''Princess Hours'' (; lit. ''Palace'') is a 2006 South Korean television series, starring

Yoon Eun-hye Yoon Eun-hye (; born October 3, 1984) is a South Korean actress, singer, entertainer and model. She debuted as a member of girl group Baby Vox, staying with the group from 1999 to 2005. Yoon has since moved on to acting and is best known for st ...

, Ju Ji-hoon, Kim Jeong-hoon and Song Ji-hyo. It is based on Korean

manhwa (; ) is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to South Korean comics. is greatly influenced by Japanese Manga comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its reach to many other countries. ...

'' Goong'' by

Park So-hee A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

. It aired on MBC from January 11 to March 30, 2006 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 24 episodes. The show was the tenth most popular drama of 2006, with a peak rating of 28.3%. It also became a hit across Asia, contributing to the Korean Wave. Due to its success, a spin-off series, '' Prince Hours'', was broadcast in 2007.

Synopsis

The show is set in an alternate, 21st-century Korea which has retained its

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic ( constitutional monar ...

and imperial family since 1945. The series focuses on the lives of Crown Prince Lee Shin of Korea, and his new bride, Chae-kyeong. The series starts off with the news that Shin's father, Emperor Lee Hyeon of Korea, is seriously ill. There is a grim outlook on the Emperor's health, driving the imperial family to find Shin a suitable consort that will allow him to ascend to the throne if the situation requires. Despite being in love with the ambitious and talented ballerina Hyo-rin (whom he initially proposed to and was rejected), Prince Shin eventually marries a commoner to whom he was betrothed by his grandfather, the late Emperor Seongjo, in an agreement with the girl's grandfather. His new wife is the headstrong yet lovable Chae-kyeong, and despite initially feeling nothing for each other, love eventually blossoms between the couple. Matters are further complicated with the return of Lee Yul and his mother, Lady Hwa-young, who was once Crown Princess before the death of her husband, the late Crown Prince Lee Soo, and older brother of the reigning Emperor. Yul and his mother were driven out of the palace some time after the death of his father, and it is revealed that this was because the Emperor discovered an affair between Lady Hwa-young and the current Emperor, who is his father's younger brother. Lady Hwa-young has returned to restore her son's place in the line of succession to the throne, which she believes remains rightfully his. A series of events befalls the palace with the schemes Yul's mother carries out, and these are further intensified by the various scandals involving the imperial family. Shin maintains an extramarital affair with his old flame, Hyo-rin, while Yul himself developing feelings for Chae-kyeong. Things get out of hand and the imperial family takes matters into their own hands."Princess Hours"
''Korea Tourism''. Retrieved November 19, 2011

Cast

Main

as Shin Chae-kyeong :A normal high school girl, who has an interest in drawing and art. Though seemingly immature, she is kind-hearted and honest. She is betrothed to Crown Prince Lee Shin, who attends the same high school as her, by the late Emperor Seongjo of Korea, who was best friends with her grandfather. Though she was initially annoyed by her seemingly unemotional new husband, Chae-kyeong gradually falls in love with him, not knowing that he harbours similar feelings. She sees Lee Yul as a close friend. At the end of the series, is revealed that Chae-kyeong is pregnant with Lee Shin's heir. * Ju Ji-hoon as Crown Prince Lee Shin :A smug, indifferent and insensitive man, who is actually lonely on the inside. After getting rejected by his girlfriend Min Hyo-rin, he decides to proceed with his arranged marriage to Shin Chae-kyeong. Though he was initially annoyed by her naivete and enthusiasm, he gradually begins to open his heart to her. He owns a

teddy bear A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy b ...

called Alfred, the only 'companion' that allows him to let his guard down, and which serves as a focal point throughout the series. He quickly becomes rivals with Prince Lee Yul, who not only fights for the throne but also Chae-kyung's affection. * Kim Jeong-hoon as Prince Lee Yul :The son of Crown Prince Soo. After his father's death, he was exiled to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

with his mother, Lady Hwa-young. After returning to Korea, he fell in love with Shin Chae-kyeong, whom was initially betrothed to him. A kind-hearted and gentle person, Yul was not interested in fighting for the throne. He is best friends with Prince William. * Song Ji-hyo as Min Hyo-rin :A talented and gifted

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

. She is Shin's girlfriend, but rejected his proposal as she did not wish to give up on her dreams of becoming a star ballerina. When she sees Chae-kyeong and Shin's wedding and how much Chae-kyeong is loved by the people (similar to the rapport of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

), she regrets her hasty decision, and does everything to win Shin back, including engineering a "chance" meeting in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. She ends up hurting herself, driving her to attempted suicide by overdosing on pills. She later recognises that Shin does truly love Chae-kyeong, and ultimately concedes and instead decides to concentrate on her career as a

ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

Supporting

* Kim Hye-ja as the Dowager Empress/"''Tae Hoo mama''" * Park Chan-hwan as Emperor Lee Hyeon of Korea * Shim Hye-jin as Lady Hwa-young :Yul's mother, and the former Crown Princess. *

Yoon Yoo-sun Yoon Yoo-sun (born January 17, 1969) is a famous South Korean actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1975, and continues to be active in film and television, notably in '' The Story of Two Women'' (1994), ''Even If the Wind Blows'' ...

as the Empress Consort/"''Wang Hoo mama''" * Lee Yoon-ji as Princess Hye-myung * Kang Nam-gil as Chae-kyeong's father *

Im Ye-jin Im Ye-jin (born Im Ki-hee on January 24, 1960) is a South Korean actress. As a teenage actress, she reached the peak of her popularity in the 1970s with the "Really Really" film trilogy, which include '' Never Forget Me'', '' I Am Really Sorry' ...

as Chae-kyeong's mother *

Kim Seok Kim Seok (born 9 September 1991) is a South Korean football player who plays as a forward. Career He dropped out of school and moved to France in 2001. He joined the FC Metz's youth academy at the age of ten and played until 2005 summer. Fro ...

as Shin Chae-joon * Yeojin Jeon as Lee Kang-hyun * Nah Eun-kyeong as Kim Soon-young * Dan Ji as Yoon Hee-soong * Choi Seong-joon as Kang-in * Lee Yong-joo as Jang-kyung * Uhm Seong-mo as Ryu-hwan * Lee Ho-jae as Gong Nae-kwan * Jeon Su-yeon as Choi Sang Gung *

Song Seung-hwan Song Seung-hwan is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in dramas such as '' My Kids Give Me a Headache'', '' Racket Boys'', '' All About My Mom'', '' One Spring Night'' and '' Three Bold Siblings''. He also appeared in movies ''The M ...

as Emperor * Kim Sang-joong as Crown Prince Lee Soo, Yul's late father *

Choi Bool-am Choi Bool-am (born June 15, 1940) is a South Korean actor and a professor. Biography Choi was born in the neighborhood of , Dong-gu, Incheon, Korea in 1940. Choi was the only son to his father Choi Cheol, a business man, and his mother Lee My ...

as Emperor Seongjo, Shin and Yul's late grandfather and father of Crown Prince Lee Soo and Emperor Lee Hyeon.

Original soundtrack

Ratings

Source
TNS Media Korea

Awards

*2006 1st

Seoul International Drama Awards Seoul International Drama Awards (), simply known as SDA, is an annual award ceremony based in Seoul, South Korea which honors excellence in television drama productions worldwide. Winners Grand prize (''Daesang'') Program Winners are given ...

: Best Art Director (Min Eon-ok) *2006

MBC Drama Awards The MBC Drama Awards () is an awards ceremony presented by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) for outstanding achievements in Korean dramas aired on its network. It is held annually in December. Unlike its counterparts in KBS and SBS, MB ...

: Best New Actor ( Ju Ji-hoon) *2006

: Best New Actress (

)

International release

DVD

The US DVD release by YA Entertainment uses the title ''Palace''.

Remakes and spin-offs

''Prince Hours''

A spin-off series, ''Goong S'' or '' Prince Hours'', revolves around a young worker at a Chinese restaurant who suddenly discovers that he is a member of the imperial family and subsequently enters the palace. Hwang mentioned that he would be looking for Shin Chae-kyeong's male counterpart, of sorts. This spinoff has no relation to the first season, and had a new cast and plot. In October 2006, Korean pop star Se7en was chosen to play the leading role in the spinoff. He will play the character of "Yi Hoo". The rest of the main cast are Huh E-jae (who plays the female protagonist Yang Soon-ae),

Kang Doo Kang Doo (born February 27, 1979) is a South Korean singer and actor. He is a former member of the group, The Jadu The Jadu (더 자두) was a South Korean modern rock band that performed from 2001 to 2008. "Jadu" means "Plum" in Korean. In ...

(who plays Yi Joon), and Park Shin-hye (who plays Shin Sae-ryung). Many of the supporting cast, who played minor characters, reprised their roles. Filming started in November 2006. The name for the spin-off changed from ''Goong 2'' to ''

Goong S ''Prince Hours'' (; lit. "Palace S") is a 2007 South Korean romantic comedy television series, starring Seven, Huh E-jae, Kang Doo and Park Shin-hye. It is a spin-off of the 2006 series ''Goong'' (also known as ''Princess Hours''), both were ...

