What to watch if you are interested in the historical background of Yun Dong-ju.
“DONGJU: THE PORTRAIT of a POET” (2016)
The life and death of Dongju Yoon, who dared to dream of becoming a poet during the harsh period of Japan’s occupation of Korea.
Directed by Lee Joon-ik (one of my favorite sageuk writer/director).
Starring:
Kim Ha-neul
Park Jeong-min (if you don’t know this gem of an actor, this would be a great introduction film).
Thank you for pointing us in the direction of this film. I love hearing poetry in dramas most of the books are not translated into English so I feel we miss out. Such an inspiring message to know someone so young was able to leave a permanent mark in the history of the Korean people. I have located the film and look forward to watching it. This is the year I am getting educated in the harsh reality of Korean history.
Correction: The memorial monument to Yun Dong Yu is located at Doshisha University in Kyoto, where he studied.
Yun Dong-ju is buried in the graveyard of his home church in Longjing, Jilin, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, China.
EPISODE 1. YUN DONG-JU, the author of “SKY, WIND, STARS and POETRY.
Yun Dong- ju ( December 30 , 1917 – February 16 , 1945 ) was an independence activist , poet , and writer during the Japanese colonial period . His family origin was Papyeong, and his pen name was Haehwan. He was born on December 30, 1917 in Myeongdongchon, Bukgando, and his registered address is 76 Pohang-dong, Chongjin-si, Hamgyeongbuk-do. Myeongdongchon was a barren land in East Gando, but in 1899, Kim Yak-yeon, Kim Ha-gyu, Moon Byeong-gyu, and other people from Hamgyeongdo led about 140 family members and immigrated to East Gando, and when they were joined by Yun Dong-ju’s grandfather Yun Ha-hyeon, they formed the largest Korean village in East Gando, which means “a place that illuminates the East.”
He studied at Myeongdong School, graduated from Pyongyang Sungsil Middle School and Seoul Yonhui College. He made his literary debut while a second-year student at Yonhui College by publishing a poem in the boy’s magazine.
He went to Japan and entered Kyoto Doshisha University in 1942. In 1943, he was arrested by the Japanese police on charges of anti-Japanese activities and imprisoned in Fukuoka Prison. He died in prison at the age of 27, leaving behind over 100 poems. There is a theory that the cause of his death was the Japanese salt water experiments, and after his death, there was a theory that he was subjected to maruta and vivisection experiments by the Japanese military, but this is uncertain. His poetry collection, Sky, Wind, Stars and Poetry , was published after his death .
“SKY, WIND, and STARS”
English translation by Kyung-nyun Kim Richards and Steffen F. Richards
Born and raised in northern Manchuria during the colonial period of Korea, Yun Dong-ju was a poet of the utmost purity, beauty, and sincerity. His posthumously published collection of poems under the title Sky, wind, stars, and poems is one of the all-time favorites of Korean readers. Wishing not to have so much as a speck of shame toward heaven until the day I die, I suffered, even when the wind stirred the leaves. (From Foreword) In simple diction and straightforward expressions, his poems sing of his love for his people, his compassion for the poor and destitute, and his hopes for freedom and independence. These themes still resonate deep within the hearts of the Korean people. His imprisonment and eventual death in 1945 in a Japanese prison lend great poignancy to his work.
Winning 18 out of the 25 nominations that it received, Sanada being the first ever Japanese to win in the category and Sawai being the first East Asian to win in the category 👏🏻
It’s incredible to see more Asian history and talents recognized in these award shows. I hope to see more collaborations in movies and dramas between different countries. It’s heartwarming to watch people from different cultures work together.
💯
Considering how long these awards and organizations have been around and their long-standing history, it’s agonizing to see that it’s taken THIS long for people of colour— most, people of black/brown hair and yellow skin— to be rightly recognized for their achievements, but I’m glad we’re finally here and I’ll take what I can get 🥰
There’s no excuse that I must watch Shogun now. Too many to watch, too little time. I have to weigh up between four seasons of Succession or one season of Shogun. Completely different dramas though.
But SHOGUN 2 necessarily takes us beyond the original novel, which was originally written in English by a Western writer. Can it possibly duplicate that unique blend of East and West?
Maybe we will get the Battle of Sekigahara and go from there. Disney is going to throw money at the production since it has been successful on streaming and has received critical acclaim. I hope that they’ll leave FX alone to run the show.
When Yuri was little, though, he did not know who his father was. His father, Jumong, had to leave Buyeo, where he lived with his wife, even before his son was born because he was in danger of being killed by Buyeo princes. As a result, during his childhood Yuri lived alone with his mother, Lady Ye.
One day, while trying to hit a sparrow with a slingshot, Yuri accidentally broke a woman’s water jar. The woman was angry and yelled at him, saying he was such a spoiled child because he was raised in a fatherless home. The young boy was shocked, and back at home, he asked his mother who and where his father was. Lady Ye replied that his father had established a state to become king. She said that before leaving, her husband had hidden something under a pine tree on a seven-angled stone. She told the boy to locate it if he wanted to see his father. From that day, Yuri wandered about the mountains and fields to find a pine tree on a heptangular stone, only to fail.
The boy returned home, exhausted, and sat on the floor, leaning against a pillar. He happened to see a cornerstone under the pillar, and to his surprise, it had seven angles. He realized the pillar was made of pine, and he quickly rummaged in the crack between the stone and the pillar. He eventually found a rusty broken sword, and he was sure that his father had left it as a token of their kinship.
Yuri, along with his mother, left for Goguryeo to see his long-lost father, Jumong. When they reached the kingdom, Yuri showed the broken sword to the king, who took out another broken sword. Amazingly, the two broken pieces formed a complete whole. Overjoyed to be reunited with his wife and son, the king gave Yuri the title of crown prince.
The king’s conquest of the city state of Nakrang involves a romantic yet tragic love story. The king sent his son, Prince Hodong, to attack Nakrang, where he fell in love with a princess. The Nakrang princess is said to have torn off a mysterious drum that possessed the power to automatically sound an alarm when enemy troops invaded. The princess chose to betray her country for her love. As a result, the self-sounding drum never worked when Goguryeo forces attacked Nakrang and her nation fell into ruin. She was killed by her angry father and Prince Hodong lamented over her death. This legendary love story from the 1st century is well known in Korea to this day and it has been adapted into films, dramas, musicals and ballet performances.
King Mobon proclaimed his son, Ik, as crown prince as soon as he came to power. But after his death, there was a power struggle within the court. A man named Gung, the grandson of Goguryeo’s second king Yuri, staged a coup and eventually became the sixth king, Taejo. This is why some scholars speculate that the records and image of King Mobon as a dictatorial and harsh ruler may have been fabricated by the supporters of King Taejo. https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=4005&page=4&board_code=dynasty
The lost land was acquired by King Taejo – Episode 1 and 4 of QUEEN WOO.
The Hae tribe controlled the Western District.
After rising to the throne, King Taejo started conquering and absorbing neighboring states under his rule. He first annexed the regions of Eastern Okjeo and Eastern Ye and consistently launched massive offensives against Chinese towns and commanderies. The king fought with China’s Later Han Dynasty on various occasions. In the year 55, he ordered the construction of ten fortresses in the Liaodong Commandery to prepare against invasions of Later Han. He went as far as to attack Chinese border regions on several occasions. In the year 122, the king allied with the Mahan confederacy of central Korea and the neighboring Yemaek tribe to attack Liaodong. He launched another major attack in the year 146. As a result, King Taejo successfully advanced into Liaodong and the plains of the northern Korean Peninsula, driving Chinese forces out toward the west and greatly expanding the realm of Goguryeo. Goguryeo’s efforts toward national growth during this early period can be characterized as a series of struggles to expel Chinese forces from its area of dominance. https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=4006&page=3&board_code=dynasty
7. KING CHADAE, 8. KING SINDAE (QUEEN WOO’s father-in-law Episode 4).
9. KING GOGUKCHEON (Episode 1-4 (Part 1 QUEEN WOO)
The king stabilized his kingdom politically by repelling enemies, both foreign and domestic. But he is more famous for his wise selection of people when managing state affairs. After quelling rebellions, he felt the need for new and promising figures, not existing aristocrats, in order to properly govern his country. In the year 191, the king made merit-based appointments in his government. That was a major shift from a government mostly run by aristocrats. As a result, the king was able to dig out hidden talent from around the country. The greatest of the talented people was Eul Pa-so, who was named Prime Minister. Eul Pa-so was not of noble origin, but a farmer who was renowned for his wisdom and integrity. The king’s unexpected appointment of a mere peasant as Prime Minister drew strong backlash from aristocrats. But the king refused to budge from his decision and trusted his new Premier all the more. On the back of the king’s strong confidence, the Prime Minister was able to push ahead with various reform measures as he wished. Eul Pa-so was indeed a competent official, but it is also worth mentioning that the king recognized the official’s ability and actively supported him. https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=4008&page=3&board_code=dynasty
(Eul Pa-so was not of noble origin is a mistake)
EUL PASO, AN ADMIRED STATEMAN OF GOGURYEO
Although his exact birth date is not known, Eul Paso was born in the second century to a noble family in northern Korean Peninsula. He was a descendant of Eul So, a high-ranking government official under King Yuri, Goguryeo’s second monarch. Despite his noble lineage and renowned wisdom, Eul Paso chose not to get involved in the corrupt politics of the time and instead became a farmer. In 191, the 13th year of King Gogukcheon’s reign, the Queen’s relative rose against the king, who easily crushed the rebellion. After the uprising the king ordered the four most influential tribes of Goguryeo to nominate talented and honest men to government posts in order to check the over-grown power of the royal family. https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=60106&page=27&board_code=
10. KING SANSANG (QUEEN WOO’s 2nd husband. Part 2).
– 160-165 CE: Estimated birth date of Lady Woo (Father Woo So)
– 168: Liu Hong (Emperor Ling (age 12) ascended the throne as the 12th emperor of Eastern Han.
– 176: Go Nammu became Crown Prince. (according to Samguk Sagi and the Book of Wei)
– 179: Go Nammu ascended the throne as Goguryeo\’s 9th monarch.
– 180: Lady Woo married Go Nammu (King Gogukcheon) and was crowned queen. (Samguk Sagi)
– 184: King Gogukcheon sent his younger brother, Prince Gye-su, to fight the Han Dynasty invasion force of the governor of Liaodong. The king later led his army to repel the Han forces.
– 189: Liu Xie (Emperor Xian) (r.189-220) ascended the throne as the 14th emperor of Eastern Han.
– 190: Rebellion by the Queen\’s relatives was suppressed (191).
– 191: King Gogukcheon adopted a meritocratic system for selecting government officials. As a result, he discovered many talented people from all over Goguryeo, the greatest of whom was Eul Pa-So, who was appointed Prime Minister.
– 194: \”The Jindae law,\” a grain loan system, was enacted by Gogukcheon, allowing the people to borrow grain from March to July and pay it back in October. (The Jindae law lasted through the Joseon Dynasty (12 centuries later).
– 197: King Gogukcheon died.
– 197: Queen Woo married her brother-in-law. Go Yeonu (King Sansang) ascended the throne as the 10th king of Goguryeo.
– 203: Eul Paso died.
– 204: Go Bal-gi, with the help of Han warlord Gongsun Kang, rebels against Goguryeo. Sansang sent his brother Gye-su to repel the attack.
– 209 Gongsun Kang invaded Goguryeo again, seized some of its territory, and weakened Goguryeo.
– 213: Prince Uwigeo, King Sansang\’s son, with a woman from the Gwanno-bu tribe, became the crown prince.
– 220: Emperor Xian was forced to abdicate the throne to Cao Pi, ending the Han dynasty.
– 220: The beginning of China\’s \”Three Kingdoms Era\”(Wei, Shu-Han and Wu – 220-280 CE) or \”Romance of the Three Kingdoms.\”
– 227: King Sansang, the 10th ruler of Goguryeo, died. Prince Uwigeo (King Dongcheon) became the 11th ruler of Goguryeo.
– 234: Queen Dowager Woo passed away and requested to be buried alongside King Sansang.
\”THE MILITARISTIC GOGURYEO\”
POLITICAL PARTIES AND FACTIONS:
Early first-century Goguryeo was a Confederated Kingdom composed of 5 tribes. In 53 CE, Taejodae (King Taejo) reorganized the five tribes into five centrally ruled districts. Foreign relations and the military were controlled by the king. Aggressive military activities may have also aided expansion, allowing Goguryeo to exact tribute from their tribal neighbors and dominate them politically and economically. Taejodae conquered the Okjeo tribes, Dongye, and other tribes in Southeastern Manchuria. From the increase of resources and manpower from these subjugated tribes, King Taejodae led Goguryeo in attacking the Han Commanderies of Lelang and Xuantu, becoming fully independent of them. Taejodae allowed the conquered tribes to retain their chieftains but required them to report to governors related to Goguryeo\’s royal line; tribes under Goguryeo\’s jurisdiction were expected to provide heavy tribute. Taejodae and his successors channeled these increased resources to continue Goguryeo\’s expansion to the north and west. New laws regulated peasants and the aristocracy, as tribal leaders continued to be absorbed into the central aristocracy. Royal succession changed from fraternal to patrilineal, stabilizing the royal court.
THE FIVE TRIBES: The five-tribe system is called the Nabu system. The names are slightly different in each history book.
Gyerubu or Biryu-bu: The king\’s tribe. The most powerful.
Sonobu: The original royal tribe. Prince Bal-gi rebelled with the Sono-bu tribe against his brother, King Sansang.
Jealnobu or Yeonnabu: The queens\’ tribe. During King Gogukcheon\’s reign, the queen\’s relatives (whether Queen Woo or the previous queen ), Eobiryu and Jwagarye, rebelled against the King.
Sunnobu or Hwanobu: The Daemakriji (Grand Marshall).
Gwannobu: King Sansang (Queen Woo\’s 2nd husband) had an affair with a woman from the Gwanno-bu tribe,and she gave birth to Wi-gung, the 11th ruler of Goguryeo King Dongcheon. It can be inferred from the case of Lady Gwanna and the 12th King Jungcheon that there was a tradition of women from the Gwanno-bu faction becoming royal concubines.
Jega meeting: The chiefs of each tribe, the Daega, meet to discuss major national affairs. This Jega meeting also existed in Buyeo, which had the character of a confederated kingdom like Goguryeo.
(from the Book of Wei, Samguk Sagi @Nabuwiki)
Thank you Kiara. While I am always fascinated by history – or what we are told about it or are able to piece it together from some clues – the human interactions and how did they actually manage to achieve what they did is what is truly intriguing.
You are most welcome!
This era is the most frustrating due to the severe lack of primary sources. Nevertheless, it’s intriguing and probably my favorite since it makes us work harder to understand.
True. The lack of direct sources makes it difficult but all the more engaging as we have to use more than just researching skills. Thank you for all your hard work. ❤
Eul Paso came from a noble and highly regarded family, but he didn’t want to get involved in corrupt politics, so he decided to be a farmer. I had a post on his origin, but DB ate it. LOL
I’ll try again later.
Thank you. I wonder how easy it would have been for him to avoid corruption once he became Prime Minister. I hope that you are able to repost what you wrote about him. 🙂
Thanks. I think I might end up printing your posts so that I can read them carefully and retain some more of the information (I have a hard time reading from a screen). I hope that that is okay.
PART 3: THE PROTO-THREE KINGDOM PERIOD or THE SAMHAN PERIOD (1-3rd Century CE).
The Proto-Three Kingdoms period, a term coined by Kim Won-yong, is defined as occurring between 1 CE and 300 CE, according to his book “An Introduction to Korean Archaeology.”
During this period, there were BUYEO and GOGURYEO in the Korean Peninsula in Manchuria and Nakrang, Daebang, Okjeo, Dongye, and SAMHAN. From an archaeological perspective, this period saw the disappearance of the Bronze Age, the arrival and development of the Iron Age, the disappearance of dolmens, and the appearance of wavy earthenware.
In essence, the Proto-Three Kingdoms follow after the fall of Gojoseon and preceding the full development of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla into full-fledged kingdoms.
Baekje functioned as a federation system until the middle of the 4th century, and Silla operated similarly until the late 5th century. Additionally, considering that Gaya was destroyed in the middle of the 6th century, it is evident that Silla and Baekje operated as federation systems for a significant period.
There are various challenges in comprehending Buyeo’s history due to the absence of a unified historical record of Buyeo itself. There are several Buyeo whose true identity is difficult to identify, such as Northern Buyeo , Eastern Buyeo , Nambu Buyeo , Jolbon Buyeo , and Galsa Buyeo.
Eastern Buyeo did not exist in the early days of Goguryeo, and only Northern Buyeo existed. The academic world believes that Buyeo aristocrats who were deeply embedded in Goguryeo politics in the late Goguryeo period created this to glorify their ancestors or that people in Eastern Buyeo fabricated the myth, which was passed down through Goguryeo’s own records and (History of the Nine Kingdoms) to ( Samguk Sagi ) and ( Samguk Yusa).
FOUNDING MYTH
The mythical founder of the Buyeo kingdom was Hae Mo-su, the Dongmyeong of Buyeo, which literally means Holy King of Buyeo. After its foundation, the son of heaven Hae Mo-su brought the royal court to his new palace and was proclaimed King.
Jumong is described as the son of Hae Mo-su and Lady Yuhwa, who was the daughter of Habaek, the god of the Amnok River or, according to an alternative interpretation, the sun god Haebak.
( The tale of Dongmyeong is particularly relevant for the case of Goguryeo because it reappears in nearly identical form as the foundation myth of the state of Goguryeo).
Initially, Samhan referred to a confederation of tribal states called Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan, located in the south-central part of the Korean Peninsula. Later, Silla in Jinhan, Goguryeo in Yemaek, and Baekje in Mahan grew in power, making the three kingdoms powerful throughout the Korean Peninsula. As the Three Kingdoms system of influence was formed, the ‘Samhan’ developed into a name meaning Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla in the latter half of the Three Kingdoms period. Since Gaya was not a single power but a union of small states such as Geumgwan – guk, Anla -guk , Goja-guk , and Dara-guk, at the time of the Three Kingdoms period when Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan disappeared, the name Samhan developed to refer to the three kingdoms that did not include Gaya.
The traditional founding date of the Goguryeo kingdom was 37 BCE, and it is credited to Dongmyeong (Jumong), a refugee from BUYEO.
According to the Samguk Sagi, a prince from the kingdom of Eastern Buyeo named Jumong fled after a power struggle with other princes of the Buyeo court and founded the Goguryeo state in 37 B.C.E. in a region called Jolbon Buyeo, usually thought to be located in the middle of the Yalu and T’ung-chia river basin, overlapping the current China-North Korea border.
FOUNDING MYTH
There are varying explanations as to the origin of the founding monarch of Goguryeo. In one legend, recorded in an old history book called The History of the Three Kingdoms, Jumong is the son of Hae Mo-su, the son of heaven, and Yuhwa, the daughter of the river god. The river god disapproved of his daughter’s relationship with Hae Mo-su and expelled her. As Hae Mo-su had already returned to heaven, Yuhwa became the concubine of King Geumwa of the Buyeo state. Later, she gave birth to an egg. To destroy the egg, King Geumwa ordered it to be abandoned and fed to animals. But the animals did not consume the egg.
On the contrary, they protected it from harm. The king had no choice but to return the egg to the mother, Yuhwa, who kept it in a warm place for hatching. From the egg hatched a baby boy, who was later named Jumong, which means “skilled archer.” The grandson of both the heavenly emperor and the river god indeed had excellent archery skills.
These founding myths are so fascinating. There always seems to be a heavenly commection. While we take that with a grain of salt it is interesting to see the background provided with may have a lot to do with embellishments provided by the persons in charge of writing down the records for the era.
This is truly enlightening! Thank you for your immense hard work. There is so much to learn. I wonder if they had well established trades with other countries.
The Korean Peninsula was the end of both the land routes and the mainland maritime routes of the Silk Road; there is a dagger that was uncovered in a Silla tomb, the Gyerim-Ro Dagger and Sheath (personal obsession of mine), dated to the 5th century (AD 400) that is thought to have come from the Black Sea Region – that is, the other end of the Silk Road entirely.
Silla would eventually conquer most of the Peninsula, and its Capital, now Gyeongju, then Seorabeol, was the 4th largest city in the WORLD at its peak (in the 600s ish). They traded glass and gold especially.
The Leland Commandery, established by the Han dynasty after the destruction of Gojoseon, also served as a trade center for centuries, persisting even after the fall of the Han dynasty.
These summaries are great, thank you, also great in reminding me/us why 3K Korea is so much more interesting and why I/we like it so much, even if we don’t know as much about it! 😭
Also, Korea has something like 40% of the world’s dolmens which is INSANE. I can’t believe I didn’t visit any when I was there last, as a self proclaimed taphophile. How remiss of me, HOW remiss. On the other hand, if I had stayed to visit the Tombs in Gyeongju I would’ve missed my bus (and also I could barely walk any farther haha).
Wow, that’s insane. Oh, sorry to hear. 😔
Most of the historical places related to Goguryeo that I’d love to visit are either in North Korea 😔 or China.
To be honest the bus thing was a bit of a miracle, and a blessing in disguise. I opted out of the Tombs because I was so tired, and headed almost straight to the bus terminal to check for the next bus to Busan, and there was one in like 15-20 min, or another in several hours, which would’ve got me back far later than I wanted, and mucked everything else up; instead I was able to catch a bus almost immediately, but if I’d lingered even slightly longer somewhere else on the way to the terminal, I would’ve missed that bus and been stuck in Gyeongju, longer than the tombs would’ve taken for sure 😂.
So I couldn’t see everything in Gyeongju, but that was to be expected in some ways- they call it the Open Museum or whatever, cos the whole city is just full of sites, and I had no car, so walking and buses it was, so limited itinerary possible for my jet lagged feet 🤭
PART 2: HAN DYNASTY: (206 BCE–220 CE)
WESTERN HAN (202 BC—9 CE): The first emperor of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu), was a peasant.
QIN DYNASTY (9 – 25 CE)— China’s first unified state, although it is considered the shortest major dynasty in Chinese history, lasting only 15 years.
EASTERN HAN – (25 – 220 CE) – *( “Queen Woo” is set around this timeline 197 CE)
(156 – 87 BC) – EMPEROR WU or WUDI of WESTERN HAN.
