Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung

Wow... I have not posted on this blog since 2016, and my last pop-culture entertainment post was actually in 2015! FOUR years! Well, I guess I finally have some time, both in the chronological sense and also mentally, after finishing internal medicine residency and geriatric medicine fellowship to sit down and blog about recent dramas I've been watching. Of note, I've never completely stopped watching Asian dramas or Asian shows in general, but just never had time or energy to blog about it. I've always found Asian shows to be therapeutic, and now I'm excited to also dive deeper into my thoughts with blogging.

I was initially drawn to this new Korean drama, currently airing in Korea and on Netflix (oh how times have changed just since 2015 when Asian dramas airing live on Netflix wasn't a thing yet!), admittedly because of Cha Eun-woo (My ID is Gangnam Beauty, which, by the way, is an amazing drama deeply reflective about today's beauty standards and how they destroy our society - highly recommended) from K-pop idol group ASTRO. I loved My ID is Gangnam Beauty so much that I just have positive feelings towards any actor from that production and would likely support and try out any of their subsequent projects.

Anyway, we are 4 weeks into the show and episode 7 just aired with episode 8 airing in a few hours in Korea. I am here writing about this show mostly because I'm confused and feeling torn about this show. I was initially going to tweet about it (follow me! @karebearnoona) but quickly realized I had way more screencaps and thoughts than would be acceptable on stan Twitter.

Okay, so re: my confusion. What is this show really about? I can't decide, and it seems Show also cannot decide. Is it supposed to be a Historical Romance with all the love triangles and squares? Or Historical Drama documenting the difficulties of being the first women government officials? Or Historical Political with all the usual court cronies scheming behind everyone's backs? There are too many plotlines going on at once, and that's okay, but they are not tightly woven, only loosely related to each other, and the pacing is super slow. I'm okay with it right now, but I just wish Show would hurry up and choose its identity. I feel like only then can it come into its own and really make some impactiful statements.



Here is Show trying to be Historical Romance with all the cute, which I definitely appreciate. Shin Se-kyung plays the titular character, GOO HAE-RYUNG, one of the rookie female historians, while Cha plays the younger prince second in line to the throne, PRINCE DOWON. Their scenes are mildly entertaining but lack a truly heart-fluttering oomph to their chemistry. Sadly.

Still, the cute is cute. Here's a scene when Dowon is trying to pull on Hae-ryung's figurative pigtails and ends up getting a little too close. (Or maybe that's exactly where he wants to be.)

I do like how Prince Dowon and Hae-ryung have a connection over literature and books. That just tickles the bookworm in me. I especially found this scene cute where Dowon writes Hae-ryung a poem as a gift, but gets shy when he writes one about love, realizing that the poem's message hits too close to home a little too soon. Then commence chase scene around Royal Prince's private headquarters. Squeal.

I'm actually more of a fan of OFFICER MIN's (Lee Ji-hoon) relationship with Hae-ryung and wish they could play that out more. Since Officer Min is one of the senior historians in the court, he automatically has a mentor-mentee relationship with Hae-ryung, but it's more than that. Hae-ryung is constantly challenging the more rigid, traditional-minded Officer Min, which impresses him and he quickly develops a soft spot for Hae-ryung. His show of affection is very tsundere, teaching her the important lessons the hard way but always watching out for her. He desperately wants her to improve the way she wants to improve - not as a damsel in distress, but a person defined by the intellects of her mind and the ambitions of her heart, not by the gender she was born into. This is a relationship I can get behind. 

Also, to be completely honest, their chemistry also just sizzles and pops more. Look at this sweet exchange in episode 7. And look at Prince Dowon stewing in jealousy in the blurry background, hehe. 

Some of the shots are gorgeous. These eye candies are always a plus in historical dramas. 

However, what I love most about this show is how it takes its time to portray the difficulties of being not only a woman in Joseon Korean, but also one of the first women government officials. This group of 4 women has to fight to gain their own identity and respectability among not only the men but the women as well. They are not accepted by the men who feel like their own positions are threatened by women joining their workforce, but also bullied by the women of the court who don't know what to do with women who don't act like other women in the Royal Court. It's pretty rough to watch, but simutaneously cathartic because some things are still true today. Sadly. 

I also truly appreciated this exchange between Crown Prince Yi Jin (PARK KI-WOONG) and Song Sa-hui (PARK JI-HYUN) one of the other rookie female historians. He asks her why he became a female historian, a difficult job as just previously mentioned, when her father is a wealthy nobleman with lots of connections begging for her hand in marriage. 

And she basically shuts him down, telling him none of those material riches have her name on them and she essentially has nothing - because she's a woman. The Crown Prince is not usually an insensitive fool, so it's telling that even he doesn't understand his male privilege and the plight of women, even those from noble families.

Like I said, the individual plotlines are great. Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung has all the right elements, but right now they're not coming together for me in a strong, impactful way. I'm going to keep watching and hoping the show will find its rhythm.