''The King and I'' () is a South Korean historical series that aired on SBS from August 27, 2007 to April 1, 2008 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55. Starring Oh Man-seok, Koo Hye-sun, and

Go Joo-won Go Joo-won (born Go Young-chul on October 16, 1981) is a South Korean actor. He made his acting debut in the 2003 boxing series ''Punch'', followed by a supporting role in the revenge-themed ''Resurrection'' (2005). In 2006, Go became a househol ...

, the series was moderately successful, with its ratings peak at 25%.

Plot

''The King and I'' revolves around the life of Kim Cheo-sun, considered the best

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...

attendant who lived during the

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 r ...

. Cheo-sun secretly loves his childhood friend So-hwa, but he cannot confess his love because of their difference in social class. Eventually, when So-hwa becomes betrothed to King Seongjong, he castrates himself and enters the palace as an eunuch, determined to watch over and protect her. Initially the King's

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

, So-hwa is later elevated to the rank of Queen. But she becomes a pawn of the intense strife among warring

political factions A political faction is a group of individuals that share a common political purpose but differs in some respect to the rest of the entity. A faction within a group or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, "parties within a party," ...

, and is stripped of her title and cast out of the palace in disgrace. Despite Cheo-sun's attempts to help her, she is sentenced to death. Cheo-sun carries out his orders by handing her the bowl of poison and he watches as the woman he loved all his life dies before his eyes. After her death, he looks after her son, Prince Yeonsan.

Cast

Main characters

* Oh Man-seok as Kim Cheo-sun **Joo Min-soo as young Cheo-sun * Koo Hye-sun as Yoon So-hwa, later Deposed Queen Yun ** Park Bo-young as young So-hwa *

as King Seongjong ** Yoo Seung-ho as young Prince Jalsan (later Seongjong) *

Jun Kwang-ryul Jun Kwang-ryul () is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series '' Hur Jun'', ''Jumong'' and '' King of Baking, Kim Takgu''. Filmography Television series *''Jinxed at First'' (2022) *'' Kingmaker: The Chan ...

as Jo Chi-gyeom, head of the eunuchs *

Yang Mi-kyung Yang Mi-kyung (born July 25, 1961) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for playing the role of palace lady-in-waiting Han Baek-young in the popular period drama series ''Dae Jang Geum'' (2003). Other activities Yang was also a visitin ...

as Grand Queen Dowager Jaseong (later known as Queen Jeonghui), Seongjong's grandmother *

Jeon In-hwa Jeon In-hwa (; born October 27, 1965), is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 1985, and became best known for playing charismatic empresses in period dramas, notably in ''Ladies of the Palace'' for which she won the Grand Prize ( ...

as Queen Dowager Insu, Seongjong's mother * Ahn Jae-mo as Jung Han-soo, a eunuch **Baek Seung-do as young Han-soo *

Jeon Hye-bin Jeon Hye-bin (; ; born September 27, 1983), also known as BIN, is a South Korean actress, singer and model. In 2002, she began her career as singer of the short-lived, three-member girl group LUV. However, the group disbanded the following year ...

as Seol-young, Chi-gyeom's adoptive sister * Lee Jin as

Queen Yun Consort Yun or Queen Yun may refer to: Korea *Hui-bi Yun (died 1380), wife of Chunghye of Goryeo *Queen Jeonghui (1418–1483), consort of Sejo of Joseon *Deposed Queen Yun (1455–1482), second wife of Seongjong of Joseon *Queen Jeonghyeon (1462� ...

(later known as Queen Jeonghyeon)

Supporting characters

Shin Goo Shin Goo (; born Shin Sun-gi, ; August 13, 1936) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Variety show Theater Awards and nominations State honors Notes References External links Shin Goo Fan Cafeat Daum ...

as Noh Nae-shi, Chi-gyeom's adoptive father / former eunuch *

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 old woman So-gwi, in charge of discipline at the eunuch training house *

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 Wol-hwa, Cheo-sun's foster mother / Soginopa's daughter) * Kang Nam-gil as Choi Cham-bong, eunuch trainer * Jung Tae-woo as Yi Yung, Prince Yeonsan, King Seongjong and So-hwa's son **

Jung Yoon-seok Jung Yoon-seok (born April 30, 2003) is a South Korean actor. He won Best Young Actor award in 2009 SBS Drama Awards for his role in '' Temptation of Wife''. Early life and education Born to Korean-Chinese parents, Jung began his acting c ...

as young Yi Yung * Kim Sa-rang as Eoudong

Extended cast

* Yang Jung-a as Lady Oh, Cheo-sun's mother *Lee Il-jae as Kim Ja-myung, Cheo-sun's father *

Sunwoo Jae-duk Sunwoo Jae-duk (born July 23, 1962) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Television series Film Variety show Awards and nominations References External links Sunwoo Jae-duk Fan Cafeat Daum * * * * http://www.sghett ...

as Yoon Ki-kyun, So-hwa's father * Choi Jung-won as Lady Shin, Ki-kyun's wife *

Han Da-min Han Da-min (born Ham Mi-na on November 1, 1983) is a South Korean actress. She starred in the television drama ''You're Only Mine ''You're Only Mine'' () is a 2014 South Korean morning soap opera broadcast by SBS starring Lee Min-young, ...