(141 – 87 BC) – Reign
The Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) is known its long reign and its achievements, which included the development of the civil service and government structure; scientific advancements such as the invention of paper, use of water clocks and sundials to measure time, and development of a seismograph; the Yuefu, which compiled descriptions of music; the Shiji, a history written by Sima Qian; the fu, a poetic form; and lacquer work and woven silk. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
THE FOUR COMMANDRIES OF HAN
The role of the four Han commanderies in the development of early Korean states is a contentious topic in modern Korea. Not only are the history and archaeology of the Chinese presence on the Korean peninsula stimulating and challenging by themselves, but the study of the Han commanderies is doubly perplexing primarily due to problematical assertions made by nationalistic scholars and pseudo-historians. After Emperor Wu conquered Gojoseon, he established four commanderies in 108 and 107 BC to facilitate and regulate relations with and between the various proto-Korean tribal peoples in Manchuria and the northern part of the Korean peninsula. (The Three Kingdoms of Korea (Lost Civilizations by Richard McBride) Map – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Commanderies_of_Han#/media/File:Hyondo-rom.png
(108 BCE — 313 CE) – LELANG Commandery This was the most important commandery near present-day Pyongyang (the capital of North Korea) and controlled the region until 313 CE. In 2 CE, it had 25 prefectures, 62,812 households, and a population of 406,748. It was a cultural and economic exchange center between Korea and China for centuries. Lelang outlived the Han dynasty but was conquered by Goguryeo in 313 CE. *(Gongsun Kang, the governor of Liadong and over the Lelang Commandery, might make an appearance as a character in “Queen Woo.”) (108 BCE — 82 BCE) – LINTUN Commandery
Absorbed into Xuantu.
(107 BCE — 319 CE) – XUANTU Commandery
In 2 CE, this commandery had three prefectures, 45,066 households, and a population of 221,845. Xuantu was conquered by Goguryeo in 319 CE,
CORRECTION:
Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) – King Zheng (Qin Shi Huang) unified China and invented the title emperor, which would be used as the title of the Chinese sovereign for the next two millennia.
Xin Dynasty (9- 25 CE) – is often considered an interregnum period of the Han dynasty, dividing it into the Western Han and Eastern Han.
Let’s start with the first Kingdom in the Korean peninsula. I’m also including the Han Dynasty since it significantly impacted Korea’s early history.
PART 1: GOJOSEON or OLD JOSEON (not to be confused with later Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897).
2333 BCE?- 108 BCE: FOUNDING MYTH.
According to Samguk Yusa (the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms), Jewang Ungi, the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, and the Dongguk Tonggam, the legendary DANGUN established Gojoseon in 2333 BCE.
“The legend begins with Hwan-woong, who was the son of Hwan-in, the lord of heaven. Hwan-woong wanted to live on Earth, and he came down to the peak of Taebaeksan Mountain on what is now the Korean Peninsula. He established his sacred city there and ruled over humans with the noble aim of benefiting mankind.
Then, two animals—a bear and a tiger—came to Hwan-woong and begged him to transform them into humans. Hwan-woong gave them garlic and fragrant mugwort, which still remains a popular ingredient in many Korean dishes today. He said that their wishes would come true if they ate only these two things for 100 days while staying in a cave without seeing sunlight. The impatient tiger gave up midway and ran out of the cave. The bear, on the other hand, managed to stay in the dark cave with much endurance, only eating garlic and mugwort, as instructed. On the 100th day, the bear finally became a woman. Her name was Ung-nyeo, meaning “bear woman.” After becoming a human, though, Ung-nyeo wasn’t pleased because she did not have anyone to marry. Under a sacred tree, she prayed to the heavens that she may at least have a baby. Hearing her prayers, Hwan-woong took pity on her. He briefly turned himself into a human to marry her. Ung-nyeo soon gave birth to a baby boy, and this son was Dangun, who later became the founder of Korea’s very first kingdom of Gojoseon.
Dangun established his capital in the area that is now Pyongyang in North Korea. Legend has it that he ruled for 1,500 years before he became a mountain god. Some historians estimate that the Gojoseon kingdom lasted until 108 B.C., ruled by 47 generations of the Dangun lineage, before being conquered by the Han Dynasty of China. The Three Kingdoms period followed. The subsequent Goguryeo Kindgom, one of those three kingdoms, adopted the Dangun legend as a way of highlighting its sovereignty as a kingdom with a coherent identity.
Despite some inconsistencies among historical records, Dangun is generally considered the founder of ancient Korea. Today, Dangun is celebrated in a big way on National Foundation Day on October 3.”
Video: DANGUN by Loonytricky https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKDEhOFrAFA
CUSTOM AND CULTURE:
– The customs of Gojoseon can be guessed to some extent through The Book of Han. When looking at Wiman’s entry record, it can be seen that he wore a topknot and had a different costume from China.
– It is thought that the clothing culture of Gojoseon was heavily influenced by the ancient Central Asian nomadic culture called Scytho-Siberian culture. This is because Chinese records show that clothes were tied to the left (Jwaim).
More on custom and culture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gojoseon
323 BCE: GOJOSEON IS ATTACKED BY THE STATE OF YAN.
Around 323 BC, Yan attempted to invade Gojoseon to strengthen the king’s authority and obtain human and material resources. However, Gojoseon was able to frustrate these plans through military and diplomatic actions.
206 BCE: YAN FALLS TO THE HAN DYNASTY.
Zang Tu submitted Yan to the Han dynasty during the war between Han and Chu to keep his title, but once the war was finished, he revolted. Liu Bang (later Emperor Gaozu of Han) sent Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo to put down the rebellion, and they captured and executed Zang Tu.
194 BCE: COUP BY WIMAN.
Refugees from Yan appear to have filtered into Old Joseon, which was then ruled by a Certain King Jun. Among these was a certain Wei Man (Wiman in Korean), who gained a band of followers and drove the king of Old Joseon from his throne. Wiman ruled from 194 – 180 BCE, and his successors ruled what a Korean historian called WIMAN JOSEON. Meanwhile, the ousted King Jun is said to have escaped southward to the state of Jin.
108 BCE: EMPEROR WU (r 141-87 BC) OF THE HAN DYNASTY CONQUERED WIMAN JOSEON.
STRANGE TALES OF THE TANG DYNASTY (Science, Culture, Food, Politics) by Avenue X.
I LOVE this well-researched historical drama! Mmmm Ice-ream.😋 @gikata, I think we are the only ones watching this show.
“THE TALE OF ROSE” @viki.
Settling in with this show and see where it’ll take me. The main characters are a brother and sister and their non-toxic family, which is rare in dramaland.
I have no idea about the novel’s storyline, but I assume she meets them over several years and possibly married to one of them? She just started working at her first job when she met the first guy.
I’ve no doubt it’ll be a good drama— my kind of drama, like her other one I absolutely love, “Meet Yourself”— but maybe I just need to be in the mood for it before I dive into this one
I hope so. I’m not big on romance dramas, but her relationship with her brother is endearing. He is the male lead, and her suitors are the supporting characters.
I started watching C-dramas in the early 2000s, starting with “Demi Gods & Semi Devils” and then Chinese Paladins and Condor Heroes. Liu Yi Fei was green and terrible at acting back then, but she switched to films, and her acting has been so much better. I love “Dream of Splendor” and “Meet Yourself,” It has been a successful comeback, so I’m happy for her.
Behind The Music (2) – “SOMEONE LIKE ME” by Liu Yuning. Original by Mao Buyi.
I had a rough few days last week and needed a good cry.
Music – the original mood-altering, non-fattening wonder drug.
This was for a New Year Countdown gala a few years back and I am still livid that the very first time any network has ever gotten these 2 to do something live together, they didn’t get them to do a ballad 🫠 100% missed opportunity https://youtu.be/EqR5cwDk-dk?si=Cgi53goQjPvzMHTq
Thank you so much! I couldn’t figure out the translation of where and when he sang it (except for 2019). I was excited when I figured out the title of the song. Lol
Someone outstanding like me
Should have led a brilliant life
But how is it that twenty-something years down the road
I am still drifting amongst a sea of people.
Someone smart like me
Bode farewell to simplicity a long time ago
But how is it that I still fell in love
And exchanged a relationship for scars all over?
Someone muddled like me
Someone who searches like me
Someone mediocre like me
How many people like me have you seen?
Someone crude like me
Never likes to pretend to be pretentiously deep
But why is it when I occasionally hear an old song
Am I suddenly shaken?
Someone cowardly like me
Always leaves things incomplete
Yet once upon a time for someone else
I would’ve given up everything
Someone lonely like me
Someone foolish like me
Someone who is discontent with being ordinary like me
How many people like me are in this world?
Someone eccentric like me
Will there be someone’s heart that aches for me?
Mao Bu Yi is a singer-songwriter and he hasn’t done me wrong with any of his own self composed songs yet!! “Someone Like Me” is one of my favourite songs from him, along with 一葷一素 and 給你給我 …. The latter was used as the main theme songs for a Cdrama some years later, the drama titled “Forever and Ever”, which I highly recommend if you haven’t seen yet!
These Northeasterners should collaborate more. I read many happy comments from that part of the country.😄 “Someone Like Me” is definitely one of my favorites!
This song has been on my playlist for a while, but I don’t know the title. I’m slowly going through it one at a time. Is there a story behind it? I agree with the missed opportunity.
How often do chefs and nurses come together to make beautiful music? I’m grateful that they pursued what they loved despite all the opposition and unkind comments from others.
I don’t think this trio has ever happened before—heck, the possibility of letting Liu Yu Ning and Zhou Shen do something, even impromptu, didn’t even come about when both of them were on Season 1 of “Our Songs”— but oh my goodness, my ears and heart would be so so so happy if this is to ever happen!! 🥰
@Gikata Oooh thank you for this 🥰
I’ve been putting it off watching this show—and for 2 seasons now lol— because I think it’s too similar to “Great Escape”, which I absolutely love, but I think it’s time I just start watching XD Especially with these 2 and how that Season 2 also has Dilreba in it, too! She’s hilarious imho
It’s not as much about investigation as it is about total chaos, insanity and soap opera up to 11, when scripted and especially when not. First season was HYSTERICAL, and while I’m super behind with sequel thanks to HEROES, it’s no less funny or crazy so far.
Lol Reba was a shy initially, but then she discovered the evil gremlin within herself and has been trolling the living daylights out of everyone (sans Yuning – he’s her protective ge and usual unwitting accomplice) at every opportunity presented. Do NOT watch either season in headphones, you may hurt your ears from all the screaming)))
@gikata Good to know!! And I’m not surprised, that’s very on brand for Reba hahaha I actually don’t like it that her agency insists on making her this sex bomb and the “Chinese version of Marylin Monroe”— especially during Reba’s time being Yang Mi’s “protégé”— when she’s completely fine and endearing and absolutely adorable being her dorky self 🥰
@kiara Yesss!!! All 3 of them were on Season 1 of “Our Songs” !!! But that’s all I’ll say, I don’t want to spoil the watching experience or the results for you once you find where to watch it (dang it, YouTube, why’d you take it down?? 😒 Probably because the show’s music license ran out on the platform ugh)
@kiara everything is possible… as long as someone brings enough cash to afford both of them)))
Omg, I totally forgot that Yuning lifting ZS like a little kid was a regular thing in S1, so cute! They’re like c-ent live-action version of Mori and Hani from OURAN (oh noes, now it’s MY age showing with this association… lol).
I’m afraid I don’t remember much about him on OUR SONG, but he certainly sings there, just like anyone else.
@bebeswtz some episodes are still there tho? Just not all, and with weird cuts (S3 kinda suffers from it as well, but that probably has something to do with songs’ rights, because those performances can be found just fine on YT separately).
I guess it’s because in c-ent being easygoing is not viewed as something very attractive? You’ve gotta be “classy”, esp if you’re a beautiful actress. Reba has looks fitting the femme fatale archetype, so here we are.
@gikata
For the longest time— all of the last year or so— I couldn’t find official uploads of S1–just the clips of the performances— until literally 10 minutes ago (https://www.dramabeans.com/members/bebeswtz/activity/1587325/) so I guess SMG has figured out the licensing thing, and now it’s just a matter of when the subs will go back up
一葷一素 (“Mom’s Cooking” is the English title) literally translates to ‘one meat, one vegetable’, a song that Mao Bu Yi says he wrote for his mom, wanting to give thanks—but to apologize at the same time— to her for all of the things she once did—and continues to do—for him when he was in university and now that he’s a working adult in society.
For 給你給我 if my memory serves me correctly, he says that the song can be interpreted in 2 different ways, depending on the listener’s phase in life:
1. The lyrics of this song could be what a person wants to give to their lover— the life the person wants to have and wants to provide for their lover
2. The lyrics of this song could be what a person wants to give to anyone they love in their life, even themselves. If for themselves, it would be more of a send of relief—but also security in the subjective things in life—more than anything
In my memory, Mao Bu Yi actually hasn’t done very many official interviews or promos for his songs, so anything that I’ve summarized about what he says about his songs are things that I have heard others say is how Mao Bu Yi himself interprets the songs or are during moments wherein Mao Bu Yi himself is on a variety show and he just naturally shares about the meaning and experiences behind the songs
Thank you!
” ..he says that the song can be interpreted in 2 different ways, depending on the listener’s phase in life.” Spoken like a true song writer.
It’s a song that’s basically about the vast landscape of the homeland (China). I’m not surprised that they got people to sing more songs about the homeland and it’s people and culture during such large scale events like a New Year countdown show (wherein such large scale events brings people, friends, and family together as a unit), since the CCP has been trying hard to really sell how great of a place China is in recent years because of politics, Covid, and racism against Chinese people and culture that have deterred that
Please spam away. I love it!
I became interested in Manchu folk songs last year after watching “My Dearest.” I understood how people long for their homeland and culture through these songs. It’s heartbreaking to see their language facing extinction, as it feels like a loss of their identity.
If you like C-pop songs that incorporate cultural elements to them or are sung in traditional ways, I’d recommend the music duo “Phoenix Legend” (鳳凰傳奇) and singer Sa Ding Sing (薩頂頂). For the duo (male and female duo), the female is actually ethnically Mongolian and she incorporates some actual Mongolian and traditional Mongolian cultural influences into their songs. For Sa Ding Sing, she’s of mixed Chinese Han and Mongolian ancestry, and she incorporates Traditional Tibetan elements into her songs
Correction – it was THIS NY’s gala and the amount of memes cnetz produced about these two performing together was something else, I giggled for hours just from reading the small part which was translated))) In the end, pairing up cdramas’ “great joy” and “great sorrow” was a huge success, so maybe it wouldn’t be the last time. Heck, maybe one day some crazy show decides to give them a duo OST to break all the traditions at once^^ Tho Yuning’s reputation as guaranteed HE/wedding OST singer has been kind of ruined lately…
I find it funny that netizens have dubbed them as so, so whenever a song of there’s comes on in a drama, ppl are like, “Welp, I don’t even have to watch to know that this drama is getting an X ending” 🤣🤣
I’ll be here sipping my tea waiting for the day that ☝🏻 gets flipped on its head
Ah, that was the song he got kicked out from survival show for in his debut days))) Legend says he was actually warned prior that it’s not a good choice of a track to compete with (idk why – too depressing?), but still insisted to the bitter end precisely because lyrics resonated with him.
Thank you for the music and lyrics. My favorite posts are indeed about music.
I’m so sorry you had some rough days. Chanelling the OTP in Dare to Love Me I would say after days with salty tears you will have days as sweet as ice cream. This is an unmutable rule of life.
“HIJACK 1971” Release date: June 21st.
Yeo Jin Goo Hijacks Plane Carrying Ha Jung Woo, Chae Soo Bin, And More In Thrilling “Hijack 1971”
Helmed by director Kim Sung-han, crime action film “Hijacking” centers on a real-life airplane hijacking incident from 1971, when two South Korean pilots were forced to redirect their plane carrying 51 passengers toward North Korea.
Wow, what a great trailer! I haven’t seen a lot of Korean films, largely due to availability issues, but I hope I can find access to this one. Looks like a great role for Yeo Jin Goo, too.
Behind The Music – “Singing With Legends” @bebeswtz, what is the name of this classic that Ren Xianqi and Liu Yuning are singing? I love it and want to find the lyrics, too.
I’m happy that you have discovered this show & the music they did for this season!! Season 1– this one ☝🏻— is actually my favourite. My next favourite season of the show would be the most recent one (Season 5): https://mydramalist.com/756283-our-song-season-5
Richie REN actually comes back as a contestant for Season 5. When a veteran chooses to return to a show they’ve previously participated on, it shows to me that the show and its producers are doing something right. He at some point in Season 5 says he returns to the show because he really believes in what the producers are doing and the concept of the show—bringing juniors and veterans together to make music and do things they love together— and that the show’s producers respects the people who are a part of the show and respects the work that everyone does ♥️ That can’t be said for all of the reality/game/music shows that China produces, which was brought to light since the passing of the late Coco Lee (who was actually on “Our Songs” Season 2)
That’s good to hear! I would love to listen to his older songs. I enjoy traditional music from every country, but hearing a familiar song in a different language is so great. It’s a small world we live in. Music is truly the universal language!
Xiao Zhan’s rendition of Alan Walker’s “Faded” actually got me watching the show. My mom is an ABBA fan and listened to his version of “Give Me Give Me.” I don’t know what it’s called in Mandarin or the senior he was singing it with. I guess that was the disco-era night? So fun!
I haven’t watched season 5 yet, but I will look for it.
For the “Faded x Titanium” remix, he’s singing with Taiwanese singer, Angela Zhang (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Zhang), who stepped in as the “substitute” when the veteran singer he was originally paired with on the show, Na Ying, had to step, away for a weeks (episodes) due to personal reasons with her family.
Their version of “Gimme Gimme” is “恼人的秋风” ( Nǎorén de qiūfēng ) which roughly translates to “The Annoying Autumn Air” 😅
This version of the song—and mashing it up with “Titanium”— is actually my favourite rendition now and I can never go back to the original song ever again 😅 This is why I love this show so much and this is how you do it when you take a song and rework it:
Make it better than the original—make it better than the original so that the listener can’t go back haha Other songs I also now cannot go back to listening to the original versions are the songs Team B did for the group competition episode 🤌🏻🤌🏻😘😘😘🥰🥰 Especially the duet that Xiao Zhan did with veteran Emil Chau Wakin, a song that the latter sang (maybe even wrote?) as the theme song for a drama X amount of years ago
@bebeswtz,
I like her! “Titanium” is not an easy song, but she made it through the chorus. Even with Sia singing her own songs live, I’d held my breath and hoped her voice wouldn’t crack. Lol
“The Annoying Autumn Air?” I wouldn’t have guessed it. LOL
I love all of the info behind the music! Thanks again for sharing!
You’re always welcome 🤗
I’m sad none of the covers they did of the songs on Season 1 are on any international music streaming platforms—and are actually becoming increasingly difficult to search up in YT,too, which makes me wonder if they’re taking the vids down and re-uploading them— and it’s only beginning in Season 2 are the songs being uploaded to international music streaming platforms
Yes! I liked their teamwork in that season, shame they got eliminated early – still idk why because, unlike in S3, Yuning did NOT hold back at all… perhaps audience just wanted something different than two raspy rocker dudes doing their trademark thing repeatedly? Shame – the sheer power of their combined vocals was something else!
Yuning yelling “no, I don’t!” in pure rage after being asked whether he accept such result was my fave moment of the whole season))) Wish he could remain this genuinely unhinged till now…
Live – yes, I can only imagine. These are the guys who can set a giant stadium on fire with just their voices alone.
My favorite comments. “Come to Taiwan brother Yuning.”
Love love love the Ren/Yuning pairing. I’m slowly going through their songs, and looking for the lyrics in English so I can understand what the song is about.
@kiara lmao))) It is hard indeed, but I guess I’m used to it, successfully browsing things in languages I do not speak for more than a decade already… It’s a trainable skill, just give yourself some time. Do you have any good online dictionary at hand? This is life-saver, really!
@seeker then I’m doing my propaganda right, mwahaha^^ Jokes aside, he is extremely interesting person on top of being madly talented, so how could I or anyone else sane resist?
To be fair, in season 1 everyone sang great, that lineup was INSANE. But I’m still positive their duo being voted out had little to do with skills per se, so he was probably right to be unhappy about it.
I’m all for your propaganda. Ordinarily I do not google artists but whenever a Beanie talks about them I take it seriously. Also you have the most wildly entertaining stories.
While I was familiar with his talent, your curated lists have me enthralled. 😊
@seeker then you’re in for a ride, because in terms of wildly entertaining stories I didn’t even scratch the surface properly yet^^
I’ve long ceased to take variety shows any seriously, tbh. But this must’ve hit the nerve, given how he pretty much experienced the same thing multiple times in a row. Being stubborn and refusing to give up must be his biggest talent of them all)))
I have a feeling that it because it might have been Season 1 and the show was still in its trial-and-error stages. One also cannot fight with veterans of veterans like Hacken Lee & Fei Yu Qing XD In this sense, (East) Asian culture still has a hand and thinks that veterans automatically means skills and wins, even though the show itself doesn’t rig anything
I’m grateful to this show for introducing me to the great Fei You Qing! I love traditions and he’s got it all.
I’d want him in every seasons to balance out the pop and rock songs from the younger generations.
Yea, so sad that this show was his last and that he retired from showbiz right after it 🥺 Definitely search him up and take a listen to his works if you can!
Perhaps. But I still blame the lack of mainstream appeal – notice how he smoothly lasted the whole season3 after switching to singing love ballads with female singer…
Complications of competing with veterans was my main gripe with show, esp in S3. If rumors of him participating in another one are true, then I hope the cast overall would be more balanced age/credentials-wise than in S1 and 3 – what’s even the point of competition if you can guess the winner just by looking at lineup?
I agree!! Even with a lot of big names and a lot of traffic stars as contestants on Season 1, it definitely felt like the show wasn’t as popular as it could have been. But S1 is still my favourite 🥰
I watched bits and pieces of Seasons 2 through 4 but didn’t really get into it— the contestants just didn’t do it for me even though I knew who they were. A lot of the issues I had with Seasons 2 to 4:
*** SPOILER ALERT***
A lot of the junior singers were either very “yes ma’am” and “yes, sir” all the time and didn’t feel the need nor took the initiative to give feedback or voice something they may have wanted to do or try OR we’re the complete opposite and were borderline walking all over the veteran, but it’s not like the veteran was doing to say anything, which—to me, personally— speaks volumes about the junior singer, and not in the good way
@bebeswtz S1 was probably underpromoted too – you can tell from visibly smaller scale etc. All budget likely went to singers paychecks lol)))
Seems like casting director(s) didn’t do their job well. Or were more concerned with getting buzzy names than actually creating harmonious duos and making a good show… Happens all the time.
