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Haechi: Episodes 15-16

Through no fault of his own, our prince is forced to push his bid to become crown prince, and failure to convince the king could mean his death. His chances are slim with nearly everyone against him, but luckily he’s talented at turning weaknesses into strengths. If, and it’s a big if, he can pull this off, it will only be the start of putting his plans into action.

 
EPISODE 15: “The beginning of the counterattack”

Dal-moon rescues Yi Geum by killing the assassins who are after him, then aims his sword at Yi Geum’s neck. He tells Yi Geum that Minister Min promised to protect his people, but Yi Geum got in the way of their deal. He says he didn’t want to get involved in politics, he only wanted help feeding his people.

Yi Geum advises him to kill him in one blow, or he’ll become Minister Min’s next target. Dal-moon draws back his sword… then lowers it. He scoffs at Yi Geum’s dream of becoming king and creating a different world, but he admits that he’d like to see Yi Geum make it happen. He clasps hands with Yi Geum, saying that they’ll be walking the same path from now on. Aw, yay!

Dal-moon leads Yi Geum to a secret room filled with maps and records of everything that happens in the city. He shows Yi Geum a document from the palace that says that Chief Inspector Lee and Prime Minister Kim are meeting with the king tonight to discuss him, and he can tell from Yi Geum’s shocked reaction that he knew nothing about it.

King Kyungjong is surprised that a pair of Noron officials are pushing him to make Yi Geum his successor. He asks if Yi Geum knows about this, and Chief Inspector Lee says that he met with Yi Geum’s father-in-law who confirmed that Yi Geum would support the king. But King Kyungjong still suspects that Yi Geum is plotting to take his throne from him.

Yi Geum sends Geon-tae to bring his friends to him, and it weirds Moon-soo out that both Geon-tae and Dal-moon seem to know him when he’s never met them. But things get very serious when Yi Geum tells his friends that the Norons are trying to make him the next crown prince, though he doesn’t know why or what else they may be planning.

The only thing they know for sure is that this goes against Minister Min’s plans, which indicates dissent among the Norons. They worry that if Chief Inspector Lee and Prime Minister Kim fail, they and Yi Geum will be charged with treason. Moon-soo is particularly worried that Yi Geum has no supporters in the palace, but Yi Geum thinks that he could turn his weakness into a strength.

Yi Geum has to leave to go to the palace, and he asks his friends to wait with Dal-moon. He asks where Yeo-ji is, having seen her off to drink with the students hours ago, and he grows worried to hear that she’s not back yet. He leaves, but his worry for Yeo-ji has made Moon-soo worry.

Yeo-ji had tried to defend herself from Minister Min’s sickle-wielding psycho, and she’d managed to wrench the sickle from his hands, only for him to slam her against a wall and knock her unconscious. He’d dragged her away, but when he got a good look at her, he’d realized that she’s not Yi Geum as he thought.

Yoon-young hears what’s happening at the palace and alerts Yi Tan, who demands to be allowed to speak to the king. He’s informed that his violent behavior outside the king’s quarters is a crime, but he objects to a eunuch telling him what to do and tries to barge in forcefully — until the eunuchs draw their swords and gently remind him that they’re highly trained in martial arts.

Yi Tan manages to get in to tell Queen Seonui that Yi Geum is trying to steal the throne, but she says there’s not much she can do about it, and Yoon-young has to beg him to calm down. The Soron ministers urge King Kyungjong to punish Chief Inspector Lee, Prime Minister Kim, and Yi Geum for even suggesting such a thing.

Minister Min is also at the palace, but he’s visiting Queen Inwon, who is decidedly not thrilled about it. He tells her not to forget her Noron roots, but she knows it’s really a warning for her to stay out of this.

He starts to talk about Yi Geum’s low birth, but even when Queen Inwon snaps that he’s the son of the late king, he asks how the nobles can be expected to bow to the son of a maid. Queen Inwon asks in return how a mere official dares to insult a king and his son.

