Jang Ok Jung (2013)

Even if you are not a fan of historical dramas (I'm not), this is one that is worth watching. I made the mistake of reading the history of these people before watching the drama. So, I knew what was coming from the beginning. There are also other dramas that are about this story. I think what makes this one different is that the writers write it as a love story between Jang Ok Jung and King Sook Jong from beginning to end. It also written for you to sympathize with Ok Jung. She isn't the villain in this drama (although she does some crazy stuff because she is forced into a corner by the Queen Mother). She would have been happy to be by the king's side in any capacity, but they treated her like crap and made her want more. Also, I loved the beautiful Hanboks. The women were gorgeous. I enjoyed the story and the setting, but that isn't what is captivating.

The acting is amazing!!! Yoo Ah In is the best king ever!!! His portrayal of emotions is all consuming. I felt everything with him to the point that I smiled when he smiled and cried when he cried. BTW...his understated crying scenes are so well done. It is more moving than the over the top wailing. Kim Tae Hee as Ok Jung is just beautiful. I realized after watching this that the only other drama I have seen Tae Hee in is Iris. I think I should watch her other dramas, because her acting is fantastic. I also enjoyed the other actors, but they don't stand out. BTW...if you are watching this for Jae Hee, then don't waste your time. His scenes are limited.

Oh, and just a side note. That baby (although never looking like a newborn) was as cute as he could be.

The music is pretty.

I won't rewatch this.

If you like romance mixed with some historical political junk (the stuff I totally don't care about), then you would enjoy this drama.

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After 12 Weeks of laughter and tears this drama has come to an end. This was just an amazing love story between the King and JOJ. From start to the finish i was just memorised and in awe with this drama. The writers have done a very well done job (round of applause), also there are many Historical dramas about Jang Hee Bin but this one for me showed me who she actually was and not the evil person they make her seem out to be.

The acting was just lush Yoo Ah In is by far the BEST KING, every Monday and Tuesday i waited to see him, he will melt your heart. Kim Tee Hee also did an amazing job. However the story dragged on a bit for like 4ep but it picked up right away that's why its (1 point away from a 10)

Please, please, please please do not hesitate to watch this drama give it a chance you will love it as much me and the other hundreds who watched it.

THE BEST DRAMA FOR 2013 FOR ME :)

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I've just completed it and I'm just overwhelmed. The drama starring Yoo Ah In and Kim Tae Hee started of really romantic with the love story of the two which even began in their childhood. I really liked the beginning of the drama because it was something new that the main character in a saeguk drama is a 'fashion designer'.

Then her struggle as a concubine began and I finally remembered that in the drama 'Dong Yi' Jang Ok Jung was ordered to poisen herself after having done so many bad deeds. At that time Choi Dong Yi even entered the scene arousing my hatred for the writers.

I'm glad that I didn't drop the drama as I would have missed the great ending of the drama. (JOJ writers manse! JOJ writers manse! JOJ writers manse!)

To be honest I've started this drama only because of Kim Tae Hee as I'm not really a Saeguk fan nor was I a fan of Yoo Ah In since Fashion King. But both Kim Tae Hee and Yoo Ah In excelled themselves and did a wonderful job. It's by far the best drama of them I've watched.

The music was just perfectly used in the drama. Especially in the sad scenes (Don't why I liked these the most too...)

I would definitely recommend this drama for Saeguk, Dong Yi and romance fans. It's definitely a beautiful love story.

PS: Now I can forgive Yoo Ah In for Fashion King although I know it was more the writers fault than his...

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This drama really exceeded my expectations! This is a completely re-imagined version of historical events. Like Shakespeare's historical plays, It's less about being historically accurate, and more about exploring themes ... specifically love & fate. I didn't really know about the true history until after I finished the drama, which I am thankful for. Not really knowing anything kept me on the edge of my seat until the end.

I was afraid that a sageuk with a very political plot would get boring, and confusing, but that was not the case. The politics in the story is just there to set the stage for this tragic but beautiful romance. If you already know Jang Ok Jung's story, I suggest pretending that you don't. Kim Tae Hee's version is not an evil villain, greedily ambitious, nor is she a passive victim. The Jang Ok Jung of this drama is inspiring, but flawed. I liked her, even when she did things that frustrated me, which I think made her more human, and relatable. (Something told me she was a scorpio, and I was right. lol.)

Yoo Ah In & Kim Tae Hee's amazing chemistry are the driving force behind this drama, and both do an excellent job in their roles. I loved how King Sookjong would go from an arrogant smirk, to moments of complete sensitivity. Like Jang Ok Jung, he is also flawed, which made me love his character more.

The majority of the cast was excellent. I hated the villains I was supposed to hate, but they also had moments where they completely won my sympathy. There were too many great performances to point them all out, but I think Hong Soo Hyun, as Queen Inhyun, was the most complicated of the supporting cast, and my favorite.