Yea, I agree that Season 1 did indeed feel very raw, very much deer-in-the-headlights, but I’d rather it be this way than to have the production and producer have everything in place, because that would just mean that the show and its results are rigged, and that wouldn’t be good. I actually think that by having Season 1 of the show be like how it was actually brought all of the contestants together even more, because they all had the same experiences in being the ones getting experimented on for the show and share that bond. I see the contestants of S1 appear on other shows and events together and they ALWAYS find each other, great each other, and run towards each other and have that unspoken bond, but I haven’t see that from any of the contestants from Seasons 2 thru 4, and only have seen such a connection beginning again from Season 5. Liu Yu Ning is always mentioning how Richie Ren still always checks in on him, and Xiao Zhan and Na Ying always cheer each other on whenever one or the other has something to promote 😊
THE MIDNIGHT ROMANCE IN HAGWON eps 2: Classical literature, Nam Cheong Mi scene.
“Cheongsan Byeolgok” (The Song of Green Mountains) from the Goryeo era was part of “Six Flying Dragons” OST by Byun Yo Han.
(viki’s sub says Song of Blue Mountain, but I’m pretty sure it’s a mistake).
1 more week if C-dramaland doesn’t play any tricks!!! I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, but it does seem like it WILL happen— the cast has been attending and having promotions on their Weibo and at in-person promo events, too! Seriously, Li Qin and all of the pretty outfits she’s been dressed in for all of these promo events 😍
I have that feeling, too, so I’ve been trying to clear my schedule and not get too attached to a drama or film. I can’t wait to see our beloved cast again. It’s been too long.
I’m watching the first Season for the first time. I have watched 14 episodes so far. I’m afraid I won’t be on time for the second season, but I’ll try.
This condensed version is not an option for me, but it is great for rewatchers.
The candidates were chosen among television shows, OTT programs, and films that aired or were released between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024. For series, candidates were chosen among programs that have aired at least one third of the series as of March 31. For Best New Actor, those who have starred in no more than three productions were eligible to be nominated. Productions that were excluded last year because they were released during the screening period were also included in this year’s pool.
BEST DRAMA
JTBC “The Good Bad Mother”
Disney+ “Moving”
SBS “Revenant”
MBC “My Dearest”
Netflix “Daily Dose of Sunshine”
BEST VARIETY SHOW
SBS Plus, ENA “I am Solo”
wavve “The Community”
JTBC “A Clean Sweep”
MBC “Adventure by Accident 2”
“Pinggyego”
BEST EDUCATIONAL SHOW
SBS “Whales and I”
EBS1 “Population Planning – Ultra-Low Birth Rate”
KBS1 “Japanese Person Ozawa”
KBS1 “There Is No Sustainable Earth”
KBS1 “1980, Lochon and Chauvel”
BEST DIRECTOR
Park In Je (“Moving”)
Lee Myung Woo (“Boyhood”)
Lee Chang Hee (“A Killer Paradox”)
Jung Ji Hyun (“Lies Hidden in My Garden”)
Han Dong Wook (“The Worst of Evil”)
BEST SCREENPLAY
Kang Full (“Moving”)
Kim Eun Hee (“Revenant”)
Bae Se Young (“The Good Bad Mother”)
Lee Nam Gyu, Oh Bo Hyun, Kim Da Hee (“Daily Dose of Sunshine”)
Jeon Go Woon, Im Dae Hyung (“LTNS”)
BEST TECHNICAL DIRECTION
Kim Dong Shik, Im Wan Ho (“Whales and I” – camera)
Yang Hong Sam, Park Ji Won (“Revenant” – art)
Lee Seok Geun (“Korea-Khitan War” – costume)
Lee Sung Kyu (“Moving” – VFX)
Ha Ji Hee (“The Matchmakers” – art)
BEST ACTOR
Kim Soo Hyun (“Queen of Tears”)
Namgoong Min (“My Dearest”)
Ryu Seung Ryong (“Moving”)
Yoo Yeon Seok (“A Bloody Lucky Day”)
Im Siwan (“Boyhood”)
BEST ACTRESS
Ra Mi Ran (“The Good Bad Mother”)
Ahn Eun Jin (“My Dearest”)
Uhm Jung Hwa (“Doctor Cha”)
Honey Lee (“Knight Flower”)
Lim Ji Yeon (“Lies Hidden in My Garden”)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ryu Kyung Soo (“The Bequeathed”)
Ahn Jae Hong (“Mask Girl”)
Lee Yi Kyung (“Marry My Husband”)
Lee Hee Joon (“A Killer Paradox”)
Ji Seung Hyun (“Korea-Khitan War”)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kang Mal Geum (“The Good Bad Mother”)
Shin Dong Mi (“Welcome to Samdalri”)
Yeom Hye Ran (“Mask Girl”)
Lee Jung Eun (“A Bloody Lucky Day”)
Joo Min Kyung (“Behind Your Touch”)
BEST NEW ACTOR
Kim Yo Han (“A Killer Paradox”)
Lee Si Woo (“Boyhood”)
Lee Shin Ki (“The Worst of Evil”)
Lee Jung Ha (“Moving”)
Lee Jong Won (“Knight Flower”)
BEST NEW ACTRESS
Go Yoon Jung (“Moving”)
BIBI (“The Worst of Evil”)
Yoo Na (“The Kidnapping Day”)
Lee Yi Dam (“Daily Dose of Sunshine”)
Lee Han Byul (“Mask Girl”)
BEST MALE ENTERTAINER
Kian84
Na Young Suk
Yoo Jae Suk
Calm Down Man
Tak Jae Hoon
BEST FEMALE ENTERTAINER
Kim Sook
An Yu Jin
Lee Soo Ji
Jang Do Yeon
Hong Jin Kyung
I didn’t watch most of these dramas, so I have little to say.
I’d vote for Namgoong Min (“My Dearest”) or Ryu Seung Ryong (“Moving”) for Best Male Lead.
The biggest accusation (she hit him during more than 1 hour) wasn’t proven and she denied it. The person who accused her is in USA now, so I don’t know what will happen.
She had to change of highschool because of bullying (but another case) and I think she admitted this part.
Which insane manic named Good Bad Mother among the best dramas and the best screenplay? That was a pile of wanky writing from start to finish!
Bae Se Young, you brought literally nada to the scriptwriting world. There was no driven narrative, no emotional intelligence, no satisfactory arc, and no point to what you imposed on us. Your name doesn’t deserve to be remembered for that drama. Go and sharpen your pencils to write something decent, your naughty thing.
Yes! I saw that and thought, “what on earth are they thinking?” That was the worst drama I watched last year, and I finished it thinking that it MUST get better but it never did.
Taiko’s Death Scene:
{Taiko} I wish we’d taken Joseon (Korea) together. I could have given you Japan.
{Lord Toranaga} Let it be a gift from your son.
The Taikō, Nakamura Hideoshi, is based loosely on TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI (1537-1598).
Lord Yoshii Toranaga – TOKUGAWA IEYASU (1543-1616).
GEOPOLITICS: Japan, Korea, and China. (Pic 1) The Beginning of the Edo Period for Japan (1600-1868), the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897) for Korea, and the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) for China.
At this point. Korea and China are allies, like a father (China) and son (Korea) relationship.
In 1592, JAPAN INVADED KOREA. This is known as the IMJIN WAR in Korea, in China it’s called the WANLI KOREAN CAMPAIGN.
-Lord Kiyama ukon Sadanaga of the Council of Regents is loosely based on KONISHI YUKINAGA (1558-1600). The Christian general who spearheaded the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592
-ADMIRAL YI SUN-SIN (1545–1598). The greatest admiral in Korea’s history, a national hero whose naval victories were instrumental in repelling Japanese invasions of Korea.
Admiral Yi died November 1598 in the battle of Noryang at age 53.
Admiral Yi Trilogy: movies
1. The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014)
2. Hansan: Rising Dragon (2022)
3. Noryang: Deadly Sea (2023)
-GENERAL CHEN LIN (1543-1607) A General and Navy Admiral of Ming, China. He is considered a hero in both Korea and China for helping win the Imjin war with Korea and defeating the Japanese army alongside Korean forces. Today, his descendants are spread across South China and Korea.
“A Dream Within A Dream”(The Taiko, Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s death poem).
As the dew appears
As the dew disappears
Such is my life, that Naniwa
Is a dream within a dream.
tsuyu to ochi / tsuyu to kienishi / waga mi kana / naniwa no koto wa / yume no mata yume
JAPANESE TRADITION OF JISEI:
In Japan, there is a traditional poem known as jisei or death poem. With origins in Zen Buddhism, such poems are written by authors, often samurai or monks, as they approach their final days. These poems highlight themes of impermanence and transience, concepts central to Zen Buddhism.
The poems often express a sense of acceptance and peace towards death, and they can serve as a reminder of the impermanence of all things and the importance of living fully in the present moment.
From Episode 1: Pieterzoon, a Christian is sentenced to death by boiling.
{Yabushige} The barbarian took a long time to die. He was stronger than most Christians.
(Looks at Omi). Give me a poem about him.
{Omi} His eyes…were just the end of hell..all pain, articulate.
(Yabushige smiles in approval)
Gee, who is calling whom a barbarian?
QUOTE FROM THE BOOK:
“There was no dignity for either the sufferer or the torturer. It removed the dignity from death, and without that dignity, what was the ultimate point of life?”
(Book 1, Chapter 4, Page 82)
Omi watches Pieterzoon’s torture in the cauldron of boiling water. The samurais do not fear death, but the thought of an undignified, dishonorable end is intolerable to them. There is no honor in a man being tortured to death, and nothing dignified about the job of torture.
“Only by living at the edge of death can you understand the indescribable joy of life.”
(Book 5, Chapter 56, Page 954)
Feeling like they are always on the edge of death, samurai are better able to appreciate life’s pleasures and tranquil moments because they know how quickly things can change. Those who have not faced death do not have the same sense of life’s exhilaration.
This show is R16: I’m sure we are all older than that. LOL
The rating for violence, offensive language, and content that may disturb is explained here. I’m sure you already have an idea from the book, but just in case. So far, the pilot episode is the most brutal, if you call it that. I couldn’t handle “Game Of Thrones,” but I can with “Shogun.”
1. Cruelty
In one scene, a prisoner is thrown into a pot of boiling water, and they scream in immense pain. The scene goes on to show close-ups of the character’s painful torture. We also see other characters reaction from hearing the prisoner’s screams. This may be shocking for viewers. (pilot episode)
2. Offensive language
Offensive language is frequent throughout the show. Offensive language is used to express characters’ frustration or to insult each other.
-Blackthorne and Rodrigues are sailors, and they do get into it when they are together.
3. Sexual themes
In a brief scene, two characters become intimate while being watched. We hear moaning and characters embrace. Nothing in detail is shown, but we do briefly see a female’s breasts.
-From what I heard, the violence in the book is more brutal and frequent. (pilot episode)
Thank you and to echo @seeker, thank you, so interesting. Especially because the three countries have so much history. Showing the intertwining stories, along with how beautiful the show is. This is great.
What an impressive and useful compilation of information. Thank you so much Kiara.
A note on Admiral YI: His incredible victory at the Straits of Myeongryang still stands as the single greatest example of a far smaller force defeating a larger one in the History of Naval warfare. It all the more incredible when you realize that the Japanese Navy had achieved a serious level of skill in Naval Warfare in no small part through have to face Yi in twenty previous battles.
The Japanese never forgot Admiral Yi. After wiping out the Russian Navy at the Straits of Tsushima in 1903 Admiral Togo was treated to a celebratory banquet. At that banquet the celebrants compared him to Yi and to Horatio Nelson- and he stopped them and told them that it was OK to compare him to Nelson but that neither he nor Nelson were in the same company as Admiral Yi.
Note: In Japan the Imjin War is referred to as The Pottery War because advanced porcelain techniques were the only thing that Japan gained from it (see GODDESS OF FIRE for the Kdrama about the Korean woman who was kidnapped and taken to Japan (with her husband) to accomplish goal- hundreds of their descendants still live there).
HISTORY & DRAMA INTERTWINED
(CONTAINS SPOILERS)
I haven’t read the book or watched the 1980 version of Shogun. Everything, including the background history, is new to me.I am enjoying learning new things. Please feel free to provide feedback on this episode or point out any errors that I may have made.
Shōgun: The military leader and de facto ruler of the country. The term originally meant “the barbarian-subduing great general” and was given to the general sent by the emperor to fight the Ainu people in northern Japan. However, with the establishment of the samurai government at the end of the 12th century, the title was revived and took on a new political meaning as the leader of the military class.
Samurai: Feudal Japan’s warrior class, enact a culture of war, duty, ruthlessness, and discipline. They are trained to be fierce fighters, who remain impassive in the face of pain and death. Their highest ideals are enshrined in an honor code called bushido, which dictates obedience to one’s lord, unflinching bravery, and above all the avoidance of shame and loss of face.
THE Emperor and Japan’s capital:
The reigning emperor of Japan is Go-Yōzei (1571-1617)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Go-Y%C5%8Dzei, who currently resides in the capital city of Kyoto (this is the “imperial capital,” the home of the emperor). Legally, the shogun answered to the emperor, but, as Japan evolved into a feudal society, control of the military became tantamount to control of the country. The emperor remained in his palace in the capital, chiefly as a symbol of power behind the shogun.
The first “capital of the shogunate” was Kamakura (1185-1333), the stronghold of the Minamoto clan. The decline of Minamoto led to the rise of the Ashikaga (or Muromachi) clan, who moved their capital to the imperial city of Kyōto (1333-1603). In 1603 Ieyasu Tokugawa moved the capital, to Edo (modern Tokyo). The Edo Period lasted for nearly 260 years until the Meiji Restoration in 1868, when the Tokugawa Shogunate ended and imperial rule was restored. The Emperor moved to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo. Thus, Tokyo became the capital of Japan.
Clan Crest: Tokugawa clan.
The Tokugawa crest was a circle in closing three leaves of the awoi (a species of mallow, found in Central Japan) joined at the tips, the stalks touching the circle (see Pic 1 and 2). This gilded trefoil is gleaming on the property of the shogun and mausoleum even now in Japan.
Shogun’s Language Confusion:
John Blackthorne and all of his translators speak English in Shogun even though they refer to it as Portuguese, which has caused some confusion. This is because, in-universe, the lingua franca used by John Blackthorne and the Catholic priests is Portuguese, but the show replaces it with English. Therefore, every time a character is speaking in English in Shōgun, they are supposed to be speaking in Portuguese within the story.
EPISODE 1: ANJIN – The pilot of the pilot episode.😀
THE YEAR IS 1600.
FOR DECADES, PORTUGUESE CATHOLICS HAVE RICHLY PROFITTED FROM TRADE IN JAPAN.
THEY HAVE KEPT ITS WHEREABOUTS HIDDEN FROM THEIR SWORN ENEMIES – THE EUROPEAN PROTESTANTS.
IN OSAKA, THE REIGNING TAIKO HAS DIED, LEAVING BEHIND AN HEIR TOO YOUNG TO RULE. FIVE WARRIOR LORDS ARE NOW TRAPPED IN A BITTER STRUGGLE.
(There are so many details in this episode alone but I need to keep moving to catch up with the show).
Here are a few to start with. I’ll add the rest later.
{pilot} Captain, I was unable to take any celestial declinations due to–
{captain} The clouds
{pilot} Yes, the clouds. However, white sand. By the mark, ten. Ten fathoms. White sand in the tallow.
Celestial navigation: uses natural celestial bodies (such as the Sun, the Moon and stars) as navigation beacons to calculate the position of the observation point.
Navigating by the Stars: Introduction to Celestial Navigation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V0S8vLj4_E&ab_channel=RiggingDoctor
Leadline: this tool is so simple and reliable that its design hasn’t changed much in thousands of years. It consists of a lead weight attached to a rope that is marked at measured lengths. The bottom of the lead is concave, or cupped inward. Filling this space with something sticky, such as tallow (animal fat) or grease, is called “arming the lead” and is used to bring up bottom samples, such as sand, gravel, or mud, to show what was on the sea floor in that spot. https://www.thepirateking.com/historical/lead_line.htm
3. Blackthorne/Anjin drew a map on the sand, revealing Spain and Portugal’s alliance and their division of the world. (Map Pic 4)
{Anjin/Blackthorne} – your country falls into the Portuguese half so it belongs to them.
{Lord Toranaga} – Did he really say “belongs”to them?
{Lady Mariko} – Yes, Lord. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V25XthYt2M&t=1s&ab_channel=WarStoriesinKino
“Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)”
An alliance between Spain and Portugal. It settled disputes about the ownership of lands discovered by Columbus and others. Pope Alexander VI had (1493) approved a line of demarcation stretching between the poles 100 leagues (about 500 km) west of the Cape Verde islands. All to the west was Spanish, to the east Portuguese – an award disregarded by other nations. Portuguese dissatisfaction led to a meeting at Tordesillas in north‐west Spain where it was agreed to move the papal line to 370 leagues (about 1850 km) west of Cape Verde. The pope sanctioned this in 1506. It was modified by the Treaty of Zaragossa (1529), which gave the Moluccas (Spice Islands) to the Portuguese.
4. SYMBOLS and MOTIFS from Book 1:
The Erasmus
Named for a famed Dutch Enlightenment philosopher, the Erasmus is a Dutch ship trying to find a route to Japan so that the Netherlands can set up trade without going through the Spanish and Portuguese. The Erasmus represents Blackthorne’s love for the sea, his desire for freedom, and his ambition for conquest—Blackthorne hopes to use the Erasmus to take the valuable Black Ship and its cargo. When Blackthorne becomes pivotal to Toranaga’s plans, he burns the ship in exchange for Blackthorne’s life.
BATHING
Bathing is a cleansing, meditative ritual that is important to the Japanese. When the book begins, Blackthorne rarely bathes; few of the English do. By the time he becomes hatamoto, he sees the European custom of bathing infrequently as barbaric. His former uncleanliness revolts him, as does the stink of his old shipmates.
Karma
Toranaga and many other samurai in the novel believe in the Buddhist doctrine of karmic reincarnation—that they will be reborn into another form forty days after death. The deeds of one’s life determine one’s karma. The accumulation of bad karma leads to rebirth in a lesser form.
Crucifix
This symbol of Christianity represents faith, conflicts between Christian sects, and priestly hypocrisy. Mariko’s crucifix is a cherished symbol of her faith—the purest of the novel’s religious symbols. Conversely, the ornately decorated crucifix that Blackthorne breaks in front of Father Sebastio—a symbol of Catholic outward showiness, which is one of the things Protestants decry—symbolizes Blackthorne’s hatred of the Jesuits.
Toranaga’s Falcons
Toranaga loves falconry—the process of finding the birds as babies, raising them, training them, and eventually breaking them to sit on his fist and hunt for him. He views the process of grooming Blackthorne, Yabu, Mura, and others as analogous to his treatment of the falcons. Some of his subordinates are well trained and subservient. Others, like Blackthorne, require more pressure and care before they will do as he commands. The analogy between the falcons and Toranaga’s vassals frames Toranaga as a hunter, both literally and figuratively.
5. QUOTE FROM THE BOOK.
“It’s a saying they have, that a man has a false heart in his mouth for the world to see, another in his breast to show to his special friends and his family, and the real one, the true one, the secret one, which is never known to anyone except to himself alone, hidden only God knows where.”
(Book 2, Chapter 10, Page 173)
Rodrigues has been around the Japanese long enough to understand the importance they place on hiding their feelings—though because of his bias, he ignores the fact that the Europeans often hide their motives and thoughts as well. The novel doubles down on this standard racist anti-Asian trope: Japanese character…[Read more]
I love this, because I go in blind, but I am learning so much from the episodes and your accompaniment. Also, the unmitigated Gall and Audacity of Spain, Portugal, and the Pope to split the world amongst them. Well colonizers are going to colonize.
Imagine discovering that your country belongs to another nation. Fortunately, the treaty was not taken seriously by other countries. Lord Toranaga is unlikely to let this go.
The Catholics aren’t portrayed in a positive light. The novel’s author was British, so I expected some bias and truth.
I’m not Catholic, but I grew up in a Christian home, so I’m taken aback by the way these Christian characters behaved, but I understand that this was a dog-eat-dog era. The one who is devoted to her religion is Lady Mariko.
At first, I was hesitant to watch SHOGUN because Hollywood has a reputation for not respectfully portraying diverse cultures. Additionally, I had heard that the story was brutal and violent. However, I decided to give it a chance and watched the pilot episode. To my surprise, the showrunners had put in great effort to achieve cultural authenticity and sensitivity, and the violence has been shown sparingly (so far). After listening to the writers and Hiroyuki Sanada talk about their approach, I have even more appreciation for the show.
Yes, the valued principle of honor, the act of seppuku, is demonstrated from a samurai’s perspective, explaining why they don’t fear death. The cultural and religious clash, East meets West, is well done in this series.
Christians from the West view suicide as a sin, a cowardly act (like when the captain killed himself). I supposed he’s not going to the best place upstairs, either. Death in a Buddhist culture is part of the cycle of life. With death comes rebirth. The next episode’s title, “Servants of Two Masters,” could apply to Christian converts like Lady Mariko.
A quote from the book.
“To serve is duty, duty is samurai, samurai is immortality.”
(Book 1, Chapter 7, Page 112)
Yabu (Yabushige in this series) contemplates becoming completely loyal to Toranaga. The samurai code of service makes obedience to one’s lord is indistinguishable from duty. Treating one’s duty with seriousness guarantees positive karma and a desirable immortality. Yabu’s problem is the realization that whom he serves matters less for karma than the fact that he serves a lord honorably.
The clan crest helped me identify the followers of each daimyō. I noticed that Toda Hiromatsu (Hosokawa Fujitaka) wore the Toyotomi crest (the taiko’s clan) if I see correctly, while serving Lord Toranaga. I wonder if Toranaga hasn’t earned his complete trust yet since he still carries his old Lord’s crest or maybe because he was a vassal of the taiko and a friend of Toranaga. The conversation between them seems like between old friends who fought in many battles together.
{Toranaga} Sorry, friend. If we go to war now, 4 armies against 1, I will lose. I must remain here.
{Hiromatsu} You are a prisoner to your enemies, days from death — and you want me to look into a barbarian ship?
{Toranaga} I wonder if you made a mistake, Hiromatsu. Siding with me instead of those bureaucrats who want me dead.
