Împărăteasa Ki (2013)

When a king fails to protect its people is tragic

Most of the reviews I have read regarding Empress Ki explicitly mentioned the number of episodes that this Korean drama has and how they tend to reconsider watching this show because of that. I must say, this isn’t an easy feat but worth watching nonetheless.

The story takes us on Empress Ki/Wild Dog’s journey from almost being sold as a slave or tribute, passed on to various countries/dynasties, and finally on the throne. Being a foreigner to South Korea, I need to catch up on the history of the dynasties to have a better understanding of the plot. Its history proved to be a compelling read.

King Wang Yoo of Goryeo(Joo Jin Mo) grew to respect Ki Seung Nyang (Ha Ji Won) through the moments that she taught him to wield his bow and arrow. Unknowest to him at first that Seung Nyang is a girl and not a thug boy. Unable to defend his people from General Councillor and because of famine and lack of support, King Wang Yoo was deposed and was brought to a place of no hope and disguised as a beggar. Meanwhile, Seung Nyang crossed paths with the Imperial King of the Yuan Dynasty at a very unexpected circumstance.

One of the highlights of this drama is the journey of Imperial King Ta Hwan (played by Ji Chang Wook) and how instrumental Seung Nyang to his journey as Yuan Emperor.

Kinship, betrayal, revenge, and triumph are the things to expect from their story. I must say, I had so much fun watching Ji Chang Wook portrayed his character here. I am not sure whether to laugh at him, pity him, and be angry towards the character he portrays. He displayed his acting chops on this drama.

Each of the kings and crowned princes have their reasons to protect what is theirs. It boils down to protecting their people.

Powerful Scene. When a king bows and kneel to someone of lower stature, that is difficult to muster for the deposed king of Goryeo.

Wang Yoo’s life is one hell of a roller coaster life! I have to say it’s rather tragic and sad life. But when you are a king, there is no greater failure when you can’t protect your people. Hence, he has the characteristic of a noble king.

After going through so much but still having the same ill-fated ending gives me frustrations and mixed feelings for both the characters and plot. But this didn’t stop me from finishing this drama. The secret to getting through all 51 episodes is to enjoy every scene and be in the moment as the story beautifully unfolds. Before you know it, you are watching the last episode.

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Yes! it's long we all know that going in. Throught out the 51 episodes however I did not feel the urge to stop watching a single time.
It starts out as a simple light hearted goreyo drama that takes you on one of the sildest rides you might ever experience in that era. Through a Strong female protagonist none the less. We all know about the scene where the woman is about to get killed but the man swoops in? Well our heroine might have needed saving, but she was no amature with a bow, and in a dress no less!

I give this an 8 because while it kept me glued to my screen there were several unsatisfying story threads. Her first son was not capitalised on at all and it felt like it was left on the backburner too long to be relevant. Also her love interest, we are all rooting for #Chonah or #Peha was that all for nothing? If it was that easy to kill the king of goreyo why not do that the other 10 times you set out to kill him! some of these threads can get a little frustrating and as a personal touch I prefer my villans to be more humble in the face of defeat but all in all this drama and all it's 51 episodes are definitely worth the watch.

I highly recommend this for anyone who loves wild rides, strong female protagonists, Old Korea, Love triangles and gets nostalgic about Soap operas! I will be rewatching this in the future!

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Will keep you interested to want more.

It is long but keeps you wanting to know more especially if a history buff like me. I love the direction and how the director took the actors further in their roles. The costumes were beautiful and I am always amazed about how the culture is respectful. I love how sets from other movies are used especially outside shoots. I don't know if they re real but having been used so many times that I wonder what stories those historical places could tell along with the drama. Doesn't make sense to you but being from Australia I find the culture fascinating and the respect shown even in this drama to all . Definitely worth the watch

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LOVED IT

I'm way behind the times since this is an old series. 51 episodes is the longest series I ever watched.
Honestly I watched it only because of Ji Change Wook (my favorite actor, he is perfecto)!
I ended up liking all the actors in it, they did a great job!
I'll make this short and sweet. I really liked the series, however I think they could have made it with less episodes, but I still liked it a lot anyway.
I was disappointed in the last 2 episodes, I'm a happy ending kind of person, this was not so much, but true love had it's moments in there, VERY SWEET!
I only gave it a 9.5 because it was too long for me.
And I don't give big points on re-watch since I've never rewatched a series yet.

