Dong Yi

delicate instrument of propaganda, nice, refined, delicate, charming, version of Cinderella, arena for credible villains, ambition, fight for values and life, puzzle of revolution, power, love story and sacrifice, rivalries and high moral values, it is one of beautiful forms of propaganda for Coreean past. and little more. because it is not only exploitation of a success recipes but way to present traces of history nuances in a soft manner. so, another Coreean successful series. and a seductive story , part of a long chain but, in same time, special, mixture between a fairy tale and the laws of power and honesty as basic instrument to not be only slave of power.

It's a watered down tale with low tension and disappointing baddies which all made the insane runtime just a tad bit more unbearable. The entire story is confined to in-palace drama where the king likes a commoner while another woman grows to be super duper extra jealous. You may imagine how the story will pan out for 60 episodes. Its length turned out to be its biggest weakness, this is further emphasized with its first and last 5 episodes of which they were dull and redundant. It would've been significantly better with a short runtime since the main leads were likable. Speaking of which, the main leads scenes were generally enjoyable, they had a good chemistry but only when it's NOT romantic. Their romance sucked! Making the king physically a weakling was a nice touch. Although the drama is named after the historical character and we were shown and told about her having ambitious ideologies but we rarely got to see that side of her character in the drama, just a few scenes in the middle and around the end. Instead, we got a typical melodrama in a historical setting while borrowing small bits and pieces from the real historical character for world building. The main leads were doing a lot of heavy lifting to keep the drama afloat. The drama is okay but it doesn't have much to offer and the long runtime is really hard to justify.

Even at 60 episodes, the story of Dong Yi never flags. Exciting, touching, funny, charming, and full of characters that are noble, mysterious, tragic, comic, and inspiring. Great acting by all. I know it's a fantasy version of real history , and certainly melodramatic, but it may rate as one of my all time favorite Sageuk K dramas.

The leads are fabulous, the two sets of comic characters add levity at tense moments. Dong Yi as a character is almost too perfect, but I found myself wishing I could have her sense of fairness and grace. The king was royal, and genuine. Highly enjoyable and entertaining.

Best korean history drama ever. I love this drama still my favourite drama. Love you han hyo joo. She is soo talented

Subtitles for English! Starts out kind of hokey, stick with it tho, ends kind of hokey .. but wow the over all story is fantastic lots of ups and downs and cliffhangers. This was up there with jewel in the palace. Don't let the first few eps fool you.. how a low borne girl gets her entry in the annals (well documented history) of the Josun dynasty. Min from jewel in the palace is the king in here. I think these series are so popular that public demand refuses to allow the original endings.. so they tack on episodes after the main theme has run it's course. Regardless i was so attached to the story and characters i didn't mind the additions. If you liked jewel in the palace this is one to watch too.. or if you liked this one jewel in the palace (54 1 hour eps) is one to watch. ahh now the withdrawal symptoms of exiting a fantastic 60 hour movie after you have fallen in love with all the cast.. great drama! worth watching! :) I give this 12 out of 10 stars!