She decides to adopt Yi Geum as her son, daring Minister Min and the Norons to call her a lowlife. But Minister Min says it’s too late, only bowing when she asks nervously what he means.

When he leaves, he reassures the other Norons that Yi Geum will never be crown prince. But seconds later, Yi Geum saunters over to marvel that they’re all losing sleep over little old him. He notices that Minister Min looks pale and can’t look him in the eye, which reinforces his idea that Minister Min sent the assassins after him.

He asks if Minister Min is surprised to see him here for some reason, but Minister Min is saved from answering when King Kyungjong’s eunuch tells Yi Geum that the king wants to see him. Unable to understand how Yi Geum is still alive, Minister Min summons the Minister of Taxation, a Soron named Minister Lee.

At the Saheonbu, Byung-joo nods off and dreams of the day he accidentally killed Jung-seok. Moon-soo bursts in, and Byung-joo recognizes him as the man who made a scene when Jung-seok died. Moon-soo objects to him referring to Jung-seok as his close friend, calling Byung-joo a traitor.

But he informs Byung-joo that right now in the palace, Minister Min is probably meeting with the Sorons to form a plan to get rid of Yi Geum. He’s right — Minister Min asks ML if the Sorons intend to let Yi Geum become crown prince. He offers the Sorons two positions at court if they’ll back up the Norons when they accuse Yi Geum of treason.

King Kyungjong asks Yi Geum if he’s been planning to steal the throne all along, and Yi Geum honestly answers yes. But he swears that he never intended to collude with the Norons — in fact, the entire reason he wants to become king is to stop the Norons.

King Kyungjong asks how he can trust Yi Geum, and Yi Geum says that if he truly believes that he’ll betray him then he should arrest him for treason, like Minister Min and the Sorons want. He says that most Norons and Sorons can’t stand him, so tonight they’re making an alliance to get rid of him. He says that he doesn’t care about the Norons or the Sorons, which lets him prioritize Joseon’s safety over politics.

The Saheonbu executive inspector gets two orders at the same time, one from Minister Min telling him to indict Yi Geum for treason, and one from Chief Inspector Lee ordering him to protect Yi Geum. He goes into a panic, unsure which order to follow, scared of siding with one then having the other come out victorious.

He tells Byung-joo about the letters and asks which order he should follow. Moon-soo had told Byung-joo that this decision could mean his survival, or not, and warned him that he should choose the path he knows best. So Byung-joo says that if the Saheonbu wants to survive, they can’t take either side, so they need to think of an excuse for why they can’t follow either command.

Young-han, Hyuk’s sidekick, tells Hyuk what’s going on, so Hyuk confronts the executive inspector about the ministers trying to fabricate a treason case. He says that the Saheonbu inspectors won’t tolerate being used in politics, and demands the truth.

In the morning, Queen Inwon takes King Kyungjong a letter stating that she will abide by whatever decision he makes. Yi Geum is still at the palace, and he runs into Yi Tan, who looks like he hasn’t slept a wink. He tells Yi Tan to get some sleep while the decision is made of which of them will die.

Yi Tan growls that he should have killed Yi Geum last night, wondering how a dozen assassins couldn’t get the job done. Yi Geum asks if Yi Tan sent the assassins, and Yi Tan just laughs maniacally, but it’s answer enough. Yi Geum wonders, if Minister Min didn’t send the assassins to kill him, then why was he acting so strange last night… and he remembers that Yeo-ji is still missing.

He goes straight to Minister Min and tells him that if the girl who was wearing his clothes last night has been harmed, he will personally kill him. Meanwhile, the nobles she was drinking with are found dead, sending Moon-soo to ask Dal-moon where she is, but all Dal-moon knows is that her body wasn’t found. He thinks he may know where she is, and Moon-soo bellows for Dal-moon to tell him.

Yeo-ji wakes up in the hut where her attacker left her, injured and with her hands tied. She tries to sit up and sees her attacker outside, guarding the building.

