When the kingdom is in need of assistance, the royal family seeks out the help of master archer Kim Tae-do (Kim Bum). Hi-jinks and adventure ensues when he meets the bold and cheerful Princess Sook-hwi (Kim So-eun). (part 1/2)


Yongin MBC Dramia

Far, far from Seoul (about 2hours away) is the place where some of the most prominent historical dramas, sageuk, were filmed. MBC historical dramas that were filmed here include Dae Jang Geum, The Moon that Embraces the Sun and Dong Yi (some of my personal favorites). Sometimes, people will see famous actors and actresses on set for the current historical dramas. However, unfortunately for my friend and I, there was no filming on the day we visited, but we almost had the whole place to ourselves to explore.

What is different about this “village” from others is that this “village” was built for the purpose of filming historical dramas and movies to provide a more realistic background. We were allowed to walk into the structures unlike other historical and national settings. There were also props for us to play with/take pictures with.

If you are a big drama fanatic, like myself, make sure to visit this place. (Also it’ll be more worth visiting if you watched most of the dramas filmed there.)

Thanks for reading!


What do you think is the deepest thing in the world? It’s the heart. I believe the immeasurable heart of a person is the deepest thing in the world. How would I know if you have the loyalty of a well that won’t dry out?  It’s possible to know the depth of the well only after the water is pumped out.  Wouldn’t you find out with the time?

catchthatkdrama said: That would only be a factor if if they’d actually made Sado violent and unstable (ie. if it were historically accurate). Alas, they’re doing the JOJ thing of completely whitewashing the ‘villain’ - hence the poor ratings.

I don’t think the poor ratings necessarily have to do with whitewashing. Or at least not just that. I mean, Empress Ki had good ratings and it’s hard to get more ‘whitewashing the villains’ than that drama - all three of the leads got a hell of a make-over from reality! 

I wonder if the lack of a hot (in terms of market power) star is partially responsible. I mean, Lee Je Hoon is a good actor but he’s not a Sageuk It Guy the way, e.g., Jang Hyuk was in Chuno or Tree (or Lee Seo Jin used to be). To compare the cast to another ahistorical sageuk, Empress Ki did have Ha Ji Won as the protagonist, and her star power alone is probably bigger than that of the entire cast of SD combined. I do think any drama starring the amazing Han Suk Kyu should have all the ratings in the world, regardless of historical accuracy or even merit. (I am only half-kidding).

Also, now you reminded me of the mess that was JOJ. Whoever thought it was a good idea to green light that drama was insane. Not only is it contrary to accepted history, it was also crazily cast, was fusion in a weird, not good, way, and went absolutely nowhere. And the history thing - what were they thinking? It’s not like Empress Ki, where the drama covers a murky, less-popular period or Queen Seon Deok, where in making Bidam the very ahistorical love interest, they made an army of obsessed fans super happy, or even Secret Door, where it’s just a more extreme version of a narrative that has popped up before - dramas often tend to make Sado more of a tragic/complicated figure than just a violent lunatic who probably needed to be put down (even if not in the horrible fashion his father did it - that method of death freaks me out beyond anything). No, JOJ took one of the most known in popular consciousness historical narratives and turned it on its head, and not even in a particularly clever, post-modern way. I mean, if you want to make a period love story, by all means do so, just not with JOJ! There are plenty of obscure historical figures to pick from, or go the Moon/Sun route and create fictional royals even. JOJ loooooove isn’t going to fly.

OK, now I completely derailed from the topic. And have a mad passion to rewatch a Lee Seo Jin sageuk. Heh.

One last comment re: Secret Door husband/wife thing - if the show portrays him as this wonderful idealist, then the ship works even less because even a fairly ahistorical production is not going to deny that everyone knows that his widow wrote memoirs portraying him as a psycho. They’d had to explain why a widow of a sweet dude did that and whatever the reason, it can’t be because they were in loooooove :)