Jumong (TV series)

Jumong
Man and woman kissing, in period costume
Also known as
  • Prince of Legend
  • The Book of the Three Hans
Genre
Written by
  • Choi Wan-kyu
  • Jung Hyung-soo
Directed by Lee Joo-hwan
Starring
Country of origin South Korea
Original language(s) Korean
No. of episodes 81
Release
Original network Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Original release 15 May 2006 (2006-05-15) – 6 March 2007 (2007-03-06)
External links
Website

Jumong (Hangul: 삼한지-주몽 편; hanja: 三韓志-朱蒙篇주몽; RR: Samhanji-Jumong Pyeon; lit. "The Book of the Three Hans: The Chapter of Jumong") is a South Korean historical period drama series that aired on MBC from 2006 to 2007 as the network's 45th anniversary special. Originally scheduled for 60 episodes, MBC extended it to 81 because of its popularity.

The series examines the life of Jumong, founder of the kingdom of Goguryeo. Few details have been found in the historical record about Jumong, so much of the series is fictionalized. The fantastic elements surrounding the original Jumong legend (such as those concerning his birth) have been replaced with events more grounded in reality. Jumong is considered part of the Korean Wave (Hallyu), with viewership in Iran exceeding 80 percent.[1]

Cast

Plot

Jumong film set at MBC Dramia
Flag used by Jumong

In the year 108 BC, Gojoseon has fallen to the Han dynasty, with city-states all that remain; the Han are portrayed as cruel. Hae Mosu, a member of the imperial Gojoseon family of Jin-Jo-Seon, joins Geumwa of Dongbuyeo (dong = east), crown prince of Buyeo, to counter Han savagery. He creates the Tamul Army, a band of soldiers who defend Gojoseon refugees. Hae Mosu is injured in a skirmish with Han soldiers and floats down a river, half-alive. Yuhwa, princess of the Haebaek tribe, finds him and nurses him back to health. The Han are looking for Hae Mosu, and discover that the princess is sheltering him; they execute the entire tribe. Hae Mosu escapes, and meets a caravan from the tribe of Keru. Head merchant (and tribal leader) Yuntabal offers Hae Mosu work with the caravan, not knowing who he is; however, news of the Haebaek tribe's annihilation interrupts them. Noticing the shocked look on his guest's face, Yuntabal suspects Hae Mosu's identity. The next day, the caravan stops when Yuntabal's wife goes into labor. Soseono is born as Hae Mosu defends the caravan against a band of thieves. Yuntabal's caravan has trade rights with the Han Dynasty, and he knows about Hae Mosu's escape and the reward for him. Yuntabal does not betray Hae Mosu, however, since he saved his caravan and his daughter from harm.

Hae Mosu returns to Geumwa, and the skirmishes resume. Yuhwa has fallen for Hae Mosu; he proposes to her, and they live together. As the Tamul Army rescue the refugees, the Han disguise their soldiers as refugees. Ambushed by the fake refugees and "iron cavalry", the Tamul Army fighting with Hae Mosu are killed. Hae Mosu is captured, tortured and blinded by the Han.

Geumwa frees Hae Mosu, who (although blind) can still ride; however, they are separated during their escape from Han forces. Geumwa sees Mosu, pierced by arrows, fall into a river; he is present when Yuhwa gives birth to Hae Mosu's child, Jumong. Geumwa's wife is jealous because he was absent from his two sons' births. Yuhwa goes to the crown prince of Buyeo; Jumong becomes a prince, and she becomes a royal concubine.

Twenty years later, overshadowed by Geumwa's sons Daeso and Youngpo, Jumong is a weak, cowardly, promiscuous prince. Exasperated, Yuhwa arranges for his training in swordsmanship and the martial arts. Jumong begins his training in a prison, where his instructor is chief jailor. He entraps himself with an apprentice priestess, missing his royal duties, and he is expelled from the palace. Jumong accidentally sets fire to the Buyeo blacksmith's workshop, betraying its existence to the Han. He is stripped of his title, and his two adoptive brothers send assassins after him.

Jumong encounters three robbers, Oi, Mari and Hyeoppo, who take him in when they learn his identity. He also meets 21-year-old Soseono, Yuntabal's daughter, and establishes a relationship with the Keru clan. He meets a blind old man, who tells him he used to belong to the Tamul Army; unbeknownst to him it is his father, Hae Mosu. After escaping the prison together when Daeso and Youngpo try to kill them, Hae Mosu trains Jumong in fighting and archery.

