Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung (2019)

The story is so thin and predictable that it would rely only on the characters and the actors to make it enjoyable (just like every trendy and fusion sageuk). Sadly, it was not that factor didn't work in this one, and the lack of chemistry from the leads is jarring to the point of being unwatchable, while the other characters are too over the top and uninteresting. I think SSK gave her best but she had to act against a plain wall so it was hard to sell it. Maybe if the Prince had been played by an actual actor...

Honestly I only finished watching because SSK's character was lovable and refreshing in some ways and I felt like she deserved some of my attention. However the rest of the drama is an absolute skip. Sometimes I will accept thin script and bad plot for some sweet romance, but not even that worked in this show. Not even the music was interesting, or the locations/clothes design. Everything about it is mediocre to the limit of what's actually bearable.

Unless you are a huge fan of any of the actors involved or a completist, I do not recommend watching this one. Waste of time.

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"modern" historical drama with semi-realistic scenes and non-cloying romance

I binged this over the weekend, starting from a Friday night. And dude, why didn't I watch this drama earlier, back in 2019?!?!?! I had no idea. Oh wait, I know. It's because I wasn't watching too many Korean dramas back then, yet. I just didn't have the time to. Anyway, I just had to write something about this, because several episodes of this drama actually made me bawl like a baby.

I love this drama for its non-cloying romance, the natural progression of their love, and that they never once bring up their age difference, with the main female character being a whole 6 years older than the main male character. If you are looking to the couple making out deeply and having hot and heavy physical contact, you should give up on this drama and watch some Hollywood series instead, where people go to bed with each other after something like two episodes. This drama definitely won't be something you like. But, it's exactly what I love. I love that they don't need to express their love and longing for each other by constantly touching each other all over. The amount of moments they shared in the drama is just right for me.

The main female character, Goo Hae Ryung, is the eponymous heroine of the drama. She's straightforward, funny, always the initiator, and a girl whose knowledge about history, astronomy and science is far ahead of her time in that era. If she were real, she would have no doubt made significant contributions to mankind and left a mark in history. The main male character, Prince Dowon Yi Rim, introduced as the younger son of the king (he's later revealed to be the eldest and only son of the previous king), fell in love at first sight with her, but he was offended that she didn't think much of his skills as a romance novelist, nor was she impressed with the romance genre overall. Yi Rim is a sweet, soft-hearted guy, and yes, he's completely a romantic, which explained his affinity with writing romance, and yet nine out of ten times, it was Hae Ryung who stole kisses from him.

Shin Sae Kyeong was splendid in her role. To be honest, I've tried to get into many of her dramas before but the storylines were so horrible that I always ended up dropping those dramas. But, I've always been interested in watching her on screen, so I kept trying to find dramas with her in it whenever I could. I'm so glad I found this drama and managed to complete it. Every so often it's really not the fault of the actors or actresses that were signed up for a drama or film, but the characters that they were given to play and the story script that was written. She was perfect for the role of Goo Hae Ryung. I just love watching her antics and her character's chemistry with the prince. She's had some cute unforgettable scenes - like when she was watching guys at the waterfall, making finger heart gentures at them lmao, and when she's had her day off and lying on the floor with all her limbs out like a five-pointed star. She's so pretty, cute, smart, and special, no wonder the prince fell hard and fast for her!

I've never seen Cha Eun Woo on screen before this drama. Like many idol-actors before him, he didn't start out with acting as his forte, so comparing him to acting veterans in the show especially Sae Kyeong, who has been acting since she was a child, is unfair. Like Sae Kyeong for her role Hae Ryung, I think Eun Woo is perfect for the role of Prince Yi Rim. An intelligent boy with the gift of literature, he's a prince who wasn't allowed to study politics or even history, so his only outlet was in romance fiction. Eun Woo played the innocent and childish role pretty well, and he was also convincing in scenes that required him to express his pained and desperate love for Hae Ryung. All in all, he's actually a rather decent actor! He has plenty of room to grow.

