Dae Wang Sejong (2008): Season 1, Episode 50 - Episode #1.50 - full transcript
We cannot afford any mistakes.
If the prediction is wrong,
His Majesty becomes
an inferior King who can't
decipher the will of Heaven.
If the prediction is wrong, we will have
a golden opportunity to tame the King.
Was the prediction inaccurate?
Will Heaven forsake the King?
Then another great calamity
could consume the Kingdom.
What is the meaning of this?
His Majesty the King is present!
I see that, Minister Park.
The country is in state of such disarray
that we're forgetting our manners.
Had we known His Majesty were here,
we would've been more reverent.
Forgive us, Your Majesty.
But if you had listened to the high
ministers' counsel and closed down
the Hall of Worthies yourself,
none of this would be happening.
I said I would not close
down the Hall of Worthies.
We advised very strongly against
closed-door and inner-circle politics.
Minister Jo!
Heaven has turned against you.
You'd turn the ministers
against you as well?
We will close down the Hall of
Worthies send the scholars
back to their principal duty.
Ministry of Military Assistant
Section Chief Jeong Inji!
Yes, sir.
I believe you're supposed to
be at the city square right now.
The city square? Why?
Merciful Buddha...
What is this?
The state rejects Buddhism!
How dare you publicly defy the state?
What are you waiting for?
Arrest them at once!
Stop!
Stand back!
You're talking to a Royal Prince!
Bow. This is Prince Hyoryeong.
Your Highness, you mustn't
mix with those who delude
the world and deceive the people.
They comfort the public
and bring relief to the sufferers!
I guess 500 year-old faith
does not die easily.
I see they managed to brainwash
you with Buddha's nonsense.
General Park!
We will keep you safe from now on,
Your Highness.
What are you waiting for?
Escort the Prince and Councilor Byun
out of here and arrest these people!
I have not ordered you
to suppress the people!
The former King would called
this enforcement of state
policy against Buddhism.
If you intend to disregard state
policies, I'm afraid we will not
be able to obey your orders.
Would you have us obey the
former King's orders against yours?
Who is the sovereign King of this state?
Jo Malseng that bastard!
How dare he, a royal subject,
attempt to tame the King!
Call Jo Malseng at once.
I'm afraid I can't, Your Majesty.
Royal Attendant.
You must leave state affairs to
the others and tend to your health.
You are my shadow and
shadows do not judge.
I gave you an order
and you are to obey it.
I refuse, Your Majesty.
Do you wish to die?
I will not obey even if
it brings me death.
Don't you know the mess
this country is in?
The country is the last thing on
my mind right now, Your Majesty.
What?
Your health is more important
to me than this country.
It is your job now to set our childish
King straight, Minister Park.
Close down the Hall of Worthies yourself.
I do not want you getting hurt.
I taught you everything I know, and
here you are openly threatening me.
Do you want your thirty year
political career to go to naught?
Of course not.
This is preciously why I like you.
It gives me great joy every time
I learn something from you and
a problem gets solved.
Your Majesty.
Your Majesty.
Your Majesty.
Step aside!
If you will not call him, I will go to the
Conference Hall and find him myself!
Your Majesty,
I beg you to consider your health...
Shut your...
Your Majesty...!
Send the others away.
Now.
Your Majesty...
Death is certain anyhow.
I don't intend to slow down.
In fact, the closer I get to death, the
less time I have to sit back and be idle.
This country is everything to me.
I would die a thousand times to
protect my cherished country Joseon.
I need to see her running smoothly or
I will never be able to rest in peace.
What do you want?
Do you want my spirit to
wander the Hades forever?
Call Minister Jo.
Type Foundry
Are you making progress?
I'm afraid not yet, Your Majesty.
It s not an easy job.
It will take countless trial an error
to bring a new technology to life.
Your Majesty...
If we can develop a new printing
technology, research results from
the Hall of Worthies could be
quickly disseminated as well.
You have my confidence, Vice-minister.
I will do my best, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty.
I heard about the Hall of Worthies.
Are you doing all right?
Trail and error does not
happen only in engineering.
It happens in politics as well.
Let us each do our best.
I'm sure we both can
overcome our challenges.
You must have too many
things on your mind.
I thought you were infallible, but you
moved the troops without my go-ahead.
What has you so restless?