{Hiromatsu} (jokingly)The thought has crossed my mind.
Thank you so much for the time it must of taken to do this and all the links as well.
I’m only up to episode 5 but really love everything about the show, the quality is excellent.
I tried to find links to the show on dramabeans and your page came up first.
This will add so much depth to the show.
In Japan, during “the Civil War Era,” also known as the “Sengoku Era,” there was a period when power had been fragmented among numerous samurai. During this time, three powerful warlords tried to unify the country under their rule. Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
This is a famous Zen parable about a fictional account of a Zen master asking the three most powerful warlords of the Sengoku or Warring States period (Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu) what they would do if a hototogisu or cuckoo didn’t sing. It was a parable which illustrates the character of each of these three different types of leaders.
Oda Nobunaga was known for his fierceness and cruelty and thus would answer, “Kill it.”
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was the most cunning and would therefore coyly say, “Make it.”
Tokugawa Ieyasu was the most diplomatic and patient so he would most likely say, “Wait for it.”
There is a saying in Japanese, “Oda Nobunaga makes the pie and Toyotomi Hideyoshi bakes it, but Tokugawa Ieyasu is the one who gets to eat it.”
The evolution of every martial artist is much like the philosophies of these famous Japanese Daimyos. Whichever Daimyo style we identify the most with depends on where we are in our development.
The beginner usually wants to “kill it”, the intermediate person wants to “force it” but an expert is willing to “wait for it.” https://aikidocenterla.com/blog/2646
THE LEGEND: Get to know Lord Yoshii Toranaga, based loosely on Tokugawa Ieyasu and played by the magnetic Hiroyuki Sanada. (Pic 2)
OSAKA, the YEAR 1600: Osaka Palace (Pic 3 and 4). The palace was created for the show. The one below it is the original.
Yoshii Toranaga is a powerful bushō from a feared lineage. When we meet Toranaga, he is isolated and outnumbered by his enemies in Osaka. But little does anyone realize that Toranaga is a brilliant strategist and a master of the long game.
Toranaga was given to his father’s rival as a hostage when he was a young boy — he grew up surrounded by enemies, far from his family. Even though he was raised as his station demanded, with the comforts and the training of a samurai, his childhood taught him to keep his true feelings hidden.
A natural leader of men, Toranaga won his freedom as a boy when he began commanding his captor’s army in battle. Small victories became large ones, and soon Toranaga became the lord of his own domain.
a. bushō – A warlord. Literally “military general.” These samurai lords had the military power to unify their territory independently. Some ruled over an area of just a few counties, while others had several large fiefdoms under their control. In Japanese the term is mainly used for the warlords who fought their wars in the Sengoku period.
FALCONRY: Lord Toranaga and his beloved falcon Tetsuko (real name Shogun) Pic 5.
It is fitting that the powerful warlord Toranaga makes his first appearance in a falconry scene. Tokugawa Ieyasu was known to be particularly fond of falcon hunting. Ieyasu’s official diary, Tōshōgū gojikki, is full of references to falconry. One reference tells us the following: “It seemed as if falconry was his second nature. From his youth to his old age, whenever he had time, he went hunting”.
Falconry was an ancient custom dating back to the emperors of ancient times. In the Sengoku period, falconry took on a special significance for the warlords. By practicing falconry, the warlords were not only perpetuating an ancient tradition.
They presented games to their loyal vassals and falcons to other warlords, thus cementing their alliances. Ieyasu used falconry as a way to keep fit himself, and train his vassals. Falconry was a useful pastime to foster cooperation among the samurai involved. Falcon hunts usually developed into spectacular feasts, with the participating samurai all dressed in hunting garb. Above all, it demonstrated the military prestige of the samurai class.
Thank you! I watched 1. fX channel on demand is extremely difficult to watch, sets of six commercials constantly interrupting (each set includes 2 for Disney toys and, no kidding, 2 for Shogun!) I will try to watch the rest during weekly broadcast.
I know it’s so annoying, sorry. I’ll put a spoiler tag on the next part so you can read it after watching the episode. I’m doing this slowly, so you’ll catch up soon enough.
Last week, two episodes were released. Starting this week, one episode will be released every Tuesday until the series ends on April 23rd.
Yep, I know I have to bite the bullet to see the 2nd one (in a hurry, tomorrow!). It got a bit funny, I was betting with the cat as to which toy commercial would air first by the end.
kiara
September 27, 2024 at 11:15 PM
“WHAT COMES AFTER LOVE”
What to watch if you are interested in the historical background of Yun Dong-ju.
“DONGJU: THE PORTRAIT of a POET” (2016)
The life and death of Dongju Yoon, who dared to dream of becoming a poet during the harsh period of Japan’s occupation of Korea.
Directed by Lee Joon-ik (one of my favorite sageuk writer/director).
Starring:
Kim Ha-neul
Park Jeong-min (if you don’t know this gem of an actor, this would be a great introduction film).
Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
September 28, 2024 at 6:53 AM
Thank you for pointing us in the direction of this film. I love hearing poetry in dramas most of the books are not translated into English so I feel we miss out. Such an inspiring message to know someone so young was able to leave a permanent mark in the history of the Korean people. I have located the film and look forward to watching it. This is the year I am getting educated in the harsh reality of Korean history.
kiara
September 28, 2024 at 8:31 AM
You are most welcome!
Im reading his poems in the English translation version of “Sky, Wind and Stars.”
https://www.amazon.com/Sky-Wind-Stars-Yoon-Dong-Joo/dp/0895818264
Peridot
September 28, 2024 at 8:29 AM
Yes, good actors and good director. I might have to re-watch this at some point.
Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
September 28, 2024 at 10:14 AM
Very well done, I liked that it was in black and white. It is so hard to watch when you know it is a true story.
Snow Flower
September 29, 2024 at 10:05 AM
I watched this movie and liked it.
kiara
September 27, 2024 at 10:49 PM
“WHAT COMES AFTER LOVE”
SPOILER ALERT…
EPISODE 2.
EPISODE 2: Visiting Kyoto and Yun Dong Yu’s grave.
Lee Se-young (Choi Hong) recites one of Yun Dong Yu’s poems.
“A POEM THAT CAME EASILY”
The night rain whispers utside the window
of my six-mat room, in an alien country.
The poet has a sad vocation, I know:
should I write another line of poetry?
Having received my tuition from home in an envelope
soaked with the smell of sweat and love,
I tuck my college notebook under my arm
and go off to listen to the lecture of an old professor.
Looking back, I see that I have lost my childhood friends:
one and two at a time-all of them.
What was it that I was hoping for,
and why am I simply sinking to the bottom alone?
Life is meant to be difficult:
it is too bad
that a poem comes so easily to me.
My six-mat room in an alien country:
The night rain whispers outside the window.
I light the lamp to drive out the darkness a little,
and I, in my last moments, wait for the morning,
which will come like a new era.
Extending a small hand to myself,
I offer myself the very first handshake,
tear, and condolences.
JUNE 3, 1942. (3 years before Yun Dong-yu died)
Pic 1. Yun Dong Yu’s grave irl.
Pic 2. Yun Dong Yu’s grave in the drama eps 2 – credit to @4sonee @X
Pic 3. Nidec Kyoto Tower in the background – credit to @sontaegoong @X
kiara
September 30, 2024 at 2:22 PM
Correction: The memorial monument to Yun Dong Yu is located at Doshisha University in Kyoto, where he studied.
Yun Dong-ju is buried in the graveyard of his home church in Longjing, Jilin, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, China.
Mrs Buckwheat
October 1, 2024 at 11:39 PM
Thanks so much for posting all this interesting information, much appreciated 🙂
kiara
September 27, 2024 at 9:59 PM
“WHAT COMES AFTER LOVE” Historical background.
MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.
EPISODE 1. YUN DONG-JU, the author of “SKY, WIND, STARS and POETRY.
Yun Dong- ju ( December 30 , 1917 – February 16 , 1945 ) was an independence activist , poet , and writer during the Japanese colonial period . His family origin was Papyeong, and his pen name was Haehwan. He was born on December 30, 1917 in Myeongdongchon, Bukgando, and his registered address is 76 Pohang-dong, Chongjin-si, Hamgyeongbuk-do. Myeongdongchon was a barren land in East Gando, but in 1899, Kim Yak-yeon, Kim Ha-gyu, Moon Byeong-gyu, and other people from Hamgyeongdo led about 140 family members and immigrated to East Gando, and when they were joined by Yun Dong-ju’s grandfather Yun Ha-hyeon, they formed the largest Korean village in East Gando, which means “a place that illuminates the East.”
He studied at Myeongdong School, graduated from Pyongyang Sungsil Middle School and Seoul Yonhui College. He made his literary debut while a second-year student at Yonhui College by publishing a poem in the boy’s magazine.
He went to Japan and entered Kyoto Doshisha University in 1942. In 1943, he was arrested by the Japanese police on charges of anti-Japanese activities and imprisoned in Fukuoka Prison. He died in prison at the age of 27, leaving behind over 100 poems. There is a theory that the cause of his death was the Japanese salt water experiments, and after his death, there was a theory that he was subjected to maruta and vivisection experiments by the Japanese military, but this is uncertain. His poetry collection, Sky, Wind, Stars and Poetry , was published after his death .
https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%9C%A4%EB%8F%99%EC%A3%BC
“SKY, WIND, and STARS”
English translation by Kyung-nyun Kim Richards and Steffen F. Richards
Born and raised in northern Manchuria during the colonial period of Korea, Yun Dong-ju was a poet of the utmost purity, beauty, and sincerity. His posthumously published collection of poems under the title Sky, wind, stars, and poems is one of the all-time favorites of Korean readers. Wishing not to have so much as a speck of shame toward heaven until the day I die, I suffered, even when the wind stirred the leaves. (From Foreword) In simple diction and straightforward expressions, his poems sing of his love for his people, his compassion for the poor and destitute, and his hopes for freedom and independence. These themes still resonate deep within the hearts of the Korean people. His imprisonment and eventual death in 1945 in a Japanese prison lend great poignancy to his work.
Pics from episodes 1 and 2. credit to @sillysone
https://twitter.com/sillysone
🌸 Seeker 🌸
September 28, 2024 at 7:07 AM
Thank you Kiara for kindly sharing your research. It adds much depth to our drama watching. 😊❤
kiara
September 28, 2024 at 8:37 AM
You are very welcome!❤️
kiara
September 16, 2024 at 7:52 PM
And the Emmy goes to SHOGUN! Best drama series.
Best actor – Hiroyuki Sanada
Best actress – Ana Sawai
Best director – Frederick E.O Toye
NOMINATED
Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, Rachel Kondo and Caillin Puente (writer)
Tadanobu Asano and Takehiro Hira (supporting actor)
Well done! Looking forward to SHOGUN 2.
kiara
September 16, 2024 at 7:56 PM
Ana Sawai – Best lead actress in a Drama series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNQh3bLcfBY&ab_channel=ABC
Hiroyuki Sanada – Best lead actor in a Drama series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3PJNCObyqQ&ab_channel=ABC
kiara
September 16, 2024 at 8:20 PM
Nestor Carbonell – Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series
https://www.emmys.com/video/2024-cae/guest-actor-drama
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
September 16, 2024 at 8:33 PM
Winning 18 out of the 25 nominations that it received, Sanada being the first ever Japanese to win in the category and Sawai being the first East Asian to win in the category 👏🏻
kiara
September 16, 2024 at 8:48 PM
It’s incredible to see more Asian history and talents recognized in these award shows. I hope to see more collaborations in movies and dramas between different countries. It’s heartwarming to watch people from different cultures work together.
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
September 16, 2024 at 8:56 PM
💯
Considering how long these awards and organizations have been around and their long-standing history, it’s agonizing to see that it’s taken THIS long for people of colour— most, people of black/brown hair and yellow skin— to be rightly recognized for their achievements, but I’m glad we’re finally here and I’ll take what I can get 🥰
kiara
September 16, 2024 at 8:59 PM
Oops
Ana Sawai!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLP8NO_8ry0&ab_channel=ABC7
kiara
September 16, 2024 at 9:48 PM
Frederick E.O Toye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY8Mc-fhvUQ&ab_channel=TelevisionAcademy
bbstl 🧹
September 17, 2024 at 7:28 AM
I am SO HAPPY and hope it means lots more people around the world will seek it out! It truly is a level above everything else 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
PYC
September 17, 2024 at 1:46 PM
There’s no excuse that I must watch Shogun now. Too many to watch, too little time. I have to weigh up between four seasons of Succession or one season of Shogun. Completely different dramas though.
OldLawyer
September 20, 2024 at 7:28 AM
But SHOGUN 2 necessarily takes us beyond the original novel, which was originally written in English by a Western writer. Can it possibly duplicate that unique blend of East and West?
kiara
September 20, 2024 at 8:28 AM
Maybe we will get the Battle of Sekigahara and go from there. Disney is going to throw money at the production since it has been successful on streaming and has received critical acclaim. I hope that they’ll leave FX alone to run the show.
OldLawyer
September 21, 2024 at 7:54 AM
That was one of the most important battles in history so I would hope so.
kiara
August 31, 2024 at 12:30 AM
QUEEN WOO HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
THE FIRST 10 MONARCHS OF GOGURYEO.
History by KBSWorld.
1. KING DONGMYEONG aka JUMONG or CHUMO
After founding Goguryeo, Jumong took GO, from Goguryeo, as his last name. He died in 19 B.C. at the age of 40.
https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=4001&page=4&board_code=dynasty
Sageuk to watch – Jumong (MBC, 2006)
2. KING YURI
KING YURI\’S SWORD – Episode 1 of QUEEN WOO.
When Yuri was little, though, he did not know who his father was. His father, Jumong, had to leave Buyeo, where he lived with his wife, even before his son was born because he was in danger of being killed by Buyeo princes. As a result, during his childhood Yuri lived alone with his mother, Lady Ye.
One day, while trying to hit a sparrow with a slingshot, Yuri accidentally broke a woman’s water jar. The woman was angry and yelled at him, saying he was such a spoiled child because he was raised in a fatherless home. The young boy was shocked, and back at home, he asked his mother who and where his father was. Lady Ye replied that his father had established a state to become king. She said that before leaving, her husband had hidden something under a pine tree on a seven-angled stone. She told the boy to locate it if he wanted to see his father. From that day, Yuri wandered about the mountains and fields to find a pine tree on a heptangular stone, only to fail.
The boy returned home, exhausted, and sat on the floor, leaning against a pillar. He happened to see a cornerstone under the pillar, and to his surprise, it had seven angles. He realized the pillar was made of pine, and he quickly rummaged in the crack between the stone and the pillar. He eventually found a rusty broken sword, and he was sure that his father had left it as a token of their kinship.
Yuri, along with his mother, left for Goguryeo to see his long-lost father, Jumong. When they reached the kingdom, Yuri showed the broken sword to the king, who took out another broken sword. Amazingly, the two broken pieces formed a complete whole. Overjoyed to be reunited with his wife and son, the king gave Yuri the title of crown prince.
PART 1 – https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=4002&page=4&board_code=dynasty
Sageuk to watch – Young Yuri and the sword, Jumong (MBC, 2006)
PART 2 – https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=4003&page=4&board_code=dynasty
Sageuk to watch – Older King Yuri, Kingdom of the Wind (KBS2, 2008)
3. KING DAEMUSIN
The king’s conquest of the city state of Nakrang involves a romantic yet tragic love story. The king sent his son, Prince Hodong, to attack Nakrang, where he fell in love with a princess. The Nakrang princess is said to have torn off a mysterious drum that possessed the power to automatically sound an alarm when enemy troops invaded. The princess chose to betray her country for her love. As a result, the self-sounding drum never worked when Goguryeo forces attacked Nakrang and her nation fell into ruin. She was killed by her angry father and Prince Hodong lamented over her death. This legendary love story from the 1st century is well known in Korea to this day and it has been adapted into films, dramas, musicals and ballet performances.
https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=4004&page=4&board_code=dynasty
Sageuk to watch – Kingdom of the Wind (KBS2, 2008) and Princess Ja Myung Go (SBS, 2009)
4. KING MINJUNG and 5.KING MOBON
King Mobon proclaimed his son, Ik, as crown prince as soon as he came to power. But after his death, there was a power struggle within the court. A man named Gung, the grandson of Goguryeo’s second king Yuri, staged a coup and eventually became the sixth king, Taejo. This is why some scholars speculate that the records and image of King Mobon as a dictatorial and harsh ruler may have been fabricated by the supporters of King Taejo.
https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=4005&page=4&board_code=dynasty
kiara
August 31, 2024 at 12:32 AM
6. KING TAEJO
The lost land was acquired by King Taejo – Episode 1 and 4 of QUEEN WOO.
The Hae tribe controlled the Western District.
After rising to the throne, King Taejo started conquering and absorbing neighboring states under his rule. He first annexed the regions of Eastern Okjeo and Eastern Ye and consistently launched massive offensives against Chinese towns and commanderies. The king fought with China’s Later Han Dynasty on various occasions. In the year 55, he ordered the construction of ten fortresses in the Liaodong Commandery to prepare against invasions of Later Han. He went as far as to attack Chinese border regions on several occasions. In the year 122, the king allied with the Mahan confederacy of central Korea and the neighboring Yemaek tribe to attack Liaodong. He launched another major attack in the year 146. As a result, King Taejo successfully advanced into Liaodong and the plains of the northern Korean Peninsula, driving Chinese forces out toward the west and greatly expanding the realm of Goguryeo. Goguryeo’s efforts toward national growth during this early period can be characterized as a series of struggles to expel Chinese forces from its area of dominance.
https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=4006&page=3&board_code=dynasty
7. KING CHADAE, 8. KING SINDAE (QUEEN WOO’s father-in-law Episode 4).
In the year 176, the king proclaimed his second son Nam-mu as crown prince, laying the groundwork for the father-to-son power transition. After Sindae died in the year 179 at the age of 91, the crown prince succeeded him to become King Gogukcheon, the ninth ruler of Goguryeo.
https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=4007&page=3&board_code=dynasty
kiara
August 31, 2024 at 12:33 AM
9. KING GOGUKCHEON (Episode 1-4 (Part 1 QUEEN WOO)
The king stabilized his kingdom politically by repelling enemies, both foreign and domestic. But he is more famous for his wise selection of people when managing state affairs. After quelling rebellions, he felt the need for new and promising figures, not existing aristocrats, in order to properly govern his country. In the year 191, the king made merit-based appointments in his government. That was a major shift from a government mostly run by aristocrats. As a result, the king was able to dig out hidden talent from around the country. The greatest of the talented people was Eul Pa-so, who was named Prime Minister. Eul Pa-so was not of noble origin, but a farmer who was renowned for his wisdom and integrity. The king’s unexpected appointment of a mere peasant as Prime Minister drew strong backlash from aristocrats. But the king refused to budge from his decision and trusted his new Premier all the more. On the back of the king’s strong confidence, the Prime Minister was able to push ahead with various reform measures as he wished. Eul Pa-so was indeed a competent official, but it is also worth mentioning that the king recognized the official’s ability and actively supported him.
https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=4008&page=3&board_code=dynasty
(Eul Pa-so was not of noble origin is a mistake)
EUL PASO, AN ADMIRED STATEMAN OF GOGURYEO
Although his exact birth date is not known, Eul Paso was born in the second century to a noble family in northern Korean Peninsula. He was a descendant of Eul So, a high-ranking government official under King Yuri, Goguryeo’s second monarch. Despite his noble lineage and renowned wisdom, Eul Paso chose not to get involved in the corrupt politics of the time and instead became a farmer. In 191, the 13th year of King Gogukcheon’s reign, the Queen’s relative rose against the king, who easily crushed the rebellion. After the uprising the king ordered the four most influential tribes of Goguryeo to nominate talented and honest men to government posts in order to check the over-grown power of the royal family.
https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=60106&page=27&board_code=
10. KING SANSANG (QUEEN WOO’s 2nd husband. Part 2).
The life of King Sansang was something like a drama, characterized by Levirate marriage, bloody conflict with his own brother, a secret romance and a child out of wedlock.😂
https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=4009&page=3&board_code=dynasty
kiara
August 31, 2024 at 12:40 AM
@sicarius, @marcusnyc20, @gikata, @minniegupta1, @toomuchtv, @oldawyer, @wishfultoki, @mazarin, @jillian, @snowflower, @bunnysonaki, @bbstl, @twocentsworth, @seeker, @23new2kdrama, @zindigo, @peridot, @hopefulromantic
Bunny Sonaki
August 31, 2024 at 2:10 AM
I am really speechless on how to thank you for all this hard work. Much appreciated.
🌸 Seeker 🌸
August 31, 2024 at 4:40 AM
I am amazed how you are able to collate all this information. Thank you for sharing. 😊🤗
OldLawyer
August 31, 2024 at 8:51 AM
Thank you so much for doing this.
kiara
August 30, 2024 at 7:55 AM
QUEEN WOO BACKGROUND HISTORY and TIMELINE
*WARNING* MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
PART 4: \”ESTIMATED\” TIMELINE:
– 160-165 CE: Estimated birth date of Lady Woo (Father Woo So)
– 168: Liu Hong (Emperor Ling (age 12) ascended the throne as the 12th emperor of Eastern Han.
– 176: Go Nammu became Crown Prince. (according to Samguk Sagi and the Book of Wei)
– 179: Go Nammu ascended the throne as Goguryeo\’s 9th monarch.
– 180: Lady Woo married Go Nammu (King Gogukcheon) and was crowned queen. (Samguk Sagi)
– 184: King Gogukcheon sent his younger brother, Prince Gye-su, to fight the Han Dynasty invasion force of the governor of Liaodong. The king later led his army to repel the Han forces.
– 189: Liu Xie (Emperor Xian) (r.189-220) ascended the throne as the 14th emperor of Eastern Han.
– 190: Rebellion by the Queen\’s relatives was suppressed (191).
– 191: King Gogukcheon adopted a meritocratic system for selecting government officials. As a result, he discovered many talented people from all over Goguryeo, the greatest of whom was Eul Pa-So, who was appointed Prime Minister.
– 194: \”The Jindae law,\” a grain loan system, was enacted by Gogukcheon, allowing the people to borrow grain from March to July and pay it back in October. (The Jindae law lasted through the Joseon Dynasty (12 centuries later).
– 197: King Gogukcheon died.
– 197: Queen Woo married her brother-in-law. Go Yeonu (King Sansang) ascended the throne as the 10th king of Goguryeo.
– 203: Eul Paso died.