That being said, I'm not sold on the premise that historians record every single activity of the royal family inside the palace, including private family disputes. It just seems ridiculous. Also, they claimed a historian is required to be present at all times when they were dispatched to record the princes' activities, but there had been times when the Crown Prince and Prince Dowon were completely alone in the daytime with no historians near them. I'm sure the show was just taking liberties with the writing to enable plot progression, but I just can't imagine the power historians actually held over the king in this show, and there had been many times when such a thing has happened. First the strike at the Office of Official Decrees, then it was the push for re-investigating the case of Seoraewon twenty years ago at the king's birthday banquet. Why do such things always transpire at the king's birthday banquets? Lmao I mean I'm just reminded of Nirvana in Fire, man. I mean I'm ok with the useless kings having their birthdays trashed, and I guess it's the easiest way to get yourself heard - or killed.

There were plenty of other characters to love in this drama, from the prince's caretaker, Eunuch Heo to the Crown Prince, even the Crown Princess - I actually hoped they could work things out and stay married - but that didn't happen, and I feel it's an outrage because what a waste of 10-15 years of a woman's life! The Crown Princess did not deserve that. The historians' office, was of course, filled with sexist and chauvinist pigs who couldn't accept women into the folds of the profession at first, and we had to see how hard the girls had to work to prove themselves. It was hard to watch and it's even harder to believe that this situation actually still exist today. I relate 100%.

The romance in this drama was actually balanced enough and right enough for me. When the prince was attacked during his traveling to the tomb of the previous king, he fell off his horse with arrows coming in all directions at him. Our heroine, desperate to get to her man, braved the arrows with a stool as a shield and went to his side, bringing him to safety before he was shot anyway - while protecting her! His beloved. Holy crap, I cried so much during this scene. I was a mess. UGH. Also, I love that during the time the prince was placed under house arrest, and was in danger of being assassinated any second, Hae Ryung came and saved him - they ran hand in hand with her leading the way out of the palace. I just love this so much. And in the morning after they slept together, it was the prince who sent her off to work, instead of the other way round. It's just such a lovely reverse in roles but it's not extreme, because they complement each other just right.

If anyone out there is anything like me, this drama would be a good watch. If you're nothing like me, then this drama would just be a disappointment.

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RHGHR is a drama that had a lot of potential on the outset, but was squandered by its delivery and directorial decisions. The main and persistent gripe I have with it is in its comical and quirky portrayal, both with the story and characters. Don't get me wrong, this style does have its strengths, but it ended up watering down the social commentary and overarching conspiracy plot. If, on the other hand, this drama was presented in a serious and heavier tone akin to Mr Sunshine (watch this if you haven't already), this review would be completely different. Understandably, I'm probably in the minority with this observation, but it's unfortunately an issue that I personally couldn't overlook.

The casting choices in RHGHR were either an unfortunate casualty of the aforementioned comical tones (looking at you main actor), or just purely wrong. I'm pretty much referring to a large proportion of the characters, except for the main actress, antagonist and other notable exceptions. For the sake of fairness and clarity however, I'll only nitpick on a few things. First and foremost, the Emperor/King. He was arguably one of the biggest weaknesses in RHGHR. The character/actor had no gravitas, no presence and was reduced to purely a moody kid. It's a stark contrast to the importance of the character in both the story and history in general. While you can argue that he was meant to be unsuited to the role (due to the conspiracy etc), that's really only a band-aid fix to the triviality of his portrayal. Secondly, the historian Min Woo (Lee Ji Hoon). While I can appreciate his past trauma and daddy issues, he ended up just being an unlikeable, angsty teenager 90% of the time. In the same vein, the historians in the Office of Royal Decrees were just basically caricatures, essentially undermining the importance of their role. I could write a lot more but I won't bother. All the other characters were just okay.

Now, onto what I enjoyed; the romance. It was cute, comical at times (yes I know), but overall it did feel natural. I did enjoy the chemistry between the two leads and I will commend them for making me actually care. Nonetheless, the writers glossed over talking about the inappropriateness of their relationship (a 3 year time-skip that just basically said everyone's okay with it), when really, that would've made for an interesting watch.

While we're on the topic of 'glossing over', does anyone remember the Catholicism plot line? No? Who cares right? Well, it's one of the many things that was simply abandoned and/or rushed.

Overall, RHGHR was a lot of wasted potential covered by some pretty sets and nice costumes. It can be an enjoyable watch to some audiences, but not for me.

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This was the first k-drama I watched and was effectively my gateway drug into this universe. It's a totally audacious historical re-imagination, and I think it deserves to be seen for that -- if fusion sageuks are about infusing classic historical settings with modern atmosphere and attitudes, then this is absolutely the way for them to go!

