Moon Embracing the Sun


Moon Embracing the Sun is a 2012 South Korean television drama series, starring Kim Soo-hyun, Han Ga-in, Jung Il-woo and Kim Min-seo. It aired on MBC from January 4 to March 15, 2012, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.
The historical-fantasy drama is adapted from the novel of the same name written by Jung Eun-gwol. It tells of a secret, poignant love story between a fictional king of the Joseon Dynasty and a female shaman against the backdrop of a Korean traditional palace; and the conflicts and conspiracy of vying political powers.
The drama reached a peak rating of 42.2%. It won the Best Drama and Best Actor awards in the television category at the 48th Baeksang Arts Awards, and multiple awards at 2012 MBC Drama Awards, including Drama of the Year.

Synopsis

The Queen Mother orders the assassination of her stepson to protect her own son's ability to become king. Ari, a shaman of the Royal Star Mansion, witnesses the murder. The pregnant wife of the palace's Chief Scholar helps her escape, and Ari vows to protect her unborn child, who has a "noble fate."
Ari is arrested, tortured, and imprisoned. She tells her friend and fellow shaman, Jang Nok-yeong, to look after the unborn child in her stead. Ari is declared guilty of treason and killed.
Yeon-woo, the unborn child Ari swore to protect, and Crown Prince Lee Hwon fall in love. Prince Yang Myung, the Crown Prince's half-brother, has also fallen in love with Yeon-woo, who does not reciprocate his feelings.
The Queen Mother seeks to promote Bo-kyung, the daughter of the Prime Minister and her blood relative, to be the Crown Princess in order to maintain her clan's power. However, the king is impressed by Yeon-Woo's intelligence and chooses her over Bo-Kyung, infuriating the Queen Mother and Prime Minister Yoon.
The Queen Mother secretly orders Nok-yeong to cast a deadly curse on Yeon-woo so that Bo-kyung can take her place.
Yeon-woo is diagnosed with an unidentifiable illness, expelled from the palace, and loses her title as Crown Princess. She "dies" from this illness and is buried. Nok-yeong digs Yeon-woo out of the grave; the spell is temporary and only mimics the appearance of death. However, Yeon-woo is so traumatized by being buried alive that she has lost all of her memories. She and Nok-yeong leave the capital.
Crown Prince Lee Hwon is unwillingly married to Bo-kyung. He refuses to consummate the marriage by citing an unnamed illness; he broods over his "dead" first love, Yeon-woo.
Eight years later, Lee Hwon is now king. Yeon-woo is now Shaman Wol ; unaware of Wol's true identity, the Queen Mother calls her to the palace so that she can cure the king's "illness." The king is struck by Wol's unmistakeable resemblance to Yeon-woo, and he quietly launches an investigation into Yeon-woo's death. Meanwhile, Wol struggles to understand the strange memories of her life as Yeon-woo, which she interprets as shamanic visions. Wol must fight Queen Bo-Kyung, the Queen Mother, and Prime Minister Yoon in order to reclaim her rightful place as the Queen of Joseon. Political intrigue continues to build and comes shockingly to a head as King Lee Hwon fights for his throne, fights for the woman he loves, and fights for his very life.

Cast

Main

Heo clan

Based on the novel by Jung Eun-gwol, the screenplay was written by Jin Soo-wan and directed by Kim Do-hoon and Lee Seong-jun.
This production marked Han Ga-in's first historical drama and return to television since Bad Guy in 2010. It is also Jung Il-woo's second historical drama following The Return of Iljimae in 2009.
Filming began in November 2011 with child actors for the first six episodes, followed by the script reading session with their adult counterparts on December 25 at MBC Dream Center in Ilsan.
In February 2012, there were talks of an extension of four episodes to the 20-episode drama. The production company, Ten Entertainment later confirmed that there would be no extension and the series was to end on its original date of March 8, 2012. However it did not end till March 15, 2012, because director Kim Do-hoon joined the MBC strike leading to the last two episodes being delayed for a week, and replaced with two special episodes.
The shooting period spanned over the cold months in Korea, which added to the actors' difficulties as there were quite a number of outdoor scenes. The actors' breath can often be seen as they speak.

Filming locations

Most of the royal palace scenes were filmed on location at MBC Dramia located at Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si in Gyeonggi Province, where other historical dramas such as Dong Yi, Jumong and Queen Seondeok were also filmed. The House of Choi Champan was used as Yeon-woo's childhood home, and the Korean Folk Village was used for local markets, private residences of commoners, and night scenes.

Original soundtrack

OST Part 1

OST Part 2

OST Part 3

OST Part 4

OST Part 5

OST Part 6

Ratings

It aired on GMA Network from August 13 to November 2, 2012, on weeknights at 5:45 PM PST. Each episode runs 45 minutes including commercial breaks. The entire series was dubbed in Filipino.
PILOT EPISODEFINALE EPISODEPEAKAVERAGESOURCE
12.5%
16.5%
18.5%
No data

Awards and nominations

International broadcast

In March 2012, the drama's broadcast rights were sold to eight Asian countries, including Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. At that time it set the record as the most profitable drama for MBC, which was later surpassed by Arang and the Magistrate in August 2012. It was made available on Netflix in 2015 in the US, later also in other territories.
A stage musical adaptation was performed at the Seoul Arts Center from July 6 to 31, 2013, with succeeding runs in 2014. Kim Da-hyun, Jeon Dong-seok and Cho Kyu-hyun alternated as Lee Hwon, and Jeon Mi-do, Ahn Shi-ha, Lina, Jung Jae-eun and Seohyun alternated as Yeon-woo.