The two cast members I was least impressed with were Han Seung Yeon as Sookbin Choi & Jae Hee as Hyun Chi Soo. Sookbin Choi seemed to be the only one dimensional character, with one arrogant "stank" face throughout. This was probably done in order to justify Jang Ok Jung's actions, which worked, but I wish she had as much depth as the other characters. And Jae Hee was just... well... boring. Maybe it's because I still can't forgive him for "Color of Woman", but I thought he was the worst of the cast, and subtracted a full point for his performance alone.

Overall, even if you're not a sageuk fan, I would make this one an exception. I'd suggest avoiding spoiler happy "Dong Yi" fans, or Korean History buffs, to have the best experience. Romance fans, keep in mind that this is a romantic tragedy, filled with many more depressing scenes than cute ones, so just keep your tissues handy, especially in the later episodes. Kudos to the makers of this drama for making 24 episodes without any unnecessary "filler". I laughed, cried, cheered, and got pissed off, but was never really bored. I could see myself watching them all again, it was that good.

This story may not be heavy on truth, but it did succeed in making me not only interested in her life, but other dramas that tell the story of the women of King Sukjong of Joseon's royal court. I guess I'm now officially coming out as a sageuk fan!

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I don't really know where to begin with this drama review, but here goes. I am not a big fan of historical drama, yet I can't seem to complain about this one. The story begins in the most appropriate manner, with not to many odd junctions, or confusing climax. The very personality of Ok Jung is fill with hope and the King is seen to truly love her only. However this drama may not depict what was written in history it did a great job of filling in the "what if" questions. Plus the actors did a fantastic job at portraying the deep and agonizing emotions each character could have felt at every decision. The music help in veering from one emotional scene to the other; without losing the pace for the drama. In the end every one of the main characters had me in a like and dislike roller coaster ride based on how they dealt with any conflicting issue. Overall I gave this drama so high a score because it really tried to showcase a different point of view to a historical story, without over stretching the facts. So i recommend this drama to anyone interested in the tragic, yet sweet love story of Jang Hee Bin in a different light.

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I've never been a huge sageuk fan, but I can't resit a good ‘what if?’ historical retelling. What if, Jang Ok Jung wasn't the evil, conniving woman that history paints her as? What if she wasn't totally about greed and power. What if it really was all about love between Lee Soon and herself, to hell with all else…?

Pshh.. This is well documented Korean history.

But that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be more to the story than history has to say. Or that the inner motivations of these highly visible personages were ever truly known by more than themselves or a few other people.

In other words, history always gives us this much leeway to make a romance out of nothing. If you want to approach Jang Ok Jung, Live in Love as infallible history, don’t. But if you’re in the mood for a sweeping epic love story set in historical period based more or less on real people– this might be a good drama for you.

We’re certainly not working with highbrow historical revisionism here.
JOJ: Live in Love is a snapshot of Joseon history ca. 1680s. It's a complicated and very violent story of King Sukjong (before, Crown Prince Lee Soon) and his wives/concubines- among whom are some of the most well known female figures of the age, including the famously tragic Queen Inhyun.

JOJ, however is a romantic and simplified spin on what’s probably 10x more complicated than the drama depicts. I’m actually okay with that, because it does a decent job of making all these events make sense in a way that won’t make your head spin.

But it’s also romantic in that the story it tells is exactly opposite from what history tries to tell. Give a quick thought back to last year’s hit drama Queen Inhyun’s Man, and the depiction you get of Jang Ok Jung is of a conniving bitch. So who wants to see Ok Jung get a makeover? Apparently not Korean audiences, because the ratings were just not there. It took an extra dose of romantic scenes to garner interest in the show. I think it’s shame because despite the unconventional retelling, Jang Ok Jung wasn’t all that bad.

The actors were fabulous, particularly Hong Soo Hyun- she just does sageuk figures so well, and I loved how they played with her Inhyun character in tandem with Ok Jung's dramafied character.

Overall, it was compelling. However, this is history, and history has an outcome that won’t be undone by fiction no matter how good your script is. As for the love between Lee Soon and his beloved concubine/queen, I bought it completely. Even within the grounds of how unhistorical it was that King Sukjong could’ve only had one person he ever loved (or even slept with – because, history says he had tons of concubines and a parcel of children). But I liked how the relationship between the two worked as an anchor for the overall political story. Ok Jung was portrayed as smart and wily, King Sukjong as a master politician, and as such their teamwork was a boon to the storyline. It kept things fresh and interesting at least 80% of the time.

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Just one word.. gorgeous!