Plus points include a great female lead (and an actor who really stepped up to the role, I thought); strong supporting characters in the other historians -- both rookie and established -- and a really interesting character in the crown prince, played with flourish by Park Ki-woong. But the best thing about the show is that it is above all a sweet and persuasive political plea for equality and fairness, and it completely succeeds in making you care about that.

The romance was the least convincing aspect of the show, but it was also never meant to be its focus; its family intrigues were similarly milquetoast. In keeping with the spirit of the show I think what you end up enjoying and thinking about after it's done are the friendships and intellectual comradeships that it leaves intact. How lovely is that? I'm so pleased with how it developed, and more importantly with its vision of what constitutes a happy ending. So thank you, Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung; thank you, Shin Se Kyung; and thank you, Korean entertainment. :)

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WoW. What a show. I almost wanted to take my time in watching the episodes to savour this masterpiece of a drama for as long as possible. 

Where do I begin? First of all, the plot was so well written. Every episode was interesting and flowed together so well. From start to finish it kept its pace and momentum throughout the entire show. I gave this same compliment to 'Pinocchio' (2014) which was also a 10. It was so refreshing how it didn't lose its quality (like many other dramas have a habit of doing).

Next, the acting. Everybody brought their A game to this drama, everybody plays their characters so well and brought them to life seamlessly. 

The costumes, set and the soundtrack are also A+

They also touch on themes you don’t normally see in dramas, especially historical ones. We get to see what it was like (well, a dramatized version, of course) for not only historians, but female historians too. There's also other aspects, from the banning of books, vaccinations, protests against the king, and even the introduction of Catholicism in Joseon. Amazing

And never before have I seen a male lead love someone as sincerely and passionately as Prince Dowon/Yi Rim loves Goo Hae-ryung. He loved her from the moment he saw her and I'm not even kidding when I say she occupies his thoughts every minute of every day. [To be fair, he is cooped up in a private garden/inn area inside the palace with nothing to do for 20 years]

He constantly supports her, would do anything for her and puts her first always. She is honestly his entire world and I love it. 

And Goo Hae-ryung loves him too and holds him so dear. What I love is that there is no bs in their story. They have communicated with each other and had such a pure and true love story that is so mature. There are no 'misunderstandings' or 'lies' or 'deceit' like so many others. Of course they must have a temporary split like every Kdrama ever written but it doesn't last long thankfully. But their relationship is just so refreshing.
I also love love love how headstrong and fierce Goo Hae-ryung is. In general and in her relationship with the prince. She is never afraid to speak her mind, or back down from her beliefs/views. She is such a queen and an icon. And so intelligent as well.

Prince Dowon/Yi Rim:“you’re pretty”
Goo Hae-ryung: “i know, i have a mirror at home”
THAT BDE I'M DEFJDKDK

I especially love how she always handles herself. Even with the prince, throughout their story she has made all the right moves. Was always honest with him, helped him make decisions, and done right by him.

I just have so many feelings with this couple. The dynamic between Yi Rim the romantic and Goo Hae-Ryung the realist is sooo cute. Their chemistry feels so natural and authentic.

But it has also got great funny moments too. 30 pages of writing ‘His highness turned another page’ iM CACKLING

Another thing I love is Goo Hae-Ryung’s friendship with her fellow female historians and how they protective they are of Hae-Ryung omg. The sisterhood was so beautiful.

This whole drama just feels so well made. It lacks nothing and has a mature feel to it. An honest joy to watch, and that’s why it's a 10.

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This story was so cute and the servant of Prince Yi Rim had me laughing. It is amazing in this era that Historians were created to write every move and words of nobles. It reminds me of the court reporters we have in the American Court Judiciary system.

Shin Se Kyung who played the Historian Goo Hae Ryung Cha Eun Woo who played Prince Yi Rim did great and I became an immediate fan. I did look at their age and Cha Eun Woo did great acting for his age and very mature for his age. Whereas Shin Se Kyung who is like 7 years older than Cha Eun Woo and you wouldn't know that if you didn't research their birthdates. I loved it. Afterward, I researched Cha Eun Woo and found that he belongs to a Korean Music Group. This young man can sing! I love some of the songs he sang. I love how the Asian Movie makers have their main leads sing the main title song. I will check out their other TV shows or movies they made as well. Thank you to all the Cast, Writers, Visuals, and the music.

