Eight Days, Assassination Attempts against King Jeongjo


Eight Days, Assassination Attempts against King Jeongjo is a South Korean television miniseries starring Kim Sang-joong, Park Jung-chul, Jung Ae-ri, Lee Seon-ho, and Hee Won. The series ran for 10 episodes, and was aired by CGV from November 17, 2007 to December 16, 2007. This show is placed in the context of the eight days procession organized in 1795 by King Jeongjo of Joseon to visit the tomb of his father at Hwaseong Fortress. This historic event was a huge one, involving 5,661 people and 1,417 horses.

Synopsis

The screenplay is based on the novel Journey written in 2006 by Oh Se-yeong. The background of the action is the 1795 procession organized by King Jeongjo of Joseon for the 60th birthday of his mother, Lady Hyegyeong, that also commemorated the 60th birthday of his deceased father, the Crown Prince Sado. During the eight days period when the Court left the palace for the ceremony, the show introduces several assassination attempts against the King. A first one comes from the Moon In-bang's group, but this plot is used by the Noron Faction to pursue its own agenda, attempting an armed suppression against the Sipa Faction and the King as well.
Apart from the fictional elements, a major focus is placed on two historical sources. The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong is extensively used during many flashback sequences relative to events that occurred before the death of Crown Prince Sado, while the official documents from the Joseon Royal Library are used for the current events: the Wonhaeng eulmyo jeongni uigwe for the procession itself, and the Hwaseong seongyeokuigwe concerning the Hwaseong Fortress as a whole.
This series is often referred as Eight Days, Mystery of Jeongjo Assassination, a misleading translation since King Jeongjo won the 1795 confrontation and only died in 1800.

Characters

Silhak philosopher, coordinator of the Sipa faction, pen name Dasan.
Consort of Prince Sado, mother of King Jeongjo, daughter of Hong Bonghan.
Recruited by Moon Inbang to assassinate the king.
Gisaeng, Jang Inhyeong's lover.
Minister of War, head of Noron faction.
Rising Sun's ringleader, moniker Okpo.
Head of Daedong merchants, born Sangpil, recruited by Moon Inbang.
The King's bodyguard.
Officer of the Royal Guards, bodyguard of Jeong Yakyong.
Son of a male cousin of Queen Dowager Jeongsun, link between her and the Noron faction.
Former King, Jeongjo's paternal grandfather.
Sipa leader, presented as Chief State Councilor.
Former leader of the Noron faction.
Yeongjo's widow, from the Gyeongju Kim clan.
Second son of Yeongjo, late Prince Regent Jangheon, father of Jeongjo.
Hidden son of Gu Seonbok, attending trainer of the Hunlyeondogam.
Assistant Section Chief of the Ministry of War.
Left State Councilor, brother of Hong Bonghan.
Father of Lady Hyegyeong, grandfather of Jeongjo.
Ogunyeong: Hunlyeondogam commander.
Suwon governor.
Lord of Penghu.
The sharpshooter.
The specialist of underwater operations.
Oldest son of Hong Nakin, recipient of the 1795 Memoir.
Third daughter of Yeongjo and Yeongbin.
Ogunyeong: Sueo-sa daejang.
Ogunyeong: Eoyeong-sa daejang.
Commissioner of the Royal Guards.
Jo Simtae's Deputy.
Member of the Noron faction.
Minister of the Right.
Ogunyeong: Chong-yung-sa commander.
1762 accusator of Crown Prince Sado, general executed in episode 1.
The Cheokseodan pedler.
The Daedong spy at Hwaseong Fortress.
First daughter of Prince Sado and Lady Hyegyeong.
The King's Eunuch, brother of Jeong Hugyeom.
Gyeonggi Governor, secretly helping the Noron faction.
Princess Hwawan's adopted son.
Queen Jeongsun's brother.

Documents about the real-life 1795 procession

The main document of the 1795 procession is an eight-panel screen, the Hwaseonghaenghaengdo byeongpun. Nowadays, three copies of this screen exists: a sepia one, a blue one and a colored one, the King's copy. This last copy can be seen at Samsung Museum of Art Leeum and has been designated as Korean National Treasure 1430 on 15 April 2005.


Map of the Hwaseong Fortress in the 1800 Uigwe.

Artistic license

  • The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong are in fact a collection of four different documents, written at different times, for different audiences. The description of the controversial behavior of Crown Prince Sado occurs in the 1805 Memoir, ten years after the procession, and not in the 1795 Memoir.
  • In the real Court, the red robe was for the highest ranks, the blue for the intermediate ranks, and green for the lowest ranks. In the series, the blue dress is the uniform of the villains, while the red dress is the uniform of the "good ones". This helps the viewer to identify who's who, but this can also be a POV-시파 joke from the screenwriter.