– Prince Hours'' (''궁 S'') due to copyright infringement problems. Filming continued despite Group 8 facing lawsuits due to the unlawful use of ''Goong'' in the title. However, MBC has looked into this issue with Eight Peaks and have stated that the channel station and original production company both own the rights of the name. ''Goong S'' will still be used for this season, with the subtitle of "''Prince Who''". ''Goong S'' was broadcast from January 10 to March 15, 2007, to moderate success.

''Goong: The Musical''

This drama was later adapted into a musical titled ''Goong: The Musical'' (

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 l ...

: 뮤지컬 궁). Producer Song Byung-joon, CEO of production company Group Eight, collaborated with the drama's screenwriter In Eun-ah for the stage rendition, and also brought in theater director Kim Jae-sung. The creative team constructed flamboyant stage sets, which were visualized through digital devices to show off the dramatic effects and fantasies on stage. A variety of music genres from traditional court music, classics, hip-hop and jazz was used, along with varying dance styles such as ballet, court dances and b-boy. Goong Teddy Bears

When the musical debuted at the Yong Theater at the

National Museum of Korea The National Museum of Korea is the flagship museum of Korean history and art in South Korea and is the cultural organization that represents Korea. Since its establishment in 1945, the museum has been committed to various studies and research ...

in September 2010, the lead role of Crown Prince Lee Shin was played by

U-Know Yunho Jung Yun-ho (; born February 6, 1986), also known by his stage name U-Know Yunho () or simply U-Know, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, actor, and a member of the pop duo TVXQ. Born and raised in Gwangju, South Korea, Yunho started his music ...

TVXQ TVXQ (stylized as TVXQ!), an initialism for Tong Vfang Xien Qi (), is a South Korean male pop duo consisting of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin. They are known as in Japanese releases, and are sometimes referred to as DBSK, an abbreviation of ...

. Kim Kyu-jong of SS501 played Shin during the musical's run at the Minami-za Kabuki Theater in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

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 n ...

in June–July 2011, and Kangin of

Super Junior Super Junior (; stylized in all caps), also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band formed by Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment in 2005. They are also dubbed by the media as the "King of Hallyu Wave" due to their promine ...

alternated with Sungmo of

Supernova A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or whe ...

to take over the role at the Gotanda U-Port Hall in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

, Japan in September 2012. In 2014,

Shinee Shinee ( ; ko, 샤이니, Syaini; ja, シャイニー, Shainī; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group's musical impact in their native country has earned them numerous accolades and the ...

Taemin Lee Tae-min (born July 18, 1993), better known mononymously as Taemin, is a South Korean singer, actor and dancer. He debuted as a member of the boy band Shinee in May 2008 and the supergroup SuperM in 2019, both under SM Entertainment, and ...

, ZE:A's Kim Dongjun,

U-KISS U-KISS ( ko, 유키스; ja, ユーキス) is a South Korean boy band formed in 2008. Their name is an acronym, standing for Ubiquitous Korean International Idol Super Star. The group's current lineup is composed of Soohyun, Hoon, Kiseop and ...

Soohyun and Hoon alternately played the part of Prince Lee Shin in the Japan run of Goong held from May 10 to 24 (25 stages) in

Akasaka ACT Theater The TBS Akasaka ACT Theater ( ja, TBS赤坂ACTシアター) is a theatre located in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Completed in 2008, the four-storey high theatre has a capacity of 1,324 seats. In September 2014 the theatre is showing Arthur ...

Remakes

In 2006, '' Benci Bilang Cinta'' starring Andriani Marshanda and

Baim Wong Muhammad Ibrahim (born 27 April 1981), better known as Baim Wong, is an Indonesian YouTuber and actor. He is of mixed ethnic Chinese and Sundanese descent. Career Baim had his first role in a soap opera in 2001, but didn't become serious ab ...

, aired in Indonesia. In 2017, ''Princess Hours Thailand'' (Thai title: ''รักวุ่นๆ เจ้าหญิงจอมจุ้น'') is broadcast on

True4U True4U is a Thai digital terrestrial television channel owned by True4U Station Company Limited, a subsidiary of True Corporation. It was broadcasting news, entertainment and sport programs. True4U is broadcasting on Thailand digital television pl ...

. The starring is Ungsumalynn Sirapatsakmetha as Khaning and Sattaphong Phiangphor as Crown Prince Inn. On March 5, 2021, Group 8 has been announced that the drama will have its second Korean adaptation.

References

External links

''Princess Hours'' official MBC website

at MBC Global Media * *
''Goong: Musical'' official website
{{in lang, ko 2006 South Korean television series debuts 2006 South Korean television series endings Alternate history television series Korean-language television shows MBC TV television dramas South Korean alternate history South Korean romantic comedy television series South Korean teen dramas Television shows based on manhwa Television shows set in Bangkok Television series set in the 21st century Television series about princesses South Korean high school television series