Have I made you angry?
You've always been firm about
preserving the anti-Buddhism policy,
so I did not feel it was necessary
to acquire your permission.
I never imagined you'd
question my judgment...
No, you did the right thing.
I'm not questioning your judgment.
A man of your rank should be allowed to
take some matters into his own hands.
Thank you, Eminence.
So let's hear your assessment
of this situation.
I'm told Hyoryeong is at the center
of these Buddhist activities.
What do you intend to do with him?
I would be overstepping my authority
to put my oar in that matter.
Oh?
Maintaining public order is
a government officials job,
but maintaining order in the
Royal House is the King's job.
Do you want my order?
Perhaps you should allow
the young King to decide this.
His capacity as King is under scrutiny
right now due to the ill-timed eclipse,
and public attention is turning
toward Prince Hyoryeong.
Whether they want it or now,
Prince Hyoryeong is now the
King's biggest political enemy.
Wasn't it your wish to teach the King
how to deal with his political enemies?
What would you do if the King
does not wish to punish Hyoryeong?
I will adhere to your wishes.
What would be in best service of the King?
Would I be able to protect the Hall of
Worthies if I struck my brother down?
Aren't you going to leave?
This is where I belong.
This will put some pressure on the King.
I'm taking care of those who
seek Buddha's compassion,
but these are the King's people as well.
May I stay with you?
You've already expressed enough
devotion with your offerings.
So go back to the city.
You could lose your job
trying to protect me.
But Buddha will be pleased.
The King needs good men around him.
I will go to him if he is willing to accept
a Confucian scholar with Buddhist beliefs.
It's been very difficult
for a very long time.
Studying the teachings of Confucius,
I struggled hard to cut
off my love for Buddha.
I don't think it's something you can stop
just because the country does not allow it.
What is to happen to us now?
Buddha will take care of us.
The high ministers are trying
to strike Hyoryeong down?
To be more accurate, they want to
make the King strike Hyoryeong down.
This is great political pressure
for the King, Your Highness.
Perhaps you could talk to Prince
Hyoryeong and get him to stop.
It's too late.
If they have set Hyoryeong as their target,
what is important is King's intention,
not Hyoryeong's actions.
What does the King want?
I'm told you've been working
closely with him lately.
You must know what he is thinking.
Perhaps it would be better
if you asked him directly.
He entered the former King's
palace a little while ago.
Strike Hyoryeong down, my King.
If you let this slide, the ministers
will have no fear of you.
More importantly, it is not advisable to
allow Hyoryeong to gain popular favor.
Do you believe he can harbor ambition?
The world will constantly prod him.
And chances are Buddhist monks will use
him to revive their influence in this state.
Does this mean Hyoryeong
and I are political enemies?
A King must learn to be stern
with his political enemies may
it be his own brother.
But he would be a beast
from that day forward.
Would you strike your own brother
with whom you share your blood?
I am asking you if you're going
to put blood on your hands.
Mother...
Answer my question.
He is being driven to a corner by
both the public and the retainers.
If he does not show decisiveness now,
the authority of the Royal will...
Stop!
I will not hear it.
I already know your stance on this.
What I want to know now
is my son's thoughts.
I want to know what the son l gave birth
to intends to do with his older brother.
Answer the question, my King.
What will you do with your brother?
I've made no decisions.
I will consider very carefully, and...
What is there to consider
and what is there to decide?
Does this need consideration?
"Should I kill my brother of not?"
Are you the kind of person that
can consider such a question
and come to a decision in the end?
Sure, you are.
Of course, you can.
If you weren't, your father would never
have chosen you to succeed him as King.
Mother...
But I won't be idle.
I will protect my son Hyoryeong.
Not from my third son Doe, but from
the high and mighty King of Joseon.
Mother, what are you doing here?
Women are better than
men at nursing the sick.
Mother...
Here you are giving yourself selflessly
without asking for anything in return,
but your brother is so cruel...
He'll understand me someday.
Let us hope that he does.
Your Majesty...!
Where are you going?
Your Majesty...
To the Queen Mother no doubt.
Are you going to tell her that I have a
terminal illness and to go easy on me?
Yes, that's you.
Come.
Your Majesty...
Take it.
Are you... throwing me out?
It's not nearly enough for
everything you've done for me.
Leave the palace.
