Lee Seon-kyun, Ahn Jae-hong crack The King’s Case in new sageuk comedy

by tineybeanie

Mr. Mellow Voice Lee Seon-kyun (This Week, My Wife Will Have an Affair) is coming back to us through his new movie The King’s Case. He’s playing a king who moonlights as a detective, while Ahn Jae-hong (Answer Me 1988) will be his trusty scholar sidekick. The upcoming film is a sageuk mystery-comedy centered around a strange rumor circulating in Joseon’s capital city of Hanyang.

Lee Seon-kyun’s character is King Yejong, a man whose day job is ruling the country but whose passion is forensic investigation. He loves getting into the nitty-gritty of cases, even going as far as doing the autopsies himself. Ahn Jae-hong plays a genius rookie scholar with an eidetic memory and an adorably bumbling personality. In the teaser, the king tests Ahn Jae-hong’s keen memory skills on his first day of work. He easily passes, and from that point on, he orders the scholar to stay within a five meter radius of him at all times.

At first when Lee Seon-kyun starts taking Ahn on his secret nightly adventures in pursuit of criminal justice, Ahn complains and asks why he’s being required to engage in such activities when he’s only a part of the Arts and Culture Administration Bureau. Then Lee Seon-kyun replies in a hilariously deadpan voice that he should obey because it’s a royal edict, almost challenging Ahn to disobey.

They work together to chase leads both inside and outside the palace, and even from the short teaser clip, I’m already laughing at the casual comic camaraderie between these two. When they’re out in civilian clothing having an audience with a mysterious beautiful woman, Ahn Jae-hong accidentally slips up and calls Lee Seon-kyun “Your Majesty” (jeon-ha). Thinking quick on his feet, the king explains that his name is Lee Jeon-ha. (Hur, very subtle there.)

Ahn Jae-hong retains all of his lovable clumsy charm from Answer Me 1988 in his portrayal of the king’s faithful follower, and Lee Seon-kyun looks like his hard-driving taskmaster self from Pasta except this time his passion is about dead bodies, not aglio e olio. Whenever Ahn falls asleep on the job, the king wakes him by any means possible, whether it be throwing books at his head or kicking him over to the side, like they’re a gag comedy duo. It’s actually Lee’s first time in a sageuk, which is surprising given how long he’s been in the industry, but he’s definitely pulling it off in the teaser.

The King’s Case will begin playing in Korean theaters in late April.

Via DongA Sports

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