Hae Mosu is assassinated by Daeso and Youngpo, and Jumong swears to avenge his father. Realizing that Jumong is Hae Mosu's successor, Geumwa lets him return to the palace. During a battle between Chinbun and Lintun, Jumong is missing and presumed dead. He is found by the Hanbaek chief, whose daughter Ye So-ya helps Jumong recover before the chief is killed. Jumong is sent to Xuantu to curry favor with the Han. On his way, he is rescued by Oi, Mari and Hyeoppo, Musong and Mo Palmo. In Buyeo Daeso seizes power, marries the Xuantu governor's daughter and becomes a tyrant. He tries to force Soseono to become his concubine, but she marries Wootae (not knowing Jumong is alive). Jumong returns to Buyeo and marries Ye So-ya.

Daeso and Youngpo are vying to be named Crown Prince. Youngoi tries to murder his brother; Jumong saves DaeSo, earning his trust. With the help of his three lieutenants (Oi, Mari and Hyeoppo) he establishes a mountain settlement. The new Tamul Army (led by Jumong) and Keru (led by Soseono) unite the nearby settlements into the kingdom of Goguryeo, under Jumong and Soseono. Jumong rules Goguryeo for 15 years; Yuri (Jumong's son) and Ye So-ya return to Goguryeo, and Yuri becomes crown prince.

Episode synopsis

Production

Jumong film set

Jumong was filmed on location at MBC Dramia in Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, where other period dramas (such as Dong Yi, Moon Embracing the Sun and Queen Seondeok) were also filmed.[2]

Ratings

Jumong received the highest viewership ratings of all the Korean dramas that aired in 2006.[3]

Date Episode Nationwide Seoul
2006-05-15 1 16.3% (3rd) 17.5% (3rd)
2006-05-16 2 18.4% (3rd) 19.2% (3rd)
2006-05-22 3 21.8% (1st) 23.6% (1st)
2006-05-23 4 25.3% (2nd) 26.6% (2nd)
2006-05-29 5 28.0% (1st) 29.9% (1st)
2006-05-30 6 28.7% (1st) 29.6% (1st)
2006-06-05 7 27.9% (1st) 29.2% (1st)
2006-06-06 8 32.3% (1st) 33.7% (1st)
2006-06-20 9 29.4% (1st) 30.7% (1st)
2006-06-26 10 33.2% (1st) 35.3% (1st)
2006-06-27 11 32.9% (1st) 34.8% (1st)
2006-07-03 12 36.4% (1st) 38.1% (1st)
2006-07-04 13 37.6% (1st) 38.8% (1st)
2006-07-10 14 35.8% (1st) 37.5% (1st)
2006-07-11 15 37.2% (1st) 38.8% (1st)
2006-07-17 16 40.1% (1st) 42.8% (1st)
2006-07-18 17 38.7% (1st) 39.9% (1st)
2006-07-24 18 39.6% (1st) 41.1% (1st)
2006-07-25 19 39.9% (1st) 40.5% (1st)
2006-07-31 20 35.1% (1st) 36.1% (1st)
2006-08-01 21 36.8% (1st) 38.2% (1st)
2006-08-07 22 37.3% (1st) 37.9% (1st)
2006-08-08 23 37.4% (1st) 38.9% (1st)
2006-08-14 24 35.5% (1st) 35.8% (1st)
2006-08-15 25 39.3% (1st) 40.7% (1st)
2006-08-21 26 38.1% (1st) 39.6% (1st)
2006-08-22 27 39.5% (1st) 40.0% (1st)
2006-08-28 28 40.3% (1st) 41.7% (1st)
2006-08-29 29 40.3% (1st) 40.9% (1st)
2006-09-04 30 39.7% (1st) 40.6% (1st)
2006-09-05 31 40.3% (1st) 41.4% (1st)
2006-09-11 32 39.3% (1st) 40.6% (1st)
2006-09-12 33 38.5% (1st) 39.2% (1st)
2006-09-18 34 39.5% (1st) 40.3% (1st)
2006-09-19 35 43.0% (1st) 43.9% (1st)
2006-09-25 36 42.8% (1st) 43.9% (1st)
2006-09-26 37 43.6% (1st) 44.4% (1st)
2006-10-02 38 42.6% (1st) 43.2% (1st)
2006-10-03 39 44.9% (1st) 44.8% (1st)
2006-10-09 40 44.2% (1st) 45.0% (1st)
2006-10-10 41 43.6% (1st) 43.8% (1st)
2006-10-16 42 43.1% (1st) 43.6% (1st)
2006-10-17 43 42.4% (1st) 42.2% (1st)
2006-10-23 44 44.5% (1st) 45.4% (1st)
2006-10-24 45 45.0% (1st) 45.2% (1st)
2006-10-30 46 44.6% (1st) 45.1% (1st)
2006-10-31 47 43.8% (1st) 43.7% (1st)
2006-11-06 48 46.6% (1st) 47.9% (1st)
2006-11-07 49 47.2% (1st) 48.3% (1st)
2006-11-13 50 43.6% (1st) 43.5% (1st)
2006-11-14 51 48.1% (1st) 49.2% (1st)
2006-11-20 52 44.8% (1st) 45.4% (1st)
2006-11-21 53 44.0% (1st) 44.5% (1st)
2006-11-27 54 45.1% (1st) 45.2% (1st)
2006-11-28 55 44.4% (1st) 44.9% (1st)
2006-12-04 56 44.0% (1st) 44.4% (1st)
2006-12-05 57 42.9% (1st) 43.2% (1st)
2006-12-11 58 46.4% (1st) 46.1% (1st)
2006-12-12 59 41.5% (1st) 42.6% (1st)
2006-12-18 60 44.4% (1st) 45.3% (1st)
2006-12-19 61 46.6% (1st) 47.1% (1st)
2007-01-01 62 44.8% (1st) 45.8% (1st)
2007-01-02 63 45.2% (1st) 45.3% (1st)
2007-01-08 64 45.5% (1st) 45.4% (1st)
2007-01-09 65 46.8% (1st) 47.1% (1st)
2007-01-15 66 46.8% (1st) 47.5% (1st)
2007-01-16 67 47.1% (1st) 47.9% (1st)
2007-01-22 68 49.8% (1st) 50.5% (1st)
2007-01-23 69 42.0% (1st) 43.6% (1st)
2007-01-29 70 47.9% (1st) 48.3% (1st)
2007-01-30 71 50.3% (1st) 51.0% (1st)
2007-02-05 72 47.1% (1st) 48.5% (1st)
2007-02-06 73 46.0% (1st) 47.2% (1st)
2007-02-12 74 47.6% (1st) 48.1% (1st)
2007-02-13 75 47.1% (1st) 47.8% (1st)
2007-02-19 76 41.9% (1st) 42.1% (1st)
2007-02-20 77 49.7% (1st) 49.9% (1st)
2007-02-26 78 47.2% (1st) 47.1% (1st)
2007-02-27 79 50.6% (1st) 50.9% (1st)
2007-03-05 80 49.8% (1st) 50.0% (1st)
2007-03-06 81 51.9% (1st) 52.7% (1st)
Average 40.98% 41.83%

