‘The King’s Affection’: 3 Keys Details Learned in the K-Drama’s First Episode
Netflix debuted its newest original historical Korean drama on Oct.11, The King’s Affection. Fans have looked foward to the K-drama’s premiere as it stars SF9 K-Pop idol Rowoon and actor Park Eun-bin. The romance storyline centers around royal twins separated at birth. Circumstances cause the crown prince to die and his identical sister to take his place.
What hooked K-drama fans to watch was its interesting take on romance. The K-drama’s first episode takes place in the past and explains the main characters, their storyline and key details that will be important as the K-drama progresses.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers about The King’s Affection.]
The royal prince remeets his sister and swap places leading to his death
The first episode of The King’s Affection K-drama explains why Dam-i (Park) is banished from the palace after her birth. Boy and girl twins are seen as bad omen and forbidden in the palace. The king says it is blasphemous that the royal prince and future king shared a womb with a girl. He orders the child to be killed. The twins’ mother, the royal princess, manages to fool everyone the child died after birth. In reality, they stopped the baby’s pulse long enough to get her out of the palace.
Dam-i was sent to a monastery outside the palace, but a fire left her an orphan. She is taken in by a maiden in the royal court. This leads to Dam-i crossing paths with her twin brother. Once realizing they look identical, the crown prince uses Dam-i as a body double. But, the royal officials and the King learn of Dam-i’s existence and her mother’s betrayal.
The King sends a mercenary to kill Dam-i. But, the Dam-i they are after is actually the prince, Lee Hwi, posing as his sister. In the end, the mercenary is successful, unaware he killed the prince. Dam-i has no choice but to give up her life and pose as the prince to ensure her safety.
Dam-i and Jung Ji-woon have a fated romance since childhood in ‘The King’s Affection’ K-drama
Idol turned actor Rowoon plays the lead male character Jung Ji-woon. The K-drama’s first episode seals Ji-woon and Lee Hwi’s destined fate and romance. Ji-woon’s father is a nobleman, and Ji-woon tags along to the palace for a banquet. In a twist of fate, Ji-woon meets Lee Hwi and its love-at-first-sight. The two characters become smitten with one another. But, the prince’s death forces Lee Hwi to miss their date and lose touch with Ji-woon as she must give up her life to become the prince.
The events are important in The King’s Affection K-drama romance storyline. In the trailers, fate brings them together once again when Ji-woon becomes Lee Hwi’s teacher years later. It also explains why Ji-woo feels a connection to Lee Hwi and believes they have met before. Ji-woo and Lee Hwi’s past together and current developing feelings pose a problem.
According to Forbes, “The drama’s switched identities and gender confusion promise some amusing Shakespearean plot twists, but also ongoing tension as the love between the disguised princess and Ji-woon could prove fatal.” The Netflix historical K-drama will challenge the boundaries of attraction.
Dam-i’s maternal grandfather becomes an enemy in ‘The King’s Affection’
The beginning of Netflix’s first episode was emotional, to say the least. Once discovering the princess gave birth to male and female twins, the King orders the female child’s execution. Agreeing with the King’s actions is the princess’s father. He cares more for the palace than his daughter.
Fans might not have expected the princess to have such a driving force in the K-drama. Years later, when hearing her son talk about a maid that looks identical to him, she sends to find her. Audiences could feel the princess’s heartache hearing her daughter lived a lonely life with no one to care for her.
The episode soon revealed that her father still holds onto the King’s rule of killing the female child. When learning Dam-i is alive, he threatens his daughter for her betrayal. He is adamant about sticking to the rules and orders Dam-i’s death. In the first episode, the character’s actions mark a long-lasting enemy for Dam-i, leading her to guard her secret. It is also revealed that Ji-woon’s father is the one who unknowingly killed the crown prince.
The King’s Affection is available to stream on Netflix.