as Queen Gonghye ** Kim Hee-jung as young Lady Han *Han So-jung as Court Lady Um *Yoon Hye-kyung as Royal Consort Eom Gwi-in * Ahn Gil-kang as Kae Do-chi *Kim Jung-min as Beo Deul-yi **Jo Jung-eun as young Deul-yi *

Kim Da-hyun Kim Da-hyun (born Kim Se-hyun on January 1, 1980) is a South Korean actor and singer. Kim made his entertainment debut in 1999 as the lead vocalist of the rock band ''Yada'' (which disbanded in 2004). Since then, he has been actively engaged i ...

as Choi Ja-chi ** Yoo Tae-woong as young Ja-chi *Kang In-hyung as Moon So-woon **Jeon Ha-eun as young So-woon *Kim Ha-kyun as Jang Soon-moo *Kim Myung-soo as Yang Sung-yoon * Han Jung-soo as Do Geum-pyo * Kim So-hyun as Lady Jung, Ji-gyeom's wife *

Kim Byung-se Kim Byung-se (born September 26, 1962) is a South Korean actor. Kim attended California State University Long Beach. Kim is an avid golfer and can be often seen golfing on his Instagram. Him and his wife have two dogs. Filmography Film ...

as King Sejo *Yoo Dong-hyuk as King Yejong *Kim Jong-gyul as Han Myung-hoe *Kim Young-joon as Hong Gwi-nam **Shin Tae-hoon as young Gwi-nam *Kang Jae as Kim Ja-won **Choi Soo-han as young Ja-won *Lee Gun-joo as Song Gye-nam **Maeung Chang-min as young Gye-nam *Lee Sang-won as Shim Ki-soo *

Park Ha-sun 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 ...

as Queen Shin, Yeonsan's wife *Kim Hyuk as Park Deok-hu, So-hwa's first love *Jung Eun-chan as Yoon Ki-hyun, So-hwa's older brother **Ho Hyo-hoon as young Ki-hyun *

Lee Young-eun Lee Young-eun (born August 9, 1982) is a South Korean actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as ...

as palace maid *Kim Yong-heon as Eom Nae-kwan *Kim Byung-choon as Yang Sung-yeon *Park Dong-bin as Goo Sung-gun *Choi Ha-na as Hong Bi *Lee Ji-oh as the Crown Prince, Yeonsan's son *Jun Hyun-ah as Court Lady Kam-chul *Oh Soo-min as

Jang Nok-su Royal Consort Suk-yong (, died 1506), of the Heungdeok Jang clan, was the consort of Yeonsangun of Joseon. She is often compared with Jang Hui-bin and Jeong Nan-jeong, two other women of the Joseon dynasty. After the overthrow of Yeonsangun, ...

*Nam Hyun-joo as Han-soo's mother *Jung Ki-sung as Jogeobi *Song Young-gyu as Lee Ki *Shin Soo-jung as Hoo Koong *Seol Ji-yoon as Court Lady Kim *Jung So-young *Kang Soo-han * Noh Young-hak as Grand Prince Jinseong *

Jun Tae-soo Jun Tae-soo (; March 2, 1984 – January 21, 2018) was a South Korean actor. He was best known for his role on the popular 2010 television series ''Sungkyunkwan Scandal''. Biography Jun Tae-soo was born on March 2, 1984 in Boryeong, South Chun ...

as Han Chi-geun *

Park Ji-hoon Park Ji-hoon (; born May 29, 1999) is a South Korean singer and actor. Park first made his debut at eight years old as a child actor and advertisement model, appearing as a supporting cast member on the MBC historical drama ''Jumong'' (2006) ...

as eunuch

Production

Park Sang-min was originally cast as King Seongjong, but had to back out. He was replaced by

. Yeo Woon-kye was supposed to portray So-gwi but had to quit due to health reasons, even though she had already filmed a few episodes. Her replacement was

. Reportedly enraged because the scripts were routinely turned in late, resulting in exhaustion for the actors in the cast,

's husband

Yoo Dong-geun Yoo Dong-geun (born June 18, 1956) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the historical television dramas ''Tears of the Dragon'', '' Empress Myseongseong'', and ''Yeon Gaesomun''. He was also an adjunct professor ...

assaulted two producers on set on December 29, 2007. He later apologized for the incident.

Episode ratings

''The King and I'' performed moderately well, getting ratings in the 20%–25% range and ranking in the top 10. However, in late January 2008, due to competition from MBC's '' Yi San'', ratings fell to the mid-tens, barely cracking the Top 20 in Korea. SBS first extended the episodes from the originally planned 50 to 67, then back to 61 because of bad ratings, and finally to 63.

Ratings

Awards

;2007 SBS Drama Awards *Top Excellence Award, Actor

*Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama: Oh Man-seok *Top 10 Stars:

*Best Teen Actor: Yoo Seung-ho *Best Teen Actor: Joo Min-soo *Best Teen Actress: Park Bo-young *Achievement Award:

*New Star Award: Koo Hye-sun

References

External links

''The King and I'' official SBS website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:King And I, The Seoul Broadcasting System television dramas 2007 South Korean television series debuts 2008 South Korean television series endings Korean-language television shows Television series set in the Joseon dynasty South Korean historical television series