THE RED SLEEVE: EPS 1 – Crown Prince Sado, who died as a sinner. (Part 1)
(Viki’s sub).
SCENE: Yi San sneaking out to pay his last respect to his biological grandmother Royal Noble Consort Yeong.
FLASHBACK: San and his grandfather King Yeongjo inside the palace.
King: Do you want to see Concubine Yeong?
San: I heard her illness is very advanced.
King: San-ah, as your grandfather. I really appreciate your compassion. But, what can I do? You can no longer see her as easily as you used to.
San: I implore you, Grandfather, Royal Concubine Yeong was still my grand–
Angry king: If she was your biological grandmother, is the now-deceased Crown Prince your father? Crown Prince Sado who died as a sinner?
If he was your father then you’ll have to live the rest of your life as a sinner.
San: No, that’s not true Grandfather. I’ll never again ask you to let me see Royal Concubine Yeong.
I ask you to please forgive me.
History – (from The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong).
Prince Sado’s bizarre execution by his father was an attempt to avoid the appearance of a criminal execution, which would, under the Joseon custom, have required punishment of his entire family. Sado’s son, the only remaining heir to the throne, would have likewise borne the stigma of criminality, something the Joseon court could not afford.
In 1764, to lessen the impact of the incident of Prince Sado on Jeongjo’s (Yi San) legitimacy, King Yeongjo made Jeongjo a posthumously adopted son of Prince Hyojang, the deceased older brother of Prince Sado. This measure legally severed Jeongjo (Yi San) from Prince Sado; it meant that Jeongjo (Yi San) was not in any legal sense the son of one who might be called a criminal. Despite these benefits, the adoption made an already delicate issue far more complex.
Soo it sounds to me like Yeongjo wanted to publicly and criminally execute his son (or was forced to do so?) but he didn’t want to implicate his grandson, so starving Sado in a rice chest was his workaround. I was discussing about Sado’s execution with dramalover4ever the other day and we both thought that there are better ways to secretly get rid of Sado without implicating his family. So yes, like you said, “bizarre” is such an apt way to describe the whole story.
Pretty much.
There is so much in the background that the drama does not have time to explain. The decision was not made by Yeongjo alone, but since he is the king, he made the last call, and it went down in history as the father who killed his son.
Sado’s mother was involved out of concern for her grandson, daughter in law and those around him. His father-in-law, who suggested to Yeongjo to put his son inside a rice chest and provide it himself, was also involved. Yeongjo’s political supporters (the Norons) who put him on the throne were also involved.
Yeongjo was an illegitimate son of a water maid without political support, so he, out of loyalty, took them seriously.
There is also the question of mental illness and the lives that Sado took and would continue to take if they didn’t do anything about it.
Sadly, mental illness and back then was not looked upon with understanding and empathy as we do now. It was probably seen as a curse since treatment was lacking.
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kiara
November 23, 2021 at 11:03 PM
THE RED SLEEVE: EPS 1 – Crown Prince Sado, who died as a sinner. (Part 1)
(Viki’s sub).
SCENE: Yi San sneaking out to pay his last respect to his biological grandmother Royal Noble Consort Yeong.
FLASHBACK: San and his grandfather King Yeongjo inside the palace.
King: Do you want to see Concubine Yeong?
San: I heard her illness is very advanced.
King: San-ah, as your grandfather. I really appreciate your compassion. But, what can I do? You can no longer see her as easily as you used to.
San: I implore you, Grandfather, Royal Concubine Yeong was still my grand–
Angry king: If she was your biological grandmother, is the now-deceased Crown Prince your father? Crown Prince Sado who died as a sinner?
If he was your father then you’ll have to live the rest of your life as a sinner.
San: No, that’s not true Grandfather. I’ll never again ask you to let me see Royal Concubine Yeong.
I ask you to please forgive me.
History – (from The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong).
Prince Sado’s bizarre execution by his father was an attempt to avoid the appearance of a criminal execution, which would, under the Joseon custom, have required punishment of his entire family. Sado’s son, the only remaining heir to the throne, would have likewise borne the stigma of criminality, something the Joseon court could not afford.
In 1764, to lessen the impact of the incident of Prince Sado on Jeongjo’s (Yi San) legitimacy, King Yeongjo made Jeongjo a posthumously adopted son of Prince Hyojang, the deceased older brother of Prince Sado. This measure legally severed Jeongjo (Yi San) from Prince Sado; it meant that Jeongjo (Yi San) was not in any legal sense the son of one who might be called a criminal. Despite these benefits, the adoption made an already delicate issue far more complex.
purplefall
November 24, 2021 at 9:18 PM
Soo it sounds to me like Yeongjo wanted to publicly and criminally execute his son (or was forced to do so?) but he didn’t want to implicate his grandson, so starving Sado in a rice chest was his workaround. I was discussing about Sado’s execution with dramalover4ever the other day and we both thought that there are better ways to secretly get rid of Sado without implicating his family. So yes, like you said, “bizarre” is such an apt way to describe the whole story.
kiara
November 25, 2021 at 1:20 PM
Comment was deleted
kiara
November 25, 2021 at 2:19 PM
Pretty much.
There is so much in the background that the drama does not have time to explain. The decision was not made by Yeongjo alone, but since he is the king, he made the last call, and it went down in history as the father who killed his son.
Sado’s mother was involved out of concern for her grandson, daughter in law and those around him. His father-in-law, who suggested to Yeongjo to put his son inside a rice chest and provide it himself, was also involved. Yeongjo’s political supporters (the Norons) who put him on the throne were also involved.
Yeongjo was an illegitimate son of a water maid without political support, so he, out of loyalty, took them seriously.
There is also the question of mental illness and the lives that Sado took and would continue to take if they didn’t do anything about it.
Sadly, mental illness and back then was not looked upon with understanding and empathy as we do now. It was probably seen as a curse since treatment was lacking.