EPISODE 16

Yi Geum hurries to find Yeo-ji, but she’s doing a pretty good job of rescuing herself already. She knocks over a shelf of vases and uses a shard to cut the ropes tying her feet, but her attacker arrives before she frees her hands. She’s able to position her hands so that one of his wild sickle slashes frees her, but he’s stronger than her and quickly forces her to her knees.

He’s about to kill her when a voice screams her name — Moon-soo! He runs at the attacker and pulls him off Yeo-ji, but even though he punches the man in the face several times, the guy doesn’t even react. Does he not feel pain?

The attacker nearly kills Moon-soo, but at the last second, a knife flies through the air and buries itself in his arm. This time it’s Dal-moon, and although the attacker still doesn’t seem to register any pain, when Dal-moon takes a tiny dart out of his hair and aims it at him, he lets go of Moon-soo.

He raises his sickle as if to go after Dal-moon, but Yeo-ji slams the backs of his knees with a board, breaking his leg and knocking him to the ground. Moon-soo and Yeo-ji bicker over who’s more injured until Yeo-ji passes out, so Moon-soo piggybacks her home and calls the doctor.

When she wakes, the first thing she does is ask about Yi Geum. He’s learned where she is from Dal-moon and arrives seconds later, and when he sees her injuries, his eyes well up with tears. She tries to downplay her condition, but Yi Geum is so upset and relieved that he can barely speak.

Finally he apologizes, saying that this happened to her because of him. But Yeo-ji says that she’s glad that she’s the one who’s hurt and not him.

Rumor gets out that the king has made his decision, and Moon-soo fears that they’re going to indict Yi Geum for treason. Dal-moon thinks Yi Geum should hide, but he refuses. Palace guards arrive at Jung-seok’s house for Yi Geum, and his friends watch fearfully as he turns himself over to them.

The captain holds his sword out in front of him, then he and his guards salute Yi Geum as he says, “I, the leader of the king’s guards, am following the orders from His Majesty to greet the crown prince. And by His Majesty’s orders, the safety of the crown prince will be secured by us.” They drop to their knees, and Yi Geum stands stunned… he did it!

It hits Moon-soo first that Yi Geum is now the crown prince, and he yells it as loud as he can. Yeo-ji looks relieved, Dal-moon looks proud, and Yi Geum starts to cry. Moon-soo is the first to call him “my prince,” which makes Yi Geum cry even harder, and he sends thankful nods to Dal-moon and Yeo-ji.

Of course, Minister Min yells at the king when he hears the news, but King Kyungjong quips that Minister Min’s extreme reaction just proves he made the right decision. Yi Tan goes on a rampage and murders the assassins who failed to kill Yi Geum.

Yi Geum dresses according to his new status and prepares to take a palanquin to the palace. Moon-soo gets teased by Jang-dal and Ah-bong for crying, even though they’re crying too, ha. They bow when Yi Geum approaches, but he crouches down and helps them to stand, because they’re his friends.

Only Dal-moon keeps his distance, but he watches every moment as Yi Geum enters the palanquin and leaves for the palace. Interestingly, Yi Geum looks sad as the palanquin leaves, as if he’s mourning that nothing will ever be the same again.

Lady Seo makes sure to pack all of her fanciest clothing and hair ornaments, excited to be meeting the queen and queen dowager. Jo-hong is a bit disappointed now that Yi Geum won’t be around to spoil, so Ja-dong tells her to go with him as his concubine, but she’s not keen on the idea.

Yi Geum stops by Dal-moon’s place to thank him for his help, and to reinforce his promise to become a king fit to lead the nation. Dal-moon mentions Yi Geum’s feelings for Yeo-ji, which Yi Geum does a terrible job of denying and fools exactly nobody.

Yi Geum shows back up at Jung-seok’s place a few days later in full crown prince regalia, and he snaps at Yeo-ji for removing her bandages. He tries to make her go back in and rest, but she insists that she’s fine and shows him her healed arm to prove it.