– 204: Go Bal-gi, with the help of Han warlord Gongsun Kang, rebels against Goguryeo. Sansang sent his brother Gye-su to repel the attack.
– 209 Gongsun Kang invaded Goguryeo again, seized some of its territory, and weakened Goguryeo.
– 213: Prince Uwigeo, King Sansang\’s son, with a woman from the Gwanno-bu tribe, became the crown prince.
– 220: Emperor Xian was forced to abdicate the throne to Cao Pi, ending the Han dynasty.
– 220: The beginning of China\’s \”Three Kingdoms Era\”(Wei, Shu-Han and Wu – 220-280 CE) or \”Romance of the Three Kingdoms.\”
– 227: King Sansang, the 10th ruler of Goguryeo, died. Prince Uwigeo (King Dongcheon) became the 11th ruler of Goguryeo.
– 234: Queen Dowager Woo passed away and requested to be buried alongside King Sansang.
\”THE MILITARISTIC GOGURYEO\”
POLITICAL PARTIES AND FACTIONS:
Early first-century Goguryeo was a Confederated Kingdom composed of 5 tribes. In 53 CE, Taejodae (King Taejo) reorganized the five tribes into five centrally ruled districts. Foreign relations and the military were controlled by the king. Aggressive military activities may have also aided expansion, allowing Goguryeo to exact tribute from their tribal neighbors and dominate them politically and economically. Taejodae conquered the Okjeo tribes, Dongye, and other tribes in Southeastern Manchuria. From the increase of resources and manpower from these subjugated tribes, King Taejodae led Goguryeo in attacking the Han Commanderies of Lelang and Xuantu, becoming fully independent of them. Taejodae allowed the conquered tribes to retain their chieftains but required them to report to governors related to Goguryeo\’s royal line; tribes under Goguryeo\’s jurisdiction were expected to provide heavy tribute. Taejodae and his successors channeled these increased resources to continue Goguryeo\’s expansion to the north and west. New laws regulated peasants and the aristocracy, as tribal leaders continued to be absorbed into the central aristocracy. Royal succession changed from fraternal to patrilineal, stabilizing the royal court.
THE FIVE TRIBES: The five-tribe system is called the Nabu system. The names are slightly different in each history book.
Gyerubu or Biryu-bu: The king\’s tribe. The most powerful.
Sonobu: The original royal tribe. Prince Bal-gi rebelled with the Sono-bu tribe against his brother, King Sansang.
Jealnobu or Yeonnabu: The queens\’ tribe. During King Gogukcheon\’s reign, the queen\’s relatives (whether Queen Woo or the previous queen ), Eobiryu and Jwagarye, rebelled against the King.
Sunnobu or Hwanobu: The Daemakriji (Grand Marshall).
Gwannobu: King Sansang (Queen Woo\’s 2nd husband) had an affair with a woman from the Gwanno-bu tribe,and she gave birth to Wi-gung, the 11th ruler of Goguryeo King Dongcheon. It can be inferred from the case of Lady Gwanna and the 12th King Jungcheon that there was a tradition of women from the Gwanno-bu faction becoming royal concubines.
Jega meeting: The chiefs of each tribe, the Daega, meet to discuss major national affairs. This Jega meeting also existed in Buyeo, which had the character of a confederated kingdom like Goguryeo.
(from the Book of Wei, Samguk Sagi @Nabuwiki)
kiara
August 30, 2024 at 8:21 AM
@sicarius, @marcusnyc20, @gikata, @minniegupta1, @toomuchtv, @oldawyer, @wishfultoki, @mazarin, @jillian, @snowflower, @bunnysonaki, @bbstl, @twocentsworth, @seeker, @23new2kdrama, @zindigo, @peridot, @hopefulromantic
🌸 Seeker 🌸
August 30, 2024 at 8:48 AM
Thank you Kiara. While I am always fascinated by history – or what we are told about it or are able to piece it together from some clues – the human interactions and how did they actually manage to achieve what they did is what is truly intriguing.
kiara
August 30, 2024 at 10:37 AM
You are most welcome!
This era is the most frustrating due to the severe lack of primary sources. Nevertheless, it’s intriguing and probably my favorite since it makes us work harder to understand.
🌸 Seeker 🌸
August 30, 2024 at 8:16 PM
True. The lack of direct sources makes it difficult but all the more engaging as we have to use more than just researching skills. Thank you for all your hard work. ❤
Bunny Sonaki
August 30, 2024 at 8:51 AM
Thanks @kiara. Your piece is really insightful and helped me understand the parts I couldn’t understand before.
kiara
August 30, 2024 at 10:37 AM
You are very welcome! Thank you for reading!
jillian
August 30, 2024 at 9:17 AM
Thanks so much! This will be very useful once I start watching the show! 🥰
kiara
August 30, 2024 at 10:40 AM
You are very welcome!
Kurama
August 30, 2024 at 9:20 AM
Thank you for the facts part!
It looks like they changed things in the drama.
kiara
August 30, 2024 at 10:23 AM
Yes, as expected. I’ll add some more historical background after I’m done watching episode 1.
Peridot
August 30, 2024 at 9:54 AM
Thank you. Was Eul Pa-so of humble origins then?
kiara
August 30, 2024 at 10:20 AM
Eul Paso came from a noble and highly regarded family, but he didn’t want to get involved in corrupt politics, so he decided to be a farmer. I had a post on his origin, but DB ate it. LOL
I’ll try again later.
Peridot
August 30, 2024 at 3:09 PM
Thank you. I wonder how easy it would have been for him to avoid corruption once he became Prime Minister. I hope that you are able to repost what you wrote about him. 🙂
kiara
August 30, 2024 at 3:45 PM
You are very welcome!
Will do. 😀
kiara
August 31, 2024 at 12:43 AM
I included Eul Paso under King Gogukcheon. If you need more info let me know.
Peridot
August 31, 2024 at 7:06 AM
Thanks. I think I might end up printing your posts so that I can read them carefully and retain some more of the information (I have a hard time reading from a screen). I hope that that is okay.
kiara
August 31, 2024 at 7:22 AM
@peridot,
Of course :).
Peridot
August 31, 2024 at 7:32 AM
Thank you again!
Isa is always time travelling
August 30, 2024 at 10:33 AM
Thank you very much!
I’ll watch the drama once it’s finished. I love knowing about the real History behind sageuks.
kiara
August 30, 2024 at 10:41 AM
You are very welcome!
kiara
August 28, 2024 at 6:38 PM
QUEEN WOO: BACKGROUND HISTORY and TIMELINE
PART 3: THE PROTO-THREE KINGDOM PERIOD or THE SAMHAN PERIOD (1-3rd Century CE).
The Proto-Three Kingdoms period, a term coined by Kim Won-yong, is defined as occurring between 1 CE and 300 CE, according to his book “An Introduction to Korean Archaeology.”
During this period, there were BUYEO and GOGURYEO in the Korean Peninsula in Manchuria and Nakrang, Daebang, Okjeo, Dongye, and SAMHAN. From an archaeological perspective, this period saw the disappearance of the Bronze Age, the arrival and development of the Iron Age, the disappearance of dolmens, and the appearance of wavy earthenware.
In essence, the Proto-Three Kingdoms follow after the fall of Gojoseon and preceding the full development of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla into full-fledged kingdoms.
Baekje functioned as a federation system until the middle of the 4th century, and Silla operated similarly until the late 5th century. Additionally, considering that Gaya was destroyed in the middle of the 6th century, it is evident that Silla and Baekje operated as federation systems for a significant period.
Map: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto%E2%80%93Three_Kingdoms_period#/media/File:History_of_Korea-001.png
BUYEO (? – 494 CE)
There are various challenges in comprehending Buyeo’s history due to the absence of a unified historical record of Buyeo itself. There are several Buyeo whose true identity is difficult to identify, such as Northern Buyeo , Eastern Buyeo , Nambu Buyeo , Jolbon Buyeo , and Galsa Buyeo.
Eastern Buyeo did not exist in the early days of Goguryeo, and only Northern Buyeo existed. The academic world believes that Buyeo aristocrats who were deeply embedded in Goguryeo politics in the late Goguryeo period created this to glorify their ancestors or that people in Eastern Buyeo fabricated the myth, which was passed down through Goguryeo’s own records and (History of the Nine Kingdoms) to ( Samguk Sagi ) and ( Samguk Yusa).
FOUNDING MYTH
The mythical founder of the Buyeo kingdom was Hae Mo-su, the Dongmyeong of Buyeo, which literally means Holy King of Buyeo. After its foundation, the son of heaven Hae Mo-su brought the royal court to his new palace and was proclaimed King.
Jumong is described as the son of Hae Mo-su and Lady Yuhwa, who was the daughter of Habaek, the god of the Amnok River or, according to an alternative interpretation, the sun god Haebak.
( The tale of Dongmyeong is particularly relevant for the case of Goguryeo because it reappears in nearly identical form as the foundation myth of the state of Goguryeo).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buyeo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buyeohttps://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Buyeo_(state)
SAMHAN
Initially, Samhan referred to a confederation of tribal states called Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan, located in the south-central part of the Korean Peninsula. Later, Silla in Jinhan, Goguryeo in Yemaek, and Baekje in Mahan grew in power, making the three kingdoms powerful throughout the Korean Peninsula. As the Three Kingdoms system of influence was formed, the ‘Samhan’ developed into a name meaning Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla in the latter half of the Three Kingdoms period. Since Gaya was not a single power but a union of small states such as Geumgwan – guk, Anla -guk , Goja-guk , and Dara-guk, at the time of the Three Kingdoms period when Mahan, Jinhan, and Byeonhan disappeared, the name Samhan developed to refer to the three kingdoms that did not include Gaya.
Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNq7p-VK6qk&t=4s
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Samhan
GOGURYEO – (37 BC – 668 CE)
The traditional founding date of the Goguryeo kingdom was 37 BCE, and it is credited to Dongmyeong (Jumong), a refugee from BUYEO.
According to the Samguk Sagi, a prince from the kingdom of Eastern Buyeo named Jumong fled after a power struggle with other princes of the Buyeo court and founded the Goguryeo state in 37 B.C.E. in a region called Jolbon Buyeo, usually thought to be located in the middle of the Yalu and T’ung-chia river basin, overlapping the current China-North Korea border.
FOUNDING MYTH
There are varying explanations as to the origin of the founding monarch of Goguryeo. In one legend, recorded in an old history book called The History of the Three Kingdoms, Jumong is the son of Hae Mo-su, the son of heaven, and Yuhwa, the daughter of the river god. The river god disapproved of his daughter’s relationship with Hae Mo-su and expelled her. As Hae Mo-su had already returned to heaven, Yuhwa became the concubine of King Geumwa of the Buyeo state. Later, she gave birth to an egg. To destroy the egg, King Geumwa ordered it to be abandoned and fed to animals. But the animals did not consume the egg.
On the contrary, they protected it from harm. The king had no choice but to return the egg to the mother, Yuhwa, who kept it in a warm place for hatching. From the egg hatched a baby boy, who was later named Jumong, which means “skilled archer.” The grandson of both the heavenly emperor and the river god indeed had excellent archery skills.
https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=4001&page=14&board_code=
Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwOcLyou3ls
Next – PART 4: MORE ON EARLY GOGURYEO and the HISTORICAL FIGURES featured in the drama “QUEEN WOO.”
kiara
August 28, 2024 at 6:47 PM
@sicarius, @marcusnyc20, @gikata, @minniegupta1, @toomuchtv, @oldawyer, @wishfultoki, @mazarin, @jillian, @snowflower, @bunnysonaki, @bbstl, @twocentsworth, @seeker, @23new2kdrama, @zindigo, @peridot, @hopefulromantic
🌸 Seeker 🌸
August 28, 2024 at 6:59 PM
Thank you Kiara.
These founding myths are so fascinating. There always seems to be a heavenly commection. While we take that with a grain of salt it is interesting to see the background provided with may have a lot to do with embellishments provided by the persons in charge of writing down the records for the era.
Minnie🫘👩🏻🚀Pioneer and Teacher 👩🏻🏫🌱🏹
August 28, 2024 at 7:46 PM
This is truly enlightening! Thank you for your immense hard work. There is so much to learn. I wonder if they had well established trades with other countries.
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
August 28, 2024 at 9:46 PM
Yes. They did.
The Korean Peninsula was the end of both the land routes and the mainland maritime routes of the Silk Road; there is a dagger that was uncovered in a Silla tomb, the Gyerim-Ro Dagger and Sheath (personal obsession of mine), dated to the 5th century (AD 400) that is thought to have come from the Black Sea Region – that is, the other end of the Silk Road entirely.
Silla would eventually conquer most of the Peninsula, and its Capital, now Gyeongju, then Seorabeol, was the 4th largest city in the WORLD at its peak (in the 600s ish). They traded glass and gold especially.
kiara
August 28, 2024 at 11:19 PM
Thank you, @sicarius!
How The Silk Road Work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-pfeFbssMw
The Leland Commandery, established by the Han dynasty after the destruction of Gojoseon, also served as a trade center for centuries, persisting even after the fall of the Han dynasty.
23new2kdrama 🌱❤️🪦RIP FAN WALL❤️
August 28, 2024 at 8:26 PM
So interesting. Thank you for including me in your tag
Bunny Sonaki
August 29, 2024 at 9:44 AM
It must have been a lot of work. Thank you very much @kiara.
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
August 28, 2024 at 7:00 PM
These summaries are great, thank you, also great in reminding me/us why 3K Korea is so much more interesting and why I/we like it so much, even if we don’t know as much about it! 😭
Also, Korea has something like 40% of the world’s dolmens which is INSANE. I can’t believe I didn’t visit any when I was there last, as a self proclaimed taphophile. How remiss of me, HOW remiss. On the other hand, if I had stayed to visit the Tombs in Gyeongju I would’ve missed my bus (and also I could barely walk any farther haha).
kiara
August 28, 2024 at 11:57 PM
So true!
Wow, that’s insane. Oh, sorry to hear. 😔
Most of the historical places related to Goguryeo that I’d love to visit are either in North Korea 😔 or China.
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
August 29, 2024 at 1:23 AM
Very! Dolmens are so fascinating too, as structures, and how they’re found worldwide.
Alas! But these things happen. All the more for next time haha.
Yes! I know. Location makes lots of interesting things difficult :/
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
August 29, 2024 at 1:28 AM
To be honest the bus thing was a bit of a miracle, and a blessing in disguise. I opted out of the Tombs because I was so tired, and headed almost straight to the bus terminal to check for the next bus to Busan, and there was one in like 15-20 min, or another in several hours, which would’ve got me back far later than I wanted, and mucked everything else up; instead I was able to catch a bus almost immediately, but if I’d lingered even slightly longer somewhere else on the way to the terminal, I would’ve missed that bus and been stuck in Gyeongju, longer than the tombs would’ve taken for sure 😂.
So I couldn’t see everything in Gyeongju, but that was to be expected in some ways- they call it the Open Museum or whatever, cos the whole city is just full of sites, and I had no car, so walking and buses it was, so limited itinerary possible for my jet lagged feet 🤭
kiara
August 30, 2024 at 7:17 AM
Sic. Do you have a list of words that are not allowed on DB? I’ve been trying to post Part 4, but it won’t let me. There are no swear words in it. LOL
kiara
August 30, 2024 at 8:30 AM
NM, I finally posted it but had to cut half of it. I still don’t know what the problem was.” *sigh*
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
August 30, 2024 at 1:29 PM
Hello! I was asleep.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uQw3vqY3kSnUdwxiKy4IhuC2coEwgCtruzh-dxHFctA/edit
Can check with the list here.
kiara
August 30, 2024 at 1:32 PM
Thank you!!!!!
kiara
August 29, 2024 at 8:32 AM
Now, you are leading me down that rabbit hole. Lol
My bucket list is getting longer.
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
August 29, 2024 at 9:29 PM
Not sorry 😂😂
kiara
August 27, 2024 at 9:21 AM
QUEEN WOO: BACKGROUND HISTORY and TIMELINE
PART 2: HAN DYNASTY: (206 BCE–220 CE)
WESTERN HAN (202 BC—9 CE): The first emperor of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu), was a peasant.
QIN DYNASTY (9 – 25 CE)— China’s first unified state, although it is considered the shortest major dynasty in Chinese history, lasting only 15 years.
EASTERN HAN – (25 – 220 CE) – *( “Queen Woo” is set around this timeline 197 CE)
(156 – 87 BC) – EMPEROR WU or WUDI of WESTERN HAN.
(141 – 87 BC) – Reign
Video: Emperor Han Wudi – Ancient China’s Greatest Conqueror by Kings and Generals.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEY1ljrE88M&t=5s
The Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) is known its long reign and its achievements, which included the development of the civil service and government structure; scientific advancements such as the invention of paper, use of water clocks and sundials to measure time, and development of a seismograph; the Yuefu, which compiled descriptions of music; the Shiji, a history written by Sima Qian; the fu, a poetic form; and lacquer work and woven silk. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
THE FOUR COMMANDRIES OF HAN
The role of the four Han commanderies in the development of early Korean states is a contentious topic in modern Korea. Not only are the history and archaeology of the Chinese presence on the Korean peninsula stimulating and challenging by themselves, but the study of the Han commanderies is doubly perplexing primarily due to problematical assertions made by nationalistic scholars and pseudo-historians. After Emperor Wu conquered Gojoseon, he established four commanderies in 108 and 107 BC to facilitate and regulate relations with and between the various proto-Korean tribal peoples in Manchuria and the northern part of the Korean peninsula. (The Three Kingdoms of Korea (Lost Civilizations by Richard McBride) Map – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Commanderies_of_Han#/media/File:Hyondo-rom.png
(108 BCE — 313 CE) – LELANG Commandery This was the most important commandery near present-day Pyongyang (the capital of North Korea) and controlled the region until 313 CE. In 2 CE, it had 25 prefectures, 62,812 households, and a population of 406,748. It was a cultural and economic exchange center between Korea and China for centuries. Lelang outlived the Han dynasty but was conquered by Goguryeo in 313 CE. *(Gongsun Kang, the governor of Liadong and over the Lelang Commandery, might make an appearance as a character in “Queen Woo.”) (108 BCE — 82 BCE) – LINTUN Commandery
Absorbed into Xuantu.
(107 BCE — 319 CE) – XUANTU Commandery
In 2 CE, this commandery had three prefectures, 45,066 households, and a population of 221,845. Xuantu was conquered by Goguryeo in 319 CE,
(107 BCE — 82 BCE) – ZHENFAN Commandery
Absorbed into Lelang..
The Han conquest of Gojoseon in 108 BCE led to Korea’s Proto-Three Kingdoms period.
Next: PART 3 – PROTO THREE KINGDOMS PERIOD of Korea or the SAMHAN PERIOD.
kiara
August 27, 2024 at 9:31 AM
@sicarius, @marcusnyc20, @gikata, @minniegupta1, @toomuchtv, @oldawyer, @wishfultoki, @mazarin, @jillian, @snowflower, @bunnysonaki, @bbstl, @twocentsworth
Bunny Sonaki
August 27, 2024 at 9:50 AM
Thank you @kiara for this beautiful write-up.💙💙💙
🌸 Seeker 🌸
August 27, 2024 at 10:21 AM
Thank you for all your hard work. It is an amazing read.
jillian
August 27, 2024 at 4:54 PM
Thanks for sharing this! 😊
23new2kdrama 🌱❤️🪦RIP FAN WALL❤️
August 27, 2024 at 10:20 AM
Interesting and very helpful 🩵
kiara
August 27, 2024 at 6:38 PM
CORRECTION:
Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) – King Zheng (Qin Shi Huang) unified China and invented the title emperor, which would be used as the title of the Chinese sovereign for the next two millennia.
Xin Dynasty (9- 25 CE) – is often considered an interregnum period of the Han dynasty, dividing it into the Western Han and Eastern Han.
kiara
August 26, 2024 at 11:10 AM
QUEEN WOO: BACKGROUND HISTORY and TIMELINE.
Let’s start with the first Kingdom in the Korean peninsula. I’m also including the Han Dynasty since it significantly impacted Korea’s early history.
PART 1: GOJOSEON or OLD JOSEON (not to be confused with later Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897).
2333 BCE?- 108 BCE: FOUNDING MYTH.
According to Samguk Yusa (the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms), Jewang Ungi, the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, and the Dongguk Tonggam, the legendary DANGUN established Gojoseon in 2333 BCE.
KBS WORLD’s history version:https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?lang=e&menu_cate=history&id=&board_seq=4000&page=14&board_code=
“The legend begins with Hwan-woong, who was the son of Hwan-in, the lord of heaven. Hwan-woong wanted to live on Earth, and he came down to the peak of Taebaeksan Mountain on what is now the Korean Peninsula. He established his sacred city there and ruled over humans with the noble aim of benefiting mankind.
Then, two animals—a bear and a tiger—came to Hwan-woong and begged him to transform them into humans. Hwan-woong gave them garlic and fragrant mugwort, which still remains a popular ingredient in many Korean dishes today. He said that their wishes would come true if they ate only these two things for 100 days while staying in a cave without seeing sunlight. The impatient tiger gave up midway and ran out of the cave. The bear, on the other hand, managed to stay in the dark cave with much endurance, only eating garlic and mugwort, as instructed. On the 100th day, the bear finally became a woman. Her name was Ung-nyeo, meaning “bear woman.” After becoming a human, though, Ung-nyeo wasn’t pleased because she did not have anyone to marry. Under a sacred tree, she prayed to the heavens that she may at least have a baby. Hearing her prayers, Hwan-woong took pity on her. He briefly turned himself into a human to marry her. Ung-nyeo soon gave birth to a baby boy, and this son was Dangun, who later became the founder of Korea’s very first kingdom of Gojoseon.
Dangun established his capital in the area that is now Pyongyang in North Korea. Legend has it that he ruled for 1,500 years before he became a mountain god. Some historians estimate that the Gojoseon kingdom lasted until 108 B.C., ruled by 47 generations of the Dangun lineage, before being conquered by the Han Dynasty of China. The Three Kingdoms period followed. The subsequent Goguryeo Kindgom, one of those three kingdoms, adopted the Dangun legend as a way of highlighting its sovereignty as a kingdom with a coherent identity.
Despite some inconsistencies among historical records, Dangun is generally considered the founder of ancient Korea. Today, Dangun is celebrated in a big way on National Foundation Day on October 3.”
Video: DANGUN by Loonytricky https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKDEhOFrAFA
CUSTOM AND CULTURE:
– The customs of Gojoseon can be guessed to some extent through The Book of Han. When looking at Wiman’s entry record, it can be seen that he wore a topknot and had a different costume from China.
