An excellent series despite a lot of wrinkles
Historical series with an excellent cast, well writtenPLOT: The young FL witnesses the execution of her father and her family, falsely accused. She is saved by her "older brother", the ML2. 6 years later, she joined the Palace music troupe to investigate. She becomes friends with the king (unnamed, then identified), becomes an investigator, but makes an enemy of the ambitious Royal Consort and her powerful family.
+++ Excellent actors
+++ Story more and less consistent with historical reality
### Production outdated, slow, excessively melodramatic, with long presses on facial expressions (each emotional scene lasts 1 minute too long), (comic) actors who overact, OSTs like we don't do anymore, etc. .
### Even the supposedly intelligent characters (as well as the FL) are at times shockingly stupid... The endless unspoken misunderstandings, the "I am the only one responsible, I deserve to die, but I don’t explain anything”!!
It's very frustrating щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
I am surprised to realize that production has changed so much in 15 years!!
=> A series that could be considered emblematic in 2010, but which has taken on serious wrinkles :(
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Série historique avec un excellent cast, bien écrite
PLOT : La jeune FL assiste à l’exécution de son père et de sa famille, faussement accusés. Elle est sauvée par son "frère aîné", le ML2. 6 ans + tard, elle intègre la troupe de musique du Palais pour enquêter. Elle devient amie avec le roi (anonyme, puis identifié), devient enquêtrice, mais se fait une ennemie de la Consort royale ambitieuse et de sa puissante famille.
+++ Excellents acteurs
+++ Story +/- conforme à la réalité historique
### Réalis° datée, lente, excessivement mélodramatique, avec de longs appuis sur les expressions faciales (chaque scène émotionnelle dure 1 min de trop) , des acteurs (comiques) qui surjouent, des OST comme on n'en fait plus, etc.
### Même les personnages supposés intelligents ( ainsi que la FL) sont par moments d'une stupidité à pleurer ... Les malentendus et non-dits interminables, les "je suis le/la seule responsable, je mérite de mourir, mais je n'explique rien" !! C'est très frustrant щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
Je suis surprise de m'apercevoir que la réalisation a tant changé en 15 ans !!
=> Une série qui pouvait être considérée comme emblématique en 2010, mais qui a pris de sérieuses rides :(
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But after watching the series, it was this word that came to my mind most about the love of the protagonists.
I cried where I "had to", I was relieved where I could. My favorite character is the queen and the always protective friend who is brother instead of brother.
Of course I liked it.
Korean language then I loved it so much that now I'm learning it :)
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My favorite KDrama of all time!
Hi! I first watched this 12 years ago, it was dubbed so basically it needed to be cut so there are a lot of scenes that I missed to watch before, yet, I really love it, I was 8/9 years old and my parents know how much I love DONG YI, since then I'm always eager to watch korean historical drama, yes there are a lot of good ones but they won't surpassed my expectation after DONG YI, I'm inlove with the storyline, the plots, the thrills, and everything. When I rewatched it this week, I just realized it is more beautiful than how I watched the dubbed 12 years ago. I love how the investigations, love story, thrilling combined, yes it wasn't that mysterious movie. You'll just watch how the main character will solve it all, and it is amazing. I love this kind of historical drama. I also learn the real story of choe sukbin, yes this was exaggeration but still amazing. Thank you for those who are part of this amazing drama. I like the acting of antagonist more cause it irritates deep within my soul, just kidding. I love them all, I love han hyo joo, she actually did her best as a protagonist. The OST's are so amazing, Jang Nara is the best, always.The realization after this movie hits different now that I am old enough to think about life and people.
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This review may contain spoilers
60 Episodes of Drama, Politics & Kilig Moments
Okay, so Dong Yi was long—like, 60 episodes long—but somehow, I still loved every second of it (even if I was mentally begging for a fast-forward button at times). It’s a historical fiction retelling of Dong Yi (Han Hyo Joo), a concubine of King Suk Jong (Ji Jin Hee), and honestly, despite the heavy politics, betrayal, and tragedy, it still managed to have some super cute moments.What I Loved
1. Dong Yi & The King’s First Meeting: Absolute gold. She was investigating something (the king was secretly snooping too), but since peasants weren’t allowed to look directly at the king, she had no idea who she was talking to. They needed to climb a wall to break in somewhere, but obviously, the noble king was not about to do something that undignified. Dong Yi? No problem—except she needed to step on his back to climb over. Tell me why that was the funniest thing ever. Every interaction between them had me feeling the kilig.