I refuse, Your Majesty.
This is not an order.
This is my first and last request to you.
Your Majesty...
This will happen again
if I keep you near me.
You are a kindhearted man,
so you will feel sorry for me
and make another attempt to
do what you tried to do today.
Can you guarantee me that you won't?
And like it or not, you will end up
a villain that clipped my wings,
and I will have no choice
but to kill you as well.
I wish to die by your side protecting you.
Don't be cruel to me like
the others have been.
Let me have the pleasure of saying
warm goodbye to at least one man
at least one man out of so
many men that served me.
You're the only one left
that I can do that with.
Dispense with the long goodbyes.
Just go.
You're not leaving for good.
I could call you back anytime.
So leave as if you're going
to see me tomorrow.
Your Majesty, please take care of yourself.
Why are you here?
Because you're angry with the King
for failing to protect your father and
you want to get him back somehow?
Would that be wrong?
Of course it is wrong.
You are the mother of this state.
Mother...
The mother of the state is
the mother of the people.
Only acceptable reason for your
presence here is compassion and
concern for your suffering children.
But the fact is, I...
I never had such compassion.
All of my attention was
always at the Audience Hall.
I may be a woman, but my political
ambition was greater than most men.
So instead of being a wife, I wanted
more to be the King's political partner.
But the former King never allowed it.
Were you angry?
Yes, I am angry.
Not so much at the former King
but at my self.
I don't think I ever really knew
what the Queen's role was.
Perhaps the Queen's role isn't
keeping her interest in politics
observing the games and
manipulating the players.
Perhaps her true role is in seeking
out and taking care of the people
that the King's hands can't reach.
Mother...
I am here to put pressure on the King.
But you have to be different.
If you are not here to perform the
Queen's role, go back to the palace now.
Thank you for your teaching,
but I, too, am a human being, and it's
hard to let go of my resentment, Mother.
Go back to the palace now.
And...
Won't you help me?
I will take care of the sick and try
my best to let go of my resentment.
Permit me to stay and learn the
true role of the Queen from you.
The Queen Mother has
joined the relief efforts?
To protect Prince Hyoryeong?
That's how it appears.
I guess the Hall of Worthies is done for.
She knows that's the best
way to save Hyoryeong.
Is this fun for you?
What do you mean?
Is this fun for you to put
the King atop a tree and
shake him as you please?
Watch your words, sir.
We're not trying to shake the King.
We're trying to teach him how to
bring stability to Joseon and
restore his declining prestige.
Why did you call us together
at this late hour, sir?
If I told you there was a way
to protect the King and protect the Hall
of Worthies as well, would you take it?
In this room you'll
find documents and
and records containing
detailed information about
high ministers' present estate holdings.
Are we investigating Jo Malseng?
From relatives to in-laws to
holdings of their servants,
don't leave a stone unturned.
I see you're working hard.
You do know that it's over between
you and Jo Malseng once it gets out
that you investigated him, don't you?
Of course, sir.
Do you doubt me, sir?
What do you think?
If the last two years have changed you,
why couldn't it change me?
I, too, prefer to live as a proud member of
the Hall of Worthies than
someone's stool pigeon, sir.
How could he be so clean?
Not just himself but his entire clan
doesn't have a speck of dirt on them...
Does this mean we have no choice but
to let them take the Hall of Worthies?
How can you be so nonchalant?
The Hall of Worthies is
the verge of being shut down!
That devil Jo Malseng is
suffocating the King!
Did you expect the crafty old ministers
to just accept His Majesty as a sage King?
No, but I'm still mad!
This is your problem.
Pardon?
You're too emotional about everything.
Men with fickle emotions can't
succeed in the field of engineering.
Failure leads to success if you endure it,
but it's just failure if you give up.
His Majesty is just going through
trial and error right now.
You were griping about your transfer
to the type foundry like yesterday.
Since when did you become
such a Zen master?
Darn it!
Sir.
Are we ever going to get this right?
That's it!
Sir?
This is it! This is it!
I got it!
You got what?
We can make the types to
fit into the frame like this!
Joseon will have a new
printing technology now!
Aren't you happy?
Typecaster!
Typecaster, where are you?
Chuck all the types you made so far!
- We're going to cast them all over!
- Talk about having fickle emotions!
Oh, those poor guys at the type
foundry are going to have to pull
a few all-nighters again.