– It is thought that the clothing culture of Gojoseon was heavily influenced by the ancient Central Asian nomadic culture called Scytho-Siberian culture. This is because Chinese records show that clothes were tied to the left (Jwaim).
More on custom and culture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gojoseon
323 BCE: GOJOSEON IS ATTACKED BY THE STATE OF YAN.
Around 323 BC, Yan attempted to invade Gojoseon to strengthen the king’s authority and obtain human and material resources. However, Gojoseon was able to frustrate these plans through military and diplomatic actions.
206 BCE: YAN FALLS TO THE HAN DYNASTY.
Zang Tu submitted Yan to the Han dynasty during the war between Han and Chu to keep his title, but once the war was finished, he revolted. Liu Bang (later Emperor Gaozu of Han) sent Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo to put down the rebellion, and they captured and executed Zang Tu.
194 BCE: COUP BY WIMAN.
Refugees from Yan appear to have filtered into Old Joseon, which was then ruled by a Certain King Jun. Among these was a certain Wei Man (Wiman in Korean), who gained a band of followers and drove the king of Old Joseon from his throne. Wiman ruled from 194 – 180 BCE, and his successors ruled what a Korean historian called WIMAN JOSEON. Meanwhile, the ousted King Jun is said to have escaped southward to the state of Jin.
108 BCE: EMPEROR WU (r 141-87 BC) OF THE HAN DYNASTY CONQUERED WIMAN JOSEON.
Map of Gojoseon 108 BCE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gojoseon#/media/File:History_of_Korea-108_BC.png
Next – PART 2: Establishing the 4 Commanderies of Han in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula.
kiara
August 26, 2024 at 11:19 AM
I’m having trouble tagging everyone, so I’ll try later.
kiara
August 26, 2024 at 11:46 AM
@sicarius, @marcusnyc20, @gikata, @minniegupta1, @toomuchtv, @oldawyer, @wishfultoki, @mazarin, @jillian, @snowflower, @bunnysonaki, @bbstl, @twocentsworth
too_much_tv
August 26, 2024 at 12:07 PM
WOW! Thank you so much!
Snow Flower
August 26, 2024 at 12:17 PM
Thank you!
Bunny Sonaki
August 26, 2024 at 4:15 PM
Thank you for taking the time to share this with us.💙💙
bong-soo
August 26, 2024 at 5:25 PM
Thank you my Sageuk Sage @kiara!
bbstl 🧹
August 27, 2024 at 7:54 AM
Whoa, thank you, @kiara 👑! Can’t wait to read this!
OldLawyer
August 26, 2024 at 12:08 PM
This is very much appreciated. Thank you
🌸 Seeker 🌸
August 26, 2024 at 12:20 PM
Thank you for sharing. It is a very interesting read.
jillian
August 26, 2024 at 12:36 PM
Thanks for all the effort in getting these info. You’re the best!
zindigo
August 26, 2024 at 1:31 PM
This is so interesting! Thank you for posting.
Peridot
August 26, 2024 at 1:40 PM
I will definitely go over your posts when I have the time. Thanks for sharing the historical background.
Minnie🫘👩🏻🚀Pioneer and Teacher 👩🏻🏫🌱🏹
August 26, 2024 at 2:26 PM
Kiara this is phenomenal!!! Absolutely phenomenal. Love every bit of it. ❤️❤️❤️ Looking forward to more.
I had some idea of the legend of Mountain God, but this puts it into perspective.
Thank you!
HopefulRomantic 🦋 Tigermoth 🦞
August 26, 2024 at 2:42 PM
I love your history posts, Kiara! Thank you for compiling this and sharing!!
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
August 27, 2024 at 8:32 PM
Ah yes, thank you for reminding me what Arthdal was SUPPOSED to be about… *sigh*.
kiara
August 29, 2024 at 12:02 AM
Most disappointing. I have this love-hate relationship with those two writers.
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
August 29, 2024 at 1:16 AM
I feel you, I feel you. Maybe one day someone will be brave enough to tackle Gojoseon again and do more right by it.
tabong is ironing the crosswalk
August 29, 2024 at 3:36 PM
Getting educated before watching the show. 😎
Thank you, Kiara. 💚
kiara
August 13, 2024 at 9:24 AM
STRANGE TALES OF THE TANG DYNASTY (Science, Culture, Food, Politics) by Avenue X.
I LOVE this well-researched historical drama! Mmmm Ice-ream.😋
@gikata, I think we are the only ones watching this show.
kiara
August 13, 2024 at 5:55 PM
@gikata, I want ice cream and the spelling police. LOL
Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
August 13, 2024 at 9:47 PM
🥳Did you recently acquire your sparkling tracksuit? If so congrats, if you have had it for ages and I am confusing you with someone else apologies.
kiara
August 13, 2024 at 11:52 PM
Thank you! I didn’t notice it until you pointed it out.😄
kiara
June 11, 2024 at 3:42 PM
“THE TALE OF ROSE” @viki.
Settling in with this show and see where it’ll take me. The main characters are a brother and sister and their non-toxic family, which is rare in dramaland.
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
June 11, 2024 at 4:48 PM
The only thing preventing me from watching this is the number of male leads.. Like, why???
kiara
June 11, 2024 at 5:50 PM
I have no idea about the novel’s storyline, but I assume she meets them over several years and possibly married to one of them? She just started working at her first job when she met the first guy.
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
June 11, 2024 at 6:05 PM
I’ve no doubt it’ll be a good drama— my kind of drama, like her other one I absolutely love, “Meet Yourself”— but maybe I just need to be in the mood for it before I dive into this one
kiara
June 11, 2024 at 7:00 PM
I hope so. I’m not big on romance dramas, but her relationship with her brother is endearing. He is the male lead, and her suitors are the supporting characters.
I started watching C-dramas in the early 2000s, starting with “Demi Gods & Semi Devils” and then Chinese Paladins and Condor Heroes. Liu Yi Fei was green and terrible at acting back then, but she switched to films, and her acting has been so much better. I love “Dream of Splendor” and “Meet Yourself,” It has been a successful comeback, so I’m happy for her.
kiara
May 28, 2024 at 12:20 PM
Behind The Music (2) – “SOMEONE LIKE ME” by Liu Yuning. Original by Mao Buyi.
I had a rough few days last week and needed a good cry.
Music – the original mood-altering, non-fattening wonder drug.
kiara
May 28, 2024 at 12:31 PM
Original by Mao Buyi and Lyrics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQmKrZrjgfI&ab_channel=LearnChinesewithJingyibyDoingSomethingElse
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 28, 2024 at 12:49 PM
This was for a New Year Countdown gala a few years back and I am still livid that the very first time any network has ever gotten these 2 to do something live together, they didn’t get them to do a ballad 🫠 100% missed opportunity
https://youtu.be/EqR5cwDk-dk?si=Cgi53goQjPvzMHTq
kiara
May 28, 2024 at 1:35 PM
Thank you so much! I couldn’t figure out the translation of where and when he sang it (except for 2019). I was excited when I figured out the title of the song. Lol
I copied the lyrics from this site but prefer the one above on Mao Buyi’s video. It’s perfect for someone like me.😂
https://lyricstranslate.com/en/xi%C3%A0ng-w%C7%92-zh%C3%A8-y%C3%A0ng-de-r%C3%A9n-someone-me.html
Someone outstanding like me
Should have led a brilliant life
But how is it that twenty-something years down the road
I am still drifting amongst a sea of people.
Someone smart like me
Bode farewell to simplicity a long time ago
But how is it that I still fell in love
And exchanged a relationship for scars all over?
Someone muddled like me
Someone who searches like me
Someone mediocre like me
How many people like me have you seen?
Someone crude like me
Never likes to pretend to be pretentiously deep
But why is it when I occasionally hear an old song
Am I suddenly shaken?
Someone cowardly like me
Always leaves things incomplete
Yet once upon a time for someone else
I would’ve given up everything
Someone lonely like me
Someone foolish like me
Someone who is discontent with being ordinary like me
How many people like me are in this world?
Someone eccentric like me
Will there be someone’s heart that aches for me?
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 28, 2024 at 1:43 PM
Mao Bu Yi is a singer-songwriter and he hasn’t done me wrong with any of his own self composed songs yet!! “Someone Like Me” is one of my favourite songs from him, along with 一葷一素 and 給你給我 …. The latter was used as the main theme songs for a Cdrama some years later, the drama titled “Forever and Ever”, which I highly recommend if you haven’t seen yet!
kiara
May 28, 2024 at 2:50 PM
These Northeasterners should collaborate more. I read many happy comments from that part of the country.😄 “Someone Like Me” is definitely one of my favorites!
kiara
May 28, 2024 at 3:07 PM
This song has been on my playlist for a while, but I don’t know the title. I’m slowly going through it one at a time. Is there a story behind it? I agree with the missed opportunity.
How often do chefs and nurses come together to make beautiful music? I’m grateful that they pursued what they loved despite all the opposition and unkind comments from others.
kiara
May 28, 2024 at 3:40 PM
How about Zhou Zhen + Liu Yuning + Mao Buyi doing a ballad together? Is it even possible? I’d die and go to heaven.
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 28, 2024 at 4:03 PM
I don’t think this trio has ever happened before—heck, the possibility of letting Liu Yu Ning and Zhou Shen do something, even impromptu, didn’t even come about when both of them were on Season 1 of “Our Songs”— but oh my goodness, my ears and heart would be so so so happy if this is to ever happen!! 🥰
kiara
May 28, 2024 at 7:41 PM
That would be something! I’ll have to check out Season 1 if I can find it.
Gikata
May 29, 2024 at 6:11 AM
Idk about trio with MBY (yes, pls!), but regarding LYN and ZS, boy, do I have news for yall^^
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXIod8uUKNw
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 29, 2024 at 6:47 AM
@Gikata Oooh thank you for this 🥰
I’ve been putting it off watching this show—and for 2 seasons now lol— because I think it’s too similar to “Great Escape”, which I absolutely love, but I think it’s time I just start watching XD Especially with these 2 and how that Season 2 also has Dilreba in it, too! She’s hilarious imho
Gikata
May 29, 2024 at 7:30 AM
It’s not as much about investigation as it is about total chaos, insanity and soap opera up to 11, when scripted and especially when not. First season was HYSTERICAL, and while I’m super behind with sequel thanks to HEROES, it’s no less funny or crazy so far.
Lol Reba was a shy initially, but then she discovered the evil gremlin within herself and has been trolling the living daylights out of everyone (sans Yuning – he’s her protective ge and usual
unwittingaccomplice) at every opportunity presented. Do NOT watch either season in headphones, you may hurt your ears from all the screaming)))kiara
May 29, 2024 at 8:43 AM
@gikata
Thank you for this! Such a teaser. They are good friends, aren’t they? I hope for future collaboration.
I didn’t know Zhou was at “OS—Singing With Legends” with Yuning, Xiao Zhan, etc. Did he get to sing there?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3SGgy2jUpM&ab_channel=OliviaMeng
Can you guys hear Zhou singing C-opera in the background? Sounds amazing!
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 29, 2024 at 8:54 AM
@gikata Good to know!! And I’m not surprised, that’s very on brand for Reba hahaha I actually don’t like it that her agency insists on making her this sex bomb and the “Chinese version of Marylin Monroe”— especially during Reba’s time being Yang Mi’s “protégé”— when she’s completely fine and endearing and absolutely adorable being her dorky self 🥰
@kiara Yesss!!! All 3 of them were on Season 1 of “Our Songs” !!! But that’s all I’ll say, I don’t want to spoil the watching experience or the results for you once you find where to watch it (dang it, YouTube, why’d you take it down?? 😒 Probably because the show’s music license ran out on the platform ugh)
Gikata
May 29, 2024 at 9:25 AM
@kiara everything is possible… as long as someone brings enough cash to afford both of them)))
Omg, I totally forgot that Yuning lifting ZS like a little kid was a regular thing in S1, so cute! They’re like c-ent live-action version of Mori and Hani from OURAN (oh noes, now it’s MY age showing with this association… lol).
I’m afraid I don’t remember much about him on OUR SONG, but he certainly sings there, just like anyone else.
@bebeswtz some episodes are still there tho? Just not all, and with weird cuts (S3 kinda suffers from it as well, but that probably has something to do with songs’ rights, because those performances can be found just fine on YT separately).
I guess it’s because in c-ent being easygoing is not viewed as something very attractive? You’ve gotta be “classy”, esp if you’re a beautiful actress. Reba has looks fitting the femme fatale archetype, so here we are.
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 29, 2024 at 9:33 AM
@gikata
For the longest time— all of the last year or so— I couldn’t find official uploads of S1–just the clips of the performances— until literally 10 minutes ago (https://www.dramabeans.com/members/bebeswtz/activity/1587325/) so I guess SMG has figured out the licensing thing, and now it’s just a matter of when the subs will go back up
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 28, 2024 at 4:21 PM
Do you mean the songs that I mentioned above??
一葷一素 (“Mom’s Cooking” is the English title) literally translates to ‘one meat, one vegetable’, a song that Mao Bu Yi says he wrote for his mom, wanting to give thanks—but to apologize at the same time— to her for all of the things she once did—and continues to do—for him when he was in university and now that he’s a working adult in society.
一葷一素 English subs:
https://youtu.be/qVxq78gMeSg?si=5HqxSr7_grYQabcd
Cover of the song that was done on “Our Songs” season 2, which I absolutely love and which I think did the original song justice
https://youtu.be/m_8IuQNBeXg?si=6r5BVW2NMzm3pdSj
For 給你給我 if my memory serves me correctly, he says that the song can be interpreted in 2 different ways, depending on the listener’s phase in life:
1. The lyrics of this song could be what a person wants to give to their lover— the life the person wants to have and wants to provide for their lover
2. The lyrics of this song could be what a person wants to give to anyone they love in their life, even themselves. If for themselves, it would be more of a send of relief—but also security in the subjective things in life—more than anything
In my memory, Mao Bu Yi actually hasn’t done very many official interviews or promos for his songs, so anything that I’ve summarized about what he says about his songs are things that I have heard others say is how Mao Bu Yi himself interprets the songs or are during moments wherein Mao Bu Yi himself is on a variety show and he just naturally shares about the meaning and experiences behind the songs
kiara
May 28, 2024 at 8:16 PM
Thank you!
” ..he says that the song can be interpreted in 2 different ways, depending on the listener’s phase in life.” Spoken like a true song writer.
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 28, 2024 at 4:28 PM
Oh whoops!! Sorry for the span 😅 I get what you mean now haha
Here’s their performance with (pretty good) subs:
https://youtu.be/M2oIkyD8gsY?si=IXPgZ5mlTln5VSpF
It’s a song that’s basically about the vast landscape of the homeland (China). I’m not surprised that they got people to sing more songs about the homeland and it’s people and culture during such large scale events like a New Year countdown show (wherein such large scale events brings people, friends, and family together as a unit), since the CCP has been trying hard to really sell how great of a place China is in recent years because of politics, Covid, and racism against Chinese people and culture that have deterred that
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 28, 2024 at 4:29 PM
*spam
kiara
May 28, 2024 at 8:09 PM
Please spam away. I love it!
I became interested in Manchu folk songs last year after watching “My Dearest.” I understood how people long for their homeland and culture through these songs. It’s heartbreaking to see their language facing extinction, as it feels like a loss of their identity.
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 28, 2024 at 8:17 PM
If you like C-pop songs that incorporate cultural elements to them or are sung in traditional ways, I’d recommend the music duo “Phoenix Legend” (鳳凰傳奇) and singer Sa Ding Sing (薩頂頂). For the duo (male and female duo), the female is actually ethnically Mongolian and she incorporates some actual Mongolian and traditional Mongolian cultural influences into their songs. For Sa Ding Sing, she’s of mixed Chinese Han and Mongolian ancestry, and she incorporates Traditional Tibetan elements into her songs
kiara
May 29, 2024 at 8:46 AM
@bebeswtz,
Thank you! I love anything traditional. I’ll check it out.
Gikata
May 29, 2024 at 6:24 AM
Correction – it was THIS NY’s gala and the amount of memes cnetz produced about these two performing together was something else, I giggled for hours just from reading the small part which was translated))) In the end, pairing up cdramas’ “great joy” and “great sorrow” was a huge success, so maybe it wouldn’t be the last time. Heck, maybe one day some crazy show decides to give them a duo OST to break all the traditions at once^^
Tho Yuning’s reputation as guaranteed HE/wedding OST singer has been kind of ruined lately…Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 29, 2024 at 9:05 AM
I find it funny that netizens have dubbed them as so, so whenever a song of there’s comes on in a drama, ppl are like, “Welp, I don’t even have to watch to know that this drama is getting an X ending” 🤣🤣
I’ll be here sipping my tea waiting for the day that ☝🏻 gets flipped on its head
kiara
May 28, 2024 at 1:50 PM
@gikata, @wishfultoki, @seeker (forgot to tag you girls earlier).
I wonder if some of the lyrics resonate with him, even though he didn’t write them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Yuning
Gikata
May 29, 2024 at 6:31 AM
Ah, that was the song he got kicked out from survival show for in his debut days))) Legend says he was actually warned prior that it’s not a good choice of a track to compete with (idk why – too depressing?), but still insisted to the bitter end precisely because lyrics resonated with him.
kiara
May 29, 2024 at 8:59 AM
Aw, I’m glad he stuck with it, knowing the risk. 😥 I felt every emotion and can relate to some of the lyrics.
WishfulToki
May 28, 2024 at 2:01 PM
❤❤❤
🌸 Seeker 🌸
May 28, 2024 at 8:20 PM
Kiara @bebeswtz
Thank you for the music and lyrics. My favorite posts are indeed about music.
I’m so sorry you had some rough days. Chanelling the OTP in Dare to Love Me I would say after days with salty tears you will have days as sweet as ice cream. This is an unmutable rule of life.
Take care and smile dear Kiara. *hugs* ❤😊
kiara
May 29, 2024 at 9:46 AM
Aw, you are so sweet! ❤️
Thank you for the kind and comforting words!
Love & hugs. ❤️❤️
kiara
May 27, 2024 at 12:34 PM
“HIJACK 1971” Release date: June 21st.
Yeo Jin Goo Hijacks Plane Carrying Ha Jung Woo, Chae Soo Bin, And More In Thrilling “Hijack 1971”
Helmed by director Kim Sung-han, crime action film “Hijacking” centers on a real-life airplane hijacking incident from 1971, when two South Korean pilots were forced to redirect their plane carrying 51 passengers toward North Korea.
redfox
May 27, 2024 at 1:50 PM
just shared the same movie w my koren culture club. our resident north korean expert was thrilled
kiara
May 27, 2024 at 2:03 PM
I’m glad to hear that. 🙂 I had never heard Yeo Jin-goo speak in a North Korean dialect until this movie. I wonder how the experts would rate it.
LaurenSophie
May 27, 2024 at 3:07 PM
Wow, what a great trailer! I haven’t seen a lot of Korean films, largely due to availability issues, but I hope I can find access to this one. Looks like a great role for Yeo Jin Goo, too.
kiara
May 27, 2024 at 3:38 PM
His first villain role, too.
Kurama
May 27, 2024 at 9:07 PM
It’s crazy it really happened.
🌸 Seeker 🌸
May 27, 2024 at 9:24 PM
😱 Yeo Jin Goo
kiara
May 22, 2024 at 11:18 AM
Behind The Music – “Singing With Legends”
@bebeswtz, what is the name of this classic that Ren Xianqi and Liu Yuning are singing? I love it and want to find the lyrics, too.
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 22, 2024 at 11:24 AM
The song’s name is 天涯 ( Tiānyá ), literally meaning “heaven’s border” or “the edge of heaven”, and the original singer of this song is Richie Ren Xian Qi himself 😊
https://open.spotify.com/track/27An0TRDzOI3n8ENHMQDZB?si=4vKjF-S8TYOxDbnQk4LrpQ
kiara
May 22, 2024 at 11:30 AM
Thank you so much!❤️ My kind of music.
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 22, 2024 at 4:31 PM
I’m happy that you have discovered this show & the music they did for this season!! Season 1– this one ☝🏻— is actually my favourite. My next favourite season of the show would be the most recent one (Season 5):
https://mydramalist.com/756283-our-song-season-5
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 22, 2024 at 4:39 PM
Richie REN actually comes back as a contestant for Season 5. When a veteran chooses to return to a show they’ve previously participated on, it shows to me that the show and its producers are doing something right. He at some point in Season 5 says he returns to the show because he really believes in what the producers are doing and the concept of the show—bringing juniors and veterans together to make music and do things they love together— and that the show’s producers respects the people who are a part of the show and respects the work that everyone does ♥️ That can’t be said for all of the reality/game/music shows that China produces, which was brought to light since the passing of the late Coco Lee (who was actually on “Our Songs” Season 2)
kiara
May 22, 2024 at 7:36 PM
That’s good to hear! I would love to listen to his older songs. I enjoy traditional music from every country, but hearing a familiar song in a different language is so great. It’s a small world we live in. Music is truly the universal language!
RIP, Coco Lee!
kiara
May 22, 2024 at 7:27 PM
Xiao Zhan’s rendition of Alan Walker’s “Faded” actually got me watching the show. My mom is an ABBA fan and listened to his version of “Give Me Give Me.” I don’t know what it’s called in Mandarin or the senior he was singing it with. I guess that was the disco-era night? So fun!
I haven’t watched season 5 yet, but I will look for it.
kiara
May 22, 2024 at 8:03 PM
Faded – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrylB-fUUYM&list=RDWd7sA0bCMSo&index=7&ab_channel=%E5%8A%B2%E7%88%86%E9%87%91%E6%9B%B2HotSongsCollection100
Btw, who is he singing with?
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 22, 2024 at 8:17 PM
For the “Faded x Titanium” remix, he’s singing with Taiwanese singer, Angela Zhang (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Zhang), who stepped in as the “substitute” when the veteran singer he was originally paired with on the show, Na Ying, had to step, away for a weeks (episodes) due to personal reasons with her family.
