Cha Joo-young returns as the queen of Joseon.

The tvN·TVING original drama ‘Won-gyeong’ (directed by Kim Sang-ho, written by Lee Young-mi) depicts the passionate stories hidden between the king and queen, husband and wife, and the story centered around Queen Wongyeong, who seized power with her husband, King Taejong Yi Bang-won, while dreaming of a new world. It recreates and interprets the narrative of the couple, known as political partners, from the perspective of Won-gyeong, who dreamed of a new world. In other words, it suggests the possibility of historical distortion.

Cha Joo-young takes on the role of Queen Wongyeong of the Min clan, challenging the historical drama genre for the first time. Accordingly, the production team released two posters and a teaser video for ‘Won-gyeong’ on the 29th. First, Won-kyung, the woman who dreamed of a new world in the first poster, has finally achieved her husband Lee Bang-won‘s (played by Lee Hyun-wook) coronation and entered the center of the world she had been dreaming of. Her back view as she stands looking at Daejeon also conveys her overwhelming emotions. The image of the red sun shining on the world above the high peak and the blue moon rising even higher catches the eye. The sun and moon, which represent Taejong Lee Bang-won and Won-kyung, must be together to create balance in the sky. However, the different phases of the ‘sun and moon’ amplify curiosity about the hidden narrative between the couple.



In the second poster, Won-kyung is standing in the middle of the side hall where the king usually resides and conducts state affairs. Her strong will is revealed in her face full of elegance and charisma, staring straight ahead. However, Won-gyeong, who dreamed of a new world, is set to face turbulent changes after becoming queen through the coronation ceremony. Attention is being paid to what kind of diverse stories Won-gyeong, who found out that she dreamed of a different world from her husband, Lee Bang-won, will write as his political partner, queen of Joseon, and above all, a wife.

Another point to watch for is what kind of image Cha Joo-young, who has a modern charm, will present in the historical drama. A different atmosphere can be seen in Won-gyeong, who is dressed in the same outfit as in the teaser video and preparing for the coronation ceremony.


However, since the drama features real people, the issue of historical distortion can arise even if the drama is a fictional worldview. There was already a controversy over historical distortion in the TVING original ‘Queen Woo’. In addition, ‘Mr. Queen’ is one of the works that reached the peak of historical distortion, leaving aside dramatic fun. It remains to be seen how much historical distortion that goes against national sentiment in an extremely commercial drama can be tolerated within the framework of a ‘worldview of imagination’.

‘Wonkyung‘Episodes 1 and 2 will be released first on TVING at 2 PM on January 6, 2025. Episode 1 will air later on tvN at 8:50 PM.

Hong Se-young, Donga.com Reporter projecthong@donga.com