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This drama may be a lengthy one but once you start you'll see that you have to learn what's going to happen. The cliff hungers won't let your excitement down!

About the plot:

The whole plot won't let you down! There are some plot twists that make this drama almost perfect! It is not "perfect" because the last two episodes were not so impresively directed in comparison to the whole series. That doesn't mean that I would wish about a different ending but a different way to show it.

About the cast and acting:

Every single character was fitting their role and they played incredibly good! I am not that excited about Wang Yu (king of Koryo) though, he didn't amaze or inspire me too much, but he played really well!

Nyang (empress Ki) was insane!!! I absolutely love her! She has the best female character I've ever seen so far! A strong character with incredible manners, an amazingly big heart that knows the true meaning of love and concern about others! She is also really just, smart and a great warrior! She has the whole package, perfect image and personality! Congratulations to the actress for the breathtaking the acting! Iwish to see this kind of character in other series too!

I'm won't write anything regarding the male leads. I'll just say that among the men who loved her they is one that is the definition of a male personality! He has exactly the same personality as the heroine but in a male way!!! He is absolutely gorgeous too!!! Figure out who he is!

To sum up in this drama you will find the definition of male and female character that will mesmerize you!

In this drama you will also find:

the best fitting osts

amazing clothing

acting skills that will make your heart race!

I ubsolutely recommend it!
Let me know what you think

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So... This drama I would say has a really good story as well as the actors, however I am a sucker for good endings which this series did not contain.
That's not the only reason I didn't like the ending though, It was like it wasn't really an ending if you understand what I mean, it felt more like it would continue but in an awful way (won't say anymore..)....
The music was kind of good, it wasn't bad but it's kind of the music you'll listen to when you're in the car or something crying ????
Rewatch value I would say, you can find a better series that does not take 51 hours for a normal person to finish. What I mean by normal is if you have to watch every minute to understand the context for 51 hours, this series can come up as boring in the long run. It's a long series and I mean if you have a lot of free time and you really like fight scenes, romance and a lot of historical drama then yes this will be a good series for you, but however you can still find a better drama that contains just that :)
Yes this series was exciting and you want to keep watching but I did not watch every scene because unlike some people who have free time I do not (yes, that's jealousy ????)
I rate this drama a good but still a bad... It's not the story line or the actors or the music, it's just the freaking long time of the whole series and you can find a better and shorter drama. I am not to say that this drama is bad but just think of your options before watching it.
Don't hate on me it's just my opinion, I'm just stating how I think this drama turned out :)

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Jesus Christ, this is the BEST SHOW I've ever seen!!!

Now, some of you might be thinking, "Uh this is over 50 episodes long and each episode is about an hour long... How am I ever going to finish this??? Is watching this with my busy schedule even feasible?"

Well... yes, it is feasible for you find time in your schedule to watch it because it's really worth watching... Since the show's first episode aired, I've watched it about 4 times.

I love this show because this is the first foreign show I've watched where there is a very, very strong female protagonist. I grew up watching USSR, Chinese, and Korean shows/ movies and all of them did not really display any elements of female empowerment. However, Empress Ki is not only beautiful like many other female leads--- she is witty, strong, and brave. A master at martial arts? Empress Ki. An elegant young lady? Empress Ki. Someone who fights for justice? Empress Ki. The fact that this show is based on the real Empress Ki is what shocks me the most..... 10/10 It's been my favorite show since middle school.

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