Kyubin

As I feared after watching the trailers, the screenwriter took a lot of liberties with the historical facts, and they choose a path for this sageuk I don’t really like unfortunately. It’s too far from the original characters and history that is known.
As an avid watcher of sageuk, I like it better when they stick to the historical sources as much as possible, or, on the contrary, totally go fictional. The fictionalisation of true events is often disappointing for me because they change too much things, or create too much, and that’s the case here after the first four episodes of part one.
Choosing the five brothers theory over the actual version that is accepted by historians was actually interesting, as it added a more dramatic effect for the battle for the throne. And adding characters and other casualties was inevitable as it’s is based on a very ancient period and little is actually known, but why make characters like the queen’s older sister ? Why was it necessary to create this lesbian relationship with the shaman ? This is totally useless, and only to appeal to some viewers of our days. That’s totally unnecessary in a sageuk like this one. Just like the sex scene with her. I don’t mind nudity and sex scenes, on the contrary, but this one, when they mix it with her having sex with both the shaman and the king, was totally pointless.
The kind of rivalry between the King and Eul Pa So ? Unnecessary. They added a funny character of course, the coachman. Unnecessary. Too many little things like these kind of ruin the original potential of the historical source for me.
Making the queen a warrior is also to appeal to some 21th century feminism. That’s stupid and totally ignores how women could be in power without fighting. In a way, it’s putting a man characteristic to a woman to make her more valuable, which is for me even more diminishing to women. It’s not a symbol of equality.
The sudden death of the king, killed, is also a choice I don’t understand and don’t like. I find this quite lazy from the screenwriter, they could have come up with something more clever.
The overall quality is good, except for CGIs that are quite bad, but it’s always the case with Korean dramas, so I’m not surprised. I don’t have complaints with the cast, but the acting is not very breathtaking neither.
I am satisfied with Chang Wook playing King Gogukcheon, he never disappoints, but I don’t like how they decided to portray this great king. Why make him look, in a way, like a bad character ? Him, like other characters, lack depth I think, they are made like caricatured characters to me.
It’s a good sageuk, but it’s far from the masterpiece I hoped and expected it to be unfortunately.
Let's wait and see the second part now.

It's not a rom-com, so saying is role is a "SML" doesn't makes sense here. There are six main characters/roles for this drama, and they are presented that way since the beginning, that's it.
Applying the structure of cast for a romantic comedy to a sageuk like this one is pointless.

Do you know what a cameo is ? Because an "extended cameo" isn't a thing...
He is playing a main role of the drama, not a cameo. The information given here are from original sources, it's not just people making up things. If he was a cameo his character would be registered as it.

Unfortunately, even though I know the story and originally like it, after each new episode I feel more frustrated because of the way the characters are developed and act in the show. The actors are very good, it's not their fault, it's just the way the characters are developed that is annoying to me. The last dialogue between Kohei and Taichi is the perfect example. Unnecessary miscommunication and assumptions from both sides.
This dynamic between characters can sometimes be interesting, but here, after 10 episodes, it's just annoying for me.

It seems I have to lower a bit my expectations regarding this sageuk, because based on what they shared so far, they took a lot of liberties with the historical facts, and I'm not sure I will like what they choose to fill the History blanks with too.
When it comes to sageuk based on true events and historical figures, it plays a big part for me, so even if it's well produced, it always reduces my liking for it when they deviate too much from historical facts.
I hope the cast and the cinematography are good so that it make up for it and the disappointment is not too big.
I'm both excited and worried to watch it now.

He plays one of the main roles of the drama, it's not a special appearance. As for the promotion, it's TVING, they never promote dramas like other big networks, it was expected, especially for a sageuk.

I know it's pointless with the population using MDL, but still, the ratings for this drama should all be over 9 here.
There is nothing to criticise about the cast, the acting, the production, the story, everything is brilliant.
It may not be to everyone liking, of course, but those who don't like it should just ignore it then, because giving a bad rating to this amazing show is really one of the dumbest thing to do, or people doing that are just heartless or really stupid and don't know or don't understand anything about life.

The story is based on historical facts and a very particular event. Even though it is adapted and thus liberties will be taken (especially because the facts known of that time are little, and for entertainment purposes), of course they will keep the fact that the king dies. Otherwise the plot and this story is useless.
Also, the character played by Chang Wook is still a main role of the drama, not a support or guest one. And you haven't watched it yet, like all of us, so you don't know if he will have a strong presence in all 8 episodes or not. Wait to watch.
Why being so negative even before it has even started ? And if it's from a "fan" point of view, well, you should just respect the fact that Chang Wook wanted to play that role to show the audience what is he capable of and how he can interpret King Gogukcheon through this drama.

