For Beanies interested in the history behind what’s happening on Nokdu right now:

(NOTE: COULD CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR WHAT HAPPENS LATER IN THE DRAMA)

The reigning king Gwanghae ruled Joseon from 1608 to 1623. He was the second born son to the previous monarch, Seonjo of Joseon, and his mother was a concubine. His younger brother, Prince Yeongchang, was Seonjo’s legitimate heir, and was favoured to succeed Seonjo. Seonjo’s sudden death meant that Yeongchang was unable to succeed him, which allowed Gwanghae to ascend the throne.

Yulmoo/Prince Neungyang/later King Injo of Joseon was Gwanghae’s nephew (his father was another illegitimate son of Seonjo and a Royal Consort/Concubine). In the mid-1600s, there was a lot of conflict between several political factions (primarily the Northern vs. the Western, though there were internal sub-divides as well), and Gwanghae became more and more unpopular as the monarch.

People (as seen in the drama) began to plot against him and eventually, the Western faction launched a coup in 1623, which resulted in Gwanghae’s dethronement. The Western faction then brought Injo into the palace and crowned him as King of Joseon.

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    Prince Neungyang was Injo’s royal title bestowed upon him by former King Seonjo, but his birth name was Yi Jong (kind of like how in Rookie Historian, Rim was called Prince Dowon). Yulmoo is actually one of his posthumous names, so that’s where the writers must have gotten it from!

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      Thank you, that was really helpful as I was quite confused about what’s been going on.

      But I still don’t understand where King’s son (presumably Nok-Du or his “brother” Hwang Tae) fits in. Why is the king trying to kill his own son when he should be more worried about his half brother Prince Yeongchang?

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    Thanks a lot. I just watched the episode and was quite confused but all surprised at all the ginormous twists they came up with in the last 10 minutes of the episode. What confuses me still to date is Nokdu and his relevance to this whole dethroning and crowning a new king scenario.

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      @wapzy @cherryinbloom that’s the aspect of the drama that probably isn’t rooted in history, so I’m wracking my brain now to figure it out too.

      I can’t imagine why a son would be bad, unless that son perhaps posed some threat to the Gwanghae’s reign? But then again, why? I’m stumped!

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        There must be some prophecy surrounding his birth that made him a bad omen. That would be my guess.

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          Oh, that’s a great guess! If I recall correctly, a similar theme of prophecy/fortune-telling cropped up in Moonlight Drawn by Clouds, which was also written by one of the writers of Nokdu! Could it be that one of the court shamans predicted that the King’s son would play a role in his downfall?

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            That would be my guess because he kept repeating the date like it was something ominous. I wasn’t paying attention the palace politics at all but now I might need to rewatch all those scenes.

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          Yes, the current king has shown himself to be very superstitious.

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        Ok so I haven’t gotten around to watch the latest episodes yet but maybe it’s not actually a son but our heroin, a daughter!?

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      Nokdu is based loosely on Crown Prince Yi Ji. King Gwanghae’s only son.
      This writer is not sticking with the history “as expected.”
      Gwanghae didn’t try to kill his own son and Gwanghae ascended the throne because he was the most capable in all of King Seonjo’s illegitimate sons. The people also did not hate him. When Japan attacked Joseon his father went into hiding in China while the 18 yr old Gwanghae was left to defend the people and rebuild the country.
      The young prince that was residing in the palace is Gwanghae’s half brother, the legitimate heir to the throne. He was only 2yrs old when King Seonjo died so he was too young to rule.
      Injo (Cha Yul-mu aka Prince Neungyang) is Yi Ji (Nokdu’s) cousin. His father was Gwanghae’s incompetent older brother. He eventually
      became king after a coup to overthrow Gwanghae.
      Injo was one of the worst king in Joseon. During his reign Joseon went through two devastated Manchu invasions.

      I don’t know if Gwanghae is trying to protect or kill Nokdu but Nokdu will probably return to the palace and become the crown prince or he will live happily ever after as a commoner with Dong Dong-ju aka Eun-seo.

      Who knows what changes this writer will do.

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        iirc, Gwanghae’s people did not hate him, but members of the court (yangban like scholars and politicians) who formed the minor Western faction were against his continued rule, despite his attempts to bring them into government. His policies were also seen as immoral and heretical, and many members of court saw his brand of politics as a defiance to certain fundamental principles of Neo-Confucianism, which was the state ideology of Joseon at the time.

        Not sure if that’s the story that the drama will stick to when they reveal the exact reasons for the plots against the King, of course, but I’m interested to see how much leeway the writers take with his character/story!

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          Members of the court were more concern with gaining power for their own political parties than protecting the country and serving the people.
          For Gwanghae, his country and his people came first. He remained neutral between China and Manchus to prevent invasions and sufferings of his people.

          So what did the Western faction do for Joseon? They put a puppet Injo on the throne and went pro Ming. That’s why the Manchus invaded Joseon not once but twice. Injo went into hiding while people were being slaughtered by the Manchus.

          This drama is doing their own thing like this writer’s last drama.

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    I’m here and thanks a lot. So this is going to be a fictional war of the princes? Since Nokdu didn’t actually exist in history. I never thought they would give us two real life kings in this drama. Well played.

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      I feel kind of silly thinking this was going to be another set standard sageuk 😂 Still, we can all unite in our mutual feelings of shock and disbelief. Nokdu just got a whole new level of interesting!

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        I honestly thought this drama would just be rainbows and sunshine. I didn’t even know how badly I needed this plot twist. Absolutely a whole new level of interesting.

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    Thank you and @kiara for explaining. I read the wiki and still had no clue what was happening. Korean history is more complicated than any makjang daily drama!

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