Im Ji-yeon‘s enterprising activities that add meaning to the fierce survival period are truly showing their worth.

In JTBC’s Saturday-Sunday drama ‘Lady Ok‘s Tale’ (written by Park Ji-sook, directed by Jin Hyeok and Choi Bo-yoon), the fate of Ok Tae-young (played by Im Ji-yeon), an independent woman who will never be seen again in Joseon, is significant. It does not stop at simply depicting a person successfully turning her life around by taking on another’s identity. It fights against discrimination that a woman can do in the class society of Joseon. This also contains real-life gender conflicts. The work also contains the incompetent people in real society who criticize, detest, and instigate conflicts even between men and women. The figure of the mother who throws away even her maternal love purely contains the cruel reality where even her children are used as tools to achieve what she wants.

In this process, the character of Ok Tae-young is very special. Ok Tae-young, who was oppressed and treated worse than an animal because of her lowly status, escaped on her own, and now lives a new life as a nobleman, forging her own destiny. She protects those she loves, and she helps those who have been wronged because they are powerless, both materially and spiritually, and implements justice and bestows grace. This is not the implementation of social justice. If she didn‘t know, she wouldn’t have refused those who ask her for strength, but rather with good intentions and willingness to help them.


This is why Ok Tae-young threw away the skirt that she thought would be her friend all her life in order to avoid being found out, and began to speak up in front of people with confidence. Because she was able to speak on behalf of the resentment of Maxim (played by Kim Jae-hwa) and Baek-yi (played by Yoon Seo-ah), who were her family and comrades, better than anyone else, she went out to the outskirts herself. This was in contrast to the former mistress, Kim So-hye (played by Ha Yul-ri), who did not even think of her servants as people and acted shamelessly.

After this, Ok Tae-young entered the outskirts, and through this incident, she met Seong Yoon-gyeom (played by Chu Young-woo), the son of the county magistrate Seong Gyu-jin (played by Seong Dong-il), and became the magistrate‘s daughter-in-law, and her subjectivity began to shine even brighter. Even when her family was in danger of ruin due to the jealousy of the magistrate and her husband ran away, Ok Tae-young personally took action to restore her family’s honor and protect her family.

In addition, Ok Tae-young‘s efforts resulted in rescuing slaves who had been used by their masters for their evil deeds, children who had been forced into illegal mining, and even innocent widows who had been used by the Chaste Women’s Gate. She personally demonstrates a life of responsibility because she has an impact on a wider area than just her own happiness and beliefs.

Lim Ji-yeon previously stated about Ok Tae-young, “The goal that Gu-deok wanted to achieve as a character named Tae-young was an independent life.” Writer Park Ji-sook also said, “He was born into a lowly society, but he does not succumb to his given fate, but constantly resists and forges his own path.” He explained, “Even in the face of countless adversities, she does not give in and survives in the end, and she has a strong survival instinct and an indomitable will that is not easily broken.”

Ok Tae-young’s proactive actions of finding a way in any difficult situation and never losing her ideals and warm heart toward others add meaning to the fierce fraud drama and provide deep resonance.

‘Madam Ok’s Story’, which has entered its second half, airs on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 PM.

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