Princess Hours (Goong)

Based on a comic book series, "Princess Hours" fictionalizes that Korea is still ruled by a royal family today.

As fairy tales go, the Crown Prince Lee Shin (acted by Joo Ji-hoon) is betrothed to Chae-gyeong (played by Yoon Eun-hye), a commoner. Apparently the grandparents of Lee Shin and Chae-gyeong were good friends and had made the pact before their deaths. Again as tales go, the betrothed couple do not like each other initially.

As love stories go, there must be a third party and "Princess Hours" throws in two third parties, one for the guy and one for the girl. So things get a little complicated. The third party for Lee Shin is Min Hyo-rin (acted by Song Ji-hyo) and the third party for Chae-gyeong is Lee Yul (acted by Kim Jeong-hoon). Yul, by the way, is Lee Shin's cousin, and the rightful heir to the throne had his father been alive. In a twist of fate, Yul and his mother had to leave the palace after his father died but they return to stake their rightful claim.

Understandably, "Princess Hours" is loved by the young generation of today because it uses the language of the day. The slang, the actions and body language among friends and schoolmates that spell camaderie and "we are one" are appealing and down-to-earth. The fictionalized work combining modern day Korea and the lifestyle of the common people with the protocols and stuffiness in a traditional (well, not quite, since the Emperor and some of the court staff are dressed in modern attire) monarchy setting is interesting and provide food for thought of what if indeed this is true today?

A pretty long series but it is worth sitting through the 24 pieces of VCDs except for a few flaws (don't all drama series have them?). These are some flaws that don't work for me:

(1) The four and a half hours that Lee Shin and Hyo-rin spent in Thailand is too short a time to take in all the things that they did! Also, it appears that Lee Shin was left with only 1 minute to get dressed for a big press conference after his meeting with Hyo-rin. Within that short time frame it is a wonder he came out looking regal and composed.

(2) Lee Shin is only 19 and I feel, too young to represent Korea outside his country. His Emperor father, although said to be sickly, does not appear so ill (in fact he looks good and healthy) that he cannot make the overseas trip. In any case Lee Shin is still at school and it appears that he has special permission to miss school often. How is he ever going to graduate (sans bribes and cheating from the examination authorities) I wonder?

(3) I'm surprised that Chae-gyeong's parents did not go with her to the palace when she first had to move there. Sure, there are palace protocols but here we are talking about a young lady being married off to a Crown Prince and she is not even out of her school uniform yet. How is she expected to know the protocols and rules of marriage rites?

(4) It is not likely that Yul, equally young, should take a great interest in Korean politics, especially since he had left the country for many years and have just returned home. It appears that he is more a help to the Emperor than Lee Shin who surely must have been trained in politics from a tender age.

(5) When Lee Shin and Chae-gyeong appear in a TV interview, her dress (or is it gown?) is very ugly. A real bad choice. I'm thinking perhaps she could have worn a Korean traditional dress, given that she is going to be Queen one day. There was the saving grace when Grandma Empress said that Chae-gyeong ought to be taught to put on clothes befitting her status but I still think a better dress could be chosen for Yoon Eun-hye to wear.

(6) There were several occasions when Lee Shin and Chae-gyeong were out of the palace. They were definitely easy to spot by the commoners.

(7) Lee Shin's sister, a modern and educated princess, appears mature and clever. Alas, her role is not expanded so viewers could get to see her intelligence. I don't have the name of this actress but she puts up poor acting. She looks aloof and I notice that she looks somewhat cynical when looking at others, or is it just poor acting? Her range of expressions is almost zilch. Ouch.

(7) I feel that there is no chemistry between Yoon Eun-hye (playing Chae-gyeong) and Kim Jeong-hoon (playing Yul). The two seem to be going through their motions when acting. Perhaps it is because Kim Jeong-hoon fails to put up a range of emotions to show that indeed he has fallen for Chae-gyeong.

(8) Kim Jeong-hoon (Yul), though good looking and who was my favourite guy initially, turns out to be an actor with not much expressions. It is hard to tell if he is crying or laughing/smiling. His poor expressions make it appear that he treats his mother like he would with a girl he likes. A pity because in my view he is better looking than Joo Ji-hoon. He looks good when he smiles.

(9) Joo Ji-hoon (Lee Shin) grows on me. I kind of rooted for him towards the ending of the series. However, the transition from him beginning to like Chae-gyeong is lost. I feel that he has greater feelings (and it is so in the beginning) for Hyo-rin. The look he gives Hyo-rin at the airport when she is leaving the country leaves me worried because much as it appears that he wants to cut off their "relationship" to accept Chae-gyeong, his acting leaves me wondering if indeed this is his true desire. What if after marriage to Chae-gyeong and he still harbours loving feelings towards Hyo-rin? So here again the acting is at fault.

(10) One of the more romantic scenes is the long kiss between Lee Shin and Chae-gyeong. Wow, cool!

Well, fiction is fiction and I accept that despite the flaws "Princess Hours" makes for worthwhile watching because:

(a) It is light comedy, without too much sadness although I must confess I did cry over bits in the last four VCDs,

(b) It has a happy ending unlike most other Korean soapies where love means one lead character has to die (sadistic and uncompassionate).

(c) The actors and actresses are all young and fresh-faced - something different for me because here I'm looking at drama characters who are as young as 19 years old.

I read somewhere on the net that there is news of a possible second season following the finale. I sure hope a second season of this will not appear. Let sleeping dogs lie. The love me, love me not theme do take a toll on viewers in this season. Sure, there will always be takers for romantic comedies such as these, but please, I hope scriptwriters would come up with a fresh script and new players. No more Lee Shin, Chae-gyeong, Lee Yul and Hyo-rin.