed his identity to Chun Woo-bin, becoming the Emperor's most trusted imperial bodyguard with unrivaled fighting skills. *

as Emperor Lee Hyuk – Emperor of the Korean Empire. A powerful ruler who is well-respected by the people. He is talented and eloquent, but beneath his pleasant appearance lies an ugly personality. *

as Min Yoo-ra – Imperial head secretary. She is quick-witted, decisive and greedy. She is trusted by the Emperor and becomes his secret lover and mistress. *

as Empress Dowager Kang – Lee Hyuk's mother. A fearless and powerful woman who holds absolute authority in the palace and is fiercely protective of her status.

Supporting

Imperial Household

Oh Seung-yoon Oh Seung-yoon (; born March 27, 1991) is a South Korean actor. He began his career as a child actor. Filmography Television series Web series Film Voice acting Film (Korean dubbing Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-p ...

as Crown Prince Lee Yoon / Vincent Lee :Younger brother of Lee Hyuk. *

Yoon So-yi Yoon So-yi (born Moon So-yi on January 5, 1985) is a South Korean actress. She debuted as a print and commercial model, then began acting in Ryoo Seung-wan's action-comedy film ''Arahan'' in 2004, followed by '' Shadowless Sword'' in 2005. Yoon ...

as Seo Kang-hee :Ah-ri's nanny, and birth mother. *

Oh Ah-rin Oh Ah-rin (Korean: 오아린; born on 2 May 2011) is a South Korean child actress. She made her acting debut in 2015, since then, she has appeared in number of films and television series. She is known for her various roles as child actor as: ' ...

as Ah-ri :Illegitimate daughter of Lee Hyuk. *

Park Won-sook Park Won-sook (; born January 19, 1949) is a South Korean actress. Filmography Television series Film Variety show Music video Theater Books Awards References External links * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Won-so ...

as Grand Empress Dowager Jo *

Lee Hee-jin Lee Hee-jin (born 16 May 1979) is a South Korean actress and former member of girl group Baby V.O.X. Lee studied at Dong-Ah Broadcasting College, then made her entertainment debut in 1997 as a member of popular K-pop girl group Baby V.O.X. ...

as Princess So-jin * Shin Go-eun as Late Empress So-hyeon :First wife of Lee Hyuk.

Sunny's Family

Yoon Da-hoon Yoon Da-hoon (born Nam Kwang-woo on February 1, 1965) is a South Korean actor. He gained popularity with the sitcom ''Three Friends'' in 2000. Yoon has since starred in television dramas such as ''Guardian Angel'' (2001), ''Let's Get Married'' ( ...

as Oh Geum-mo :Sunny's father and owner of a chicken restaurant. * Stephanie Lee as Oh Hel-ro :Sunny's sister. *

Lee Ji-ha Lee Ji-ha (; born October 7, 1970) is a South Korean actress and model. She is known for her roles in dramas such as '' The Smile Has Left Your Eyes'', '' My Unfamiliar Family,'' '' Sweet Home'' and ''Squid Game,'' the latter gaining her intern ...

as Shin Eun-soo :Sunny's late mother

Others

* Kim Myung-soo as Byun Baek-ho :Father of Empress So-hyeon. Former Chief Imperial Guard. * Yoon Joo-man as Ma Pil-joo :Right-hand man of the Emperor. *

Hwang Young-hee Hwang Young-hee is a South Korean actress and model. She is known for her roles in dramas, '' While You Were Sleeping'', ''My Healing Love'', and ''Nokdu Flower''. She also appeared in movies such as '' The Witness'', ''Stray Dogs'', '' May 18' ...

as Baek Do-hee :Mother of Na Wang-sik. Adoptive mother of Min Yoo-ra and Na Dong-sik. *

Ha Do-kwon Ha Do-kwon (born Kim Yong-goo on March 3, 1977) is a South Korean actor. He is mainly known for his roles in ''Hot Stove League'' and '' The Penthouse: War in Life''. Education Ha graduated from Seoul National University in 2004, majoring in ...

as Chief Imperial guard Joo * Lee Soo-ryun as Choi Yoon-mi : Chief Assistant of Empress Dowager Kang * Kim Min-ok as Hong So-mae : Chief Assistant of Grand Empress Dowager Jo. *

Choi Ja-hye Choi Ja-hye (born July 26, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for starring in the television drama ''King of Baking, Kim Takgu ''Bread, Love and Dreams'' () is a 2010 South Korean television drama starring Yoon Shi-yoon, Eu ...

as Ha Jeong-dan : Court lady of Grand Empress Dowager Jo. * Oh Han-kyul as Na Dong-sik * Kim Yoon-ji as Hyun-joo :Sunny's junior colleague and a fellow musical actress who is jealous of Sunny * Tae Hang-ho as Na Wang-sik (Ep 1–6) *

Go Se-won Go Se-won (born December 13, 1977) is a South Korean actor. Go began his acting career in musical theatre, then made the leap to television in 2007. He has played supporting roles in several Korean dramas such as '' Three Brothers'', '' Cinderel ...

as the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Yoo Gun Jo Jeong-ik (born 21 January 1983), better known by his stage name Yoo Gun, is an American-born South Korean actor. Early life Jo Jeong-ik was born in Arizona, United States to Korean American parents. He came to South Korea in the 1990s as a ...

as Kang Joo-seung * Kim Jin-geun as the new Prime Minister

Special Appearances

* Park Chan-min as news anchor (Ep 1) *

Yoon Jong-hoon Yoon Jong-hoon (born February 15, 1984) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Web series Television show Music video Theater Awards and nominations References External links

* * * * 1984 bi ...