He makes her sit anyway so that he can give her the medicine he got from Dal-moon, and when she says she’ll use it later, Yi Geum says that Ah-bong tattled that she won’t take medicine because it makes her feel weak. He applies the medicine, grumbling that there’s nothing wrong with being weak. As he fusses, he accidentally makes eye contact with Yeo-ji and stops mid-sentence, then grows very aware that he’s holding her hand.

He gives her the medicine and tells her to apply it herself, and she says he was like this when he adjusted her gat, too. Confused, she asks why he always stops in the middle of doing things. He just gets more twitchy thinking about the night he fixed her gat, and he starts looking for Moon-soo to cover his nervous energy.

Moon-soo has learned that a new list is about to be posted with the true results from the most recent civil service exam. He’s positive that he got the highest score, and Ah-bong and Jang-dal try to manage his expectations, but he refuses to listen.

The results are posted, and Moon-soo acts all cool like it’s no big deal as he shoves his way to the front of the crowd. Ah-bong and Jang-dal find his name… and again he’s not first. But suddenly he’s too ecstatic to care that he actually came in last place, because he passed!

The day arrives for Yi Geum to be officially made crown prince, and HA, both Minister Min and Yi Tan look like they’d rather chew rocks than attend the ceremony. On his way into the courtyard, Yi Geum stops to thank Minister Min for the advice to gain power of his own, crediting Minister Min for where he is now and saying that he hopes he will continue to advise him.

King Kyungjong makes the official announcement, then tells Yi Geum that he hopes they will continue to pursue the same goal. Yi Geum sincerely vows to always follow the king’s orders. He turns to face the officials, who bow to him four times, though it looks like it’s killing Yi Tan.

In voiceover, Moon-soo says: “Haechi. A legendary animal that judges good and evil and protects justice. However, that’s no longer a legend.” He suits up in his sparkly new uniform and enters the Saheonbu grounds. The inspectors stare to see Moon-soo looking like one of them as he announces himself to the Saheonbu officials. Under his breath, he murmurs, “And now, you’re all dead.”

At the same time, Yeo-ji again dons her damo garb, standing determinedly in front of the palace gates. Inside the palace, Yi Geum looks out over the officials bowing to him and thinks, “And from now on…”

 
COMMENTS

YES!! I’m literally sitting here cheering for Yi Geum and his friends, that ending was so awesome. This episode gave me goosebumps and made me cry several times, but seeing Yi Geum declared crown prince, Moon-soo passing the test and finally realizing his dream of being in the Saheonbu, and Yeo-ji restored to her damo status just made me so proud. They’ve been powerless for so long, and they’ve suffered so badly, but they never gave up and now they’re taking their power for themselves. I can’t wait to see them kicking ass and taking names.

Speaking of emotional scenes, I was the one crying during the scene when Yi Geum didn’t allow his friends to bow to them, but made them stand as his equals. I knew he’d be that sort of prince, but it was so sweet to see the kind, grateful look on his face as he regarded them, and their pride to be friends of the new crown prince. I can’t wait to see the day when he appoints them to the positions they held in their game, and he proves to them that status truly doesn’t matter — what counts is a person’s skill, and what’s in their hearts.

I think that it’s an interesting choice to make Yi Geum such an emotional character, and it’s a choice that works very well for him. We know that the real-life King Yeonjo was a thoughtful, humble man, so it makes sense that he would be quite emotional as well. But mostly, as a viewer I love seeing how much he’s affected whenever something important happens, rather than the typical stoic, strong-hearted expression we tend to see with male sageuk characters. Yi Geum is a bit of a crybaby, but I love it, because it shows that he feels things deeply and meaningfully. For me, his willingness to show weakness is actually a strength, because it gives him an interesting vulnerability that no doubt makes his friends that much more protective of him. Even though he’s intelligent and strong, Yi Geum is also a bit of a cinnamon roll, and that quality only strengthens his ties with those who care about him.