Awards and nominations

Won

2006 MBC Drama Awards[4]

2007 43rd Baeksang Arts Awards[5]

  • Daesang (Grand Prize) for TV
  • Best Screenplay (TV): Choi Wan-kyu and Jung Hyung-soo

2007 1st Korea Drama Awards

  • Best Drama

Nominated

2006 MBC Drama Awards

2007 43rd Baeksang Arts Awards

International broadcast

Broadcast rights for Jumong were sold to Iran (Channel 3), Turkey, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Japan (Fuji TV), Mongolia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore (MediaCorp Channel U), Indonesia, Thailand (Channel 3), Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Philippines (GMA Network), Fiji (Fiji One), Kurdistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Cambodia (Cambodian Television Network), United States (AZN Television).[6][7][8][9]Myanmar(Myawaddy TV)

Hong Kong broadcast controversy

Asia Television bought the Hong Kong broadcast rights; however, controversy surrounding its translation escalated debate about ATV's editorial independence in news and drama. The controversy primarily surrounded the cutting of certain segments,[10] the mistranslation of place names and the mistranslation of a character's occupation. The changing of the word "nation" (in reference to Goguryeo) to "tribe" and the translation of the Han Dynasty as the "heavenly dynasty" has generated controversy about the station's editorial independence. This is related to controversies involving the governments of China and South Korea over the history of Goguryeo.

References

  1. Song, Sang-ho (10 August 2011). "Korea's mark on an expectation-defying Iran". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  2. Lee, Cin Woo (16 March 2012). "Beyond Seoul: 19 reasons to explore Korea". CNN Go. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  3. TNS Media Korea
  4. Chung, Ah-young (1 January 2007). "Broadcasters Award Top-Rated Dramas". The Korea Times via Hancinema. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  5. Pais, Jon (27 April 2007). "43rd Baeksang Arts Awards". Twitch Film. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  6. "Popular historical TV drama has raked in $50 million". The Hankyoreh. 3 March 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  7. "Jumong to Air in Japan". KBS Global. 21 March 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  8. "Special Meeting At Japanese Fuji TV About Drama Jumong". Broasia via Hancinema. 25 April 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  9. Reyna, Trixie (6 January 2007). "JUMONG: Korea's No. 1 series For 2006 now on GMA-7". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  10. 《世界日報》:韓劇醜化漢人 爆爭議 朱蒙 網友揚言抵制 [Korean drama attracts controversy for denigrating Chinese people. Net users calls for boycott] (in Chinese). 6 February 2007.

External links

Look up chumo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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