as terrorist who tried to kill the Emperor :Kang Joo-seung's brother (Ep 1) *

Park Gyu-ri Park Gyu-ri (born May 21, 1988), better known by the mononym Gyuri, is a South Korean singer, actress, and radio personality. She is a member of South Korean girl group Kara. Life and career 1988–2002: Early life and career beginnings Park ...

as suicidal woman (Ep 13) *

Song Jae-hee Song Jae-hee (born December 11, 1979) is a South Korean actor. Personal life In August 2022, Song announced that his wife was pregnant with their first child. His wife gave birth to a daughter on January 20, 2023. Filmography Film Televisio ...

as father of Lee Hyuk and Lee Yoon (Ep 14 & 19) *

Jo Dong-hyuk Jo Dong-hyuk (born December 11, 1977) is a South Korean actor. He made his acting debut in '' Make It Big'' (2002), followed by erotic films ''Hypnotized'' (2004), ''The Intimate'' (2005), and '' Searching for the Elephant'' (2009). On televisio ...

as the detective in Grand Empress Dowager's murder (Ep 17–20) *

Park Doo-shik Park Doo-shik (born 1 January 1988) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his main roles in movie Gangsters (2019) and dramas such as Drama Stage Season 2: All About My Rival in Love, Heroes (2015). Park also appeared in the famous and popula ...

as Team Lead Hong's son *

Son Chang-min Son Chang-min (; born April 24, 1965) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Television * ''Vengeance of the Bride'' (태풍의 신부/ 2022) *''Rookie Cops'' (너와 나의 경찰수업 / 2022) *''My Sassy Girl'' (엽기적인 그녀/ 2017) ...

as Goo Pil-mo, chief neurosurgeon at Daehan Imperial University Hospital (Ep 23–24) *

Kim Da-som Kim Da-som (born May 6, 1993), better known mononymously as Dasom, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known as a former member of South Korean girl group Sistar and formerly under Starship Entertainment. She has acted in films a ...

as court lady Yang Dal-hee (Ep 28) * Dong Hyun-bae as the detective (Ep 41–42) *

Ahn Nae-sang Ahn Nae-sang (born December 25, 1964) is a South Korean actor. He began his career on the stage, and in 1994 made his film debut in the Bong Joon-ho short film ''Baeksekin'' ("White Man" or "White-collar worker"), followed by Jang Sun-woo's ''B ...

as Chief Detective in Lee Yoon's assault (Ep 41–42) *

Jeon Soo-kyung Jeon Soo-kyeong (born July 12, 1966) is a South Korean actress. She is best known in musical theatre, and has starred in Korean productions of ''Mamma Mia!'', ''Chicago'', '' The Life'', ''Guys and Dolls'', ''Menopause'', and ''Kiss Me, Kate''. ...

as Empress Eun (Ep 46–48) *

Kim Soo-mi Kim Soo-mi (born Kim Young-ok on September 3, 1949) is a South Korean actress. She has had a prolific career in film and television. Kim debuted in a talent contest in 1970, then shot to fame in ''Country Diaries''. The landmark TV series aired f ...

as Sa Goon Ja/former Chief Kim (Ep 47)

Production

The first script reading for the drama was held on September 6, 2018, at the SBS

Ilsan Ilsan New Town refers to a planned city occupying Ilsandong-gu and Ilsanseo-gu of Goyang. Ilsan is located northwest of Seoul. Like other satellite cities in the Seoul National Capital Area such as Bundang, Ilsan was planned in order to alleviat ...

Production Center with the attendance of cast and crew.

Kim Jung-tae Kim Jung-tae (born Kim Tae-wook on December 13, 1972) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his supporting roles on film and television. Career He made his acting debut in 1999 with the film ''The Uprising'' under his birth name Kim Tae- ...

was originally cast for the role of Ma Pil-joo. He decided to resign after being diagnosed with liver cancer and was replaced by Yoon Joo-man. On November 19, 2018,

suffered an injury while filming an action scene that required 30 stitches on his forehead. While filming on December 18, 2018,

fractured his toe and underwent surgery the following day. He resumed filming activities the day after his surgery. Due to scheduling conflict,

was not able to participate filming the 4-episode extension. He completed filming until episode 48 as originally planned. On February 25, 2019, the production released an

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...

featuring

and

Naver Naver (Hangul: 네이버) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. It was launched in 1999 as the first web portal in South Korea to develop and use its own search engine. It was also the world's first operator to in ...

TV and SBS NOW

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel.

Working condition controversy

On October 25, 2018, SBS signed individual contracts with the staff of ''The Last Empress'' to ensure better working conditions. However, according to the Hope Alliance Labor Union (HALU), the network and the production company SM Life Design Group (SMLDG) violated the contracts when they continued to extend work schedules without consent from workers. The HALU also alleged that, "From November 21 to 30, the staff f ''The Last Empress''had to undergo ten consecutive days of intense filming schedules that lasted for many hours without a single day of rest."[공식] 노조"'황후의품격' 근로시간위반+추가수당無, 내일 증거공개"
/ref> On December 17, 2018, HALU filed a bill of indictment with the

Ministry of Employment and Labor South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL, 고용노동부) is a cabinet-level ministry overseeing labor affairs. Its predecessor agency, the Division of Labor, was established under the direction of the Minister of Social Affairs (� ...

(MOEL) against SBS and SMLDG.

Original soundtrack

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6 Viewership

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Empress, The Seoul Broadcasting System television dramas 2018 South Korean television series debuts 2019 South Korean television series endings Korean-language television shows Television series produced in Seoul Alternate history television series Anti-imperialism Republicanism Republicanism in Korea South Korean alternate history South Korean thriller television series South Korean romance television series South Korean mystery television series Television series by SM Life Design Group Television shows written by Kim Soon-ok