At the beginning I wondered if they would be able to portrait the character of Jang Ok Jeong, probably the most well known villain of Joseon, as a good person.. but on the contrary they have not changed her character.. they have shown what was behind her behavior, behind her ambition and coldness: first of all the desire to rebel from the injustices suffered because of her humble origins, but also her deep love for the king and for her son Yoon ..

This is a truly tragic and romantic love story in which they both were willing to lose everything for each other..

I especially loved the character of the king .. wise and fair, with the courage to reform the government several times, able to counter the political opposition particularly alive at that time, but also willing to give up the throne for his love..

A fantastic romance with great characters analyzed in every facet and an excellent cast.. I've always loved Kim Tae Hee and Yoo Ah In both, but in this project they have outdone themselves, the chemistry between the two has always been perfect, the acting was impeccable.. and let's face it.. they are both really beautiful.. and.. I'd stay hours listening to Yoo Ah In's voice * ^ *

The OST was astonishing, in particular "Sorrow Song" by Yim Jae Bu.. it was of great impact..

Highly recommended!

Ps: Sorry for my English ^^

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I love sageuks. I always do. When they come in with romance and eye candy I just end up loving them. Jang Ok Jung is one of such sageuks. Is it brilliant? NO. Is it entertaining? Hell YES. This is why I gave this drama an 8 in spite of the things that bugged me about it.

Firstly, the plot is fictional as well as realistic. It presents you the love between King Sukjong and Jang Hee Bin as epic and legendary irrespective of what happened in reality. It was a controversy in Korea but hell I don't care- I am not a Korean. It presents me a history with all the twists and tropes of a formulaic Kdrama. However whatever it presented was cute, sad and likable. But I have to say I was yelling in some parts because of having seen Dong Yi before (they are related, you see). So separating Dong Yi and Jang Ok Jung is crucial when you watch either of the two.

I loved the romance between Lee Soon and Ok Jung. Both Yoo Ah In and Kim Tae Hee are ridiculously good-looking people and had believable chemistry together. Their romance was for most part cutesy and angst-ridden. It's been a while since I've seen a drama like this one. I also liked the male second lead in it and plan to stalk the guy from now on. :D

There were moments when this drama had me tearing out my hair in frustration or left me plain annoyed. Similarly it left me very high when it had its good parts going. So this drama managed to make me feel a variety of emotions. It is even cheesy at its best in many parts where you just wanna LOL but it is so DAMN entertaining!

For me the drama was an interesting one-time watch. The OST wasn't great but I didn't hate it either. Overall, this drama is good and definitely worth the time.

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First off, i have to say that i still don't understand why this drama is rated so low. I have to say that it's one of the best dramas I've ever watched.
Even though i re-watched it more than 10 times (Not Lying...) i still feel so happy, excited and cried as hard as ever.
The actors and actress did a great job and their chemistry is just outstanding.
This story line is actually a twist to the story of Jang Ok Jung that i know of but i think i love this version. The OST is amazing and i enjoyed every single episode of it.
though it's not a happy ending, this drama has the best ending ever and i think it's way more touching this way. Yoo Ah In did so great along with Tae Hee. they brought such emotional scenes that i cried so badly.
Give it a go cause you won't be disappointed but make sure to keep lots of tissues near you in case you'll need it for your buckets of tear ! ^.^
This is totally a 10 out of 10!

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Honestly, I was really surprised by this drama. I watched it because of this awesome cast, you can't deny that they're all quite good...

The thing is, the story was quite surprising. Indeed they wanted to picture Jang Ok Jung as a good woman, even though she's known to be evil... So her character was really oscillating between her good side (cute Ok Jung) and her evil side (jealous Ok Jung). It was a bit surprising, but well played, since you couldn't be sure she was so nice... I think it's the first time I watch a drama where I'm not so sure if the main character is the good one...

So yeah, even though there're some surprising or disappointing facts, it's really interesting to discover the story of Queen In Hyun and Jang Ok Jung, from Ok Jung's point of view ! I learnt a lot of facts about Korean History, and that's the main point !

So yeah, it won't be my fav' drama, but I'd say it's quite good to give it a chance, if you like period dramas. You'd discover the life in the palace, and all the rules concerning the women there (for me that was the most interesting part). And of course, if you like love stories, this one is great too, even though it's quite complicated !

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The cursed, the remake

A slightly different take on Jang Hee Bin. The drama suffers from the exact same problems any profession focused historical drama attempt. Very similar to Goddess of Fire with its storytelling, transformation, progress and conclusion. The drama didn't deserve to be longer than 16 episodes at best for the amount of material it had to offer. Quickly enough, they deviated from fashion design in favor of typical bland drama antics. They kept all the details of fashion design to minimum. Looking at the cast it seemed promising but it turned out to be quite disappointing. This drama and its other remakes were all equally as problematic and disappointing. Maybe Jang Hee Bin as a historical character is cursed to be portrayed in media.

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