Everything seems rosy for Yi Geum now that he’s achieved his goal, but I have never been so scared of Yi Tan as I am now. He’s lost his chance at ruling the country, a position he wants for selfish reasons but also to restore his family line, which he believes was wrongly cheated out of the throne. He’s more dangerous now that he’s ever been, because he’s not just willing to kill his enemies, which wasn’t so strange at this time in history, but he’s an actual serial murderer who now has nothing to lose. My worry is that Minister Min is going to team up with Yi Tan and escalate their attempts to assassinate Yi Geum — Yi Tan to try to get the throne again, and Minister Min for who only knows why, because his motives seem to change every five minutes. Regardless of the reason, I’m glad that Yi Geum has his allies and that they now have power, because I think they’re about to need it.

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I so love this drama. I love that Yi Geum is fighting for what he believes in such a interesting manner. It is transparent yet intricate with just the right amount of spunk and boldness. Loved the end. I have to add. Kwon Yul is killing it. I was so pround of Moon Soo when he said..."now, you are all dead"....I just love him here. Yeo Ji, I know there probably will not be a happy end for her and Yi Geum but as long as they get a few moments of happiness stolen in between all of these politics and game of survival, I will be happy. Speaking of Yeo Ji, Go Ara hurt her legs again. She is apparently hospitalized and needs some rest for now. I hope she recovers fully. I would hate it if she can't continue but health comes first. But this being a show mostly focused around Yi Geum, I am hoping they can schedule things in a way that she can come back after recovering. As for Yi Tan, he is such a loose cannon.....yet the actor plays him with this vulnerability that there are moments when you feel bad for him. Happy that this is a 48 episode drama although things are moving fast. It allows them to have fun with these historically real character enough to make a damn entertaining show.

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I was pleasantly surprised by Moon-soo's streak of brilliant thinking this eps. That moment when he fiercely told Byung-joo to pick the road that will ensure his survival, I cheered out loud. That was just the exact thing someone as opportunistic as Byung-joo needed to hear to actually do something helpful for our good guys while he simply did things to fulfill his own needs.

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"so Ja-dong tells her to go with him as his concubine, but she’s not keen on the idea." Poor Jo-hong. Jo-hong hinted she has to sleep with him first to become concubine. And thanks to her, we know Yi Geum is womanizer only in words (Does this mean Yeo-ji is his first crush?)

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Ohh, so that's what she meant. I came to read the recaps to get a better idea of what she said in that scene, because I couldn't understand what she meant. But the recaps did not mention this detail, so thanks for clarifying!

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@fanwho fan (Translator of Interviews?), @PMSahjumoni

In the subtitles I read, Jo-hong said something to the effect that Yi Geum is actually a shy guy in reality. Thanks for confirming that. ;-)

Jo-hong also noted that the King has to give approval for Yi Geum to take a concubine. (Or would that be the Dowager Queen's purview?)

Having been married off to a noblewoman who loathed his half-blood status, I get the impression that Yi Geum may have been pursuing a policy similar to Yi Heon's in CROWNED CLOWN. It wouldn't surprise me if he were avoiding bringing children into a family and society that would treat them as pariahs. But not having children would be considered unfilial and an affront to the ancestors. Talk about a no-win situation.

IMHO, his wife is a shrew who is Yoon-young Lite. Yi Geum is a lot more understanding of her abusiveness than I feel like being. It will be interesting to see if she changes her tune now that her husband's status has risen.

Yi Geum came to Jo-hong's aid and treats her as a human being because of his own humble origins. Yeo-ji takes him at face value because she has no reason not to -- and unknowingly steals his heart in the process.

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I thought the scene where the guards showed up to get Yi Geum was very well played. His decision to go out and face them showed so much character. Having his friends gathered around, thinking they might never see him again, added so much tension. And the way the salute was carried out did seem ambiguous at first, as though they might be drawing their weapons. Well done, show.

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@lindag latebloomer,
The scene of the King's guards coming for Yi Geum was a replay of the arrest of Han Jung-seok at his home. Yeoninggun did exactly what the honorable Inspector did. He went out and faced the music. The tip-off that he was being saluted rather than arrested was the manner in which the chief guard held his sword in its scabbard horizontally in front of him.