Youngsil, you're so lucky to have an
easy going guy like me as your boss.
Hey kid, say something.
Will you?
You have friends at the Bureau
of Astronomy, don't you?
Hook me up.
It's scary over there.
The whole department might get canned
because of the wrong eclipse prediction.
But l made a promise to His Majesty that
I'd make him a very powerful weapon.
Then go to the Bureau of Weaponry.
What do you want with astronomy?
The enemy we have to fight is the heavens.
The heavens?
I have to know my enemy
to make the weapon, right?
Are you mocking us?
You want to study astronomy and find
the problem in the prediction method?
Yes, sir.
Get out of here.
It's not something a lowborn can do.
Why would it be wrong
if there is no problem?
Get out of here, I said.
There is no problem.
We did nothing wrong.
We calculated the time a hundred times
using the Datong method from Ming.
If anyone is at fault, it's the Ming Chinese
who made the calendar. Not us!
I beg your pardon?
I said get out of here!
A calendar from Ming?
You don't even have basic knowledge,
and you want to learn astronomy?
We get the calendar from Ming
because Ming overseas the heavens.
Now do you understand, you idiot?
If you show me that calculation method,
I swear to you I will find out why
the prediction was wrong.
Give him a chance.
What have you got to lose?
Who knows? He might find the answer
and save you from being thrown out.
And if you can't find the answer?
I'll give you my hands.
Hey!
Are you telling me I could
cut off your hands?
Yes, sir.
Visible enemy was easier...
Tsushima... the enemy you can fight
with swords was easier to conquer.
Your Majesty...
If I had not aspired to fight the heavens,
if I had listened to the ministers
and prayed to the gods...
I may not be pressured to shut
down the Hall of Worthies
or be forced to strike
my own brother down.
Heaven...
What merciless and fierce enemy it is!
This is new printing technology.
We abandoned the old method in which
wax was used to fix the types in place
and chose a fitting method
to keep the types down.
Using this type, we can print five times
faster than the previously cast Gyemi Type.
Now all that's left is for
you to win, Your Majesty.
Second Minister off Works Yi Chun,
I express my deepest gratitude for
your silent obedience and hard work.
I will name this type Gyeongja Type.
Gyeongja Type...
1420, second year of Sejong's reign,
a new printing technology was born.
Goryeo had developed movable metal
type in 1234 but it was not widely used.
And Gyemi Type was developed
in 1403 under Taejong's orders,
but it, too, was not widely used
because it relied on melted wax to set
the types resulting in lack of type
stability and slow output.
Gyeongja Type, named for the year of its
birth, solved these problems by fitting
the types into bamboo frames securely.
This was indeed a ground
breaking idea at the time.
Not only was Gyeongja
a model for Gabin Type,
the most beautiful of all
Joseon developed types,
but it served as an important tool in
cultural development by enabling quick
production and dissemination
of cultural and political literature.
Gyeongja Type was a signal flare starting
the era of cultural evolution, an era marked
by greatest achievements in Korean's
5.000 year history, era of King Sejong.
Like Minister Yi Chun said,
all that's left now is for me to win.
Your Majesty...
The Hall of Worthies must be strong
for Gyeongja Type to be put to use.
Sometimes...
Sometimes I wish I was that throne.
It has no emotions, so making
decisions might come easy.
Are you feeling pressured
to strike down Hyoryeong?
Protecting the Hall of Worthies
will require a sacrifice.
Using my own brother to bargain way...
How cruel are the Kings?
Your Majesty...
I think I understand my
father to some degree now.
I'm impressed.
I don't understand what you mean.
I investigated you inside and out.
Do you know that?
Did you now?
There's no one I can't get
when I set my mind to it.
I even ended Prime Minister
Ha Ryun's career.
Yes, I know.
A tactician like you knows very well
how important money is in politics.
You have to be hiding quite
a bit of wealth somewhere.
If you say so, perhaps I am.
But you slipped through
my fingers effortlessly.
That's one thing I want to praise you for.
Somehow I don't think
"thank you" is in order.
Then how about accepting my surrender?
Minister Park.
Strike me and end this.
I'm the director of the Hall of Worthies.
So destroy me and leave
Hall of Worthies alone.
Don't take this small desk from the King.
You're my political mentor.
