The King: Eternal Monarch

Welcome back to Hallyu Reviews! We hope you enjoyed Sabrina’s review of the C-drama "Falling into Your Smile" last week. If you missed it, be sure to go back and have a read!

This week we take a look at “The King: Eternal Monarch.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Synopsis

“The King: Eternal Monarch” (“The King”) is about a young king, Lee Gon (Lee Min Ho), of the fictional Kingdom of Corea.  In 1994 Lee Gon’s father is murdered by Lee Gon’s uncle, Lee Lim (Lee Jung Jin).  Lee Lim attempts to murder young Lee Gon, as well, but during the struggle Lee Gon is saved by an unknown person dressed in black.  Lee Gon grabs a lanyard hanging from the person’s neck before passing out.  Using the Manpasikjeok, a legendary wooden flute which allows its beholder to travel between worlds, Lee Gon’s uncle fakes his death and escapes to another world, the Republic of Korea.  The next day, Lee Gon ascends the throne at the young age of 8.  The lanyard from that fateful night was issued in 2019 and belongs to Lieutenant Jeong Tae Eul (Kim Go Eun), but no such person exists in Lee Gon’s world.  Twenty-five years later, Jeong Tae Eul is a detective in the Violent Crimes Division at the Seoul Jongo Police Station in Korea.  The night that Lee Lim steals the Manpasikjeok, young Lee Gon breaks it into two with his father’s sword.  Lee Lim escapes with one half, but is unable to locate the second piece, forced to leave it behind.  Twenty-five years later, Lee Gon learns of the ability of the Manpasikjeok and uses it to cross into the parallel world of the Republic of Korea.  Once there, Lee Gon finally meets Lieutenant Jeong Tae Eul.  After much convincing and traveling back and forth between both worlds, Tae Eul finally believes Lee Gon’s wild story and helps him locate his uncle, who is amassing followers from both worlds.  In the process, the two fall in love.  Lee Gon learns that there is also a time axis located within the gate between worlds, and after going back in time to try and stop his uncle, he has to rush through time to be reunited with Tae Eul in her world and time.  Over time, both halves of Manpasikjeok begin to crack, and Lee Lim and Lee Gon become desperate to gain full control over a Manpasikjeok in one piece, but for very different reasons.  Lee Gon goes back in time to stop Lee Lim from ever gaining control of Manpasikjeok and entering Tae Eul’s world.  He then opens every door in the universe to fulfil his promise to return Tae Eul, and the couple spends the rest of their lives traveling through time and parallel universes to do all of the things they skipped before.       

Courtesy of Awesome

Lead Couple

Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun are two of my favorite actors in K-dramas, and they are fun to watch together on screen.  I have read that they have been criticized for their lack of chemistry in “The King.” And while their kisses are a bit disappointing, their embraces are some of the sweetest and most heartwarming I’ve ever seen. Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun are both amazing actors, so whether the scene calls for the Lead Couple to tease one another happily or to say goodbye tearfully, their acting elevates the intimacy of each scene.

Courtesy of Soompi

Lee Gon is handsome and smart, a capable ruler beloved by his people.  Lee Gon has grown up as an orphan, raised amid his uncle’s worries and the Head Court Lady’s tears.  Prince Buyeong, Lee Jong In (Jeon Mu Song), is his father’s cousin and second in line to the throne.  He shares Lee Gon’s love of mathematics and is a doctor and professor.  While some may look at him suspiciously, he never covets the throne, but always acts in the best interest of the royal family, including Lee Gon.  He is the only father figure that Lee Gon has in his life. 

Head Court Lady Noh Ok Nam (Kim Young Ok) has been with Lee Gon since he was born.  Though she is the head of his staff, she often acts more like a grandmother to the king than an employee.  Their interactions are sweet and often humorous, as she fusses both over and at him.  She is the only person to make the king visibly startle, when she appears before him with a scowl.  She is also desperate for him to marry.  “It is the king’s duty to produce an heir,” she tells the King.  She even hides talismans around his room and in his clothing.  Lee Gon is not interested and tells her that she is the first woman to be rude to him since he ascended the throne.  He tells her that she shall be beheaded, but she is unmoved, collecting her talismans from the trash once he leaves the room and re-hiding them.     