The Dopest Military Uniforms Throughout History From Around the World
https://www.complex.com/style/2014/11/best-military-uniforms-in-the-world/south-korea

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Every episode I declare, "this episode was the best!" 😁 But this one really was the best. I particularly loved the dramatic moment when the guards announced they were there to protect the Crown Prince. Very well done.

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AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Finally! *pumps fists in the air*

But I thought his wife was going to divorce him or was she just throwing a tantrum that time? Thanks for the recap!

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lol well actually, yi geum offered the divorce first(don't think women could initiate it at the time...) because he volunteered to be exiled and she freaked out about that. But then of course the exile didn't happen so that was that.

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Oh okay, thank you. I was confused why she was sticking around.

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I'm really glad that @lollypip is recapping this show, but I'm kind of sad that so few Beanies seem to be watching. The first episode got more than 50 comments, but the most recent episodes have gotten is 21. This is such a good drama! Where is everyone???

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Hi @lindag latebloomer,
I agree about the quality of this drama. Hopefully some of THE CROWNED CLOWN viewers have come over and are getting caught up. I can attest that it was difficult watching two sageuks at the same time.
HAECHI is scheduled for 48 episodes so there is plenty of story to be told.

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OOH 48 episodes? I thought we were half way through. I need to reassess haha haha.

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I really love this drama too and am also surprised there aren’t that many people watching. Actually I seldom watch airing drama as I get really impatient waiting for the episodes. I tried to hold back for this series but couldn’t. And now that I m finally caught up, I think I ll regret it when I ll be waiting painstakingly for the next episodes.

Love all the actors here , even the baddies. Jung il woo, as always, is just perfect for this role. I really think he does sageuks best. And like lollypip said, I like it that he’s a bit of a crybaby here. It really shows his feelings and viewers could really feel his pain, frustrations and even tears of joy. Thank you lollypip for recapping !

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Man I was literally shaking at that ending, like whew!! And also I admit that I was just a teeny bit disappointed -- I wanted to see Dalmoon fight that old man T-T

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I'm getting caught up. While not quite this far yet, I wanted to post a link to the OST, Part 1. Quite a melancholic earworm. Lovely.
http://www.dramabeans.com/members/pakalanapikake/activity/738960/

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@pakalanapikake,
While waiting you to arrive in “HAECHI” with all your troops (wit, history, perspective etc.) I am glad you sent out a scouting party.
I checked out your link to Jung In’s beautiful vocal. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she also provided OST vocals to YOUR HONOR.

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Part 1 of 2

Many thanks, @marcusnyc20 bong-soo, for your comment that [Choi] Jung In, who sings HAECHI’s OST Part 1 “Love to Death,” had also sung OST Part 1 “Comfort” for YOUR HONOR / DEAR JUDGE. That prompted me to look up her earlier OST – and this old discussion thread:
http://www.dramabeans.com/2018/09/open-thread-568/#comment-3302258

Now I know why the woman who sang the HAECHI OST sounded familiar. Jung In’s voice and the song’s melancholic tone reminded me of Ahn Ye-eun’s “Magic Lily” from REBEL [OST Part 5], but when I looked up my Kdrama log notes for YOUR HONOR, I came across a comment that it brought to mind Kim Yoon-ah’s “The Road” [SIGNAL, OST Part 4]. All of them are moody and sad, and I love them.

Tangential to HAECHI:

A couple of weeks after you, @bbstl, @ally-le, and I wracked our brains to identify the classical-sounding instrumental that played in later episodes of YOUR HONOR, the two-disc soundtrack was released on 09/20/18. But it wasn’t until after I posted the first OST for HAECHI on my fan wall on 03/13/19 that I went back and looked at the entry for the YOUR HONOR OST and got a positive ID. It was worth the wait to finally learn the titles and artists of what turned out to be two lovely pieces of instrumental music based on work by Tchaikovsky. I practically levitated for joy. ;-)
https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Your_Honor_OST

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that our Beanie classical music mavens will be able to identify the source of the motif(s) used in both tracks.

