War of The Princes

Now now before I finish my writings on Hong Kong, I am am writing in response to my buddy who is rooting for Yul in Princess Hours....I am rooting for Shin! His real name is Joo Ji Hoon...hmm Rain also called Ji Hoon...

If you don't already know (it's really quite hard not to know), Princess Hours or in short Goong is the new No. 1 serial in Korea. It has gained immense popularity in Asia and has given its lead actors and new actresses huge breaks in their careers. JJH apparently has 20 scripts waiting for him after Goong despite this being his acting debut. Yoon Eun Hae, the lead actress is the new advertising darling. A brave step to use brand new faces for a highly anticipated serial that turned out well.

Why did I watch this K-Drama? I still not a full K-Drama fan. I watched it because it was adapted from one of my favourite mangas, Wo De Ye Man Wang Fei aka My Wild Princess. Ít's one of the best selling titles in Korea and probably Asia. Frankly the manga has more heart wrenching twists.

Here's the synopis adapted from a fellow blogger:

Princess Hours is a drama that starts with the interesting premise; ‘What if modern Korea were a constitutional monarchy with a king?’, and offers two types of fun; the romance arising between a noble prince and an ordinary girl, and the familiarity of all this happening in modern-day Korea. A perfect boy from a noble bloodline, with good looks and a sense of unpolished beauty has to marry against his will at the age of 17. An ordinary girl from an ordinary family, with a clumsy character, average grades and average looks oversteps the prejudice and barriers surrounding her. The process how they fall in love with each other unfolds with excitement.

The story evolves from the fact that Chae – kyoung’s grandfather was very close to the former monarch, whose wish was for her and Shin to get married. This gives some impetus to the otherwise unrealistic union of the two.

When the king’s illness gets worse, Crown Prince Shin receives an order to get married to his arranged marriage partner, Chae-kyeong. Shin realizes that there have never been personal choices available in the life of a Crown Prince, though he’s only nineteen. Prince Shin proposes to his girlfriend Min Hyo-rin. Taking it as a joke, Hyo-rin rejects him and takes off to practice for an international ballet competition. As a reult, Shin accepts the marriage as he does not care about who becomes the queen. To him, she’s not a person he’ll ever love anyways and she’ll just live in the palace like a doll.

Chae-kyeong has a dad who stays at home as a full time house-husband after his business failed and a mom who works as an insurance consultant.Chae-kyeong’s family, which was able to create happiness in the midst of difficult times, suddenly becomes in-laws with the royal household. To Chae-kyeong’s parents everything seems much more like a dream, as they see that the arranged marriage grandfather always boasted of become realized. Chae-kyeong was not willing to accept the fact that she has to get married at the age of nineteen, but accepts in the end to save her family from financial distress.

Chae-kyeong enters the Oon-hyeon palace, the palace of the new queen - bride, to get educated as the future queen. Shin, who visits the detached palace, is stunned by the beautiful presence of Chae-kyeong in her ceremonial dress. Over time, he learns to love her as she teaches him the meaning of living.

As the drama progresses, many other ‘fine’ men, including Lee Yool, a cousin of the royal family, make their appearance. The story of the two characters, who keep quarreling about structural problems such as the rules of the royal household in the midst of the difficulties of being a prince and of the arranged marriage, will unfold in an interesting way. The show’s fun lies in the episodes concerning the status gap that exists between a prince and an ordinary citizen.




Shin Chae-kyeong (Yoon Eun-hae)
An art major at an art high school who, one day, suddenly becomes the queen.She is an active girl with a bright cheery disposition. She was initially upset at marrying the Crown Prince Shin, a young heartthrob who fights with her endlessly over everyday issues. However, her affectionate feelings toward Shin grow once she starts living inside the palace and learns of the oneliness he experiences. Chae-kyeong quickly and profoundly observes the hidden desires and secrets of power found inside of the elegant palace better than anyone else. She becomes a central character that changes not only the palace itself but also all the other characters in the palace.


Lee Shin (Joo Ji-hoon)
The one and only Crown Prince of the Republic of Korea; the young man who will inherit the throne.He possesses the intelligence and appearance of the son of a bright king and a beautiful queen. Although he is irritated by the strict rules and dull life inside the palace and feels bored with his life, he has an intense and ongoing struggle with his own identity. Repelled by the fact that he has to spend his entire life as king inside the palace, he dreams of escape. When he starts learning what it means to be alive by looking at Queen Chae-kyeong, whom he marries without feelings of love, he gradually gains strength in life and starts to feel love towards her. Meanwhile, he has lingering feelings for Hyo-rin, his ex-lover, and confronts Yool, his rival, at every turn.

Lee Yool (Kim Jeong-hoon)
Sir Eui-sung; second-in-line in succession to the throne.Having spent most of his life abroad, he feels less aversion towards the palace than Shin, and due to his innate optimistic character, intelligence, and down-to-earth attitude, everyone loves him. While Shin is straightforward in his behavior, Yool thoughtfully and philosophically considers his actions. He feels deep affection and sympathy toward his mother, who had a difficult time in raising him alone, and therefore understands his mother desire for power. He himself slowly begins to express interest in the throne when he falls deeply in love with Chae-kyeong.



Min Hyo-rin : Song Ji-hyo
She is the beauty of the school who is also an extremely talented ballerina. She rejected Shin's wedding proposal thinking it's a joke. Her interest in becoming the empress and making Shin her own, grows when she discovers his marriage. She is hostile toward Chae-kyeong; the young woman who is her worst enemy, having stolen her dreams, and constantly attempts to recover her self-esteem and win over Shin's love. A character that provides an important change in the triangular and quadrilateral relationship composed of Chae-kyeong, Shin and Yool.







Frankly I was initially quite disappointed at the casting because Shin is supposed to be good looking despite being cold! Joo Ji Hoon isn't quite my idea of good looking though he does do the cold bit well. Yoon Eun Hae is well er dumb looking though that does fit the role well. Kim aka Yul is cute at initial observation. However, the two leads grow on you and they start to look better and fitting in the roles as the show goes. My take is they are the type that look better the more you look at them. There is now talk of them dating in real life which they did not agree or deny. For fans, check out Goong 1.5 in Youtube. Many fans agree they look good together.

Now though JJH isn't quite the good looking type, he was a model by profession and was in fact awarded the Best Dresser Model Award in 2005. Perhaps the pictures below may lend some enlightenment as to why. Ah I like brooding young men types LOL...look forward to more good performances from him in future.