Goong (2006) User Reviews

Commoner life meets royalty

[dy158 · 8/10 · 19 September 2006]

Imagine a pact being sealed between the late emperor and his commoner friend years ago, being materalised in the modern times.

Adapted from a best-selling comic in Korea and "Princess Hours" as its English translation of the title, it's about the adventures and mis-adventures of a commoner-turned-crown princess. Chae-kyung, a student who takes design at an arts school, has always got her friends around her. And despite her family situation, she takes things in her stride. But it all changed when the current Crown Prince of the royal family 19-year-old Lee Shin is attending the school, leaving the school all in a buzz of excitement.

But Chae-kyung don't let that get into her head till a public confrontation with the Crown Prince happened. At the same time, rumours went around that the Crown Prince has to find a wife in order to continue the royal line.

But Lee Shin longed had a girl he liked, but she rejected his proposal. Then it was know that many years ago, Chae-kyung's late grandfather who is a friend of the late emperor (who happened to be the late grandfather of Crown Prince Lee Shin), had made a pact that their future grandchildren will fall in love and be married. It became interesting because Chae-kyung is the only female in school who dared to go against Lee Shin.

The marriage did went ahead and it even invited worldwide media attention. This is where the former Crown Princess and one-time famous actress Hwa Young and her 19-year-old son Lee Yul come into the scene given they had been staying in the UK for 14 years. Hwa Young had asked her son to return home before she did, in order to stage a comeback into the royal family where she was banished from 14 years ago after the death of her husband. Unfortunately, her son slowly took a liking for his sister-in-law. To make it more complicated, the two of them are classmates.

Along the way, there are many obstacles for the royal family (domestic problems and beyond) and even in the form of Lee Shin's former girlfriend as well. A whole new can of worms had also been opened as well on the royal family's past along the way. But, can Chae-kyung save the day, given she has a happy-go-lucky personality especially in the eyes of the Queen Mother.

The clash of commoner life meets royalty can be quite a hit in the modern era, where royal life can still be seen as a novelty sometimes.

Another atypical love story

[madbird-61243 · 9/10 · 28 December 2018]

The story setting is the romance between the prince of korea and an ordinary girl schoolmate. Like Fated to love, romance grows after their marriage. It is always fascinating too to watch life within the palace, like in King2heart.

The plot is well-written. Their love grows so naturally as they face difficulties together.

The most funny and memorable scene is when they first stay together in a room for a night. Serving maids waiting outside the room to check if they actually sleep together. But actually nothing happens between them. It is so funny to see how the male lead has to suppress his sexual needs.

Female lead is cute and pretty. Her character in the story is so optismistic and lovely. She refreshes the life of the royal family. Male lead is always stern looking. . But this suits his role as a cool prince.

A drama that survives through time. Still regards as a classical love story after more than 10 years.

Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 8/10 · 26 February 2019]

After I've watched Boys over flowers and completely hated it, I was thinking of not even picking up Princess' Hours. Especially since it was twenty four episodes long! But, this drama proved me wrong. It is one of the few times that I couldn't stop watching a drama. The story is catchy and the couple has extremely chemistry, which aids the drama tremendously. Now, there were some trops of that period that the drama followed, like the annoying parents (who were better than others though), the mean mother in law, the love triangle with the second lead being an angel and so making it difficult to not root for him. Plus, some twists were idiotic. But the execution was good and the pace really well managed. So, eight out of ten.

i love this romantic love story so much!!

[tibet-music · 10/10 · 2 October 2006]

i love this romantic love story soooooooo much!!

the prince is so lonely, so gentle, so generous, so man!!!!!

do u think a man like him can be true in real life? i envy such deep love between he and his lover...

although mixed with pain and doubt, and beginning with a forced wedding, their love is warm and deep and pure.

and the cute teddy bears, adds love air too.

the story gives us a hope for true love.. it reminds me of such feeling which has gone too far away and too long ago in my heart.

love will melt icy lonely heart. love will open your door of heart toward a sunny garden.

u will hope the best moments will never end, when your hands were grasped by your lover and when you sleep so safely in your lover's arms. at least the TV series make me think of that and hope for that.

oh god, give me such a love bah!

THE ULTIMATE FAN....waiting for u!

[unwell-gurl · 10/10 · 10 January 2007]

well, I'm a PRINCESS HOURS ultimate fan....princess hours fever! hope that there's a volume 2-3...hoping,waiting on it! i hope that the cast of the princess hours can visit Philippines ....hoping!soon! I'm hoping that someday i could see the crown prince in person...of course the princess...this kind of comment! is a big deal for me because i could express how i love PRINCESS HOURS....The cast was doing good in their role....the princess hours writer was very excellent he/she did a very nice/good TV-episode i hope that she will make another or continuation of this TV-episode...and i will wait for it.....but the most is the cast of this princess hours especially the two namely: shin the crown prince,the princess as well...I'm hoping and waiting to see them both in person....thanks

For Royalty-obsessed teenies

[j_eyon · 6/10 · 10 December 2009]

There are a lot of potential fans out there considering how many people obsess over the British Royal family -- and over how many young (and old) women dream about marrying into one. This TV series will have special resonance since it's about a gawky commoner who does exactly that.

