The King's Affection

Traditional costume romance w/ really dark undertone.

I love the backstory, although it was the typical formula: ML and FL met while they were young, lost contact, met again as different person's. From adversary's, to friends, to lovers.

Even though this was supposedly a traditional costume romance, it has a really dark undertone. The story got a little draggy at some parts that I had skipped. Still, I managed to push through.. Glad the writers gave FL a happy ending that she deserves.

Good chemistry between the actors, even the young ones did good. This is not the first show who did the cross dressing as a major aspect of the show, but they did good. Not as awkward as other show I've seen.

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Really good historical romance

Story-wise, this was surprisingly good historical romance, with so many twists that I was never once bored. Actors were superb, and I am looking forward to watching more dramas and movies with Park Eun Bin in. But, there's always a but - it was hard to believe that petite slender frame and frail voice could ever be mistaken for a man. Also, so many people in her vicinity knew her identity that it was absurd that no one else knew and the secret was kept secret for so long.

The last episode was very satisfying, although I think the director had to choose that one particularly emotional scene over the explanatory one in order to keep the episode under the required running time. I loved that scene very much, so no complaints there, but some questions were left unanswered on the screen. After being spoon-fed with explanations over 20 episodes, that was kind of weird to have to conclude on our own what has happened in the between major scenes.

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Worth a watch

Some eps dragged but I actually thoroughly enjoyed it.

~ STORY ~
I've noticed I much prefer going into shows blind, the first ep really set up the story and conflict well. However I would not say it was well paced the entire show as it seemed to struggle between telling the romance part and furthering the main plot.

~ CAST ~
The cast of characters was interesting and well varied, and the actors did a great job. If the actors were not as good, I think the show could easily fall into avg category.

~ MUSIC ~
It provided a good atmosphere and I liked it, but I don't remember much of it.

~ REWATCH VALUE ~
I'd definitely rewatch the beginning and put it on in the background while working. Everyone's voice is so pleasant to listen to.

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THE historical drama.

It is my favourite historic drama. It has a very strong/historical story and background, the plot is very intertwinted (very positive note). Nothing has been left behind or untold. I loved the 20 episodes lenght it gives you all of the explanations.
The costumes and colors of the drama are magnificient, beautiful and very accurate.
The dialogues are very deep and touching.
The OST is one of my favourite and is perfect for the script.
The actors are ALL 10 stars, touching perfection.
I love every minute of this romantica-historic drama and gives you a very full spectrum of real life emotions; it touches every kind of relationship: family, lovers, secret lovers, friendship, loyalty, traditions, cultures.

P.S. I’ve rewatched 3 times already.
Loved it.

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This was awesome, the perfect drama for Xmas time: funny, sweet, romantic, intriguing, the whole package. I admit, my main interest in this was Rowoon as Jung Ji Woon but I was also glad to discover Choi Byung Chan and through him Victon! Nice!

My favorite thing was that for a big part of this drama, many of the characters actually really thought that Lee Hwi was a man. Jung Ji Woon when he fell in love with her among them. After some initial bi panic, he just went with it. Or Shin So Eun, when she realized that Ji Woon was in love with the king - there was no horror or disgust, she was just sad that he loved another. The overall reaction was mostly "you love someone else, not me" and not "you love a man" which honestly hit the right spot with me.

Also, poor Ji Woon's father, a killer that he was, mind you. The crisis that he went through, just imagine it. First, he finds out that his son is the king's beloved - a shock in itself - followed by the fact that his son is the king's beloved! What must've gone through his head... "Either my son is into men... or I made a serious blunder 10 years ago!" Ha!

Wonderful drama. It really, truly hit the right spot. Lovely...

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King of Crossdressing Dramas

Finally, a crossdressing drama where the actress playing a man is actually believable as a man. I've seen quite the amount of crossdressing dramas and 99% of the time it's just a female in male style, but Park Eunbin is that 1%. From the stance, voice, expressions, down to the mannerisms, she perfectly embodies the role.

At the same time, the drama doesn't pretend like she's a perfect male. They acknowledge that the prince is feminine. They showed the fl naturally developed manly gestures but she can't help but be feminine. It fits to the narrative that no matter how hard she tries, she can't hide her feminine qualities that would eventually lead to suspicions. And Park Eunbin understood the assignment. She effortlessly shifts between two different identities while depicting the fear, pain and grief that both characters hold. She did great portraying the prince and princess both physically and emotionally. I have nothing but praise for her.

As a historical drama, fl is strong, smart and the hero that drives the plot. Most fl's are not as privileged as they are usually just the love interest that every male character likes or a damsel in distress that everyone has to save. Here the fl has the higher status and is in a position to be involved in political matters as a crown prince turned king. And this is also one of the rare sageuk where the king's children aren't scheming, fighting or killing each other for the crown.