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Humorous, tender, a mystery, a love story, political intrigue.
Young and naive Prince Dowon/Yi Rim, a dreamer who writes popular romantic novels while waiting for life and love. He's been ostracized by the palace for reasons that only become clear in the final episodes.
He meets Goog Hae-ryung, a courageous young woman who foregoes marriage in order to become independent and be somebody rather than be merely a cooking and breeding little wife in the shadow of a man. She becomes a historian together with 3 other young and strong women. After initial sparring Prince and Historian begin to fall in love. After much intrigue involving the deposed and murdered previous king the mystery of Prince Dowon's real birth is finally revealed. The ending of the 20 episodes leaves room for a sequel.
The plot is good, the action pace is good, the acting is good. 5 stars. Not embarrassed to say I've watched it more than once.

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will definitely be rewatching :)

(review from 2022)

this has become my current favorite historical while watching it nearly three years after its release. it's almost on the red sleeve level — and i'm not saying that lightly. it's a romcom in many parts, but as someone who doesn't care much about that genre anyway; it's like a sugary snack — it gives a fleeting sense of mild enjoyment but its tropes and cheesy antics rarely fill up a full series — i found the romance in this show, which was quite minimal actually, very enjoyable due to the characteristics of the leads and their combined dynamic.

to elaborate, in contrary to the usual trope depicted in mediums, where the leads are portrayed as a damsel in distress and her rescuer, the roles are reversed here, where the male lead — portayed by cha eunwoo, whom i found was casted perfectly in contrary to his notorious acting reputation — is a lonesome prince, locked away in a palace from the rest of the royals and is very childlike due to his lack of human interaction and thus, lacks judgement and common sense. the female lead on the other hand, is an ambitious educated noble, who doesn't take no for an answer from anyone and cleverly fights for her ideologies with the tip of her ink brush. she doesn't indulge in the common romance novels circulating around the country per other noblewomen and seeks to become an intellectual with a firm set of beliefs and virtues. in some intangible way, the two leads' story was almost like rapunzel: the damsel in distress locked away in her (or his in this case) tower, and the smart, firm heroine who finds him and slowly brings him out of his oblivion to show him the world. (the story of rapunzel actually makes a small appearance in the drama and the female lead disses the silly nature of the fairy tale :‑D) but as you can imagine, when combined, the female and male lead's dynamic and advancing romantic relationship felt very refreshing and innocent given their respective temperaments.

another thing that i found particularly refreshing and i loved was how minuscule, for a lack of better word, the conflict was. this is a historical first and foremost, and historicals always have to include some sort of political intrigue within the palace walls, no matter the genre or time period. due to this, i have begun to find historicals repetitive and uninteresting given the nature of their drama structure. however, the political aspect of this drama is barely nonexistent for the first half of the series; there's no prominent villains, arising problems or high stakes. instead, the conflict and the extent of the political conspiracy slowly creeps onto the characters in the latter half of the show as the leads begin to learn more about themselves and the environment around them. even so, i didn't find it tedious per usual historicals — it was original and exciting! especially because we are introduced to it near the end of the show so it explains a ton of the prior scenes and ties into all of the characters' pasts and clearly explains their motives! everything felt like puzzle pieces coming together, and it felt so satisfying watching the characters come to terms with their origins and backstories.

and lastly, the aspect that i found the most interesting and delightful about the show were the topics introduced. the show takes place in the early nineteenth century, where new advancements had arrived from neighbouring countries and joseon had begun to adopt new ideologies and ways. in many parts, this show depicted the change in society, and the turmoil that followed — similarly to mr sunshine, another one of my favorites. mr sunshine depicted the time period of the japanese colonization in korea — decades before rookie historian. the difference in moods is worlds apart. and yet, rookie historian still touches upon topics of importance — just with a considerably lighter manner. topics like sexism and the faint ideas of feminism; oppression related to views and ideas; the banning and burning of books; political views and how they can often snowball; dethronement and the legitimacy of the heir to the throne; foreign medicinal remedies; religious intolerance (more specifically how catholiclism came to be in joseon) and finally, the importance of historians, not only in the royal court but also in broader korean history. all of these topics made appearances in the drama, whether it was an underlying theme or a small subplot. i found myself learning a lot about early joseon and how it came to be the korea that we know of it now — even despite the fact that i've seen a ton of other historicals already. even so, i found myself fascinated with rookie historian's content and the type of story it decided to tell.