I don't want your career ending this way.
Are you refusing my request?
Minister Jo.
If the prediction is wrong,
His Majesty becomes
an inferior King who can't
decipher the will of Heaven.
If the prediction is wrong, we will have
a golden opportunity to tame the King.
Was the prediction inaccurate?
Will Heaven forsake the King?
Then another great calamity
could consume the Kingdom.
What is the meaning of this?
His Majesty the King is present!
I see that, Minister Park.
The country is in state of such disarray
that we're forgetting our manners.
Had we known His Majesty were here,
we would've been more reverent.
Forgive us, Your Majesty.
But if you had listened to the high
ministers' counsel and closed down
the Hall of Worthies yourself,
none of this would be happening.
I said I would not close
down the Hall of Worthies.
We advised very strongly against
closed-door and inner-circle politics.
Minister Jo!
Heaven has turned against you.
You'd turn the ministers
against you as well?
We will close down the Hall of
Worthies send the scholars
back to their principal duty.
Ministry of Military Assistant
Section Chief Jeong Inji!
Yes, sir.
I believe you're supposed to
be at the city square right now.
The city square? Why?
Merciful Buddha...
What is this?
The state rejects Buddhism!
How dare you publicly defy the state?
What are you waiting for?
Arrest them at once!
Stop!
Stand back!
You're talking to a Royal Prince!
Bow. This is Prince Hyoryeong.
Your Highness, you mustn't
mix with those who delude
the world and deceive the people.
They comfort the public
and bring relief to the sufferers!
I guess 500 year-old faith
does not die easily.
I see they managed to brainwash
you with Buddha's nonsense.
General Park!
We will keep you safe from now on,
Your Highness.
What are you waiting for?
Escort the Prince and Councilor Byun
out of here and arrest these people!
I have not ordered you
to suppress the people!
The former King would called
this enforcement of state
policy against Buddhism.
If you intend to disregard state
policies, I'm afraid we will not
be able to obey your orders.
Would you have us obey the
former King's orders against yours?
Who is the sovereign King of this state?
Jo Malseng that bastard!
How dare he, a royal subject,
attempt to tame the King!
Call Jo Malseng at once.
I'm afraid I can't, Your Majesty.
Royal Attendant.
You must leave state affairs to
the others and tend to your health.
You are my shadow and
shadows do not judge.
I gave you an order
and you are to obey it.
I refuse, Your Majesty.
Do you wish to die?
I will not obey even if
it brings me death.
Don't you know the mess
this country is in?
The country is the last thing on
my mind right now, Your Majesty.
What?
Your health is more important
to me than this country.
It is your job now to set our childish
King straight, Minister Park.
Close down the Hall of Worthies yourself.
I do not want you getting hurt.
I taught you everything I know, and
here you are openly threatening me.
Do you want your thirty year
political career to go to naught?
Of course not.
This is preciously why I like you.
It gives me great joy every time
I learn something from you and
a problem gets solved.
Your Majesty.
Your Majesty.
Your Majesty.
Step aside!
If you will not call him, I will go to the
Conference Hall and find him myself!
Your Majesty,
I beg you to consider your health...
Shut your...
Your Majesty...!
Send the others away.
Now.
Your Majesty...
Death is certain anyhow.
I don't intend to slow down.
In fact, the closer I get to death, the
less time I have to sit back and be idle.
This country is everything to me.
I would die a thousand times to
protect my cherished country Joseon.
I need to see her running smoothly or
I will never be able to rest in peace.
What do you want?
Do you want my spirit to
wander the Hades forever?
Call Minister Jo.
Type Foundry
Are you making progress?
I'm afraid not yet, Your Majesty.
It s not an easy job.
It will take countless trial an error
to bring a new technology to life.
Your Majesty...
If we can develop a new printing
technology, research results from
the Hall of Worthies could be
quickly disseminated as well.
You have my confidence, Vice-minister.
I will do my best, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty.
I heard about the Hall of Worthies.
Are you doing all right?
Trail and error does not
happen only in engineering.
It happens in politics as well.
Let us each do our best.
I'm sure we both can
overcome our challenges.
You must have too many
things on your mind.
I thought you were infallible, but you
moved the troops without my go-ahead.
What has you so restless?
Have I made you angry?
