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Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung (2019)

The word “Historian” made this the inevitable next drama for me.  It is not as high-profile a sageuk as Yeonmo but I find its plot more substantial, and more logically controlled and linked.  I read that this is not the historically accurate time frame for females being appointed to the court for such jobs, but who cares; the focus on the female historians is a fantastic idea (so is having a mystery teenage prince who writes trashy romance novels!).  



The interplay of humour + palace intrigue and rivalry, modern versus traditional, male versus female, loyalty versus betrayal is engaging.  Characters and their background are also well developed.  The mini Catholic sub-plot was a surprise and I was glad to see the struggles and work of the Church in its early days there sympathetically presented.  Plenty of stunning colours, composites and hanbok here too, of course!


Shin Se-kyung does an excellent job as Hae-ryung, switching expertly between comic and serious scenes, so she deserves the title! [“seamless” being a word I would use for her as well as Choi Myung-bin in the boy/crown prince and girl/palace maid roles in Yeonmo]  A host of secondary character roles are also memorable, such as her fellow historians, especially the hilarious head historian and the conflicted senior historian, Prince Yi-rim's (Cha Eun-woo, another K-pop idol!) faithful eunuch and maids, and the seedy bookseller.  



My major quarrels with this show are: weak acting for the other major roles (okay, Yi-rim starts to have a more regal aura late in the show and he does nail some emotional scenes; the crown prince is a let-down, though) and why/how Hae-ryung and Yi-rim are/become a couple.  He seems more like a kid who has a crush on his teacher and I can’t really tell what makes her decide on him as a partner.  I thought she and the senior historian would be more compatible but I do like how his backstory includes his undying love for his now-dead wife. 



Nevertheless, this show made me laugh a lot and I could appreciate the challenges and hard work of females in a time when it was still considered right not to accord them equal status.  Funny yet meaningful. You can find it here: Rookie Historian

 

20 episodes, MBC

 

photos from Hancinema

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