To be fair those swashbuckling masterpieces of old Hollywood were made when the Second World War was looming or in full swing. Yes, yes, yes, there is the Pirates of the Caribbean and all of those grand Star Wars space adventures that are swashbuckling and humorous, but do they shake us out of our complacency? Is their core craving idealism? Do any of them inspire us to take up the gauntlet and fight for equality, freedom and human rights? Do we want to model ourselves on the protagonist and endeavour to make our world – or our corner of it– a better place? Do we want to be better people for having watched them? Those early Star Wars movies, perhaps. What Seoul? Soul? What am I on about?Lost? Seriously? What of the high seas, you ask? Ahn Hyo-seop/ Clark Gable and Kim Yoo-jung / Vivien Leigh in a hash up of Lovers of the Red Sky and Gone with the Wind Am I painting a picture for you? Robin Hood, Zorro, the Crimson Pirate, Scaramouche – the golden characters of the golden years of Hollywood, are they all gone with the wind? Or simply lost with the soul – er in Seoul. Grand musical scores, gorgeous costumes, high drama and epic historical fables. Idealistic scholars and martyred beauties. Conniving villains and downtrodden citizens. All for one and one for all! Swashbuckling heroes and virtuous maids. If, like me, you love K-drama Romances, you might like reading this…Įrrol Flynn. My Sassy Girl – an incognito drunken princess encounters a loyal scholar during a moonlit escape from the palace. In a refreshing change, this one doesn’t centre around a Crown Prince but a female artist and a royal advisor hell-bent on revenge. Lovers of the Red Sky – a historical fairy tale blending fantasy, art and fiction. The Crowned Clown – a brooding dark romance that is epic in scope, drama and presentation
The Red Sleeve Cuff – a historical fiction that engenders feminist rhetoric in a really fun way If you haven’t seen one yet I can highly recommend these single season series:ġ00 Days My Prince – a classically well-made historic romance There is a lot that can be said about historical romances – from what they owe traditional theatre forms in terms of performance and character types to what they draw from Confucius and Christianity. The love of a good woman has the power to heal and transform her man – or in the case of The King’s Affection, it’s the love of a good man.The belief that until the kingdom is in equilibrium there can be no happily ever after for its ruler.The truism that it’s better to live a simple life outside the splendour of the palace rather than survive within the walls of a palace riddled with greed, overreaching ambition and loneliness.Crown Prince / Monarch is very lonely – cannot trust anyone.Cross dressing and disguise – often the Crown Prince.Virtuous scholars and police commissioners/personal guards.Broken family relationships between father and son and sibling princes.A HEA can’t be achieved until the Crown Prince rises to the challenge of good leadership and steers the ship of state.Crown Prince seeking virtue and wisdom through the teachings of Confucius.Loan sharks acting as tools or throwing a spanner into the works.Evil government ministers controlling an impotent monarch.The royal hunt where the monarch becomes the prey.Martial arts experts – where the one (or few) overcome the many.Soliloquies that can be overheard, and often are.What else can you expect from A K-drama period romance? Princess Hours (2006) is an enemies-to-lovers, cross-class-barriers romance starring the always effervescent Yoon Eun-hye and fittingly, imperious Joo Ji Hoon. As she learns palace etiquette, so do we. As she adjusts to life in the palace walls in the 21 st Century, the social mores of the bygone era are imposed upon her. It places a modern day high school girl from a working class background in a situation where she is impelled by family obligation to marry the Crown Prince. Princess Hours (2006) is a good introduction to the Joseon Era. Rules were made to be broken, of course, and so much the better if one has a disguise handy! Imagine the scope for mischief when you have a sprawling palace complex inhabited by legions of court maids who are the exclusive property of the king a myriad of neutered male servants to serve the royal inhabitants a private palace for every royal concubine an army of guards to maintain the peace and oppressive rules – no resident is allowed to leave the complex without the consent of the king if at all.
Setting it up and then defying it makes for great comedy and easy suspense. When setting a period piece in the palace district of the Joseon Era, there are added restraints prescribed by the historical realities of the period.
Ahn Hyo-seop/ Clark Gable and Kim Yoo-jung / Vivien Leigh in a hash up of Lovers of the Red Sky and Gone with the Wind