The King's Affection - Review

It's been many years since I last binged a K-drama, and this one did not disappoint. K-dramas had become boring to me, filled with predictable plot lines and cliches. I needed to see subplot, an interesting setting, and nuanced characters. Some of my favorites to this day have been Pinocchio, Goblin, and Descendents of the Sun. I will happily say that The King's Affection has joined and topped the list of my favorite dramas of all time. This drama is filled with characters who grow through navigating tough social politics, secrets, regrets, heartbreaks, and resentments. Every single character has a nuanced story while the pacing of the show kept me on my toes.

SPOILER ALERT: I will be including spoilers in this review, so please read at your own caution.

The King's Affection is a drama set during the Joseon Dynasty, when it overlapped with the Ming Dynasty in China. Twins were born, one male and one female. The boy was to become the heir to the throne, and due to the birth of twins, the event had become a scandal to be dealt with. The maternal grandfather wanted to have the female twin killed, but the parents decided to have the girl sent away. Some time passes and some shenanigans occurred to have the twins find each other again at the palace, sometimes trading places with one another so that the prince could escape as a commoner. During one of the trades, the real prince is assassinated. Thus, the girl (Dam-I) would have to assume the identity of the prince (Lee Hwi) and hide her true self forever.

Queer Love and Gender Bending

One of the main things that stood out as I watched this drama was how they handled the love story. Similar to the Disney story Mulan, this drama has a woman take the identity of a man. Dam-I must present masculine in front of society. In the modern day, she would be categorized as someone who is cross-dressing but living life sort of like a trans man who is born female.

During the drama, Dam-I and Jung Ji-Un become love interests. However, due to the royal palace social dynamics and Dam-I being a court maid, she is targeted by Jung Ji-Un's father who wanted to protect his family and prevent his son from falling in love with a court maid. However, due to the identity swapping that the Prince Lee Hwi and his twin sister Dam-I would do, the Prince is killed instead of Dam-I.

Jung Ji-Un leaves to the Ming Dynasty in China to spend time and learn, as is common for kids from the palace, and upon returning to the Joseon Dynasty's royal palace, he finds himself becoming friends with the prince Lee Hwi. He eventually begins to show affection for the prince and starts to question whether he is in love with a man. After asking the people around him, he decides to show his feelings for the prince. This is under the assumption that Ji-Un has indeed fallen in love with a man.

Separately, Dam-I as the prince is supposed to eventually marry a princess and have kids. However, due to the identity switch up, this is actually impossible. She tries to delay the marriage for as long as possible. When she does eventually marry a princess, she delays the process of spending nights with the princess as much as possible. This causes the princess to wonder if she herself is undesirable, to which Dam-I has to apologize and explain that her actions will not make sense and that the truth will eventually be shared. During the night when the truth is revealed to the princess, it is the truth that the prince is a woman, not that there was an identity swap between two twins. As such, this specific scenario is actually one that may fall in line and relate with someone who presents as the opposite gender as is typical for their assigned sex.

Therefore, it is possible to conclude that Jung Ji-Un is bisexual in this story while Dam-I is still a straight woman forced to live as a man due to life circumstances. Jung Ji-Un having fallen in love twice, once with Dam-I while as a girl and a court maid, and finally with her while with the identity of Prince Lee Hwi as a man. It is often brought up throughout the show that Lee Hwi does seem to look or act feminine – acting cuter or being prettier rather than coming across as tough and masculine.

Gender Expectations

One of the other highlights of this show is the one of gender expectations. As is proper, a woman cannot be a King. However, through this series of events, it is possible, that a woman is able to assume the role of a King and do all the things a King can do. This is shown through this story as Dam-I learns to shoot arrows, fight with swords, and ride on horseback.

Women during the Joseon Dynasty were strong in their own right. Often, there would be scenes showing the Queen Dowager shooting arrows at archery targets and using a bow-and-arrow as a method of self-defense. Of course, within this historical context, there were still expectations on how to dress when it came to clothing options as well as hobbies. Men often partook in ball sports and shenanigans whereas the women would have fun on a standing swing.

Leadership and Social Norms

Throughout The King's Affection, there are two leadership styles and values that are in conflict with each other. One is more aggressive and ruthless, aiming to kill or remove any possible enemies or obstacles to power. The other is kind and fair, opting to instead give commoners the respect they deserve. These dynamics often come to light as families fight for the honor and respect of the royal family and palace life while trying to navigate social politics.

Dam-I as the prince and her maternal grandfather would often clash as time went on. Ultimately, when the grandfather is revealed to be attempting to overthrow the government, Dam-I has to fight eye for an eye and poison him with the same method her father, the king, was poisoned. The last few episodes go by in a blur due to this conflict. As I watched, I was reminded of Romeo and Juliet's tragic love story in which both characters die at the end.

In many ways, this story is similar to the Shakespeare classic in that Dam-I almost kills herself while poisoning her grandfather. However, she stays alive, and instead, Dam-I and Jung Ji-Un are able to live life outside of the palace and the end, catching food for themselves, a bittersweet end to a tragic love story. Dam-I's identity and punishment would be to have all traces of her record erased as if she never existed.

The throne is then passed down to her royal family cousin, a loyal friend of the prince. Palace life comes with a lot of pressure and isn't as easy or pleasant as one would make it out to be, and this drama really shows that. Alliances and friendships have to be formed and maintained while keeping an eye on any enemies or threats. "You are the only person I can trust here" is a line that is thrown around quite often as characters realize that the palace is a dangerous place. Social capital within politics is shown to be something of great importance and that translates back into how politics in hierarchical structures work.

Overall, The King's Affection is a drama that breaks the tropes of typical historical K-dramas and is a nice change of pace for someone who wants a fresh story with robust characters. It became the first Korean TV show to win an International Emmy in 2022, a testament to the uniqueness and quality of the story, acting, and directing.