''The Sword with No Name'' (; ) is a 2009 South Korean film based on a fictionalized account of

Empress Myeongseong Empress Myeongseong or Empress Myungsung (명성황후 민씨; 17 November 1851 – 8 October 1895In lunar calendar, the Empress was born on 25 September 1851 and died on 20 August 1895), informally known as Empress Min, was the official wife ...

. The film sold 1,671,387 tickets nationwide.

Plot

Mu-myeong is a bounty hunter 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 ...

who lives day-to-day by catching fugitives. His life is forever changed when, on one of his missions, he meets a beautiful noblewoman, Min Ja-young, and falls in love with her. Several years pass and Ja-young enters the royal palace to be married to

Emperor Gojong Gojong (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919) was the monarch of Korea from 1864 to 1907. He reigned as the last King of Joseon from 1864 to 1897, and as the first Emperor of Korea from 1897 until his forced abdication in 1907. He is known ...

as the next queen of Joseon. Lovesick, Mu-myeong joins the royal guard to be near Ja-young, staying loyally by her side as she navigates court politics and rises to the throne to become the

. Myeongseong tries to modernize the dynasty by breaking it off from its hermit kingdom past while avoiding being colonized by Russia and Japan. She becomes embroiled in a political power struggle with the court's conservative

Confucian 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 ...

faction, led by her own father-in-law, the regent Daewongun. As threats against the queen grow, Mu-myeong tries to protect her by fending off assassination attempts from foreign and domestic enemies.

Cast

Cho Seung-woo Cho Seung-woo (born March 28, 1980) is a South Korean actor and singer. He is best known for his leading roles in the films '' The Classic'' (2003), '' Marathon'' (2005), '' Tazza: The High Rollers'' (2006), and ''Inside Men'' (2015), as well as ...

as Mu-myeong (literally "Nameless") *

Soo Ae Park Soo-ae (; born 16 September 1979), known mononymously as Soo Ae, is a South Korean actress best known for portraying Kim In-hae in the 2013 film ''The Flu'' and Oh Soo-yeon in the 2018 film ''High Society''. Soo Ae began her career on telev ...

as Min Ja-young, later

* Chun Ho-jin as Daewongun, Gojong's father *Choi Jae-woong as Noe-jeon * Kim Young-min as

*Park Min-hee as Mi Woo-ra *

Go Soo-hee Go Soo-hee (born July 18, 1976) is a South Korean actress. Filmography Film Television series Variety show References External links * * * 고수희at Naver Naver (Hangul: 네이버) is a South Korean online platform operated b ...

as So-hee *Song Hee-yeon as Dae-doo *Lee Yong-nyeo as Court lady Choi *Yoon Young-bae as Min Young-ik * Bong Man-dae as Lee Saeng-won/Ji Kyeong-chool *Lee Joo-sil as Ja-young's mother *Kim So-hee as Mu-myeong's mother *Lee Joon-myeong as young Mu-myeong *

Shin Cheol-jin Shin Cheol-jin is a South Korean actor. He made his debut in the 1976 play ''Naughty in the West''. Filmography Television series Film Awards and nominations * 2005 Korean Theater Actors Association Actor of the Year * 2008 The 12th Hector ...

as Go Jong's eunuch *Yeo Moo-young as Prime Minister *Sophie Broustal as Isabel * Jung Woon-sun as Ja Young's waiting lady *

Lee Moo-saeng Lee Moo-saeng (; born May 10, 1980), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television dramas ''The World of the Married'' (2020), ''The Silent Sea'' (2021), ''Thirty-Nine'' (2022), and '' Cleaning Up (2022). Career ...

as Noe-jeon's subordinate #2

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sword with No Name, The South Korean historical romance films 2009 films Funimation Films set in the Joseon dynasty 2000s historical romance films Showbox films 2009 romantic drama films South Korean romantic drama films 2000s South Korean films