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Dae Jang Geum

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(Redirected from Dae Jang-gum)

Dae Jang Geum

Korean name
Hangul:	대장금
Hanja:	大長今
Revised Romanization:	Dae Jang-geum
McCune-Reischauer:	Tae Chang-gǔm

Dae Jang Geum (sometimes known as The Great Jang Geum, or A Jewel In The Palace) is a 2003 TV Series produced by Korean TV channel MBC.

The show focuses on the life of Jang-geum, the first female royal physician in the Joseon Dynasty in Korea. The main theme is her perseverence, as well as the portrayal of traditional Korean culture, including Korean royal court cuisine and medicine.

Contents

1 Synopsis

2 Historical connection

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Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

The story is set in Korea under the Joseon Dynasty, during the reigns of King Seongjong (only a brief tenure, fortunately), Yeonsangun (1494-1506) and King Jungjong (1506-1544). The story begins with the mother of young Yeonsangun being poisoned by a group of imperial guards under the order of the king.

After the incident, an imperial guard, Suh Chun-soo, who accompanied the group, returns to his home but suffers an accident on his way back. He is rescued by a Confucian monk, who tells him that his life will revolve around three women, and that he will be killed by the third woman. (It does not become clear until much later that the three women are Yeonsangun's mother, Jang-geum's mother, and lastly, Jang-geum herself.) The inner stress from the incident eventually causes him to resign. On the other hand, Lady Park, a royal kitchen apprentice/servant, witnesses a conspiracy against the queen mother and is in turn indicted on false charges by the inner circle of kitchen senior staff, and ordered secretly executed per their internal procedures. She is saved by Lady Han, her best friend in the palace, and later again saved inadvertently by the now retired Suh. The two depart to live in secret in a remote village, posing as lower class persons; they marry, and raise a very bright young daughter, Jang-geum.

In the year 1504, Yeonsanggun orders a massive investigation into his mother's murder, and eventually finds Suh and his family, partly because of a mistake on the part of his child, Jang-geum. Suh is arrested, and presumably later executed. Jang-geum and her mother flee, but Jang-geum's mother is severely wounded by her enemies, and before her death she tells Jang-geum her last wish, should she choose to do so, is for her to become the head chef in the royal kitchen and record her case in the kitchen Ladies' secret historical records book (to redress the wrong done to her honor).

Jang-geum through some adventures manages to enter the palace, and through her courage, curiosity, talent, good-heartedness, and hard work, helps Lady Han (her mother's best friend, which she doesn't discover until much later) to become the head chef in the palace. However, a conspiracy results in them being exiled to the Cheju Island, and Lady Han passed away en route. In Cheju, Jang-geum becomes acquainted to a female doctor who instructs Jang-geum in medical studies. Jang-geum eventually returns to the Joseon palace, this time as a medical student. She graduates at the top of her class in spite of difficulties with class and gender prejudices, and becomes accepted as a medical worker as part of the staff of the imperial pharmacy/hospital.

After much further political mischief, the high-ranking schemers who have been trying to hurt Jang-geum eventually fall victim to the consequences of their own conspiracies, and Jang-geum then pleads the case to King Jungjong, and is able to restore the positions and the reputation of her mother and Lady Han. Afterwards, Jang-geum delves further into medical studies, and is able to cure the perpetually ailing Queen and Queen Mother, along with a smallpox plague that also affects the Crown Prince. With such achievements, Jang-geum is eventually accepted by the palace's workers and doctors, who initally are prejudiced against her because of her gender and secretive attitude.

With the support of her love interest Lord Min Jung-ho and her long-time friends including Yeon-seng, Jang-geum becomes the first female imperial physician in the history of Korea, and is awarded the title "Dae Jang-geum" and a third-class officer position (c.f. nine-rank system) in the royal court. The ongoing romantic sub-plot eventually ends well, too.

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Historical connection

Dae Jang-geum was a real person documented in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty as well as a medical document of the time. Descriptions of and references to her, though, were few and mostly short. Many assert that Dae Jang-geum was the first female royal physician of the king in Korean history. However, there are some who continue to believe that Dae Jang-Gum is merely a fictional figure drawn from various references of female doctors in the Annals. The argument continues to this day. For more details on the historical documents including ten entries by the king himself (very rare for a king to comment on any palace staff, let alone a female!), see http://stillwatersca.blogspot.com/2005/04/dae-jang-geum-background-information.html.

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Commercial success

Dae Jang-geum has experienced massive success in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Chicago, further continuing the South Korean cultural fever that has gripped Asia since the early 2000s. The sets built by MBC for the shooting of this TV series have been purchased by the South Korean government and is turned into a tourist attraction.

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Famous Quotes

Your fate will be destined by three women. The first one will be killed, but you didn't want to kill her. You will be saved by the second one, but she will die for you. The third one will kill you, but because of that, she will save thousands.

-A Confucian Monk said this to Suh Chun-soo, Jang-Geum's father, in a cave where Chun-soo was recovering from his injuries from a fall. The three women mentioned in the quote are Yeonsangun's mother, Jang-geum's mother, and Jang-geum herself

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