You've always been firm about
preserving the anti-Buddhism policy,
so I did not feel it was necessary
to acquire your permission.
I never imagined you'd
question my judgment...
No, you did the right thing.
I'm not questioning your judgment.
A man of your rank should be allowed to
take some matters into his own hands.
Thank you, Eminence.
So let's hear your assessment
of this situation.
I'm told Hyoryeong is at the center
of these Buddhist activities.
What do you intend to do with him?
I would be overstepping my authority
to put my oar in that matter.
Oh?
Maintaining public order is
a government officials job,
but maintaining order in the
Royal House is the King's job.
Do you want my order?
Perhaps you should allow
the young King to decide this.
His capacity as King is under scrutiny
right now due to the ill-timed eclipse,
and public attention is turning
toward Prince Hyoryeong.
Whether they want it or now,
Prince Hyoryeong is now the
King's biggest political enemy.
Wasn't it your wish to teach the King
how to deal with his political enemies?
What would you do if the King
does not wish to punish Hyoryeong?
I will adhere to your wishes.
What would be in best service of the King?
Would I be able to protect the Hall of
Worthies if I struck my brother down?
Aren't you going to leave?
This is where I belong.
This will put some pressure on the King.
I'm taking care of those who
seek Buddha's compassion,
but these are the King's people as well.
May I stay with you?
You've already expressed enough
devotion with your offerings.
So go back to the city.
You could lose your job
trying to protect me.
But Buddha will be pleased.
The King needs good men around him.
I will go to him if he is willing to accept
a Confucian scholar with Buddhist beliefs.
It's been very difficult
for a very long time.
Studying the teachings of Confucius,
I struggled hard to cut
off my love for Buddha.
I don't think it's something you can stop
just because the country does not allow it.
What is to happen to us now?
Buddha will take care of us.
The high ministers are trying
to strike Hyoryeong down?
To be more accurate, they want to
make the King strike Hyoryeong down.
This is great political pressure
for the King, Your Highness.
Perhaps you could talk to Prince
Hyoryeong and get him to stop.
It's too late.
If they have set Hyoryeong as their target,
what is important is King's intention,
not Hyoryeong's actions.
What does the King want?
I'm told you've been working
closely with him lately.
You must know what he is thinking.
Perhaps it would be better
if you asked him directly.
He entered the former King's
palace a little while ago.
Strike Hyoryeong down, my King.
If you let this slide, the ministers
will have no fear of you.
More importantly, it is not advisable to
allow Hyoryeong to gain popular favor.
Do you believe he can harbor ambition?
The world will constantly prod him.
And chances are Buddhist monks will use
him to revive their influence in this state.
Does this mean Hyoryeong
and I are political enemies?
A King must learn to be stern
with his political enemies may
it be his own brother.
But he would be a beast
from that day forward.
Would you strike your own brother
with whom you share your blood?
I am asking you if you're going
to put blood on your hands.
Mother...
Answer my question.
He is being driven to a corner by
both the public and the retainers.
If he does not show decisiveness now,
the authority of the Royal will...
Stop!
I will not hear it.
I already know your stance on this.
What I want to know now
is my son's thoughts.
I want to know what the son l gave birth
to intends to do with his older brother.
Answer the question, my King.
What will you do with your brother?
I've made no decisions.
I will consider very carefully, and...
What is there to consider
and what is there to decide?
Does this need consideration?
"Should I kill my brother of not?"
Are you the kind of person that
can consider such a question
and come to a decision in the end?
Sure, you are.
Of course, you can.
If you weren't, your father would never
have chosen you to succeed him as King.
Mother...
But I won't be idle.
I will protect my son Hyoryeong.
Not from my third son Doe, but from
the high and mighty King of Joseon.
Mother, what are you doing here?
Women are better than
men at nursing the sick.
Mother...
Here you are giving yourself selflessly
without asking for anything in return,
but your brother is so cruel...
He'll understand me someday.
Let us hope that he does.
Your Majesty...!
Where are you going?
Your Majesty...
To the Queen Mother no doubt.
Are you going to tell her that I have a
terminal illness and to go easy on me?
Yes, that's you.
Come.
Your Majesty...
Take it.
Are you... throwing me out?
It's not nearly enough for
everything you've done for me.
Leave the palace.
I refuse, Your Majesty.
This is not an order.
This is my first and last request to you.