As a romance drama, Park Eunbin and Rowoon as the leads have good chemistry and the reverse cliché was very entertaining. The ml being good with books, medicine and gardening, while the fl being great at hunting, fighting and swimming. The leads work so well both in romantic scenes and comedic ones. So the romantic and comedic scenes are actually sweet and funny, not cringey. The fl being the hero and the ml as the love interest was refreshing.

Lastly, I love the things they kept from the webtoon and the things they changed for the drama. The death of the real crown prince, someone everyone wanted to protect being the one who ended up dead, was ironic. The highlight of the drama, the reveal of the secret was tastefully done. And the ending, it was proper and clearer than the webtoon. It wrapped up well.

Overall, Park Eunbin's acting alone makes this drama worth watching. Her 25 years of experience was evident in this dual role, acknowledged by KBS Drama Awards, Baeksang Arts Awards and Korea Broadcasting Awards. It was good to have her back in a historical drama, and Yeonmo was definitely worth the wait. Long live the King!

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Love the women empowerment yet a little slow

If you're looking for a drama with historical background with a poetic touch, beautiful costumes, a fight to reform the old conservative mindset and a hint of action? This drama is perfect for you.
Its a little slow but it fits all the 20 episodes perfectly. What pulled my attention was the costume design and the details put into each were just so refreshing and totally seem as if a lot of thought was put into it. The drama is visually and aurally mesmerizing but the storyline isn't that impressive. There were a lot of situations where i could predict easily.

However what pulled me towards this to watch every was the amazing performance of Park Eun bin. Her character involved a lot of emotional burden and she executed it perfectly and definitely expressed that women are capable to do anything.
Yes I watched this because of Rowoon but the romantic plot didn't really catch my attention.
Okay but I fell in love with Choi Byung Chan though (He's one of the reasons that I dont regret watching this XD)

Hence I would say if you just want to pass time, feel some action and inspiration, maybe a little bit of comedy and a cultural history of korea you can give it a watch!

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overall view of the drama

The theme of this drama is about love, so ideally it should run at 16 episodes with a saeguk genre. With two 20-ep saeguk drama this year, I don't know how KBS is going to present the year-end awards. Problem with the king’s affection, to me, is the production. If they change or add characters from the manhwa, they might as well modify the storyline. The first 2 episodes are excellent, and it started getting slow and repetitive in the middle. I’ve lost count on the number of repetitive lovey-dovey scenes(memories). If they doing a 20-ep drama, the production team could build up a plot on bringing down the evil grandfather which would be very interesting. They are lucky that they have Park Eun Bin to hold up the drama with her acting. Her chemistry with Rowoon is the main attraction that draws audience into the drama. If the viewers cry with them, then they are doing a good job in playing out their characters. I didn’t watch Rowoon’s works but I heard good reviews about him, and I am impressed as a new actor he acts very well with his eyes and his voice. Saeguk drama can be quite restrictive in expressing emotions and that can be a test for the actors/actresses. I remember years ago, kim soo hyun in embracing moon, he also acted very well with his voice. I do hope Rowoon will become a versatile actor as I see that he has a lot of potentials. At least, he doesn’t play safe and picks up the idol-style dramas! And, I am very looking forward to Park Eun Bin’s next drama playing an autistic lawyer!
Back to the king’s affection, I only want a happy ending for the couple!

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Romance Fluff

First, there's potential to the story. Second, the cast is good which is why I became more and more frustrated as the episodes piled up. I dropped it at ep 14 and went to YT to see the last few minutes of the ending.

It is meant to be what it was drawn as; a comic romance. The entire drama revolved around the two main leads getting together and trying not to be caught. The problem is, the environment around them didn't try very hard to be an obstacle. I cringed every time they were together in the last few episodes I watched and concluded romance dramas definitely isn't for me. The knowledge that it isn't possible for the two main leads to get together so easily makes it so much harder to watch. More so when the FL is cross dressing, a Crown Prince and a King later.

Royalty is always stringently protected, there is always an entourage and there are always bodyguards. More so for crown princes. I would have preferred the drama take on a serious tone, better written and directed to show the intellect, creativity, talents and skills of the FL to plan her way through the obstacles around her and how the ML supported her through his abilities. That the relationship between her and the ML is subtle and yet powerful. This would have made it more interesting, imo.

As it is, the potential is wasted, more so with a good cast for this drama. They're not fully utilised.

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Great watch!

Even though it's not up there with Mr. Queen, it was a great watch and I looked forward to new episodes every week! ROWOON is so cute to look at and I love his non-conforming male behavior. I think he played a bit more of the feminine role here but it complements the female lead who has to play the male role! I felt the plot is unique and interesting. It's simple as in other than the villain we already know, there's not a lot of misunderstanding or evil side schemes that comes between the major evil scheme. There are some minor flaws in the plot but what drama doesn't have flaws? All the supporting characters played their roles well. The ones you should love and the ones you should hate. The dad and male lead had a complex relationship but it worked out. The supporting female characters were lovable. I enjoyed the last episode as it was true happy ending, not a half-@$$ed 5-min cut of an implied happy ending.

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