I'm not skeptical about her, and I'm waiting to see the drama for making my opinion on her fitting the role.
Based on historical facts, it's true that she might be a little younger than the age of the real queen at that time, but totally unsure.
Considering she married King Gogukcheon in 180 and he died in 197, they were married 17 years. She died in 234, so she was at least 54 years old, but her age at that time is unknown. Marriage often happened with young girls, just barely women (meaning able to have children), so from around 13 years old. Assuming she was married young, she could have been around 30 when King Gogukcheon died, or between 35/40 if she married him at an older age.
Goguryeo kings had concubines, but still, the queen was supposed to bare the heir if possible, so considering she remains queen after marrying King Sansang (King Gogukcheon's younger brother), despite not providing any heir during the 17 years of marriage with King Gogukcheon, it's possible she was still considered fertile (even if in the end they never had children together neither), so around 30/35.

This is so funny. I love it. ^^

They are, it's even the one that is the most promoted on their social medias right now. But it's very light. It's not just this one, "Love Next Door" that just started didn't had much promotion too, it's TVING unfortunately, not the best media when it comes to promotion around a drama. For sageuk I love all the photos of characters that are usually shared, when it is KBS, MBC or SBS productions for example, but with this one it will be very poor I guess...

They do it in France too, actors go in many cinemas all over the country for some new films projections. I guess it happens when big cinemas companies (like CGV in Korea or Pathé in France) are also producers of the movie.

For some reason this place attract many people that enjoy mocking, denigrate or simply write everything that can be negative about a film, a drama or an actor just because they don't like it. Few people take the time to write constructive comments (good or bad), it's easier to just "shoot" with short and mean comments. A reflect of some generations and their educations too. It's 2024 and the reign of hate through Internet... Fortunately, all is not lost. ;)

According Korean sources ( Namu Wiki, which is quite reliable), the break-even point for the movie would have been 1,4 million people watching it in cinemas, so the budget wasn't that small. As of today, it's only 234,278 people who watched it. Unfortunately. So it will be a big loss for the producers.
The previous movie of Oh Seung Uk, in 2015, had a break-even point of 1,6 million people, but only attracted 416,154 people in Korean cinemas, so whatever the budget, it will be hard for him to attract investors for the next one. They don't care about the artistic value of a movie, only its rentability matters.
It doesn't necessarily mean the movie is bad, or the acting isn't good, but it's still a commercial failure with the Korean audience. Maybe they can do better internationally, but it's totally uncertain, and so far the movie has still not been announced anywhere, as far as I know.
I feel sad for the cast, because they really did a lot to promote the movie. I do hope that the movie will have good official critics, and maybe nominations for awards so that the work of the actors is recognised at least.
I haven't watched it yet too, but I doubt the cast will disappoint, even if the story or the production isn't to my liking. But it's yet to confirm. ;)

I agree yes. ;)
For Chang Wook, he is actually very popular in Korea too, everybody knows him. But it's actually more for being incredibly handsome than for being an incredible actor, and thus yes, it's more its international fame that makes him a "bankable" actor, not the national market itself.

What do you mean by very popular ? She is definitely well known and she is recognised as a great actress, but she isn't popular in the way of being known by everyone and having a huge fanbase.

Based on the movies that were the most viewed in cinemas in Korea, I can't see this one being a hit, so I'm not surprised personally.
It doesn't mean it's a good thing. I just don't think it's a waste of the actors talent neither. There is something that they wanted to show through these roles. So for me it's still a good thing for those who like it, even if it is a commercial failure.
And I think popular actors still get roles even with flops movies/TV series. Being a popular and a good actor isn't always the same thing. Jeon Do Yeon is a very good actress, but she isn't a popular one.

Of course every movie is made for being viewed by the public and they always hope for the best outcome. But I think it was predictable that this kind of movie will not be a mega hit in cinemas, that's why in the end, it's more a festival and critics movie, not that it was intended that way. But that still doesn't make it a waste of the actors work for me. On the contrary, when I see great actors play mediocre roles in big productions for money, that is a waste of their talents.

Why a waste ? It's not because a movie doesn't make millions of entries that it is bad, or a waste of the actors work.
That film could never have been a hit at the Korean box office anyway. It's not the type to be loved by the general audience in Korea and not a story that would attract millions of viewers. It's more a festival and critics film, that will probably do better with the international market.

I have already watched "Empress Ki" four times now, and I really don't feel tired of it. It's not perfect, it wasn't the first time I saw neither. And with time passing, having a new perspective watching it, some things bother me now, compared to before (and others not anymore actually). But still, it stays, and will forever stay, a masterpiece for me. Just few dramas, characters and actors left an impression and feelings as strong as "Empress Ki".
I can't wait to watch Chang Wook in a new sageuk again after 10 years. It will very different, but as the first drama I saw him in, seeing him again in a sageuk feels really special. I would love to see Kim Seo Hyung play in a new sageuk too, she would be marvellous I'm sure.