Hoo-goong: Je-wang-eui cheob

Set during the Choson Dynasty this film involves a young prince by the name of "Sungwon" (Dong-wook Kim) falling in love with a nobleman's daughter named "Hwa-Yeon" (Heo-heong Jo). Unfortunately, although she knows of Prince Sunwon's attraction for her, she has fallen in love with another young man by the name of "Kwon-Yoo" (Min-Joon Kim) instead. So one night, overcome by their devotion to each other, both Hwa-Yeon and Kwon-Yoo make the fateful decision to run away together rather than abide by custom or family tradition. Unfortunately, after sleeping together that night, they are caught the next morning and in a desperate effort to spare Kwon-Yoo's life, Hwa-Yeon tells her father that she will now consent to become Prince Sungwon's concubine. What she doesn't know is that, although her father agrees to spare his life, as a penalty for shaming the family Kwon-Yoo is castrated that very night. To make things even worse, when she arrives at the palace the "Queen Mother" (played by Ji-Young Park) takes an immediate dislike to her and does everything in her power to reduce Hwa-Yeon's status there from that point on. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I was very impressed at the overall depth of this movie as the plot was extremely intricate and the acting was first-rate as well. Be advised, however, that there are a couple of very graphic sex scenes which definitely precludes this picture from being seen by a younger audience. Be that as it may, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and have rated it accordingly.