The King: Eternal Monarch
The King: Eternal Monarch (TV Series 2020) - All Episode
The King: Eternal Monarch (Korean: 더 킹: 영원의 군주) is a 2020 romantic-fantasy South Korean television series starring Lee Min-ho, Kim Go-eun, Woo Do-hwan, Kim Kyung-nam, Jung Eun-chae, and Lee Jung-jin. Written by Kim Eun-sook and produced by Hwa&Dam Pictures and its parent company Studio Dragon, the series premiered on SBS TV and Netflix for the global audience on April 17, 2020.[9]
Set in two parallel worlds, the series follows Emperor Lee Gon of the Kingdom of Corea, who discovers access to an alternate reality after crossing a mythical door opened by his half-uncle, Lee Lim, where the Republic of Korea exists in the Kingdom's stead and sets out to put an end to Lee Lim's atrocities and retrieve the other half of Manpasikjeok used as a portal between two worlds.
Hailing as one of the most-anticipated series in the first half of 2020 due to its ensemble cast, screenwriter, extensive publicity and production budget, the series set a record for SBS's highest 2020 Friday-Saturday drama premiere ratings. It also maintained the No.1 spot on the weekly Wavve drama chart for eight consecutive weeks, and was listed as the most popular Korean drama series on Netflix in India, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore and one of the top two in the U.S.[14][15] The series received mixed reviews and lower-than-expected domestic TV viewership ratings on later episodes,[16][17][18] with news media attributing it to competition from streaming platforms and criticism of its screenplay, production and various controversies.
Cast
Main[edit]
- Lee Min-ho as Lee Gon / Lee Ji-hun [23]
- Jung Hyeon-jun as young Lee Gon and young Lee Ji-hun
- Lee Gon: The third king of the Kingdom of Corea. He is a mathematician, an equestrian, and a rower. He rides a rare, imported white Spanish horse named Maximus, representing the white horse of Korean mythology, as well as Lee Yong-sang, the "White Horse General". Lee Gon is a compulsive and reticent person. He is sensitive when touched by others and does not easily let go of his skepticism towards someone. He often leaves the palace grounds to wander around, either to tend to his curious mind or to escape the palace life. For him, the Royal Palace represents the safety of home, but it is also his most deadly battleground. When he was eight years old, he witnessed the assassination of his father by his half-uncle, Lee Lim. While he was being choked to death, he was saved by an unknown person with Jeong Tae-eul's identity card.
- Lee Ji-hun: Lee Gon's counterpart in Republic of Korea. He was killed by Lee Lim when he was a child after Lee Lim escapes to Republic of Korea following Lee Ho's assassination.
- Kim Go-eun as Jeong Tae-eul / Luna [24]
- Kim Si-woo as young Jeong Tae-eul
- Lee Ye-won as young Luna (Ep. 16)
- Jeong Tae-eul: A police officer ranked Inspector (equivalent to Lieutenant in the Korean Armed Forces) in the Violent Crimes Squad Three of the National Police Agency of the Republic of Korea. She has a strong will and concrete personality. As a child, she was interested in crime TV shows which led her to become a detective.
- Luna: Jeong Tae-eul's counterpart who is a criminal in the Kingdom of Corea. Shortly after her birth, she was abandoned in a slum in Busan. With no parents and no identification, no official records document her existence. As she grew older, her arrest record expanded to include burglary, breaking and entering, assault and forgery. Her imprisonment led to her being legally-documented as Luna, a name she gave herself after a stray cat that had survived in the slum. Moreover, she suffers from terminal cancer resulting in organ failure and has only few months left to live.
- Woo Do-hwan as Jo Yeong / Jo Eun-sup[25]
- Jung Si-yul as young Jo Yeong
- Jo Yeong: Captain of the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Corea, and childhood friend of Lee Gon. He exudes a sharp image and stoic professionalism. Jo Yeong first met Lee Gon at his coronation ceremony, when he was four years old. They share a bond of friendship and brotherhood. Jo Yeong treats Lee Gon as his country and his law, whom he must always protect.
- Jo Eun-sup: Jo Yeong's counterpart who is currently serving his mandatory military duties as a guard for the National Police Agency of the Republic of Korea. He is humorous, free-willed and joyous. His wish is to get discharged soon. He deeply cares for his younger twin siblings, Eun-bi and Kka-bi, and often helps his parents in looking after them. He also has a crush on his childhood friend, Myeong Na-ri.
- Kim Kyung-nam as Kang Shin-jae / Kang Hyeon-min [26]
- Moon Woo-jin as young Kang Shin-jae and young Kang Hyeon-min
- Kang Shin-jae: A detective in the Violent Crimes Squad Three of the National Police Agency of the Republic of Korea. Although he had an ideal childhood at first, his father was imprisoned for embezzlement and his mother soon fell prey to gambling, leading to a tense relationship between them. He has had a crush on Jeong Tae-eul since their high school days.
- Kang Hyeon-min: Kang Shin-jae's counterpart in Kingdom of Corea.
- Jung Eun-chae as Koo Seo-ryeong / Koo Eun-ah[27]
- Shin Soo-yeon as young Koo Seo-ryeong
- Koo Seo-ryeong: The youngest and first female prime minister of the Kingdom of Corea. Despite being born into a broken family, having a drunkard father and a hardworking mother who runs a fish cake shop, she went on to study hard and became an announcer. Although elegant, confident and independent, she is also extremely ambitious and greedy. She married Chairman Choe of KU Group, before divorcing him for alimony. She became a diplomat and then Prime Minister. Her ambition knows no bounds even after making the Prime Minister and she now wants to become the Queen of the Kingdom of Corea.
- Koo Eun-ah: Koo Seo-ryeong's counterpart in Republic of Korea.
- Lee Jung-jin as Prince Imperial Geum, Lee Lim / Lee Seong-jae[28]
- Lee Lim: The Illegitimate half-brother of King Lee Ho and half-uncle of Lee Gon. He wishes to obtain the Manpasikjeok, a mythical flute which he believes would allow him to attain a life of eternity. He assassinates the King Lee Ho and takes hold of the flute before young Lee Gon breaks the flute into two halves with the Four Tiger Sword. With one half of the flute, he escapes to the parallel universe and kills his counterpart in the alternate reality. He aims to retrieve the second half of the flute, which is now in Lee Gon's possession, to utilise it to its full potential after realising it allows him to access multiple realities and travel through time.