Their version of “Gimme Gimme” is “恼人的秋风” ( Nǎorén de qiūfēng ) which roughly translates to “The Annoying Autumn Air” 😅
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 22, 2024 at 8:23 PM
This version of the song—and mashing it up with “Titanium”— is actually my favourite rendition now and I can never go back to the original song ever again 😅 This is why I love this show so much and this is how you do it when you take a song and rework it:
Make it better than the original—make it better than the original so that the listener can’t go back haha Other songs I also now cannot go back to listening to the original versions are the songs Team B did for the group competition episode 🤌🏻🤌🏻😘😘😘🥰🥰 Especially the duet that Xiao Zhan did with veteran Emil Chau Wakin, a song that the latter sang (maybe even wrote?) as the theme song for a drama X amount of years ago
kiara
May 23, 2024 at 9:12 AM
@bebeswtz,
I like her! “Titanium” is not an easy song, but she made it through the chorus. Even with Sia singing her own songs live, I’d held my breath and hoped her voice wouldn’t crack. Lol
“The Annoying Autumn Air?” I wouldn’t have guessed it. LOL
I love all of the info behind the music! Thanks again for sharing!
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 23, 2024 at 9:43 AM
You’re always welcome 🤗
I’m sad none of the covers they did of the songs on Season 1 are on any international music streaming platforms—and are actually becoming increasingly difficult to search up in YT,too, which makes me wonder if they’re taking the vids down and re-uploading them— and it’s only beginning in Season 2 are the songs being uploaded to international music streaming platforms
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 22, 2024 at 11:28 AM
Here’s the original music video with English subtitles 😊
https://youtu.be/J0yvCm7ZV9M?si=OwPB2UuRytvSj3-_
kiara
May 22, 2024 at 11:44 AM
Even better! I didn’t know there is such a place as “the end of the earth” in China.
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 22, 2024 at 12:38 PM
Yes!! Isn’t it neat? And it’s located in one of the most beautiful islands of China
kiara
May 22, 2024 at 3:24 PM
It looks gorgeous from the pictures.
🌸 Seeker 🌸
May 24, 2024 at 2:58 AM
@kiara @bebeswtz
Thank you for the music. ❤😍🙏
@Gikata did you see.
Gikata
May 24, 2024 at 3:55 AM
Yes! I liked their teamwork in that season, shame they got eliminated early – still idk why because, unlike in S3, Yuning did NOT hold back at all… perhaps audience just wanted something different than two raspy rocker dudes doing their trademark thing repeatedly? Shame – the sheer power of their combined vocals was something else!
🌸 Seeker 🌸
May 24, 2024 at 4:14 AM
I can’t comment on the elimination.
Just watching the video gave me goosebumps. Watching them live would have been magical.
Gikata
May 24, 2024 at 4:31 AM
Yuning yelling “no, I don’t!” in pure rage after being asked whether he accept such result was my fave moment of the whole season))) Wish he could remain this genuinely unhinged till now…
Live – yes, I can only imagine. These are the guys who can set a giant stadium on fire with just their voices alone.
🌸 Seeker 🌸
May 24, 2024 at 5:07 AM
Gosh what a spitfire. 😂
kiara
May 24, 2024 at 5:12 AM
My favorite comments. “Come to Taiwan brother Yuning.”
Love love love the Ren/Yuning pairing. I’m slowly going through their songs, and looking for the lyrics in English so I can understand what the song is about.
Gikata
May 24, 2024 at 5:35 AM
@seeker the most sincere reaction to defeat in the history of competition shows)))
@kiara I usually just search song’s title – not always helpful, but it’s something at least.
kiara
May 24, 2024 at 6:18 AM
@gikata
Yeah, it’s hard when they are all in Chinese.
🌸 Seeker 🌸
May 24, 2024 at 6:32 AM
🙌 I must say I like you boy more and more as I learn about him from you each week.
NO ONE who sings like that can honestly be told they are being voted out.
Gikata
May 24, 2024 at 6:54 AM
@kiara lmao))) It is hard indeed, but I guess I’m used to it, successfully browsing things in languages I do not speak for more than a decade already… It’s a trainable skill, just give yourself some time. Do you have any good online dictionary at hand? This is life-saver, really!
@seeker then I’m doing my propaganda right, mwahaha^^ Jokes aside, he is extremely interesting person on top of being madly talented, so how could I or anyone else sane resist?
To be fair, in season 1 everyone sang great, that lineup was INSANE. But I’m still positive their duo being voted out had little to do with skills per se, so he was probably right to be unhappy about it.
🌸 Seeker 🌸
May 24, 2024 at 7:18 AM
I’m all for your propaganda. Ordinarily I do not google artists but whenever a Beanie talks about them I take it seriously. Also you have the most wildly entertaining stories.
While I was familiar with his talent, your curated lists have me enthralled. 😊
🌸 Seeker 🌸
May 24, 2024 at 7:21 AM
Singing variety shows can have very weird results but his reaction shows how very awesome he is!! 🤣
Gikata
May 24, 2024 at 7:44 AM
@seeker then you’re in for a ride, because in terms of wildly entertaining stories I didn’t even scratch the surface properly yet^^
I’ve long ceased to take variety shows any seriously, tbh. But this must’ve hit the nerve, given how he pretty much experienced the same thing multiple times in a row. Being stubborn and refusing to give up must be his biggest talent of them all)))
@kiara while we’re still at it, totally recommend this – I tried many, but so far nothing compares in terms of helping to quickly grasp the general meaning: https://www.purpleculture.net/dictionary-details/
kiara
May 24, 2024 at 7:49 AM
Thank you for the link!
🌸 Seeker 🌸
May 24, 2024 at 7:52 AM
You have me all excited now Gikata – bring it on!!
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 24, 2024 at 8:28 AM
I have a feeling that it because it might have been Season 1 and the show was still in its trial-and-error stages. One also cannot fight with veterans of veterans like Hacken Lee & Fei Yu Qing XD In this sense, (East) Asian culture still has a hand and thinks that veterans automatically means skills and wins, even though the show itself doesn’t rig anything
kiara
May 24, 2024 at 8:38 AM
I’m grateful to this show for introducing me to the great Fei You Qing! I love traditions and he’s got it all.
I’d want him in every seasons to balance out the pop and rock songs from the younger generations.
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 24, 2024 at 10:02 AM
Yea, so sad that this show was his last and that he retired from showbiz right after it 🥺 Definitely search him up and take a listen to his works if you can!
Gikata
May 24, 2024 at 10:50 AM
Perhaps. But I still blame the lack of mainstream appeal – notice how he smoothly lasted the whole season3 after switching to singing love ballads with female singer…
Complications of competing with veterans was my main gripe with show, esp in S3. If rumors of him participating in another one are true, then I hope the cast overall would be more balanced age/credentials-wise than in S1 and 3 – what’s even the point of competition if you can guess the winner just by looking at lineup?
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 24, 2024 at 11:41 AM
I agree!! Even with a lot of big names and a lot of traffic stars as contestants on Season 1, it definitely felt like the show wasn’t as popular as it could have been. But S1 is still my favourite 🥰
I watched bits and pieces of Seasons 2 through 4 but didn’t really get into it— the contestants just didn’t do it for me even though I knew who they were. A lot of the issues I had with Seasons 2 to 4:
*** SPOILER ALERT***
A lot of the junior singers were either very “yes ma’am” and “yes, sir” all the time and didn’t feel the need nor took the initiative to give feedback or voice something they may have wanted to do or try OR we’re the complete opposite and were borderline walking all over the veteran, but it’s not like the veteran was doing to say anything, which—to me, personally— speaks volumes about the junior singer, and not in the good way
Gikata
May 24, 2024 at 12:38 PM
@bebeswtz S1 was probably underpromoted too – you can tell from visibly smaller scale etc. All budget likely went to singers paychecks lol)))
Seems like casting director(s) didn’t do their job well. Or were more concerned with getting buzzy names than actually creating harmonious duos and making a good show… Happens all the time.
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 24, 2024 at 10:23 PM
Yea, I agree that Season 1 did indeed feel very raw, very much deer-in-the-headlights, but I’d rather it be this way than to have the production and producer have everything in place, because that would just mean that the show and its results are rigged, and that wouldn’t be good. I actually think that by having Season 1 of the show be like how it was actually brought all of the contestants together even more, because they all had the same experiences in being the ones getting experimented on for the show and share that bond. I see the contestants of S1 appear on other shows and events together and they ALWAYS find each other, great each other, and run towards each other and have that unspoken bond, but I haven’t see that from any of the contestants from Seasons 2 thru 4, and only have seen such a connection beginning again from Season 5. Liu Yu Ning is always mentioning how Richie Ren still always checks in on him, and Xiao Zhan and Na Ying always cheer each other on whenever one or the other has something to promote 😊
kiara
May 12, 2024 at 10:15 PM
THE MIDNIGHT ROMANCE IN HAGWON eps 2: Classical literature, Nam Cheong Mi scene.
“Cheongsan Byeolgok” (The Song of Green Mountains) from the Goryeo era was part of “Six Flying Dragons” OST by Byun Yo Han.
(viki’s sub says Song of Blue Mountain, but I’m pretty sure it’s a mistake).
LYRICS:
To live, I wish to live
In the green mountains I wish to live
Eating wild grapes and hardy kiwis
In the green mountains I wish to live
Yali Yali Yallasyeong Yallari Yalla
Cry, cry, birds
Wake up, and cry, birds
With more worries than you
Upon waking I cry too
Yali Yali Yallasyeong Yallari Yalla
https://bodashiri.tumblr.com/post/132995526751/goryeo-folk-songs
kiara
May 12, 2024 at 10:32 PM
I like this version, which includes scenes featuring the main cast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk_hT38gZZw&ab_channel=KabatasEastAsia%26World
Reply1988 -❣️Mother Bean❣️
May 12, 2024 at 10:40 PM
Thank you for always providing the context material.
🌸 Seeker 🌸
May 12, 2024 at 11:16 PM
This is super awesome. 👌👏
Thanks. 😊
kiara
May 8, 2024 at 3:42 PM
JOY OF LIFE—Special Editions (25 episodes). This looks to be a condensed version of Season 1.
If you need a refresher before Season 2 arrives, check it out. https://kisskh.co/Drama/Joy-of-Life-Special-Edition?id=9013
🌸 Seeker 🌸
May 8, 2024 at 6:56 PM
Oh! Cool. Thanks for the heads-up. 😘👌
kiara
May 8, 2024 at 7:13 PM
YW ❤️
Season 2 might drop soon. 😀
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 8, 2024 at 7:59 PM
1 more week if C-dramaland doesn’t play any tricks!!! I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, but it does seem like it WILL happen— the cast has been attending and having promotions on their Weibo and at in-person promo events, too! Seriously, Li Qin and all of the pretty outfits she’s been dressed in for all of these promo events 😍
kiara
May 8, 2024 at 8:15 PM
I have that feeling, too, so I’ve been trying to clear my schedule and not get too attached to a drama or film. I can’t wait to see our beloved cast again. It’s been too long.
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
May 8, 2024 at 7:57 PM
@zindigo
zindigo
May 8, 2024 at 9:03 PM
🤗
Isa is always time travelling
May 9, 2024 at 2:18 AM
I’m watching the first Season for the first time. I have watched 14 episodes so far. I’m afraid I won’t be on time for the second season, but I’ll try.
This condensed version is not an option for me, but it is great for rewatchers.
kiara
April 8, 2024 at 4:12 PM
THE 60th BAEKSANG NOMINEES 2024.
The candidates were chosen among television shows, OTT programs, and films that aired or were released between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024. For series, candidates were chosen among programs that have aired at least one third of the series as of March 31. For Best New Actor, those who have starred in no more than three productions were eligible to be nominated. Productions that were excluded last year because they were released during the screening period were also included in this year’s pool.
BEST DRAMA
JTBC “The Good Bad Mother”
Disney+ “Moving”
SBS “Revenant”
MBC “My Dearest”
Netflix “Daily Dose of Sunshine”
BEST VARIETY SHOW
SBS Plus, ENA “I am Solo”
wavve “The Community”
JTBC “A Clean Sweep”
MBC “Adventure by Accident 2”
“Pinggyego”
BEST EDUCATIONAL SHOW
SBS “Whales and I”
EBS1 “Population Planning – Ultra-Low Birth Rate”
KBS1 “Japanese Person Ozawa”
KBS1 “There Is No Sustainable Earth”
KBS1 “1980, Lochon and Chauvel”
BEST DIRECTOR
Park In Je (“Moving”)
Lee Myung Woo (“Boyhood”)
Lee Chang Hee (“A Killer Paradox”)
Jung Ji Hyun (“Lies Hidden in My Garden”)
Han Dong Wook (“The Worst of Evil”)
BEST SCREENPLAY
Kang Full (“Moving”)
Kim Eun Hee (“Revenant”)
Bae Se Young (“The Good Bad Mother”)
Lee Nam Gyu, Oh Bo Hyun, Kim Da Hee (“Daily Dose of Sunshine”)
Jeon Go Woon, Im Dae Hyung (“LTNS”)
BEST TECHNICAL DIRECTION
Kim Dong Shik, Im Wan Ho (“Whales and I” – camera)
Yang Hong Sam, Park Ji Won (“Revenant” – art)
Lee Seok Geun (“Korea-Khitan War” – costume)
Lee Sung Kyu (“Moving” – VFX)
Ha Ji Hee (“The Matchmakers” – art)
BEST ACTOR
Kim Soo Hyun (“Queen of Tears”)
Namgoong Min (“My Dearest”)
Ryu Seung Ryong (“Moving”)
Yoo Yeon Seok (“A Bloody Lucky Day”)
Im Siwan (“Boyhood”)
BEST ACTRESS
Ra Mi Ran (“The Good Bad Mother”)
Ahn Eun Jin (“My Dearest”)
Uhm Jung Hwa (“Doctor Cha”)
Honey Lee (“Knight Flower”)
Lim Ji Yeon (“Lies Hidden in My Garden”)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ryu Kyung Soo (“The Bequeathed”)
Ahn Jae Hong (“Mask Girl”)
Lee Yi Kyung (“Marry My Husband”)
Lee Hee Joon (“A Killer Paradox”)
Ji Seung Hyun (“Korea-Khitan War”)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kang Mal Geum (“The Good Bad Mother”)
Shin Dong Mi (“Welcome to Samdalri”)
Yeom Hye Ran (“Mask Girl”)
Lee Jung Eun (“A Bloody Lucky Day”)
Joo Min Kyung (“Behind Your Touch”)
BEST NEW ACTOR
Kim Yo Han (“A Killer Paradox”)
Lee Si Woo (“Boyhood”)
Lee Shin Ki (“The Worst of Evil”)
Lee Jung Ha (“Moving”)
Lee Jong Won (“Knight Flower”)
BEST NEW ACTRESS
Go Yoon Jung (“Moving”)
BIBI (“The Worst of Evil”)
Yoo Na (“The Kidnapping Day”)
Lee Yi Dam (“Daily Dose of Sunshine”)
Lee Han Byul (“Mask Girl”)
BEST MALE ENTERTAINER
Kian84
Na Young Suk
Yoo Jae Suk
Calm Down Man
Tak Jae Hoon
BEST FEMALE ENTERTAINER
Kim Sook
An Yu Jin
Lee Soo Ji
Jang Do Yeon
Hong Jin Kyung
https://www.soompi.com/article/1653702wpp/60th-baeksang-arts-awards-announces-nominees
alasecond
April 8, 2024 at 8:00 PM
how does KSH get nominated for QoT and not the FL; or how does good bad mother ML doesnt get nominated;
this is a stupid list
kiara
April 9, 2024 at 8:36 AM
I didn’t watch most of these dramas, so I have little to say.
I’d vote for Namgoong Min (“My Dearest”) or Ryu Seung Ryong (“Moving”) for Best Male Lead.
RenOIshi
April 8, 2024 at 8:20 PM
So Marry my Husband is on the list but not the STAR that was Song Ha Yoon? This makes no sense.
Kurama
April 8, 2024 at 9:08 PM
She’s accused of bullying and admitted some parts but the first accusation.
RenOIshi
April 8, 2024 at 10:24 PM
So her career is over I guess.
Kurama
April 8, 2024 at 11:22 PM
Let’s say it doesn’t really good for her.
The biggest accusation (she hit him during more than 1 hour) wasn’t proven and she denied it. The person who accused her is in USA now, so I don’t know what will happen.
She had to change of highschool because of bullying (but another case) and I think she admitted this part.
So I don’t know what will happen to her.
Cecee is done DramaQueening
April 9, 2024 at 4:37 AM
Which insane manic named Good Bad Mother among the best dramas and the best screenplay? That was a pile of wanky writing from start to finish!
Bae Se Young, you brought literally nada to the scriptwriting world. There was no driven narrative, no emotional intelligence, no satisfactory arc, and no point to what you imposed on us. Your name doesn’t deserve to be remembered for that drama. Go and sharpen your pencils to write something decent, your naughty thing.
Unaspirated
April 9, 2024 at 9:19 AM
Yes! I saw that and thought, “what on earth are they thinking?” That was the worst drama I watched last year, and I finished it thinking that it MUST get better but it never did.
Cecee is done DramaQueening
April 9, 2024 at 1:50 PM
Lol I suffered through it for the same reason! That’s what got me to writing my first Dramabeans rant!
Minnie🫘👩🏻🚀Pioneer and Teacher 👩🏻🏫🌱🏹
April 9, 2024 at 7:39 PM
I seriously wonder what were they drinking – so many missteps in this nomination list! Daily Dose of Sunshine also does not belong there.
kiara
March 10, 2024 at 8:19 AM
SHOGUN EPISODE 2: PART 1
SERVANT OF TWO MASTERS
HISTORY & DRAMA INTERTWAINED
Taiko’s Death Scene:
{Taiko} I wish we’d taken Joseon (Korea) together. I could have given you Japan.
{Lord Toranaga} Let it be a gift from your son.
The Taikō, Nakamura Hideoshi, is based loosely on TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI (1537-1598).
Lord Yoshii Toranaga – TOKUGAWA IEYASU (1543-1616).
GEOPOLITICS: Japan, Korea, and China. (Pic 1) The Beginning of the Edo Period for Japan (1600-1868), the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897) for Korea, and the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) for China.
At this point. Korea and China are allies, like a father (China) and son (Korea) relationship.
In 1592, JAPAN INVADED KOREA. This is known as the IMJIN WAR in Korea, in China it’s called the WANLI KOREAN CAMPAIGN.
-Lord Kiyama ukon Sadanaga of the Council of Regents is loosely based on KONISHI YUKINAGA (1558-1600). The Christian general who spearheaded the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592
-ADMIRAL YI SUN-SIN (1545–1598). The greatest admiral in Korea’s history, a national hero whose naval victories were instrumental in repelling Japanese invasions of Korea.
Admiral Yi died November 1598 in the battle of Noryang at age 53.
Admiral Yi Trilogy: movies
1. The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014)
2. Hansan: Rising Dragon (2022)
3. Noryang: Deadly Sea (2023)
-GENERAL CHEN LIN (1543-1607) A General and Navy Admiral of Ming, China. He is considered a hero in both Korea and China for helping win the Imjin war with Korea and defeating the Japanese army alongside Korean forces. Today, his descendants are spread across South China and Korea.
Videos: “The Imjin War” by The Shogunate channel. From Japan’s perspective.
“The First Invasion Of Korea.” ((1592–1593)
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk9DSwjINXE&ab_channel=TheShogunate
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHpl7uoXwq4&ab_channel=TheShogunate
Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-hKwuR3O2M&ab_channel=TheShogunate
Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elISRYUK42k&ab_channel=TheShogunate
“The 2nd Invasion of Korea.”(1597–1598)
Part 5: Conclusion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed6L1NnlkLg&ab_channel=TheShogunate
The Death Of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Taiko):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0SJ0bQdh0c&ab_channel=TheShogunate
“A Dream Within A Dream”(The Taiko, Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s death poem).
As the dew appears
As the dew disappears
Such is my life, that Naniwa
Is a dream within a dream.
tsuyu to ochi / tsuyu to kienishi / waga mi kana / naniwa no koto wa / yume no mata yume
JAPANESE TRADITION OF JISEI:
In Japan, there is a traditional poem known as jisei or death poem. With origins in Zen Buddhism, such poems are written by authors, often samurai or monks, as they approach their final days. These poems highlight themes of impermanence and transience, concepts central to Zen Buddhism.
The poems often express a sense of acceptance and peace towards death, and they can serve as a reminder of the impermanence of all things and the importance of living fully in the present moment.
From Episode 1: Pieterzoon, a Christian is sentenced to death by boiling.
{Yabushige} The barbarian took a long time to die. He was stronger than most Christians.
(Looks at Omi). Give me a poem about him.
{Omi} His eyes…were just the end of hell..all pain, articulate.
(Yabushige smiles in approval)
Gee, who is calling whom a barbarian?
QUOTE FROM THE BOOK:
“There was no dignity for either the sufferer or the torturer. It removed the dignity from death, and without that dignity, what was the ultimate point of life?”
(Book 1, Chapter 4, Page 82)
Omi watches Pieterzoon’s torture in the cauldron of boiling water. The samurais do not fear death, but the thought of an undignified, dishonorable end is intolerable to them. There is no honor in a man being tortured to death, and nothing dignified about the job of torture.
“Only by living at the edge of death can you understand the indescribable joy of life.”
(Book 5, Chapter 56, Page 954)
Feeling like they are always on the edge of death, samurai are better able to appreciate life’s pleasures and tranquil moments because they know how quickly things can change. Those who have not faced death do not have the same sense of life’s exhilaration.
Ally
March 10, 2024 at 8:24 AM
My husband and i are looking forward to watching this-I really appreciate the historical context you provide!
kiara
March 10, 2024 at 8:56 AM
I’ll tag you, too, Ally!<3
OldLawyer
March 10, 2024 at 12:02 PM
My wife and I will be watching also- and a few other shows on Hulu when I take up a temporary subscription again- which will be very soon.
kiara
March 10, 2024 at 4:00 PM
@ally-le and @oldawyer
This show is R16: I’m sure we are all older than that. LOL
The rating for violence, offensive language, and content that may disturb is explained here. I’m sure you already have an idea from the book, but just in case. So far, the pilot episode is the most brutal, if you call it that. I couldn’t handle “Game Of Thrones,” but I can with “Shogun.”
1. Cruelty
In one scene, a prisoner is thrown into a pot of boiling water, and they scream in immense pain. The scene goes on to show close-ups of the character’s painful torture. We also see other characters reaction from hearing the prisoner’s screams. This may be shocking for viewers. (pilot episode)
2. Offensive language
Offensive language is frequent throughout the show. Offensive language is used to express characters’ frustration or to insult each other.
-Blackthorne and Rodrigues are sailors, and they do get into it when they are together.
