''Until the Azalea Blooms'' () is a South Korean miniseries starring

Yum Jung-ah Yum Jung-ah (born July 28, 1972) is a South Korean actress. Her notable films include '' A Tale of Two Sisters'' (2003), ''The Big Swindle'' (2004), ''The Old Garden'' (2007), and ''Cart'' (2014), as well as the television series ''Royal Family ...

and Yoo Tae-woong. It aired 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 ...

from January 5 to January 27, 1998. Based on the 1996 essay by Mansudae ballerina Shin Young-hee ''Until the Rhododendron Blooms'', which portrays

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

n society during

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

's regime, the show dramatizes her life in the north of the peninsula, the public execution of Woo In-hee, a mistress of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, which she personally witnessed, and her defection to South Korea. One of its three writers, Jung Sung-san, was also a defector from North Korea, and the series was his first work in South Korea. The first two episodes achieved a viewership rating of 16–21%, but the series was criticized for being overly sensational, ridiculing North Korea and distorting the original work. The author herself, in early October 1997, tried to stop the show from airing, filing an injunction against KBS for copyright infringement and asking for a halt of the production of the drama. On January 5, 1998, the same day the series began airing, the Seoul Central District Court rejected the injunction, saying "There is no reason". ''Until the Azalea Blooms'', remembered nowadays as one of the first entertainment programs that portrays North Korea without propaganda purposes, was negatively received by North Korea, which threatened to kill the staff and bomb KBS headquarters if the channel aired it, as the drama deals with corruption in the North; on the other hand, KBS listeners in North Korea sent letters to encourage the producers to expose "the atrocities of dictators". North Korea banned it too, but it has nevertheless circulated and people have been punished and executed for watching it. The series was extremely sensitive in North Korea, as it revealed the very existence of

Kippumjo The ''Kippumjo'' or ''Gippeumjo'' (translated variously as ''Pleasure Group'', ''Pleasure Groups'', ''Pleasure Squad'', or ''Pleasure Brigade'') is a collection of groups of approximately 2,000 women and girls reportedly maintained by t ...

(pleasure group).

Cast

as Joo Myung-hee (Shin Young-hee) * Yoo Tae-woong as Kang Ryong-nam * Yoon Dong-hwan as Han Ji-wook *

Jung Dong-hwan Jung Dong-hwan (born August 5, 1949) is a South Korean actor. Jung began his career in theater, then was most active in Korean cinema in the 1980s, with leading roles in ''Late Autumn'' (1982), ''Jung-kwang's Nonsense'' (1986), and ''A Top Knot ...

as Kim Jong-il * Heo Jin as Kim Kyong-hui *

Park Geun-hyung Park Geun-hyung (born June 7, 1940) is a South Korean actor. His career in film, television and theater has spanned over five decades. Filmography Film *''7 People in the Cellar'' (1969) *''Lovers of Seoul'' (1973) *''Spies in the National A ...

as Lee Chul-kyu * Park Woong *

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 ...

* Jeong Wook as

Hwang Jang-yop Hwang Jang-yop ( ko, 황장엽; 17 February 192310 October 2010) was a North Korean politician who served as the Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly from 1972–1983 and was largely responsible for crafting ''Juche'', the state ideology o ...

Jeon Moo-song Jeon Moo-song (born September 28, 1941) is a South Korean actor. Jeon began his career on stage in the play 'Chunhyangjeon' in 1964 and has since been active in Korean theatre, film and television. In 1977, he performed as the title character ...

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 ...

* Kim Chung as Rim Hye-ok * Lee Chi-woo as

O Jin-u O Jin-u (March 8, 1917 – February 25, 1995) was a North Korean general and politician. He served with Kim Il-sung's partisan unit and eventually rose through the ranks of the North Korean Army. He distinguished himself during the Korean War an ...

* Na O-mi as Woo In-hee * Han Young-sook as

Choi Eun-hee Choi Eun-hee (; November 20, 1926 – April 16, 2018) was a South Korean actress, who was one of the country's most popular stars of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1978, Choi and her then ex-husband, movie director Shin Sang-ok, were abducted to North ...

* Heo Yoon-jung * No Hyun-hee as Geum-shil * Hong Seung-hee * Kim Ji-yeon as Kim Seung-hee * Choi Yeo-reum as Hee-sook * Park Geon-shik * Kim Il-woo * Kim Ji-won * Jo Seung-hee as Rim Sook-hee