Having just finished watching episode 12 of « 연인 » (English : My Dearest, literally : Yeon-in = Lover) I realised another important reason why I mostly, almost only, want to watch this K-Drama now — above and beyond all other Korean dramas and Western films.
Yes, this sageuk shows the (to me culturally and timewise foreign) circumstances and developments of the three scourges of the human agenda : famine, plague and war. [ Note : This is how Yuval Noah Harari describes it in his book « Homo Deus » with section headings such as « The biological poverty line » (famine) , « Invisible Armadas » (plague) and « Breaking the Law of the Jungle » (war). ] Here it is early agricultural Joseon depending on its farming produce, with the bow-and-arrow-and-sword « blitzkrieg » of the Byeonjgahoran (Second Manchu Invasion) —plus a few Western canons—, then humilitated, starved and exploited by the winner, the rising Qing, who are in the process of overthrowing the Ming Empire and who, most likely, only withdrew from Joseon so quickly because of an outbreak of smallpox (and to continue their advance on the Ming Empire of course).
These seem to be the historical facts … So, … might I congratulate myself internally by saying : Am I not the lucky one … ? This is certainly true, if only unconsciously. That’s why we watch films, read stories etc. — we will always compare to our own situation. Human beings are essentially storytelling beasts, forever comparing their experiences to what they hear from past, present and (imagined) future. The ones who have lived a nightmare, however, will, most often, not watch the fictionalisation of that nightmare. Only us, who do not know it, will watch the « faction » (fact + fiction). Experiences of Jewish people after the Second World War or experiences of the survivors of the atom bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the so called hibakusha (被爆者), have shown this. They lived to tell of their experiences —by the grace of God or life, or by luck or fate—, and these experiences were even more horrendous than any fictionalised story can tell. Yet they told their stories so that we care and do not repeat humanity’s mistakes. Episodes 11 and 12 of « My Dearest » are about the aftermath of the Byeonjgahoran, in particular the staggering numbers of prisoner of wars and their stories. (as intended by the scriptwriter) Gil-Chae becomes an unintentional prisoner-of-war (in a situation where right and wrong are clearly suspended), and hence moves the storytelling forward to Qing. For the tragic story of the royal captive in Qing’s hands, the Crown Prince, Jang Hyeon becomes the spokesperson to the viewer. (see background for that in interview with the scriptwriter I posted before)
As Jang Hyeon says in episode 8 [4’53—5’00 mn] and explains at length in episode 12 of « My Dearest » (to Sohyeon, the crown prince) when asked why he followed the latter to Shenyang (romanised transliteration of Chinese name) aka Mukden (romanised transliteration of Manchu name) aka Simyang (romanised transliteration of Korean name) : « You asked me why I came to Simyang. I was curious about your fate. I thought you would end up surrendering. […] But you were very strong. You did great, Your Highness.» And he clarifies the key point about this personal tragedy for the crown prince (when latter insists that HE was not able to protect the King of Joseon) : « There is no law that says a child must protect his father. It is the father who must protect. » — a rather chillingly true statement considering the prevailing doctrines of Korean neoconfucianism. [26’47 — 27’14 mn]
THAT IS ASPECT NUMBER ONE : Storytelling of the three scourges on the human agenda in one event (the Second Manchu invasion and the aftermath), and the validity and depth of this storytelling to make me care. Next question then : what do I do with this caring ? Do I learn something by it ? Ultimately, this is what a Jewish person surviving the concentration camps or a Japanese hibakusha surviving the atom bombs will want — or a Joseon woman having survived deportation and rape. And it is the point of good storytelling as well. This is not just « eye candy » for a bored or voiceless 21st century human. What is that voice I need to reconnect to telling me? There are interesting, and, in my view, spot-on anwers to that question which C.G. Jung has left us as tools.

ASPECT NUMBER TWO :
Yes, the series production appears to be outstanding in several aspects and might, I venture to say, become a benchmark for filming and producing sageuks in the future.
The production team uses the latest cinematography to great effect (drones, sparingly but effectively, amongst other elements); sound and music are « in tune » with the story’s advancement or repetition of themes or setting the tone (no puns intented); the Manchu/Qing portrayal (bare the armour or weaponry apparently) seems to be authentic ; the lighting overall and effects of moonlight/daylight and location is adapted to the mood and the content the story wants to select ; the amount of close-ups or half shots or wider shots to portray emotions and the people who have them make excellent use of the actors’ and actresses’ skills —and not only the leads (even if, apparently, sometimes haphazardlessly put together in the editing room) ; the locations where filming took place are well chosen, although it remains to be seen how Shenyang and other Chinese places will be filmed, if they are portrayed ; does anyone know where that building which serves as Shenyang Hall (i.e. the Crown Prince’s residence in Shenyang) is in South Korea? And last but not least, the selection of costumes and props to, again, serve the story and the mood of the scenes — not only the various fans which Jang Hyeon uses throughout when he is in Joseon-dandy-type mode, but the colourful clothing of Gil Chae when she is young and unmarried and carefree, also the winter court in Namhan Mountain Fortress during the invasion … etc. etc. There are many, many more examples.
While there is quite a bit of commentary noise about the lead actors/actresses skills (and their acting skills appear to be truly excellent, even if they portray in personalities who would be about a decade younger than they are as actor/actress, at least in the beginning), the whole casting even for smallish side roles is extremely well done, I find. Everyone makes me care about this story. It is, I would say, an ensemble story.

WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY ORIGINAL POINT : what makes me so engaged in a sageuk portrayal of an event thousands of miles away from my own culture, and taking place almost 600 years ago ? What was my « new » discovery after watching episode 12?
Part of the answer I gave already : clearly, humanity hasn’t learned a bit. I could leave it there and move on. But no. This is not past, it is present — for me. It takes me a while every day to come back to my own reality, and I discover I ponder on the topics portrayed throughout the day, apparently even in my dreams, at times.
My new discovery was how elaborate « My Dearest » weaves historic timeline with fictional and factual progression. It is artful. (See further down for details) It becomes the portrayal of archetypal themes crossing space and time … to me.
In his excellent book « The Anatomy of Genres. How Story Forms Explain the Way the World Works » John Truby elaborates on how a love story as « the art of happiness » is the highest form of storytelling (“highest” is my somewhat insufficient term, but I haven’t got a better one ; I see an analogy to Abraham Maslow’s pyramide of needs).
Now, I finally also better understand the points the scriptwriter was making in her interview with Cine 21 on March 1, 2023. (The interview was published in four parts on March 11, 2023.)
[ SEE SEPARATE ENTRY FOR THE INTERVIEW ]
What I noticed after viewing episode 12 is how adept writer and production team are at weaving the storytelling in the episodes together while moving back and forth in the historic timeline and also showing the inner progression (or yearning stillstand as it may be) of the love of the two protagonists. For the viewer the time which passes between events seems sometimes instantaneous, when in fact it is not.
As Hwang Jin-young said in HER INTERVIEW : she seems to have completely internalised the historic facts as they are known, filling in gaps with some intelligent extrapolation, and weaving the dramatic story true to the historic timeline yet showing the progression (or not, as it may be) of the LOVE STORY as the ART OF HAPPINESS. What will happen to the portrayal of the historic development at the Joseon court and in Shenyang (or Beijing respectively) remains to be seen. Given the presentation so far, it will be a nuanced and intelligent, I should think.
THE HISTORIC TIMELINE OF THE LAST 4 EPS [see next fanwall post]