Product Information
Region Code: ALL
Picture Format: NTSC
Cast: Lee Young Ae, Ji Jin Hee
Release Date: May 15, 2005
Language: Korean
Subtitles: English, Chinese
Publisher: YA Entertainment
Number of Episodes: 18 (ep 37-54)
Number of Discs: 6
SRP: $99.99
UPC#: 880604000138
"Compelling writing, a very competent cast, and frequent Iron-Chef-like
cooking sequences make the hour-long episodes go by too quickly."
The New Companion
"A jewel of power and brilliance."
"Exciting, absorbing and very well written."
Korean Quarterly, Spring 2006
"More than three-quarters of Hong Kong's population were indoors watching the finale of a Korean television drama that has been garnering an army of fans throughout Asia - The Jewel in the Palace."
The Hollywood Reporter
"As part of what the Chinese call the Korean Wave of pop culture, a television drama about a royal cook, 'Jewel in the Palace,' is garnering record ratings throughout Asia."
The New York Times
"Dae Jang Geum, a 60-part dramatic series has turned non-Korean Chicagoans into junkies."
Chicago Tribune
Description
Don't miss the final 18 episodes of the most popular Korean TV drama of all time, Dae Jang Geum. Volume 3contains episodes 37-54, including the breath-taking ending.
During its original run on the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, Korea's leading producer of made-for-television
dramas, Dae Jang Geum ("Great Jang Geum") achieved an amazing 54% ratings share, the highest viewer rating in
Korean television history!
A historical drama based on a true story, Dae Jang Geum tells the tale of Jang-Geum, the first woman to become the
King's personal physician. In a time when women held little influence in society, young apprentice cook Jang-Geum
(Lee Young-Ae of Joint Security Area and One Fine Spring Day) strives to learn the secrets of Korean cooking and
medicine in order to cure The King of his various ailments. But palace intrigue and politics impede Jang-Geum, as
her fellow ladies compete to earn the King's favor and secure the top female positions in the Royal Kitchen. But
Jang-Geum is far from ordinary. With her remarkable determination and wisdom, she takes on even greater odds,
challenging numerous foes and even society to achieve a position never-before-held by a woman in Korean history!
Dae Jang Geum makes its US debut with high-quality English and Chinese subtitles that capture all the fascinating
details of the royal cuisine and ancient medicine of the 16th century time period. Co-starring Ji Jin-Hee (Love
Letter), and full of stunning plot twists and clever political intrigue, Dae Jang Geum is an epic television event
that redefines Korean popular entertainment!
Intelligent, beautiful, spontaneous, and endlessly
curious, Suh Jang-Geum has overcome many hardships in life through
her strong will and patience. After tragically losing her parents
at the tender age of 10, she enters the Royal Palace and devotes
herself to becoming the best cook in the King's employ. But
false incriminations cause her to be driven out of the palace,
and to live the life of a servant. Holding onto hope, Jang-Geum
learns the medical arts and reenters the palace to become the
first female physician to a king (King Jungjong) in the history
of the Chosun Dynasty. In the annals of Korean history, she's
now known as the "Great Jang-Geum"(Dae Jang Geum).
Min Jung-Ho (Ji Jin-Hee)
An official for the King's judicial administration,
Min Jung-Ho helps Jang-Geum from time to time. He eventually
transfers to the Royal Protectorate, and grows closer to Jang-Geum.
Jung-Ho is an educated man with good looks, as well as fine
martial arts skills. Struck with admiration for Jang-Geum's
wisdom and passion for, he can't help but to fall in love with
her.
Choi Keum-Young (Hong Li-Na)
A court lady of the Royal Kitchen, Choi Keum-Young
starts her life in the palace as the niece of the influential
Lady Choi. Keum-Young is a beauty filled with ambition as well
as arrogance. She possesses a lifelong crush on Min Jung-Ho
despite their differences in social status, and continually
competes with Jang-Geum to become the best cook in the Royal
Palace. Through countless conspiracies of the Choi family, Keum-Young
eventually has a fateful reunion with Jang-Geum.
King Jungjong (Lim Ho)
The 11th king of the Chosun Dynasty, King Jungjong
has a mild but indecisive personality. While executing reformative
politics, he meets Jang-Geum and grows to cherish her warm-hearted
character and distinguished talents.
Having been initiated by members of my family, I am now addicted
to the most popular drama series in South Korea. The series,
The Great Jang-Geum, is an extended historical drama set in
the sixteenth-century court of the Korean Emperor. It tells
the story of a real historical figure, Jang-Geum, a girl who
grows up as an apprentice cook in the royal kitchens and rises
to prominence within the palace. The affairs of the kitchen
and the royal household are depicted as matters of the most
grave import; the factional struggles and battles over hierarchy
and preferment among the Kitchen Ladies are vicious and at times
murderous. In this hostile world, the virtuous Jang-Geum is
constantly tested and always prevails.
The production values are high: the photography, the interiors,
the outdoor locations and especially the costumes seem carefully
and expensively done. The point, though, is the storytelling,
and that has the elements of a nineteenth-century novel: obscure
parentage and hidden identity, a clear distinction between good
and evil (with occasional surprises), a sub-plot of forbidden
but chaste love, and comic minor characters. Even the rhythm
of crisis and resolution and the end-of-episode cliffhangers
fit the mold perfectly. Compelling writing, a very competent
cast, and frequent Iron-Chef-like cooking sequences make the
hour-long episodes go by too quickly. The only fault may be
that Jang-Geum, like Esther Summerson in Bleak House, is too
perfect. It's not an insignificant fault, but perhaps it's unavoidable
if things are to be kept chugging forward through the sprawling,
extroverted plot without getting bogged down in anyone's subjectivity.
It certainly does sprawl. The Great Jang-Geum is projected to
run for about sixty one-hour episodes, aired at a rate of
two per week. A steady two episodes per week for half a year
without interruption makes for a longer and more concentrated
viewing experience than what an American drama series can provide,
which seems meager by comparison. The result is that watching
The Great Jang-Geum becomes part of one's life; it adds enormously
to the pleasure to have someone to talk with about the story
as it unfolds. It might be most accurate to think of it as a
high-class soap opera, but with much tighter plotting and better
production, and without the aimlessness, absurdity and desperation
that the voracious open-ended soap opera format seems to engender.
What surprises me most is that someone has gone to the all the
effort to subtitle this vast program in English. Could it be
a labor of love, a purely disinterested act of cultural outreach?
Whatever the reason, I salute the effort.