2. Jang Hui Bin’s Villain Arc: I love a good downfall. She started out kind, but power and family pressure pushed her straight into corrupt territory. I actually get why she ended up that way, but oof—the scheming, the betrayal, overthrowing Queen In Hyeon?? Girl, you were playing a dangerous game. That demotion back to concubine status? Satisfying. But when her son (the crown prince) got sick and was at risk of losing his position? Kinda heartbreaking, ngl.
3. Comic Relief (Bless Yeong Dal & Hwang Joo Shik): These two saved me from the intensity of all the political chaos. Their antics balanced out the serious tone, and they were basically Dong Yi’s found family, which made it even better.
4. Cha Cheon Soo’s Role (But Not the Forced Love Triangle): I appreciated that he didn’t actively pursue her too much because, let’s be real, he felt unnecessary as a romantic option. But his role as a minister later, guiding Dong Yi’s son when he became king? That part actually hit.
5. The Pure Tragedy of Dong Yi’s First Son: This hurt.
6. Having to leave the palace (I forgot why too, but it happened historically), and then losing her first son?? CRUSHING. But when she reunited with the king years later, and he found out she had a bright and thriving second son?? TEARS.
What Could’ve Been Better
1. 60 Episodes Was Too Much: Dong Yi could’ve easily been 30 episodes max, and it still would’ve had all the historical richness. They didn’t need to cram every single political scheme into this—artistic liberties exist for a reason.
2. Dong Yi’s Naïve Innocence: Listen, I love kind-hearted leads, but sometimes her naivety made it so easy for villains to manipulate her. It’s a classic K-drama trope, but I wish she had been a little sharper from the start.
Final Thoughts
Long? Yes. Emotionally exhausting? Sometimes. Worth watching? Definitely.
Rating? 8/10 Would I watch again? Maybe, but I’d mentally prepare myself for the length.
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Great Show
The top reviews for Dong Yi are mostly accurate as it is a wonderful show. The writing, acting and chemistry between the characters-especially the Dong Yi and the king are wonderful. They entire cast did a great job.The story flows quite nicely after the initial time jump to adult Dong Yi but falters around episode 23-28 I personally feel as though they dragged this and with each episode being over one hour long, you feel the unnecessary near misses, and filler scenes.
After this was resolved, the show picked up again-and one of the best moments happened but then it fell off again because they needed to create more conflict to fulfill the episode count, i suppose. Frankly, the last 20 episodes were unnecessary. The should could have stopped at episode 40 and been great.
After watching Yanxi Palace and Minglan, my standard of female leads went all the way up-especially when it comes to dramas that deal with scheming, manipulations etc. I now need to have a capable female lead who not only is intelligent, quick witted but does not fall prey easily to deception. The same goes for the male leads as well so when i started Dong Yi, I was worried because in the first couple of episodes of adult Dong Yi, she made some pretty impulsive and dumb decisions but you soon forget those and grow to appreciate her type of intelligence and strength.
The King was great as well. His smile and laugh were infectious and he smiled and laughed A LOT when he was with Dong Yi. His portrayal of a man in love was lovely to watch.
I wish there was more skin ship and time spent between dong yi and the king
Lady Jang can ACTT-that is all that i will say.
I feel a lot of people have a misunderstanding of the antagonist’s character-that is they believe that she is inherently a good person who was led astray by her family members but that is not my perception of her. She was never a good person-her earlier acts of “kindness” were not for kindness sake or for the good of the person receiving it but for herself. She wanted to foster a sense of loyalty in them and create a perception of herself as a magnanimous with every kind act. Your actions in the face of adversity is a reflection of your character and what she chose to do, on numerous occasions was the wrong thing without remorse. This is not a misunderstood woman. This is a woman who fails to see her faults and understand that the world does not revolve around her and that other people’s suffering matters less than hers.