as a whole, rookie historian goo hae-ryung stands apart from other historicals due to its refreshing nature in which it depicted a soft and swoony romance, all while keeping a consistently light tone, even when discussing heavy topics like politics and sexism. i found it particularly fresh as i had seen several historicals prior (as mentioned before), so i was well-versed in the content and format already, but rookie historian gave a new take and perspective on the historical genre and offered a wonderful pacemaker amidst all of the other repetitive genres — investigative crime, cheesy romance, fantasy, melodrama — that i had been stuck in a loop watching. the show occasionally made me smile or crack up with laughter, but other than the laughs it produced, i appreciate how it had something to say above anything else. bold and (arguably) still relevant social and political commentaries that popped up here and there ultimately made a meaningful and informative watch.

i wouldn't rate this drama incredibly high because it's not my style on paper, but i still had a very enjoyable time watching it and will treasure the memories of it for a long time to come. for anyone who's skeptical that it might be unpleasant or cheesy due to its advertised romance tag, i, an avid thriller and action lover, found myself completely enamoured by the antics and messages rookie historian told. i loved the characters: historians who fought for what they wrote and believed in, royals and crown princes who pursued to create a great reign, and physicians who struggled to spread knowledge about medicine; each character added great depth and personality to the story — whether it be from their hilarious antics and comedic microexpressions or their frequently deep revelations and resolute dialogue. the acting, music, cinematography and costumes were all dreamlike and on point as well, so props to all of the wonderful actors and the masterful team who wrote, acted, and produced; consequently bringing such a story to life.

before i end this lengthy review, i just wanted to leave a quote from the show to sum up its message and essence;

“Even if you slash my throat, our brushes will not stop writing. If I die, another historian will take my place; if you kill that historian, another will take their place. Even if you kill every historian in this land, and take away all the paper and brushes, you won't be able to stop us. From mouth to mouth, teacher to student, elder to child, history will be told. That is the power of truth" - Goo Hae-ryung.

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Minister Min is hot lol

Now in all seriousness Rookie Historian is a lovely kdrama. I remember while recommending it to others that I mentioned how I loved that it was historical and the costumes were beautiful! The element of an ongoing mystery with the banned books and the prince's nightmares was a great element well. I also made a point of appreciating the feminism and girl power! Goo Hae-ryung is differentfrom some female leads I've seen in dramas and tv shows that constantly need help/ are damsels in distress. I loved that our female lead is strong willed and willing to fight for what she believes in! ^_^ Prince Dowon was a nice male lead, I enjoyed his interactions with Goo Hae-ryung! The supporting cast were loveable as well, like the fellow historians hehe. Also Dowon's attendants were hilarious. Plus minister Min <3 <3 Anyway I was sad to see it end, but it got me back into watching kdramas.

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Good chemistry, one loud Eunuch! (Not much of a spoiler inside;))

To sum this up, it's a tale about contradictions between parents & their children, the innocents lost in an attempt to pursue progression and the love found in the process.

Hae Ryung!!! I love this girl!! I'm right there with her, *sigh* village spinster/maiden for life with books all around <3 but we can't have that, now can we? And the prince, Jin Yi Rim, is just too beautiful & cute not to stare at! haha and fall in love with. Yi Rim is like Cinderella and is so sweetly innocent, pure hearted, it saddens me when the only person he knows as his father shows him little regard and strips him of his joys.

Now an interlude, why's she's interested in the prince... "She needed someone she could throw at the tiger so she could runaway..." XD

This is soo fun & funny!! Love it, sound effects and all XD <3 Definitely worth watching

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One of my favourite korean dramas of 2019.

At first I watched this for Shin Se Kyung, one of my favourite actresses. I didn't know very much about Cha Eun Woo. I only knew he was in Astro. But now I must recognize I fell in love with him. He is cute, handsome, and the most important thing is that HE ACTS VERY WELL. I was really surprised at his acting skills. Not so many idols can acts this well. Cha Eun Woo is as good as IU and Do Kyung Soo. And now let's talk about the story. The plot is so different than any others historical kdramas. The all drama is about historians and the female isn't marrying the King. Strange right?! Only a few historical dramas has this kind of scenario like Hwarang and Flower Crew. After all, Rookie Historian is worth watching. Imma give it a 10. You need to watch it

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