3. Sexual themes
In a brief scene, two characters become intimate while being watched. We hear moaning and characters embrace. Nothing in detail is shown, but we do briefly see a female’s breasts.
-From what I heard, the violence in the book is more brutal and frequent. (pilot episode)
https://www.classificationoffice.govt.nz/find-a-rating/quick-takes/shogun-season-1/
kiara
March 10, 2024 at 8:52 AM
@mayhemf, @seeker, @snowflower, @kafiyah-bello, @bebeswtz, @jillian, @oldawyer,@lordcobol,@bbstl,
@welh640, @heikicampbell, @pynyc, @amfalulawatching, @johnb.
Kafiyah Bello
March 10, 2024 at 10:05 AM
Thank you and to echo @seeker, thank you, so interesting. Especially because the three countries have so much history. Showing the intertwining stories, along with how beautiful the show is. This is great.
bbstl 🧹
March 10, 2024 at 10:59 AM
Thank you as always, kiara! Your efforts are illuminating and much appreciated 👏🏽
Gum Shoe
March 10, 2024 at 11:52 AM
Thanks for posting and tagging. Very helpful and informative.
🌸 Seeker 🌸
March 10, 2024 at 9:54 AM
This really elevates our appreciation of the drama. Thank you for your hard work.
OldLawyer
March 10, 2024 at 12:01 PM
What an impressive and useful compilation of information. Thank you so much Kiara.
A note on Admiral YI: His incredible victory at the Straits of Myeongryang still stands as the single greatest example of a far smaller force defeating a larger one in the History of Naval warfare. It all the more incredible when you realize that the Japanese Navy had achieved a serious level of skill in Naval Warfare in no small part through have to face Yi in twenty previous battles.
The Japanese never forgot Admiral Yi. After wiping out the Russian Navy at the Straits of Tsushima in 1903 Admiral Togo was treated to a celebratory banquet. At that banquet the celebrants compared him to Yi and to Horatio Nelson- and he stopped them and told them that it was OK to compare him to Nelson but that neither he nor Nelson were in the same company as Admiral Yi.
kiara
March 10, 2024 at 3:10 PM
Thank you so much for sharing!
I never tire of hearing about Admiral Yi. 🙇♀️
OldLawyer
April 8, 2024 at 9:08 AM
Note: In Japan the Imjin War is referred to as The Pottery War because advanced porcelain techniques were the only thing that Japan gained from it (see GODDESS OF FIRE for the Kdrama about the Korean woman who was kidnapped and taken to Japan (with her husband) to accomplish goal- hundreds of their descendants still live there).
kiara
March 6, 2024 at 8:12 PM
SHOGUN EPISODE 1 PART 2.
HISTORY & DRAMA INTERTWINED
(CONTAINS SPOILERS)
I haven’t read the book or watched the 1980 version of Shogun. Everything, including the background history, is new to me.I am enjoying learning new things. Please feel free to provide feedback on this episode or point out any errors that I may have made.
Shōgun: The military leader and de facto ruler of the country. The term originally meant “the barbarian-subduing great general” and was given to the general sent by the emperor to fight the Ainu people in northern Japan. However, with the establishment of the samurai government at the end of the 12th century, the title was revived and took on a new political meaning as the leader of the military class.
Samurai: Feudal Japan’s warrior class, enact a culture of war, duty, ruthlessness, and discipline. They are trained to be fierce fighters, who remain impassive in the face of pain and death. Their highest ideals are enshrined in an honor code called bushido, which dictates obedience to one’s lord, unflinching bravery, and above all the avoidance of shame and loss of face.
THE Emperor and Japan’s capital:
The reigning emperor of Japan is Go-Yōzei (1571-1617)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Go-Y%C5%8Dzei, who currently resides in the capital city of Kyoto (this is the “imperial capital,” the home of the emperor). Legally, the shogun answered to the emperor, but, as Japan evolved into a feudal society, control of the military became tantamount to control of the country. The emperor remained in his palace in the capital, chiefly as a symbol of power behind the shogun.
The first “capital of the shogunate” was Kamakura (1185-1333), the stronghold of the Minamoto clan. The decline of Minamoto led to the rise of the Ashikaga (or Muromachi) clan, who moved their capital to the imperial city of Kyōto (1333-1603). In 1603 Ieyasu Tokugawa moved the capital, to Edo (modern Tokyo). The Edo Period lasted for nearly 260 years until the Meiji Restoration in 1868, when the Tokugawa Shogunate ended and imperial rule was restored. The Emperor moved to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo. Thus, Tokyo became the capital of Japan.
Clan Crest: Tokugawa clan.
The Tokugawa crest was a circle in closing three leaves of the awoi (a species of mallow, found in Central Japan) joined at the tips, the stalks touching the circle (see Pic 1 and 2). This gilded trefoil is gleaming on the property of the shogun and mausoleum even now in Japan.
Shogun’s Language Confusion:
John Blackthorne and all of his translators speak English in Shogun even though they refer to it as Portuguese, which has caused some confusion. This is because, in-universe, the lingua franca used by John Blackthorne and the Catholic priests is Portuguese, but the show replaces it with English. Therefore, every time a character is speaking in English in Shōgun, they are supposed to be speaking in Portuguese within the story.
EPISODE 1: ANJIN – The pilot of the pilot episode.😀
THE YEAR IS 1600.
FOR DECADES, PORTUGUESE CATHOLICS HAVE RICHLY PROFITTED FROM TRADE IN JAPAN.
THEY HAVE KEPT ITS WHEREABOUTS HIDDEN FROM THEIR SWORN ENEMIES – THE EUROPEAN PROTESTANTS.
IN OSAKA, THE REIGNING TAIKO HAS DIED, LEAVING BEHIND AN HEIR TOO YOUNG TO RULE. FIVE WARRIOR LORDS ARE NOW TRAPPED IN A BITTER STRUGGLE.
Episode Guide:https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/shogun/viewers-guide/episode-guide/episode-1
-A Mysterious Barbarian Ship
-The Council of Regents
-What did Tadayoshi do wrong?
-The Jesuits in Japan
-Burei Uchi “License to kill”
-The Cauldron
-Iberian Pilots and Storms
-Seppuku
Episode Podcast and Transcript:https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/shogun/viewers-guide/podcast-episode-1
(There are so many details in this episode alone but I need to keep moving to catch up with the show).
Here are a few to start with. I’ll add the rest later.
“SAND”
1. The Opening Credits 😲🤔 :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX8BOLwDPfU&t=1s&ab_channel=FXNetworks
2. The first scene: Lead and Line (Pic 3)
{pilot} Captain, I was unable to take any celestial declinations due to–
{captain} The clouds
{pilot} Yes, the clouds. However, white sand. By the mark, ten. Ten fathoms. White sand in the tallow.
Celestial navigation: uses natural celestial bodies (such as the Sun, the Moon and stars) as navigation beacons to calculate the position of the observation point.
Navigating by the Stars: Introduction to Celestial Navigation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V0S8vLj4_E&ab_channel=RiggingDoctor
Leadline: this tool is so simple and reliable that its design hasn’t changed much in thousands of years. It consists of a lead weight attached to a rope that is marked at measured lengths. The bottom of the lead is concave, or cupped inward. Filling this space with something sticky, such as tallow (animal fat) or grease, is called “arming the lead” and is used to bring up bottom samples, such as sand, gravel, or mud, to show what was on the sea floor in that spot.
https://www.thepirateking.com/historical/lead_line.htm
3. Blackthorne/Anjin drew a map on the sand, revealing Spain and Portugal’s alliance and their division of the world. (Map Pic 4)
{Anjin/Blackthorne} – your country falls into the Portuguese half so it belongs to them.
{Lord Toranaga} – Did he really say “belongs”to them?
{Lady Mariko} – Yes, Lord.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V25XthYt2M&t=1s&ab_channel=WarStoriesinKino
“Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)”
An alliance between Spain and Portugal. It settled disputes about the ownership of lands discovered by Columbus and others. Pope Alexander VI had (1493) approved a line of demarcation stretching between the poles 100 leagues (about 500 km) west of the Cape Verde islands. All to the west was Spanish, to the east Portuguese – an award disregarded by other nations. Portuguese dissatisfaction led to a meeting at Tordesillas in north‐west Spain where it was agreed to move the papal line to 370 leagues (about 1850 km) west of Cape Verde. The pope sanctioned this in 1506. It was modified by the Treaty of Zaragossa (1529), which gave the Moluccas (Spice Islands) to the Portuguese.
4. SYMBOLS and MOTIFS from Book 1:
The Erasmus
Named for a famed Dutch Enlightenment philosopher, the Erasmus is a Dutch ship trying to find a route to Japan so that the Netherlands can set up trade without going through the Spanish and Portuguese. The Erasmus represents Blackthorne’s love for the sea, his desire for freedom, and his ambition for conquest—Blackthorne hopes to use the Erasmus to take the valuable Black Ship and its cargo. When Blackthorne becomes pivotal to Toranaga’s plans, he burns the ship in exchange for Blackthorne’s life.
BATHING
Bathing is a cleansing, meditative ritual that is important to the Japanese. When the book begins, Blackthorne rarely bathes; few of the English do. By the time he becomes hatamoto, he sees the European custom of bathing infrequently as barbaric. His former uncleanliness revolts him, as does the stink of his old shipmates.
Karma
Toranaga and many other samurai in the novel believe in the Buddhist doctrine of karmic reincarnation—that they will be reborn into another form forty days after death. The deeds of one’s life determine one’s karma. The accumulation of bad karma leads to rebirth in a lesser form.
Crucifix
This symbol of Christianity represents faith, conflicts between Christian sects, and priestly hypocrisy. Mariko’s crucifix is a cherished symbol of her faith—the purest of the novel’s religious symbols. Conversely, the ornately decorated crucifix that Blackthorne breaks in front of Father Sebastio—a symbol of Catholic outward showiness, which is one of the things Protestants decry—symbolizes Blackthorne’s hatred of the Jesuits.
Toranaga’s Falcons
Toranaga loves falconry—the process of finding the birds as babies, raising them, training them, and eventually breaking them to sit on his fist and hunt for him. He views the process of grooming Blackthorne, Yabu, Mura, and others as analogous to his treatment of the falcons. Some of his subordinates are well trained and subservient. Others, like Blackthorne, require more pressure and care before they will do as he commands. The analogy between the falcons and Toranaga’s vassals frames Toranaga as a hunter, both literally and figuratively.
5. QUOTE FROM THE BOOK.
“It’s a saying they have, that a man has a false heart in his mouth for the world to see, another in his breast to show to his special friends and his family, and the real one, the true one, the secret one, which is never known to anyone except to himself alone, hidden only God knows where.”
(Book 2, Chapter 10, Page 173)
Rodrigues has been around the Japanese long enough to understand the importance they place on hiding their feelings—though because of his bias, he ignores the fact that the Europeans often hide their motives and thoughts as well. The novel doubles down on this standard racist anti-Asian trope: Japanese character…[Read more]
kiara
March 6, 2024 at 8:19 PM
@mayhemf, @seeker, @snowflower, @kafiyah-bello, @bebeswtz, @jillian,@oldawyer,@lordcobol,@bbstl
Kafiyah Bello
March 7, 2024 at 4:13 AM
I love this, because I go in blind, but I am learning so much from the episodes and your accompaniment. Also, the unmitigated Gall and Audacity of Spain, Portugal, and the Pope to split the world amongst them. Well colonizers are going to colonize.
kiara
March 7, 2024 at 6:39 AM
Imagine discovering that your country belongs to another nation. Fortunately, the treaty was not taken seriously by other countries. Lord Toranaga is unlikely to let this go.
The Catholics aren’t portrayed in a positive light. The novel’s author was British, so I expected some bias and truth.
I’m not Catholic, but I grew up in a Christian home, so I’m taken aback by the way these Christian characters behaved, but I understand that this was a dog-eat-dog era. The one who is devoted to her religion is Lady Mariko.
kiara
March 7, 2024 at 8:38 AM
This is a better video clip by FX. They just posted it an hour ago. lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClmWZX28ARg&ab_channel=FXNetworks
kiara
March 7, 2024 at 6:47 AM
@oldawyer,
I heard “Joseon” in the characters’ conversations, so I guess it’s just the English translation that used modern Korea.
bbstl 🧹
March 8, 2024 at 4:33 PM
A review of Shogun:
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/03/shogun-fx-tv-show/677685/
kiara
March 8, 2024 at 7:03 PM
This review is spot on. Thank you for sharing!
At first, I was hesitant to watch SHOGUN because Hollywood has a reputation for not respectfully portraying diverse cultures. Additionally, I had heard that the story was brutal and violent. However, I decided to give it a chance and watched the pilot episode. To my surprise, the showrunners had put in great effort to achieve cultural authenticity and sensitivity, and the violence has been shown sparingly (so far). After listening to the writers and Hiroyuki Sanada talk about their approach, I have even more appreciation for the show.
bbstl 🧹
March 8, 2024 at 9:00 PM
I really like the fleshing out of “bushido” here.
I’m taken with all the clan crests and wonder – did the Joseon ruling families have crests? They must have, right? If not, why not?
kiara
March 9, 2024 at 8:13 AM
Yes, the valued principle of honor, the act of seppuku, is demonstrated from a samurai’s perspective, explaining why they don’t fear death. The cultural and religious clash, East meets West, is well done in this series.
Christians from the West view suicide as a sin, a cowardly act (like when the captain killed himself). I supposed he’s not going to the best place upstairs, either. Death in a Buddhist culture is part of the cycle of life. With death comes rebirth. The next episode’s title, “Servants of Two Masters,” could apply to Christian converts like Lady Mariko.
A quote from the book.
“To serve is duty, duty is samurai, samurai is immortality.”
(Book 1, Chapter 7, Page 112)
Yabu (Yabushige in this series) contemplates becoming completely loyal to Toranaga. The samurai code of service makes obedience to one’s lord is indistinguishable from duty. Treating one’s duty with seriousness guarantees positive karma and a desirable immortality. Yabu’s problem is the realization that whom he serves matters less for karma than the fact that he serves a lord honorably.
The clan crest helped me identify the followers of each daimyō. I noticed that Toda Hiromatsu (Hosokawa Fujitaka) wore the Toyotomi crest (the taiko’s clan) if I see correctly, while serving Lord Toranaga. I wonder if Toranaga hasn’t earned his complete trust yet since he still carries his old Lord’s crest or maybe because he was a vassal of the taiko and a friend of Toranaga. The conversation between them seems like between old friends who fought in many battles together.
{Toranaga} Sorry, friend. If we go to war now, 4 armies against 1, I will lose. I must remain here.
{Hiromatsu} You are a prisoner to your enemies, days from death — and you want me to look into a barbarian ship?
{Toranaga} I wonder if you made a mistake, Hiromatsu. Siding with me instead of those bureaucrats who want me dead.
{Hiromatsu} (jokingly)The thought has crossed my mind.
kiara
March 9, 2024 at 8:19 AM
The Yi family’s clan crest was a plum blossom. Clan crest was more common during the Three Kingdoms era and Goryeo than in Joseon.
bbstl 🧹
March 9, 2024 at 10:41 AM
Thank you, @kiara! 💐
Mrs Buckwheat
November 26, 2024 at 9:26 PM
Thank you so much for the time it must of taken to do this and all the links as well.
I’m only up to episode 5 but really love everything about the show, the quality is excellent.
I tried to find links to the show on dramabeans and your page came up first.
This will add so much depth to the show.
kiara
December 4, 2024 at 7:10 AM
You are welcome! I’m glad you found it helpful :).
kiara
March 4, 2024 at 6:10 PM
SHOGUN
EPISODE 1 PART 1: Historical Background.
In Japan, during “the Civil War Era,” also known as the “Sengoku Era,” there was a period when power had been fragmented among numerous samurai. During this time, three powerful warlords tried to unify the country under their rule. Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
THE 3 GENERALS THAT UNITED JAPAN:(Pic 1)
1. Oda Nobunaga:1534-1582 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oda_Nobunaga
2. Toyotomi Hideyoshi:1537-1598 – (the Taikō in episode 2): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyotomi_Hideyoshi
3. Tokugawa Ieyasu:1543–1616 – (Yoshii Toranaga):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokugawa_Ieyasu
IF A BIRD DOESN’T SING
“If a bird doesn’t sing, kill it.
If a bird doesn’t sing, make it.
If a bird doesn’t sing, wait for it.”
This is a famous Zen parable about a fictional account of a Zen master asking the three most powerful warlords of the Sengoku or Warring States period (Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu) what they would do if a hototogisu or cuckoo didn’t sing. It was a parable which illustrates the character of each of these three different types of leaders.
Oda Nobunaga was known for his fierceness and cruelty and thus would answer, “Kill it.”
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was the most cunning and would therefore coyly say, “Make it.”
Tokugawa Ieyasu was the most diplomatic and patient so he would most likely say, “Wait for it.”
There is a saying in Japanese, “Oda Nobunaga makes the pie and Toyotomi Hideyoshi bakes it, but Tokugawa Ieyasu is the one who gets to eat it.”
The evolution of every martial artist is much like the philosophies of these famous Japanese Daimyos. Whichever Daimyo style we identify the most with depends on where we are in our development.
The beginner usually wants to “kill it”, the intermediate person wants to “force it” but an expert is willing to “wait for it.”
https://aikidocenterla.com/blog/2646
THE LEGEND: Get to know Lord Yoshii Toranaga, based loosely on Tokugawa Ieyasu and played by the magnetic Hiroyuki Sanada. (Pic 2)
OSAKA, the YEAR 1600: Osaka Palace (Pic 3 and 4). The palace was created for the show. The one below it is the original.
Yoshii Toranaga is a powerful bushō from a feared lineage. When we meet Toranaga, he is isolated and outnumbered by his enemies in Osaka. But little does anyone realize that Toranaga is a brilliant strategist and a master of the long game.
Toranaga was given to his father’s rival as a hostage when he was a young boy — he grew up surrounded by enemies, far from his family. Even though he was raised as his station demanded, with the comforts and the training of a samurai, his childhood taught him to keep his true feelings hidden.
A natural leader of men, Toranaga won his freedom as a boy when he began commanding his captor’s army in battle. Small victories became large ones, and soon Toranaga became the lord of his own domain.
a. bushō – A warlord. Literally “military general.” These samurai lords had the military power to unify their territory independently. Some ruled over an area of just a few counties, while others had several large fiefdoms under their control. In Japanese the term is mainly used for the warlords who fought their wars in the Sengoku period.
FALCONRY: Lord Toranaga and his beloved falcon Tetsuko (real name Shogun) Pic 5.
It is fitting that the powerful warlord Toranaga makes his first appearance in a falconry scene. Tokugawa Ieyasu was known to be particularly fond of falcon hunting. Ieyasu’s official diary, Tōshōgū gojikki, is full of references to falconry. One reference tells us the following: “It seemed as if falconry was his second nature. From his youth to his old age, whenever he had time, he went hunting”.
Falconry was an ancient custom dating back to the emperors of ancient times. In the Sengoku period, falconry took on a special significance for the warlords. By practicing falconry, the warlords were not only perpetuating an ancient tradition.
They presented games to their loyal vassals and falcons to other warlords, thus cementing their alliances. Ieyasu used falconry as a way to keep fit himself, and train his vassals. Falconry was a useful pastime to foster cooperation among the samurai involved. Falcon hunts usually developed into spectacular feasts, with the participating samurai all dressed in hunting garb. Above all, it demonstrated the military prestige of the samurai class.
To be continued…..
kiara
March 4, 2024 at 6:32 PM
@mayhemf, @seeker, @snowflower, @kafiyah-bello, @bebeswtz, @jillian,@oldawyer, have you seen episode 1 yet? @bbstl,
Kafiyah Bello
March 4, 2024 at 6:48 PM
Yeah, the first 2 episodes premiered last week.
kiara
March 4, 2024 at 6:57 PM
I didn’t want to spoil it for OldLawyer :). The next part is going to be spoilers, @snowflower. Do you still want me to tag you?
Snow Flower
March 4, 2024 at 7:02 PM
Comment was deleted
Snow Flower
March 4, 2024 at 7:03 PM
Sure. I don’t mind spoilers.
bbstl 🧹
March 4, 2024 at 6:57 PM
Thank you! I watched 1. fX channel on demand is extremely difficult to watch, sets of six commercials constantly interrupting (each set includes 2 for Disney toys and, no kidding, 2 for Shogun!) I will try to watch the rest during weekly broadcast.
kiara
March 4, 2024 at 7:21 PM
I know it’s so annoying, sorry. I’ll put a spoiler tag on the next part so you can read it after watching the episode. I’m doing this slowly, so you’ll catch up soon enough.
Last week, two episodes were released. Starting this week, one episode will be released every Tuesday until the series ends on April 23rd.
bbstl 🧹
March 4, 2024 at 9:54 PM
Yep, I know I have to bite the bullet to see the 2nd one (in a hurry, tomorrow!). It got a bit funny, I was betting with the cat as to which toy commercial would air first by the end.
🌸 Seeker 🌸
March 4, 2024 at 7:39 PM
😂
Nessa (Bebe) 🌹
March 4, 2024 at 7:17 PM
Not yet, but keep the tags coming! I don’t mind 😊
🌸 Seeker 🌸
March 4, 2024 at 7:40 PM
^^ 💯 same 😊
kiara
March 4, 2024 at 7:30 PM
@lordcobol, I’m tagging you since you like the history of this period.
jillian
March 4, 2024 at 8:38 PM
I am planning to get caught up this weekend.
Kafiyah Bello
March 5, 2024 at 12:26 PM
Just finished episode 3, it is so good, idk if I care for the actor playing Anjin, but I am absolutely loving the rest of it.
kiara
March 5, 2024 at 4:08 PM
Good to hear 😀. Busy week. I’ll probably watch it this weekend.
🌸 Seeker 🌸
March 8, 2024 at 9:26 AM
My mother loved the Zen parable in your post. She’s not watching the drama but was fascinated by your posts.
kiara
March 8, 2024 at 8:50 PM
Please tell your mom thank you for the compliment! I wish I had more time to do it scene by scene.
🌸 Seeker 🌸
March 8, 2024 at 10:18 PM
Even this is a lot. She made me promise to keep her updated on all your posts. 😍
🌸 Seeker 🌸
March 8, 2024 at 10:19 PM
BTW she totally thinks that you’re the “expert level”.
kiara
March 9, 2024 at 9:19 AM
She is too kind. I’m far from being an expert :).
🌸 Seeker 🌸
March 9, 2024 at 9:34 AM
I agree with her. ♥️💯