Wednesday, January 31, 2007 Once upon a time By Lady Ochel Espinosa
WE ALL love fairytales!
But we love it even more if it still happens at this time and age.
Princess Hours( also known as Goong) is a Korean romantic comedy/drama, which had its first season run from January 11 to March 30, 2006. It was distributed by MBC, which ran episodes on Wednesdays and Thursdays every week until the show's completion. It was based on the Goong manhwa by So-Hee Park, which has run for 12 volumes (as of June 2006).
Princess Hours became one of MBC's most popular dramas of 2006Due to the success of the first season, a second season has been produced, a rare occasion in the Korean television industry. However, there was controversy over who had the rights to make the sequel, and as a result, two separate parties planned different sequels. Goong 2 is currently being planned, and Goong S started its run on Jan. 10, 2007.
Set in an alternate 21st-century reality where Korea possesses a royal family, this show revolves around the lives of the Crown Prince Lee Shin, and his new bride, Chae-kyeong. The depicted royal family in the show is modeled after the last royal family of Korea, which in reality reigned until the start of the Japanese Occupation in 1911 and was not reinstated after Japanese surrender in WW2.
The series starts off with the news that the King, Shin's father, is severely ill. With the grim outlook on the King's health, the royal family scrambles to find a wife for Shin, so as to allow him to take over the royal throne if the situation requires. Despite being in love with another girl, the ambitious and talented ballerina Hyo-rin who Shin initially proposed to (she rejects him to pursue her ballet dreams), Shin eventually marries a commoner who he was betrothed to by his late grandfather in an old agreement with the girl's grandfather. Shin marries the headstrong yet lovable Chae-kyeong after Hyo-rin's rejection. Despite initially feeling nothing for Chae-kyeong, love eventually blossoms between the couple.
In the meantime, however, matters are further complicated with the return of Lee Yool and his mother Lady Hwa-Yong, who was once the Crown Princess before the death of her husband, the late Crown Prince, older brother of the current King. Yool and his mother were chased out of the Palace some time after the death of his father, and it is later revealed that this was due to the King's discovery of an affair between Yool's mother and the current King who was his father's younger brother. Yool's mother had returned with a sinister motive in mind; to restore her son back to the throne, which would have been his eventually, if his father had not died. A series of events befall the Palace with the schemes Yool's mother carries out, and is further intensified by the various scandals involving the royal family, which are inclusive of the Shin's continuing relationship with his old flame Hyo-rin, and the budding love Yool develops for Chae-kyeong, his cousin's new-found bride.
The first series ends with Shin giving up his title and allowing his elder sister Hyae Myeong ascend the throne. Shin and Chae-kyeong then get married in a Christian church in Macau, as the series concludes with the possibility that Chae-kyeong is pregnant with Shin's baby.
Shin Chae-kyeong Portrayed by Yoon Eun Hye, Shin Chae-kyeong is a very effervescent, normal high school girl. She attends the same school as Lee Shin, the Crown Prince of Korea. Her grandfather was best friends with the previous King. To honor his friend, the previous King dictated that Chae-kyeong is to become the Crown Princess, which means that she is to marry whoever is the Crown Prince at the time of the marriage. Although she often seems immature and irritating, she is a kindhearted, innocent, honest person. Often called "Pig" by her younger brother, Chae-kyeong marries the prince to save her family from bankruptcy. Her initial reaction to Lee Shin is one of irritation but she falls in love with him in the earlier part of the series, not knowing that he, in return, feels the same way, until the last few episodes.
Lee Shin The crown prince of Korea, Lee Shin, as portrayed by model and actor Joo Ji Hoon, is seen as a smug, indifferent, insensitive young man. After getting rejected by his girlfriend when he proposes to her, he decides to go along with his elders' arranged marriage with Shin Chae-kyeong. At first, he was irritated by her naivete and enthusiasm, but as he recognizes how genuinely sweet she is, he begins to open his heart to her, and falls in love. Throughout the series, it becomes obvious that inside, he is just a lonely, sensitive, warm and kind young man. He also owns a teddy bear, the only thing that he can let his guard down for, which is used as a focal point throughout the series. As his cousin re-enters the picture after being forced out of the country many years earlier, the prince quickly butts head with him, as Lee Yool is a contender not only for the throne, but for the crown princess Chae-kyeong's love. Chae-kyeong does not realize this until later on in the story.
Lee Yool Kim Jeong Hoon plays Lee Yool, Shin's older cousin. He returns from a long stay in England with his mother, a former ballerina and the widow of the former crown prince. The opposite of Shin, he is warm, kindhearted, sweet, and romantic--an instant hit with the girls. Interested in Chae-kyeong, their friendship grows to love on his side, while she remains innocently unaware of it until much later. Although the position of the Crown Prince originally belonged to him, it was given to his cousin when Yool's father died in a car accident and his mother was found to have had an affair with his uncle, who she was originally in love with, but she decides to marry his brother,the crown prince, wanting her son to inherit the title of crown prince. Originally uninterested in the throne, Yool decides to follow his mother's wishes and compete with Shin for the throne after falling in love with Chae-kyeong. In the end, after realizing that Chae-kyeong and Shin truly love each other, he passes up both the chance of being King and having Chae-kyeong as a wife, as he only wants her to be happy with Shin.
Min Hyo-rin Portrayed by Sung Ji Hyo, Hyo-rin is a skilled ballerina. She is beautiful, intelligent, accomplished--basically, perfect in every way possible. In the beginning, she is Shin's girlfriend, and he proposes to her. However, she rejects him, not only because she thinks he is joking, but also because she does not wish to give up her dreams of becoming a star ballerina. When she sees Chae-kyeong and Shin's wedding and how Chae-kyeong is loved by the people (similar to Princess Diana), she regrets her hasty decision, and does everything she can to oust Chae-kyeong from her position. Hyo-rin finds ways to draw Shin back to her, including a "chance" meeting in Thailand, but simply ends up hurting herself, resulting in attempting suicide. Later, however, she decides that Shin does truly love Chae-kyeong, and she ultimately gives him up and decides to just concentrate on her ballet.
In the Philippines On December 18, 2006, Princess Hours premiered on ABS-CBN in the Philippines. Ratings hit 18.9%, and the show lagged against A Rosy Life of GMA7, which was in the latter's final week of airing. However, as the story unfolded, the ratings increased to about 30.06%, beating Jumong, another Koreanovela franchise of GMA7.The characters have undergone name changes to better fit the Philippine populace: Chae-kyeong became Janelle, Lee Shin became Gian, Lee Yool became Troy, and Min Hyo-rin became Monique. As with other Koreanovelas, the show was dubbed in native Tagalog. Princess Hours is currently shown Monday to Thursday at 10:30 PM (Philippine Time) in the Primetime Bida of ABS-CBN.
The theme song included on the official soundtrack, "Perhaps Love" was translated into Tagalog as "Pag-ibig Nga Kaya" and performed by Christian Bautista and Rachelle Ann Go. Another theme song, entitled "If We Fall In Love", was composed by RJ Jimenez and sung by Yeng Constantino with the composer.
Why We Love Princess Hours
Love denied. Arranged marriages. Scheming power struggles between women with lots of hair spray. And in the middle of it all, a Cinderella and her Crown Prince who just wants-let's say it together-to direct.