He spends his life looking for his savior, the face only he can recognize, wondering why they have never come to him.  Lee Gon’s best friend and Head of the Royal Guard, Captain Jo Yeong, says it is because Lee Gon grew up well and does not need anyone’s help now.  But when Lee Gon does eventually find Tae Eul, he thanks her.  “Because you existed somewhere, I was less lonely.”  Because of his childhood trauma, Lee Gon does not allow anyone to touch him.  From the moment he meets Tae Eul, however, it is clear that Lee Gon clearly makes Tae Eul the exception to this rule as they frequently exchange touches comfortably.

Lieutenant Jeong Tae Eul is a police officer.  She is tough, fearless, and a black belt in Taekwondo.  When Lee Gon meets her, he is shocked at her somewhat abrasive personality, musing, “I thought you would be softer.”  Later, she explains that “not everyone in the world can be brave. So I decided to become brave.”  Even though Lee Gon teases her about being a liberal arts person (versus a math and science person), Tae Eul is very skeptical of things unless she can experience for herself.  Tae Eul frequently references her world as being flat – not round – because she has never tested that theory for herself.

The pair share many great scenes in “The King,” most filled with humor.  One of my favorite lighthearted scenes is in when Lee Gon is taking care of Tae Eul in the hospital.  Tae Eul is enjoying their moment together and suggests that they sneak out after eating.  Lee Gon immediately calls for a nurse, threatening to rat out Tae Eul.  She quickly covers his mouth shushing him.  She asks what he is doing and he continues to feed her, telling her to eat up and rest.  When she suggests sneaking out once more, he yells, yet again for someone to help.  Both dissolve into laughter and she covers his mouth again.

But because Lee Gon and Tae Eul are constantly having to leave one another, most of my favorite scenes are reunions.  Some of the scenes are humorous, like when Lee Gon is time hopping at the very end of the series in an attempt to find Tae Eul’s universe.  Unfortunately, he has to travel through multiple worlds to find her.  In each world, some version of “Tae Eul” exists, but only one is the “right” Tae Eul.  Still, the different versions are fun to see, as they oscillate between some version of civil servant in which “Tae Eul” is protecting others, to my absolute favorite, the self-absorbed and drunk actor who just received the Grand Prize and thinks the flowers that Lee Gon is carrying are for her.  It must have been fun for Kim Go Eun to adopt such a fun role. 

Most of their reunion scenes are filled with emotion, as they frequently overcome many obstacles to be together.  Probably my absolute favorite reunion scene is when Lee Gon finally reunites with Tae Eul in her world after traveling through 26 years’ worth of time hopping.  The two actors nail their performances as their tearful embrace exudes a plethora of pent-up emotions.  “I’m sorry for making you wait,” he tells her lovingly, without letting her go.  Afterwards, she asks him not to leave her once she falls asleep, knowing he has to eventually leave again to stop his uncle.  He vows not to leave while she is asleep, and as proof, crawls into her hospital bed and holds her close. 

The scene where they do part, however, so that Lee Gon can go back in time and stop Lee Kim before he ever comes to the Republic of Korea is gut-wrenching. Tae Eul postulates that if their worlds flow differently from that point, then she will not remember him. “Let’s not save the world,” she suggests. Always the dutiful king, Lee Gon begs her to tell him to go. “I’m asking for someone’s permission for the first time in my life,” he states.  Lee Gon knows in his heart that if Tae Eul begs him not to go, he would be unable to leave her. He is battling between his duty as a king, and his heart as a man. Tae Eul cannot even look at him, unable to control the tears from falling. “Tell me you’ll come back,” she commands, “no matter what happens, you have to come back.” Lee Gon holds her tight and promises to open every door in the universe to find her.

Lee Lim

Lee Lim, or Prince Imperial Geum (Lee Jung Jin), is the main antagonist of the series.  He is the illegitimate half-brother of Lee Gon’s father, and Lee Gon’s uncle.  When he murders King Lee Ho in 1994, the Crown Prince Lee Gon ascends the throne.  He flees with half of Manpasikjeok, and unexpectedly opens a door to the Republic of Korea, a parallel universe.  Lee Lim is a ferocious man, who does not mind getting blood on his hands, killing strangers and family, alike.  When he runs into a man who looks like his brother’s doppelgänger in the Republic of Korea, he murders him.  He then murders his own doppelgänger in Korea – and dumps his body in the Kingdom of Corea to fake his own death – as well as his future self when he encounters him in the past.  And not only does he attempt to kill his 8-year-old nephew in Corea, but succeeds in killing his nephew’s 8-year-old doppelgänger in Korea.