At least that commoner is played by the delightful Yun Eun Hye who brings the character to life in an uninhibited way. Even when she's over-acting, she seems entirely natural. But if you want to see her at her best, check out the much better romantic comedy/drama COFFEE PRINCE (aka, 1ST SHOP OF COFFEE PRINCE).

This one flows along nicely enuf. Unlike American series which are intended to go on forever, this had a definite time limit, so it had a definite arc. Still, maybe the plot would have worked better at less than 24 episodes. But you may find an actor or character you like and latch on happily for the duration.

Unlike American series, this is bright and colorful (almost gaudy at times). There are better Korean shows out there for grownups -- unless you're a grownup obsessed with royalty -- then this may be your ideal show.

If Cinderella was a reality show...

[leahcubed · 10/10 · 21 January 2020]

The show is based on the premise and a "what if" scenario of modern Korea having retained its monarchy - much like England. The series centers around the royal family and, primarily, the lives of the young royals. Crown Prince, Lee Shin (Ju Jii-hoon) is being positioned to take on the role of Emperor as his father, the current Emperor, is ailing. This rushes the need for Shin to find a suitable marriage partner as he is on the verge of stepping into the role he has been preparing for nearly his entire life. Shin had the opportunity to select a bride of his choice, but his girlfriend, Hyo-rin (Song Ji-hyo) rejects his proposal as she knows becoming the Crown Princess would necessitate her giving up on her dream of becoming a famous ballerina.

With no other personal marriage prospects, the crown reverts to fulfilling a promise made by Shin's grandfather (the former Emperor) to his friend, to have one of his heirs to the throne marry one of his family. Shin Chae-kyeong (Yoon Eun-hye) is a commoner who is of marriage age in the line of the former Emperor's friend. Her family and her are struggling financially so she accepts the opportunity to marry the crown prince to better her families situation. However, Chae-kyeong has a long way to go in training to fill the role of Crown Princess and, eventually, wife to the Emperor. Word spreads that there is soon to be a succession in the throne and Lady Hwa-young (Shim Hye-jin) decides to return from a 14 year exile with her son. Royal matters are complex and Lady Hwa-young was actually the crown princess with her son, Lee Yul (Kim Jeong-hoon), the crown prince and next in line for the throne. However, Lady Hwa-young's husband, Crown Prince Lee Soo, died in an accident and the royals had to leave the palace based on the royal regulation which required no two Princes reside in the castle. Or at least that was the reason provided at the time (that mystery is revealed throughout the course of the series). Lady Hwa-young deploys a series of plots designed to return her son to what she feels is his rightful place as next in line.

The life of a royal is not always easy and isolation is a big problem for some. Loneliness drives Shin to develop an arrogant, cold and aloof exterior. His mannerisms are very hard for his young wife who is a newcomer on the royal scene. Her loneliness and sadness leads her to befriend Lee Yul who experienced similar loneliness in his exile. The young married couple are very different in their life approach and Chae-kyeong finds herself repeatedly drawn to Lee Yul as someone she can more easily relate to, whereas Lee Shin finds himself drawn back to his love, Hyo-rin. Having a change of hear, Hyo-rin is determined to win Shin back and is ready to give up her dream of being a ballerina to take on the role of Crown Princess. Through all the push and pull of outside forces, the young couple begin to develop feelings for each other although each is not fully aware of the other's feelings nor fully in acknowledgement themselves.

Can love grow and survive in such a turbulent environment? Scandal after scandal follows the young royals as they learn how to navigate the social realities of being a royal. Who will be next in line? Does anyone want the responsibility that goes along with the heavy crown?

I really liked this series. So much that I was sad when it was ending. It is a little bit Cinderella in nature - but not quite. It gives a real sense of what it might be like to be in a position, such as a royal, where you cannot think and act outwardly, as everyone else does. The saying "it is lonely at the top" definitely comes to mind. In the United States the closest thing we have are celebrities and I observe that young celebrities are subject to a high degree of criticism when really they are acting no different than a lot of young people their ages. You give a young person a lot of power and money and the chance they will make mistakes just magnifies. The love story is well developed, believable and cute. This is one of my favorites!

Lightweight, but fun with lots of treats for the eyes; while overall story can plod, central relationship maintains interest

[refresh_daemon · 7/10 · 15 March 2009]

Palace, also known as "Princess Hours", is a Corean television drama, based on a concurrent comic book. Upon its airing, it became one of the most popular dramas to air during its time period. Set in an alternate reality where upon Corea's independence from Japan, its people reinstate its royal family in the form of a constitutional monarchy. What unfolds over the course of the series is an emotionally charged, slowly paced, relationship drama featuring a quartet of principles, combined with courtly intrigue and remarkable production and art design.

