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Beauty and The King

I have wanted to write this post for a while now - one of the reasons why The King: Eternal Monarch is a non-toxic, positive show to be lauded, aside from its epic romance, ambitious plot-lines and beautiful cinematography.

The drama challenges the stereotypical definition of beauty for women, and this theme is threaded throughout the series.

Right from the start in Episode 1, Prime Minister Koo, who knew she was  beautiful by conventional standard, considered herself worthy to be Queen. Already, the audience gets the sense King Lee Gon may not share her opinion.

In Episode 2, after Lee Gon first met Jeong Tae-eul, he commented that her personality was different from how he had imagined. Then he told her she looked better in real life. He was more interested in her as a person, but he also did notice her look - telling the audience that look was important to Lee Gon and he wasn’t oblivious.

He remained in her world for weeks to get to know her. At the start of Episode 3, he confessed to her she was much more amazing than he had imagined. Then later on in that episode, after time froze for the first time and he got to look at Tae-eul without distraction, he explained the situation to her and said, “Thanks to that, I saw something beautiful.” That was the second of three times he actually told her directly on screen that she was beautiful. Lee Gon did not use that as a pick-up line or to impress Tae-eul - he was truthful and his idea of beauty was not confined by popular standards. He was attracted to her person and he enjoyed being with her. So much so that he proposed marriage, because he wanted a future with her. 

After he returned to the Kingdom in Episode 4, he had a conversation with his secretary who wished to see PM Koo flirt less with the King. Lee Gon asked if she was concerned he would fall for the PM. She replied saying the PM was quite pretty. To that, he raised an eyebrow and told her not to worry because he knew someone prettier. He was most unabashed about his definition of beauty in this scene.

As an aside, for all her beauty, PM Koo did not gain the favour of Lee Gon’s most trusted staff (Secretary Mo here and Head Court Lady Noh in Ep10) to help her be Queen. The underlying message: Appearance is not the most important quality in love or in life.

Back to Episode 5 when Lee Gon brought Tae-eul to his kingdom for the first time. His eyes searched for her as he ended his speech at a mathematician congress by wishing those in attendance a beautiful solution and answer to the problem they were working on, implying to us viewers that he had found his own beautiful answer in Tae-eul.

Later that same day when they all rode in the helicopter, in Episode 6, Lee Gon confirmed to Secretary Mo that Jeong Tae-eul was the woman he referred to as prettier than PM Koo.

Instead of telling Tae-eul directly, Lee Gon continued to affirm his opinion of her through his exchange with those around him. In Episode 9, when he met his uncle by the ocean on New Year day, Prince Buyoeng hoped Lee Gon would find a beautiful lady, along with his solution. And Lee Gon responded by hinting he’d like to bring Tae-eul to meet him.

The third and last time we see Lee Gon tell Tae-eul she is beautiful in the show comes in Episode 12. After the epic rescue, Tae-eul collapsed from exhaustion and Lee Gon took her back to the palace. When she came to, she was self-conscious about looking awful. He said, “Not at all. You look like a huge bandage right now. But you’re a very pretty bandage.” We could easily accuse him of being dorky but I don’t believe he was insincere. This man, mere hours earlier, was afraid for her life and he moved heaven and earth to protect her. Seeing her hurt and frail but safe in his bed made him realize, if he hadn’t already, she was the most important person in the universe to him. Naturally, she would also be the most beautiful thing in his eye.

cr: 团扇布圆儿

Much of Lee Gon and Tae-eul’s story was told through body language. What he did not say in words, he conveyed with his eyes. Once their relationship hit the turning point in Episode 4, Lee Gon had no squirm showing affection. He looked at her like she was the most precious thing. In the eye of the beholder, what is precious is also beautiful.

Interestingly, Tae-eul was well aware that she did not meet the popular criteria of beauty. She mentioned in Episode 7 wanting double eye-lid surgery and thought her younger self was much more attractive. However, Lee Gon’s sincerity was able to get through to her (and the audience) helping her see herself the way he saw her. 

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❝ And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you. ❞ – Kiersten White

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Lee Gon, The Name That Must Not Be Called

This show is all about the details. That’s why every scene, and every line matters. From the beginning, it was always mentioned that our Pyeha cannot be called by his real name, Lee Gon. So he wouldn’t even tell people his name. He would only ever introduce himself as the King of the Kingdom of Corea and that’s it. And this made him so deeply rooted into his role as the King, as if his sole purpose in life was to be the King and forget that ‘Lee Gon’ existed. So he dedicated his whole life to it.

But as he spent time with Jeong Tae Eul, he came to realize that with her, he’s not the King of the Kingdom of Corea, he’s Lee Gon. To the bare, he is a man in love. And that man has to be called Lee Gon, not the King. It was Lee Gon that held on to Lieutenant Jeong Tae Eul’s ID in hopes of finding her one day. It was Lee Gon that sneaked out of the Kingdom of Corea to meet Jeong Tae Eul. It was Lee Gon that made it back to 2020 after being stuck in the past, as he used his love to get him through. Which is why the first time he tells anyone in the Republic of Korea his name is right after he lands back in the right time, after holding so strongly onto the memory of Tae Eul for so long. He found his Lee Gon self as he trekked through time. Jeong Tae Eul showed him that he is more than just the King, knowingly or unknowingly.

So when the show basically ends with Lee Gon doing his duty as the king but also proudly telling the child his name is Lee Gon, with the dramatic royal music in the back as the camera pans to the portrait of him as the king, it hits you right in the feels. He no longer is only introducing himself as the king. He’s acknowledging that he’s now in a better place than he has ever been before. He’s finally acknowledging that he is both the King and Lee Gon, thanks to Jeong Tae Eul. And it’s much less of a burden on him this way. So it’s not only Lee Gon that impacted Jeong Tae Eul by making her world rounder, but also the other way around.

And that, folks, is why this last scene was so epic to me. The King: Eternal Monarch is evidently a love story, but the hidden story is that of Lee Gon’s journey within himself. And he will forever be the King because he grew up as the King, so that identity is never leaving him - just like his identity of Lee Gon, his birth name. And hence, his two identities combine to show that Lee Gon is an eternal monarch. Frankly I couldn’t piece together why and how he went from never saying his name to finally saying it. Or why I was so moved by this scene. But I’m glad to have found it. I’m going to miss Lee Gon so damn much.

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“I’m dating someone in another world.

And she always ties her hair up when something important comes up. But she always leaves out some strands. And she doesn’t know it because she can’t see it herself.

She prefers beer to tea when having a conversation. And she likes to mix drinks. She takes mixing drinks seriously. She shakes the glass excitedly, and drinks it quickly.

But when courage is needed, she becomes a warrior.

That’s the kind of person she is.”

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EXO // 160618 MONSTER

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2jae in their own world (ft. Bambam)

♪ヽ(▽￣ )ﾉ/(＿△＿)ヽ( ￣▽)ﾉ

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(Then and Now) Youngjae’s Happy Shake Dance ヾ(*´∇`)ﾉ why does JB judge and Bambam interrupt him

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The difference between how Bambam feeds and Youngjae feeds, even Jaebum wishes he sat next to Youngjae

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Chocolate boy; Kim Jongin phone wallpapers for @taeyongsmain <3

(source)

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As Expected of EXO

when your bias group is so strong that it has a battle with itself.

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EXO For Hats On!

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soft baby bear jongin vs. heart eating monster kai

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from super serious to super smiley 

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kim jongin is us. (eng sub)

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baby Nini talking to his tiny friend…

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Dark haired Kai is back ;u;

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