Lee Lim spends the next 25 years moving back and forth between worlds amassing supporters.  He does this by bringing people back and forth and having those who swear loyalty to him kill their doppelgängers and assume their lives, either in the Kingdom of Corea or in the Republic of Korea, whichever suits his greater purpose.  Lee Lim entices people to commit these horrific acts by painting a picture that the life of the person whom they are replacing is better than theirs, and that somehow, the other person is unworthy of that life that they deserve for themselves.  His ultimate purpose is to achieve immortality and Lee Gon stands in his way.  He wants his nephew to suffer despair and crumble before him, and to do that, Lee Lim wants Lee Gon to suffer by losing another person in his life.  First, he targets Prince Buyeong, then Tae Eul. 

Literary References

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, a story in which Alice falls through a hole into a fantasy world, is one of Lee Gon’s favorite books and is referenced multiple times throughout the series.  The first time is when Lee Gon is ready it to a group of young subjects.  A little girl is set up by the Head Lady to ask the king if he has a girlfriend.  When he answers no, she unexpectedly replies, “then you should follow the White Rabbit, too.”  This foreshadows what happens when Lee Gon is at a rowing race and he sees someone dressed in a coat that has a hood with rabbit ears.  Taken by surprise, he gives chase, but loses the person, whom we later learn is Luna, Tae Eul’s counterpart in Lee Gon’s world.  Lee Gon keeps Tae Eul’s badge inside his personal copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.  The next time Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is mentioned is when she is in the King’s palace for the first time.  Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is also mentioned when Tae Eul’s childhood friend and fellow cop, Kang Shin Jae (Kim Kyung Nam), asks Tae Eul what her plan is for dealing with Lee Lim and his followers.  Tae Eul does not have an answer, so she quotes Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, saying, “I’ll just keep going. I was told we would arrive somewhere if we just keep going.”    

Another literary reference in “The King” is that of King Arthur.  In his book, History of the Kings of Britain, Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote a number of stories about the legendary British monarch, King Arthur.  Eun-Sup refers to Lee Gon as King Arthur because he claims to be a king and has a majestic white horse.  The boy outside of the bookstore in the Kingdom of Corea is also reading the story of King Arthur.  When Lee Lim sees him, he asks him what it is about. The boy says it is about a boy of noble blood who draws a sword and becomes a king.  Lee Lim says to forget noble blood.  Instead, “the sword must be drawn by those who know how to use it.” The boy asks, but what if someone who is unjust were to draw it? To which Lee Lim responds, “Justice doesn’t make the sword. The sword decides what justice is.”  This response sums up Lee Lim and his ambition perfectly, contrasting him unfavorably against King Arthur and Lee Gon.

Dual Roles

“The King” is filled with actors who play dual roles, as a character in Lee Gon’s Kingdom of Corea and Tae Eul’s Republic of Korea.  The doppelgängers seem to be opposites.  While Tae Eul is a police officer who upholds the laws of the Republic of Korea, for example, Luna is a criminal with a reputation for committing any crime for a fee in the Kingdom of Corea.  But the dual role that stands out the most is that of Woo Do Hwan, who plays Captain Jo Yeong in the Kingdom of Corea and Jo Eun Sup in the Republic of Korea.  Lee Gon’s father has a good friend who has a son, Jo Yeong.  And when Lee Gon grieves the loss of his father at such a young age, Yeong grieves with him.  Lee Gon, moved by such emotion from a virtual stranger, appoints the 4-year-old as his Unbreakable Sword, a role he continues in 25 years later as the Head of the Royal Guard.  Yeong is calm, collected, and ever vigilant, willing to give his life to save his king. 

In the Republic of Korea, Jo Eun Sup is Tae Eul’s best friend from childhood.  In contrast to Yeong, Eun Sup has a happy-go-lucky personality.  But just as Yeong unconditionally serves his king, Eun Sup is loyal and protective of his younger twin siblings.  And whereas Yeong has trained his entire life and is competent in his fighting skills, Eun Sup is terrified of his own shadow, and counts down the days until he is discharged from his compulsory service with the military.  That being said, however, Eun Sup takes a bullet for Lee Gon when he and Yeong switch places.  He tells Lee Gon that he promised Yeong that he would protect the king at all costs, and that Yeong promised to do the same for his siblings, proving that maybe he and Yeong are not so different, after all.

