Sageuk Lover

I got really curious with the poster. Wanna check this out.

I remember liking this show when I first watched it many years ago. The OTP was my favorite. I really love Lee Seo Jin and Han Ji Min chemistry. However I remembered only a little about this drama. Then, the Red Sleeve aired and I remembered this drama, encouraged me to watch this again. Even with The Red Sleeve around, I still like this drama for what it is.
Yisan and Songyeon love story here is adorable. I love how we can see their obvious love for each other while they are very limited by their circumstances. I also love that while we see that Songyeon is more self-sacrificing and more submissive compared to Red Sleeve's Deok Im, there were still times when she was determined to do something and the king just lets her (ex: when she became a painter in the palace, the king respected her decision to be a palace painter even if it meant she couldn't be his concubine). I also love how even though they love each other, they also still care for other people that are normally seen as hindrances to their love. Examples: 1. Yisan only wants Songyeon as a concubine however he still visits his other concubines out if duty and comforted one concubine who was disappointed when she gave birth to a princess 2. Songyeon understands the king's love for her is limited by circumstances, she understands why he has to care for other concubines and she even made friends with Yisan's queen. Yisan's queen is a beautiful and kind character, I love how selfless she is.
I think this drama shows more of Yisan's accomplishments compared to Red Sleeve. There's more highlights on the great things he has done for his people. I do think Red Sleeve has gotten things more accurate compared to this show. One example being Deok Im (Song Yeon character name in Red Sleeve) is an actual court lady who is a good writer and not a painter and that Yisan's mom liked her from the start. I attribute the fact that Yisan drama is less accurate to the fact that maybe they had less historical records available back then. I also read somewhere that the director actually made Songyeon a painter to test how a main character who likes to paint will work in a drama since he wanted to make a drama about painters who lived during Yisan's time, Kim Hong Do and Shin Yun Bok (this never materialized though since Painter of the Wind was released just a year after this drama aired).

Finally! This is coming to more countries in netflix. Hope it gets to more people to watch the show.

There’s more to his character, watch more episodes then you’ll understand why he did his acting choices.
Gotta say this is the first time I read someone more impressed with the female lead than male lead.
I do agree with you that female lead is really brilliant.

Huh? Where did he say this?

If Arthdal was made a few years ago it world have been the same length as these long sageuk dramas. Writer kim young hyun (arthdal writer) is the screenwriter for Jewel in the Palace, Queen Seon Deok, Tree with Deep Roots, and Six Flying Dragons.
You can try at least Tree with Deep Roots. Unlike the others mentioned, this one only has 24 episodes. Song Joong Ki was the younger version of the king here and his performance was really outstanding, the writers really liked him here. It's arguably the reason why he was cast in Arthdal season 1. Shin Se Kyung plays the adult female lead. You might want to research a bit on the historical people the drama was based on to help you understand.
Now that I think of it, I think the reason Arthdal season 1 had low ratings in Korea is that unlike the previous drama by the writers, Arthdal is very much fictional. It might have been harder for them to understand this drama since they at least know the historical background of the other dramas (since other dramas talk about their history).

i dont know about modern dramas but shin se kyung is good in the dramas by these writers. check out tree with deep roots (she played a mute girl but she played it well), and six flying dragons (sure her costars are outstanding but she did held her own against them). she's the one that appears the most in the dramas by these writers.

yeah, that's what I really hated in dramas today. long dramas > dramas divided by seasons

Happy Birthday! Such a talented actor. Especially in Good Doctor, he's so funny. I like him in Tree with Deep Roots too.

same opinion. I really dislike this new format of seasons in kdrama. I miss the days when the drama is either short (16-24 episodes) or long (30+ episodes). I think dramas should just be either a short or long 1 season drama. A drama's episode number should only depend on how much story they will need to make the drama good enough. If they have lots to tell, then make the drama longer. But by this, I do not mean episode extensions. What I mean is from the beginning, the drama creators should have a set number of episodes. The show's popularity should also not affect how many episodes/seasons a show will have. Seasons in dramas do not also let actors move on to new projects/opportunities (ex: what if a supporting actor gets bigger in the intervening years, should it be wise for him/her to go back to a season 2 of a show when his/her character is a supporting one?).

it's partly the fault of people not willing to make long dramas anymore. dramas like this and jewel in the palace were my gateway kdramas, will never forget.

Try The Red Sleeve.

Yeah, her portrayal is great (didn't really expect a lot since I often see her more as a melodrama and sageuk actress), I dont get why she's getting hate just because her character has unlikable qualities. I bet if a popular hallyu actor is playing her character, the character will seem cool for them. Plus it's not like her character didn't learn her lesson, she grow throughout the drama.

I love this drama, but there's just too many things happening. I remember watching Good Doctor kdrama (also with autistic main lead) and there was a lot of things in the plot but some of them got solved in the episodes before the last two episodes. I'm just hoping the ending isn't rushed. Kudos to Park Eun Bin for her performance.

1. Yi San (2007) - If you dont mind a long sageuk (77 episodes) you can watch the 2007 Yi San drama, it's about the same characters but there's a lot more politics involved. Main difference from Red Sleeve is Yisan's queen is included in the drama, female lead (called Song Yeon here) is a painter, and there is another fictional character who loves the female lead (it's not an annoying love triangle however since this other guy is also friends with Yisan and he never insisted female lead to come to him).
2. Moon Lovers Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016) - most people who watched Red Sleeve recommended this drama. If you're not willing to watch an older sageuk or sageuk with more political scenes but still want a romance drama with lots of tragic scenes, then this one is for you.
3. The Princess Man (2011) - Joseon Romeo and Juliet, this drama also earned many awards just like Red Sleeve. There's a lot of tragedy too but the ending is bittersweet. The romance (of not just one but two couples) is greatly interwoven with the political events in the show.

i think people wanted a season 2 because the original drama had one. I do agree with you however that it doesn't need season 2. The drama's story is complete.

I'm an equal fan of both girls

Long story. Song Joong Ki and Kim Ji Won often express interest in joining the season 2 of the drama. The original plan was to do season 2 after a few months. They even announced season 2 early 2020. However, pandemic happened and the couldn't shoot immediately. I'm not sure what is their plan now, but in the original, there are some scenes supposed to be filmed in brunei. The whole cast supposedly had a clear 2020 schedule. But because of pandemic, they postponed season 2 and it was that SJK considered Vincenzo and Kim Ji Won did her lovestruck drama. 2021, still no clear plans from the studio whether they will do season 2. It was around this time SJK was asked about Arthdal and he expressed his love for it but havent heard from the studio. I doubt they lose interest, it was more like the studio and the actors couldn't communicate well and have a clear schedule together, the actors had to do other dramas/movies to keep themselves relevant. When the studio was clear in doing season 2, the actors were no longer available thus the recast.

same, I guess it's because of the newer kdrama audiences (mostly coming from local western tv shows) who aren't used to 50 episode dramas.

She's back!