Your Majesty...
This will happen again
if I keep you near me.
You are a kindhearted man,
so you will feel sorry for me
and make another attempt to
do what you tried to do today.
Can you guarantee me that you won't?
And like it or not, you will end up
a villain that clipped my wings,
and I will have no choice
but to kill you as well.
I wish to die by your side protecting you.
Don't be cruel to me like
the others have been.
Let me have the pleasure of saying
warm goodbye to at least one man
at least one man out of so
many men that served me.
You're the only one left
that I can do that with.
Dispense with the long goodbyes.
Just go.
You're not leaving for good.
I could call you back anytime.
So leave as if you're going
to see me tomorrow.
Your Majesty, please take care of yourself.
Why are you here?
Because you're angry with the King
for failing to protect your father and
you want to get him back somehow?
Would that be wrong?
Of course it is wrong.
You are the mother of this state.
Mother...
The mother of the state is
the mother of the people.
Only acceptable reason for your
presence here is compassion and
concern for your suffering children.
But the fact is, I...
I never had such compassion.
All of my attention was
always at the Audience Hall.
I may be a woman, but my political
ambition was greater than most men.
So instead of being a wife, I wanted
more to be the King's political partner.
But the former King never allowed it.
Were you angry?
Yes, I am angry.
Not so much at the former King
but at my self.
I don't think I ever really knew
what the Queen's role was.
Perhaps the Queen's role isn't
keeping her interest in politics
observing the games and
manipulating the players.
Perhaps her true role is in seeking
out and taking care of the people
that the King's hands can't reach.
Mother...
I am here to put pressure on the King.
But you have to be different.
If you are not here to perform the
Queen's role, go back to the palace now.
Thank you for your teaching,
but I, too, am a human being, and it's
hard to let go of my resentment, Mother.
Go back to the palace now.
And...
Won't you help me?
I will take care of the sick and try
my best to let go of my resentment.
Permit me to stay and learn the
true role of the Queen from you.
The Queen Mother has
joined the relief efforts?
To protect Prince Hyoryeong?
That's how it appears.
I guess the Hall of Worthies is done for.
She knows that's the best
way to save Hyoryeong.
Is this fun for you?
What do you mean?
Is this fun for you to put
the King atop a tree and
shake him as you please?
Watch your words, sir.
We're not trying to shake the King.
We're trying to teach him how to
bring stability to Joseon and
restore his declining prestige.
Why did you call us together
at this late hour, sir?
If I told you there was a way
to protect the King and protect the Hall
of Worthies as well, would you take it?
In this room you'll
find documents and
and records containing
detailed information about
high ministers' present estate holdings.
Are we investigating Jo Malseng?
From relatives to in-laws to
holdings of their servants,
don't leave a stone unturned.
I see you're working hard.
You do know that it's over between
you and Jo Malseng once it gets out
that you investigated him, don't you?
Of course, sir.
Do you doubt me, sir?
What do you think?
If the last two years have changed you,
why couldn't it change me?
I, too, prefer to live as a proud member of
the Hall of Worthies than
someone's stool pigeon, sir.
How could he be so clean?
Not just himself but his entire clan
doesn't have a speck of dirt on them...
Does this mean we have no choice but
to let them take the Hall of Worthies?
How can you be so nonchalant?
The Hall of Worthies is
the verge of being shut down!
That devil Jo Malseng is
suffocating the King!
Did you expect the crafty old ministers
to just accept His Majesty as a sage King?
No, but I'm still mad!
This is your problem.
Pardon?
You're too emotional about everything.
Men with fickle emotions can't
succeed in the field of engineering.
Failure leads to success if you endure it,
but it's just failure if you give up.
His Majesty is just going through
trial and error right now.
You were griping about your transfer
to the type foundry like yesterday.
Since when did you become
such a Zen master?
Darn it!
Sir.
Are we ever going to get this right?
That's it!
Sir?
This is it! This is it!
I got it!
You got what?
We can make the types to
fit into the frame like this!
Joseon will have a new
printing technology now!
Aren't you happy?
Typecaster!
Typecaster, where are you?
Chuck all the types you made so far!
- We're going to cast them all over!
- Talk about having fickle emotions!
Oh, those poor guys at the type
foundry are going to have to pull
a few all-nighters again.