There is one scene when Woo Do Hwan is portraying Eun Sup, who is pretending to be answering the phone as Yeong.  His performance is phenomenally nuanced - from the way he stands to the timbre in his voice – and yet it is not a perfect Yeong.  So the audience feels like they are watching Eun Sup imperfectly portraying a totally different person, rather than a character acted by the same actor!

Courtesy of Soompi

Reflections

To help portray these dual roles, as well as the dual worlds, “The King” employs the use of reflections.  Lee Gon sees his reflection in a window when chasing after the White Rabbit.  Yeong sees a reflection of himself when looking for Lee Gon.  Lee Gon sees himself in a puddle the first time he sees time stop as Lee Lim travels between worlds.  We see Tae Eul’s reflection in the desk surface when she lays her head down, thinking of Lee Gon in his world.  We see Tae Eul’s reflection in a window when she and Myung Na Ri (Kim Young Ji) are talking about dual universes and Na Ri’s theory that doppelgängers are fated to destroy each other to restore the balance. 

Sometimes the reflection shows us the same person, as in the moments aforementioned, but sometimes, the character sees their doppelgänger.  Tae Eul sees Luna in the rearview mirror of her car.  The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Corea, Koo Seo Ryeong (Jung Eun Chae) sees her doppelgänger in her computer monitor.   

And when Lee Gon and Lee Lim finally meet face-to-face in the Kingdom of Corea, the episode ends with a split screen, showing only one half of each of their faces, as if to demonstrate that Lee Gon and Lee Lim are total opposites of one another.

Lightning Scars

Lightning is a recurring theme during “The King.”  Before he is murdered by Lee Lim, Lee Gon’s father asks him, “do you not fear the punishment of the skies?”  The road in between the two worlds is referred to as the road of thunder and lightning.  And some of the people who cross over between the worlds – those whose doppelgängers have been killed – are marked with painful lightning scars every time there is a thunderstorm.  Because both Tae Eul and Luna are alive, neither of them suffers from the lightning scar.  Because Lee Lim kills’ Lee Gon’s doppelgänger in Korea, however, Lee Gon suffers from the painful scars.  One of my favorite scenes surrounding the lightning scar occurs when Tae Eul witnesses Lee Gon’s lightning scar for the first time.  Because they have not ascertained the reason behind the scar, yet, Tae Eul asks Lee Gon to inspect her neck for a lightning scar.  At first, Lee Gon looks away, not wanting to be tempted, but at Tae Eul’s insistence, verifies that she has no scar.  As they continue to discuss the reason why some who cross between worlds suffer from the scar and others do not, Tae Eul suggests it may be a curse on people who are bad.  Lee Gon looks at her, and with exasperation says, “I wanted to stop beheading people.”  (Lee Gon mentions beheading people multiple times throughout the K-drama and it elicits a chuckle from me nearly every time.)  “Go ahead and try,” Tae Eul boldly challenges, sticking her neck forward.  Unable to resist, Lee Gon places a gentle kiss on her neck.  Lee Gon mentions beheading for a second time when Tae Eul protests with a half-hearted “hey!”  The scene ends with Lee Gon kisses Tae Eul deeply and leans her back onto the bed. 

Courtesy of DevDiscourse

Fate and Destiny

A common K-drama trope is that of fate.  “The King” mentions both fate and destiny.  According to YourDictionary.com, there is a nuanced difference between fate and destiny.  “By definition, fate is those outside forces establishing the preordained path of your life despite what you do.”  Fate, therefore, is out of your control.  Destiny, however, can be altered with your choices.  Unlike fate, “destiny hasn’t already been determined. Therefore, the changes that you make will affect your destiny in life.” Most people, however, use the words interchangeably.  And though both words are used in “The King,” there is never a clear distinction made between the two. 

When Yeong is explaining his loyalty to Lee Gon to Shin Jae, he says, “I think it was fate.” And now that the King is entering into a new battlefield, he continues, “if that is his destiny, I must follow him.”  Lee Gon asks his uncle, Prince Buyeong, if he believes in fate.  Prince Buyeong laughs, as they are both men of science and math.  But still, he answers, “If there is a place you want to reach, even if your life may be at risk, that is fate.” He also states later in the series that it is our choices which determine our destiny. 

