| |
 |
 |
|
| |
|
|
 Princess Hours |
|
|
 Synopsis |
|
| Princess Hours is a drama that starts with the interesting premise. What if modern
Korea were a constitutional monarchy with a king? and offers two types of fun
the romance arising between a noble prince and an ordinary girl, and the familiarity
of all this happening in modern-day Korea. A perfect boy from a noble bloodline,
with good looks and a sense of unpolished beauty has to marry against his will
at the age of 17. An ordinary girl from an ordinary family, with a clumsy character,
average grades and average looks oversteps the prejudice and barriers surrounding
her. The process how they fall in love with each other unfolds with excitement.
Shin Chae-kyeong and Lee Shin, because they dont know each other well, go through
numerous incidents in which they end up fighting. Chae-kyeong witnesses the
scene where Lee Shin proposes to another woman to avoid their arranged marriage
and this is how the two become fully aware of each other’s feelings. The story
evolves from the fact that Chae ? kyoung’s grandfather was very close to the
former monarch, whose wish was for her and Shin to get married. This gives some
impetus to the otherwise unrealistic union of the two. As the drama progresses,
many other fine men, including Lee Yool, a cousin of the royal family, make
their appearance. The story of the two characters, who keep quarreling about
structural problems such as the rules of the royal household in the midst of
the difficulties of being a prince and of the arranged marriage, will unfold
in an interesting way. The show s fun lies in the episodes concerning the status
gap that exists between a prince and an ordinary citizen. As more problems of
status arise, the uniqueness of being a prince will be more greatly exposed,
and doubling the fun of Princess Hours.
When the kings illness gets worse, Crown Prince Shin receives an order to get
married his arranged marriage partner. Shin realizes that there have never been
personal choices available in the life of a Crown Prince, though he’s only nineteen.
Prince Shin proposes to his girlfriend Min Hyo-rin. Taking it as a joke, Hyo-rin
shows her cute smile and takes off to practice for an international ballet competition.
Shin doesnt hold onto her but just smiles faintly as she turns away and leaves….
Chae-kyeong has a dad who stays at home as a full time house-husband after his
business failed and a mom who works as an insurance consultant.
Chae-kyeong's family, which was able to create happiness in the midst of difficult
times, suddenly becomes in-laws with the royal household. To Chae-kyeongs parents
everything seems much more like a dream, as they see that the arranged marriage
grandfather always boasted of become realized. Chae-kyeong cries out loud, not
willing to accept the fact that she has to get married at the age of nineteen,
but Shin accepts the marriage, not caring about who becomes the queen.
To him, shes not a person he ll ever love anyways and she ll just live in the
palace like a doll. Meanwhile, Hyo-rin engages herself only in her ballet practice
abroad without knowing about her boyfriend s marriage. Yool, second ? in ? line
to the crown and the son of Crown Prince Hyo ? yeol, who abandoned his position
15 years ago and left with his wife for England, comes back to his motherland.
Upon hearing this news, the king instinctively senses the danger of Crown Prince
Shin losing the crown and orders Shin to be careful of Yool. Shin just laughs
at the fight over the crown and ignores the king s words. Chae-kyeong enters
the Oon-hyeon palace, the palace of the new queen - bride, to get educated as
the future queen. Shin, who visits the detached palace, is stunned by the beautiful
presence of Chae-kyeong in her ceremonial dress…
|
| Starring |
|
 |
Shin Chae-kyeong : Yoon
Eun-hae
An art major at an art high school who, one day,
suddenly becomes the queen.
She is an active girl who goes around wearing her
training pants inside her school uniform skirt and enjoys sketching scenes with
a comic-like imagination. Although she is easily befriended by anyone regardless
of age and doesn’t make enemies, once she starts disliking something she
continues to do so. After she becomes queen she is disappointed that Kwon
Tae-byeong is in fact the Crown Prince Shin; a young heartthrob who fights with
her endlessly over everyday issues. However, her affectionate feelings toward
Shin grow, once she starts living inside the palace and learns of the boredom
and loneliness he experiences. At the same time, she is confused by the feelings
she has toward Yool, whom she meets after she has already decided to get married
to Shin.
Chae-kyeong quickly and profoundly observes the hidden desires and
secrets of power found inside of the elegant palace better than anyone else. She
becomes a central character that changes not only the palace itself but also all
the other characters in the palace.
|
| |
 |
Lee Shin : Joo
Ji-hoon
The one and only Crown Prince of the Republic of
Korea; the young man who will inherit the throne.
He possesses the
intelligence and appearance of the son of a bright king and a beautiful queen.
Although he is irritated by the strict rules and dull life inside the palace and
feels bored with his life, he has an intense and ongoing struggle with his own
identity. Repelled by the fact that he has to spend his entire life as king
inside the palace, he dreams of escape. When he starts learning what it means to
be alive by looking at Queen Chae-kyeong, whom he marries without feelings of
love, he gradually gains strength in life and starts to feel love towards her.
Meanwhile, he plays love games with Hyo-rin, his ex-lover, and confronts Yool,
his rival, at every turn.
Shin is a “nowhere man” who believes that there is
no place for him; neither inside the palace nor anywhere else in the world.
|
| |
 |
Lee Yool : Kim Jeong-hoon
Sir Eui-sung; second-in-line in succession to the
throne.
Having spent most of his life abroad, he feels less aversion towards
the palace than Shin, and due to his innate optimistic character, intelligence,
and down-to-earth attitude, everyone loves him. While Shin is straightforward in
his behavior, Yool thoughtfully and philosophically considers his actions. He
feels deep affection and sympathy toward his mother, who had a difficult time in
raising him alone, and therefore understands his mother’s avarice toward power;
he himself slowly begins to express interest in the throne.
Yool develops an
interest in Chae-kyeong when he first meets her as he transfers to a private
school. He grows to love her so much that he considers the crown for the first
time when he learns that the marriage promise of the king concerns the ‘grandson
who will be crowned’ among the two grandsons of the king.
Although he keeps
his distance from Hyo-rin, who approaches him knowing that he’s ranked second in
succession to the throne, he gets to understand her pure desire and experiences
another change in feelings in his relationship with her. Like a plant absorbing
water, he gets involved in the situation of regal authority and in Hyo-rin,
naturally falling in love with her and becoming the rival for the one-and-only
successor to the crown. |
| |
 |
Min Hyo-rin : Song Ji-hyo
She is a perfectionist who has everything, including good
looks, money, and brains.
Love-calls from the royal household asking her to
be the daughter-in-law are endlessly pouring in. Her interest in becoming the
empress of the Republic of Korea and making Shin her own, grows. However, too
suddenly she awakens from her dream of becoming the queen when Shin, her lover,
has an arranged marriage with Chae-kyeong. She is hostile toward Chae-kyeong;
the young woman who is her worst enemy, having stolen her dreams, and constantly
attempts to recover her self-esteem and win over Shin’s love. Also, when she
approaches Yool, ranked second in succession, and sees the potential of
realizing her ambitions, she is perplexed by the unexpected change in emotions
she experiences.
A character that provides an important change in the
triangular and quadrilateral relationship composed of Chae-kyeong, Shin and
Yool. She’s an intelligent woman who knows to sacrifice something small for a
realistic gain.
Her efforts at obtaining her dreams and goals are purer and
more passionate than anyone else’s. | |
|
|
|
|