Flashbacks were plenty and incredibly misused. There are flashbacks of scenes that just happened 30 seconds ago which was like watching a show and having someone take the remote and rewind a scene you just finished watching for no reason.
My only other qualm was the king’s indecisiveness. While he has to be one of my favorite historical king/emperor, his inability to have a definite stance when it came to the women of the inner palace irked me. He was always dumbstruck when accusations were made against the bad wife as if he wasn’t aware of her character. He gave her so many chances but not the kind and generous wife who was accused originally but had literally never done anything. I just wish he was more firm and less susceptible to her manipulations.
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Okay
It's a watered down tale with low tension and disappointing baddies which all made the insane runtime just a tad bit more unbearable. The entire story is confined to in-palace drama where the king likes a commoner while another woman grows to be super duper extra jealous. You may imagine how the story will pan out for 60 episodes. Its length turned out to be its biggest weakness, this is further emphasized with its first and last 5 episodes of which they were dull and redundant. It would've been significantly better with a short runtime since the main leads were likable. Speaking of which, the main leads scenes were generally enjoyable, they had a good chemistry but only when it's NOT romantic. Their romance sucked! Making the king physically a weakling was a nice touch. Although the drama is named after the historical character and we were shown and told about her having ambitious ideologies but we rarely got to see that side of her character in the drama, just a few scenes in the middle and around the end. Instead, we got a typical melodrama in a historical setting while borrowing small bits and pieces from the real historical character for world building. The main leads were doing a lot of heavy lifting to keep the drama afloat. The drama is okay but it doesn't have much to offer and the long runtime is really hard to justify.Was this review helpful to you?
Story: 10/10 You cannot beat this. 60 episodes it was all worth it. The pace was perfect and just you cannot beat this. I don't have anything negative to say about this... I really truly enjoyed it.
Acting/Cast: After this I searched up the cast and searched for the dramas each of them acted in xD It was so good and the queens, and everyone was attractive lol! They had chemistry and it was so cute and funny. There were super funny moments hahah loved this.
Music: 9/10 I don't remember any of them besides the intro music hmmmm... it was enjoyable
Rewatch Value: 10/10 IF I HAD THE TIME YES.
Overall: 10/10
I watched this 2 years ago and so I don't remember enough to give you a detailed review but here :) I RECOMMEND.
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The Greatest
the words cannot decribe my feelings and emotions about this drama. as an old kdramer i should just say that it is certainly the best.aaaaannnnndddddiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiccccccccccccaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnttttttttsssssssaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyttttttttttttttttttthhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggggggggggmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
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Un gran bello fumetto
Storia appassionante anche se si estende su 60 puntate lunghe più di un'ora ciascuna. Io preferisco le serie corte.Sono da complimentare lo sceneggiatore e il regista. I dialoghi sono consistenti e il concatenamento delle vicende è fluido con scene e atmosfere diversificate : umorismo, tragicità, commozione, romanticismo, cospirazione, amabilità, bullismo , solidarietà , combattimenti colpi di scena. C'è di tutto, insomma e mai banale.
Il regista ha saputo mirabilmente rappresentare le scene con ambientazioni che rendono vivide le diverse realtà . La vita stentata degli indifesi e deboli nei tuguri, la vita esclusiva ed extra lussuosa nella reggia. L'idea della sorte ineluttabile spettante in base alla famiglia di nascita che pur viene smentita. Nonostante le scene crude c'è sempre un messaggio di positività e lieto fine. La giustizia trionfa come l'amore e le buone intenzioni. L'abbigliamento, l'arredo, la maniera di viaggiare, i costumi e gli usi dell'epoca e del luogo sono di un realismo notabile.
Gli attori danno il tono a dialoghi e vicende con una rappresentazione ammirevole anche nei piccoli gesti , nella mimica raffinata, negli sguardi capaci di cambiamento repentino.
La musica è piacevole anche se non notevole, a parte la sigla finale dell'ultima puntata.
Si impara molto della storia e civiltà della Corea nel seicento: le classi sociali, l'etichetta di corte, i ranghi di nobiltà e servitù.
Ho dato un voto più basso al rewatch perché una serie lunga così non la guarderò più. Comunque, se non danno fastidio le storie lunghe, questa merita di essere guardata. E' piacevole davvero e accattivante.
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