I’ve posted them on my fan wall – to make it harder for crawlers to locate them for removal of their links. (Yes, there is a method to my madness.)

Disc 2, Tracks 47 & 48 (“Law-Abiding Society” & “Enduring Alone”)
http://www.dramabeans.com/members/pakalanapikake/activity/744589/

Track 48 is a shorter piece based on the same motif by Tchaikovsky. I have not found a separate recording of it.

Track 47 only (“Law-Abiding Society” aka “Statue Of Social Standards”)
http://www.dramabeans.com/members/pakalanapikake/activity/744599/

- Continued -

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The motif is the opening to Seranade for Strings, played here in Seoul in 2014: https://youtu.be/DPBKukl0oc4

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Part 2 of 2

Six Degrees of Tchaikovsky:

For some reason, the feel of the motif(s) of the Tchaikovsky-based OSTs remind me of Joseph Haydn’s iconic 1797 anthem to the last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II, later the Emperor of Austria. Entitled “Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser” (“God Save Emperor Francis”), it is also known as “Kaiserhymne” (“Emperor’s Hymn”). It was later used as the basis for a movement in a string quartet. Tchaikovsky orchestrated “Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser” in 1874, giving it a rousingly imperial “1812”-ish flair. Having never been commercially recorded, it was broadcast for the first time ever in 2007 by the BBC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gott_erhalte_Franz_den_Kaiser (lyrics)
http://www.dramabeans.com/members/pakalanapikake/activity/744553/
http://www.dramabeans.com/members/pakalanapikake/activity/744561/

Come to think of it, Yi Geum could really use an anthem like this. Some of the lyrics, particularly from 1826 and 1854, express ideals that inspire him. ;-)

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Bravo!!! @pakalanapikake and @ally-le for solving the mystery of the strings instrumental from episode 24 of YOUR HONOR.
This really made my day.
I feel like it is like something out of a kdrama.
“See, we were not crazy!”

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@marcusnyc20 bong-soo,
I recall how you asked your musician / musicologist buddy to try to identify it. Please be sure to let him know the outcome, okay? I appreciated his attempts to ID it for us. ;-)

LOL at uri little Kdrama whodunnit. ;-)

@vespertyne:
https://www.viki.com/tv/36113c-your-honor

The first few episodes have incomplete English subtitles.

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For context here is the scene in episode 24 of YOUR HONOR where this string instrumental was used.
For those who did not see YH you can get a taste of Yoon Shi-yoon and Lee Yoo-young's wonderful performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXU98-9X0TU

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Wow - I've never even heard of Your Honor, but now I really want to see it. Please let it be on Viki . . . .

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@vespertyne, sorry in advance for the length of this.
I am so glad we (with @pakalanapikake) piqued your interest in YOUR HONOR. Yoon Shi-yoon played dual roles and it was his next drama after his own very well received saguek GRAND PRINCE. GP was my first YSY drama. I had not seen him before. It aired during the DB dry spell so GP fans hung out and commented on a hijacked thread. We had a ball. @pakalanapikake made the point that in portraying Lee Hwi in GP, YSY had damped down his natural charisma. Like I said that was the only drama I had seen him in Then came the first episodes of his highly anticipated YOUR HONOR. This was my comment in THE CROWNED CLOWN (where YJG had dual roles) episode 1 recap where I reference YH:

Sorry to go o/tt so soon but TCC is my most anticipated drama since YOUR HONOR and I want to tell you I am so glad I don’t have to go through the early episode angst that I did with YH. (For the unfamiliar: YH was Yoon Shi-yoon’s next drama after his fine performance in the sageuk GRAND PRINCE. After the first two 30 minute episodes of YH I was in shock and I will leave it at that other than to say that the YH ship righted itself and became a very good drama (except for the ending.) Apologies for the digression and I will try to stay on topic from here on out.