Youngsil, you're so lucky to have an
easy going guy like me as your boss.
Hey kid, say something.
Will you?
You have friends at the Bureau
of Astronomy, don't you?
Hook me up.
It's scary over there.
The whole department might get canned
because of the wrong eclipse prediction.
But l made a promise to His Majesty that
I'd make him a very powerful weapon.
Then go to the Bureau of Weaponry.
What do you want with astronomy?
The enemy we have to fight is the heavens.
The heavens?
I have to know my enemy
to make the weapon, right?
Are you mocking us?
You want to study astronomy and find
the problem in the prediction method?
Yes, sir.
Get out of here.
It's not something a lowborn can do.
Why would it be wrong
if there is no problem?
Get out of here, I said.
There is no problem.
We did nothing wrong.
We calculated the time a hundred times
using the Datong method from Ming.
If anyone is at fault, it's the Ming Chinese
who made the calendar. Not us!
I beg your pardon?
I said get out of here!
A calendar from Ming?
You don't even have basic knowledge,
and you want to learn astronomy?
We get the calendar from Ming
because Ming overseas the heavens.
Now do you understand, you idiot?
If you show me that calculation method,
I swear to you I will find out why
the prediction was wrong.
Give him a chance.
What have you got to lose?
Who knows? He might find the answer
and save you from being thrown out.
And if you can't find the answer?
I'll give you my hands.
Hey!
Are you telling me I could
cut off your hands?
Yes, sir.
Visible enemy was easier...
Tsushima... the enemy you can fight
with swords was easier to conquer.
Your Majesty...
If I had not aspired to fight the heavens,
if I had listened to the ministers
and prayed to the gods...
I may not be pressured to shut
down the Hall of Worthies
or be forced to strike
my own brother down.
Heaven...
What merciless and fierce enemy it is!
This is new printing technology.
We abandoned the old method in which
wax was used to fix the types in place
and chose a fitting method
to keep the types down.
Using this type, we can print five times
faster than the previously cast Gyemi Type.
Now all that's left is for
you to win, Your Majesty.
Second Minister off Works Yi Chun,
I express my deepest gratitude for
your silent obedience and hard work.
I will name this type Gyeongja Type.
Gyeongja Type...
1420, second year of Sejong's reign,
a new printing technology was born.
Goryeo had developed movable metal
type in 1234 but it was not widely used.
And Gyemi Type was developed
in 1403 under Taejong's orders,
but it, too, was not widely used
because it relied on melted wax to set
the types resulting in lack of type
stability and slow output.
Gyeongja Type, named for the year of its
birth, solved these problems by fitting
the types into bamboo frames securely.
This was indeed a ground
breaking idea at the time.
Not only was Gyeongja
a model for Gabin Type,
the most beautiful of all
Joseon developed types,
but it served as an important tool in
cultural development by enabling quick
production and dissemination
of cultural and political literature.
Gyeongja Type was a signal flare starting
the era of cultural evolution, an era marked
by greatest achievements in Korean's
5.000 year history, era of King Sejong.
Like Minister Yi Chun said,
all that's left now is for me to win.
Your Majesty...
The Hall of Worthies must be strong
for Gyeongja Type to be put to use.
Sometimes...
Sometimes I wish I was that throne.
It has no emotions, so making
decisions might come easy.
Are you feeling pressured
to strike down Hyoryeong?
Protecting the Hall of Worthies
will require a sacrifice.
Using my own brother to bargain way...
How cruel are the Kings?
Your Majesty...
I think I understand my
father to some degree now.
I'm impressed.
I don't understand what you mean.
I investigated you inside and out.
Do you know that?
Did you now?
There's no one I can't get
when I set my mind to it.
I even ended Prime Minister
Ha Ryun's career.
Yes, I know.
A tactician like you knows very well
how important money is in politics.
You have to be hiding quite
a bit of wealth somewhere.
If you say so, perhaps I am.
But you slipped through
my fingers effortlessly.
That's one thing I want to praise you for.
Somehow I don't think
"thank you" is in order.
Then how about accepting my surrender?
Minister Park.
Strike me and end this.
I'm the director of the Hall of Worthies.
So destroy me and leave
Hall of Worthies alone.
Don't take this small desk from the King.
You're my political mentor.
I don't want your career ending this way.
Are you refusing my request?
Minister Jo.