We learn that Head Lady Noh is actually from Tae Eul’s world, and that Lee Gon’s grandfather appeared during the Korean War and asked her if she would like to go to a world without war. “Now I know that everything was my destiny. Just like how you ended up here,” she tells Tae Eul.  Since the moment her ID ended up in the young Lee Gon’s hands, Lady Noh believes Tae Eul has been guiding Lee Gon’s fate.  When Tae Eul asks Lee Gon why he is certain that they will meet again, he responds, “because it is our destiny.”  

Later in the series, Tae Eul states that “when it’s fate, there are no coincidences. It is inevitable by nature.”  Even when Lee Gon goes back in time and pops into Tae Eul’s world at different times, their fate does not change.  Tae Eul notes that everything that was fated to happen did.  This leads Lee Gon and Tae Eul to conclude that there is no way to change that which has been fated. The final scene of the movie shows the couple together, as Lee Gon’s voiceover says, “we decided to love the fate that chose us.”   

Courtesy of Pantip

When Na Ri is reading the lines on Lee Lim’s palm, she notices the scar on his hand.  It is from the wound Lee Gon gave him on the night he murdered his brother and attempted to steal Manpasikjeok.  Na Ri notices that his scar is connected to his fate line, literally forming a new fate for Lee Lim.  We can conclude that Lee Lim’s actions on that night changed his fate.  (Author’s note: based on the aforementioned definitions, it was actually Lee Lim’s destiny that changed on that night, since fate is out of our control, whereas destiny can be altered by our choices.)  Lee Lim’s new fate/destiny is to commit treason and be beheaded.  Lee Lim justifies his behavior saying that “goodwill is always useless, and its destiny is powerless.”

Courtesy of Annyeong Oppa

Negatives

My two biggest complaints about “The King” is the complicated story and the gruesome bloodiness.  “The King” has a VERY complicated story.  Every time I rewatch the series, I understand something more, but it is definitely a K-drama that requires full attention, especially if you are reading subtitles. The story is very nuanced with.  Just like “W: Two Worlds,” some of the complicatedness is that the characters travel between two separate worlds.  But unlike W, “The King” bounces back and forth in time, as well as different worlds.  And in the different worlds, there are doppelgänger versions of the main characters, who sometimes interact and pretend to be their other selves from the other world. 

And though this K-drama makes my MUST WATCH list, it has more violence that I am accustomed to for my K-dramas…almost too much for my personal taste.  I do enjoy action and adventure, but I lean more towards the fight scenes of “Healer” than the gruesome decapitations of “Kingdom.”  Lee Lim attempting to kill Lee Gon as an 8-year-old is so upsetting for me, for example, that I skip that entire scene every time I watch this K-drama.

Courtesy of Hello Kpop

Final verdict: MUST WATCH  

Despite the super complex storylines and the gruesome violence, “The King: Eternal Monarch” still makes my Must Watch list.  Written by the same writer as “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God,” Kim Eun Sook, this K-drama follows a very similar pattern to “Guardian” with its intense storyline, which is well-balanced with moments of humor that make you chuckle, as well as a sweet and haunting OST (Original Soundtrack). Like “Guardian,” it also stars amazing actors – two of my favorites in Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun (who also starred in “Guardian”) – who elevate each other’s acting in every scene.  Just like “Guardian,” there is an unexpected deity – the yo-yo boy who sits outside the bookstore – who plays a role in shaping the story, “restoring balance” when “there are too many enemies.”  And like Guardian, the ending is somewhat unsatisfying,as the Lead Couple only being together on weekends raises many concerns about starting a family of their own someday - if they so choose - and about Lee Gon having an heir to his kingdom. Ultimately, the ending of “The King” is very innocent and sweet, as Lee Gon fulfills his promise to Tae Eul to do all of the things they skipped before. Overall, if you are a fan of Kim Eun Sook’s other works or one of the two lead actors, you will likely enjoy “The King.”  Whether you prefer one over the other is a matter of personal opinion, but I highly recommend checking out “The King,: Eternal Monarch,” especially if you are a fan of Lee Min Ho or Kim Go Eun.

So there it is, our review of “The King: Eternal Monarch.”  What did you think?!  Thank you for joining us on this journey.  Have a favorite K-drama you think we should review, comment down below!!  We look forward to seeing you back again next week!

Up next, “Shooting Stars”