I loved seeing YSY as Judge Han Soo-ho hunched over the bench with his tie askew. He was great. I hope you are able to watch and enjoy.

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Was it one of the two episodes prior to these that this song started playing while Yi Geum and Yeo Ji are staring at each other? Or maybe it was these two episodes. Whichever, I watched them last weekend, and immediately hit YouTube to find the Haechi OST, to hear the song again and put it on my playlist. Love it. My favorite video is the one that features Jung In singing the song in studio, cut with scenes from the drama. Had to watch it about 10 more times after catching up on all the aired episodes last night!

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Ooh, I like the video you posted, too. It’s like a compilation of key moments in the drama. But because I really fell in love with this song when it played during a Yi Geum Yeo Ji interaction, and Because I like to see the singers as well as parts of the drama, I just really loved the way this video shows Jung In singing so emotionally, and focuses on those “moments” between Yi Geum and Yeo Ji. This is the type of romance I like best.

https://youtu.be/r_7t86WN89A

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Thanks @vespertyne. Lovely.

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Be sure to click on the CC button to display the English lyrics. :-)

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cc: @marcusnyc20 bong-soo

Thank you for your recap, @lollypip! Huzzah for the good guys, who finally caught a couple of long-overdue breaks.

That was a nice assassin fake-out, what with Yi Tan sending the ninja SWAT team after Yi Geum, and Minister Min siccing his grim reaper after the prince as well. Too bad the old boy didn’t get the memo that the prince had bequeathed his gently-used hanbok to his cronies so they could pass for yangban. Minister Min didn’t bother to describe the target, apparently. Perhaps he would have attacked anyone dressed as a yangban who exited the premises. Min is losing his touch. He doesn’t seem to have checked in with his assassin, so he counted his chickens before they hatched. He’s getting slipshod – a nice indicator that Yi Geum’s year-long campaign to push the Norons to splinter is beginning to work.

It was amusing to see the Saheonbu’s nameless Senior Inspector and Executive Inspector Wi freaking out over the conflicting orders from the Chief Inspector and Noron Honcho Min. Ha ha! It was actually an inspired decision to trigger straight-arrow Inspector Yoon Hyuk’s trademark response to political shenanigans in order to avoid having to take sides in the battle over the succession. On the other hand, once Moon-soo passed the gwageo and showed up in his brand spanking new Saheonbu inspector’s uniform, I was ready to cheer when he declared his intention to reveal who killed Inspector Han Jung-seok. (Speaking of whom: Whatever happened to his little son? What gives? Has he been kidnapped? Or did he die of Yeo-ji’s inedible cooking?)

I loved how Yi Geum replied to the King’s query as to whether he had designs on the throne: directly and in the affirmative. He did exactly the same thing as when he asked his father to send him into exile for colluding with Yi Tan to take the gwageo on behalf of someone else. It was interesting to watch how the King reacted when he told him to indict him for treason. It drove home the fact that he was at the mercy of his brother’s suspicion, and broke through the paranoia so lovingly planted by Min. Here’s hoping that His Majesty continues to make progress in standing up against the rest of the court. I was heartened by his response to Min’s complaints.

Yi Tan continues to be one sick puppy. I couldn’t get over how he ranted at Queen Seonui. Yoon-young had to try to rein him in, and barely succeeded. I have to agree with @lordcobol that the murderous prince’s assassins are so lame they let their boss kill them.

Dal-moon’s secret back office reminds me of the ones in SEVEN DAY QUEEN and MR. SUNSHINE (which was hiding in plain sight). Is his operation the Joseon branch of NIRVANA IN FIRE’s Lang Ya Hall?! – Now that he and Yeoning Seja have teamed up, how will Dal-moon extricate himself from his collaboration with Minister Min? I hate to think of the revenge Min will exact upon Dal-moon’s people.

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I'm playing catch up here and this show is just so amazing.....been a while since i was so entranced by a period drama (since Six Flying Dragons).

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