This is my second experience with a Corean television drama and I came into it with a lot of skepticism after being disappointed by my previous attempt with Winter Sonata. However, I found Palace a lot more accessible and enjoyable and less contrived. One of its strongest aspects is it's production values and art design. The whole affair glows from the money that's pumped into it, from huge set pieces (the royal wedding parade scene was tremendous) and gorgeous costumes, to high quality video and sets. There's a lot of eye candy in the picture and it's easily one of the prettiest dramas I've seen in a while.

The story essentially follows a spirited high school girl, who by a long-forgotten betrothal, becomes the bride of the Crown Prince of Corea. It follows her entry into the monarchy and the ensuing turmoil as she and the palace itself adapts to their new situation. Throw in some complications with the Crown Prince's original love (who spurns him at first, leading to this marriage) as well as the return of the conniving exiled former Crown Princess and Royal Prince and you have courtly battles for power as well as the development of a tangled web of relationships. Granted, it doesn't take much effort to see how the story's going to play out as it's actually relatively straightforward. Instead of high degrees of "action", we instead follow, very slowly, the development of the characters as their collisions cause them all to react and grow. That said, while I found the characters fairly interesting, the show suffers a little from developing the characters too slowly, often threatening the characters becoming flat. This is especially true of the returned Royal Prince, who becomes fairly stale.

The newlyweds however, retain a lot of chemistry and their bickering on-off relationship helps propel the story forward and fortunately, the crux of Palace rests on that story. The other parts of the story don't lend themselves to much surprise and fail to provide the same dynamism, as such, I often found that many scenes could be trimmed or entire episodes rewritten and cut down to keep the pace of the story afloat. The underlying themes and "substance" to the story are a little weak and as such Palace becomes a little bit more of a confection, often veering into and from soap territory, but it wears its heart on its sleeve and its pleasures are in sharing those up front emotions with its viewers.

Props to the actors, the young unknowns that take the main roles. Although they are sometimes a little stiff, you can tell that they're not just rattling off the performances and the veterans do their jobs as well as you can expect from veterans of the screen. The direction gets a little quirky at times, perhaps thanks to its comic book heritage, with a handful of manic or ridiculous fantasy/daydream sequences, but ultimately, this is a straightforward work and it doesn't really falter where it counts.

I can recommend Palace quite simply because it's easy to get into, has a lot to look at, and has a emotionally hooking central love story. While it does plod at times, I found myself enough enchanted by the principal protagonist and her Cinderella story that it was still easy to watch the whole thing through to the end. I don't think Palace rewrites the book at all when it comes to its medium, genre or format, but I think it's a fun ride. It doesn't hurt that I love its alterna-history imagination as well. It's fun, lightweight (even though it gets heavy for the characters) entertainment and a decent entering place into the world of Corean dramas. 8/10.

A gem of a K-drama that dispels 1st love as true love and I love that storyline!

[giselle_walters · 9/10 · 6 October 2015]

This drama is very youthful. There were times when I wondered if Koreans in general are late bloomers because I could not understand how at 19, the leads still live with their parents and are still in High School! However, I really loved the Princess and Crown Prince's characters. There were some flaws like, so the ballerina girl is not rich? But wow, does she dress like she is a chaebol's princess. And also acts like one. It was a big surprise for me, because I really thought she owned that horse club. But this tiny flaw is minor in comparison to the light heart of the princess' and the Great Queen Mother's (that old lady is FFFuunnny! ^_^) antics. The drama is also riddled with values of loyalty, fidelity, and filial piety, and responsibility and it was great to watch character development of the cast around these values as the show progressed. I especially liked the Crown Prince's portrayal of the values of fidelity at every occasion that he shot down his first love, the ballerina, every time she attempted to get him back. It's a win for wives everywhere, in a world where mistresses are regarded as normal occurrence. Every scene where he simply apologized and walked away, I felt triumphant for every wife who may not be winning at the moment. And even for the real Princess Diana (as the ballerina was apparently strategizing to be like Camilla to get her first love back ;)) At least in this story, the princess gets a well deserved happy ending!

One of my fav dramas

[mimigogi · 10/10 · 13 July 2020]

I really really love this series. When I watched it I imagined that I were the main actress. Hahaha.

If you've seen one K-Drama, seen them all...

[matthew-628 · 4/10 · 30 January 2007]

That sums up the problem with K-dramas. The producers said that it was hard to make a show based on a graphic novel that hadn't been finished yet. It doesn't seem that they struggled that hard with the challenge since The Palace is just a mindless regurgitation of K-drama clichés that should have been put out to pasture years ago. Here is the premise of this show - Boy loves girl, girl rejects boy so boy gets involved with another girl that he doesn't really like (the only bit of originality in any of these series is why the boy gets involved with the second girl). The first girl then decides that she made a mistake so she tries to get back with the boy. The boy finds himself pulled between his first love and the new girl (because she is cute and good natured). The cute girl leaves the country (to study abroad or for business) and the boy realizes how much he loves her. Sound familiar? It should, it is the exact same plot of every single romantic K-drama that has been released in the last decade (and maybe longer).

When The Palace started I thought it would be different. The costumes and sets are gorgeous and the directing riffs on anime style. But, within a few episodes, the lavish production can't hide the fact that there is nothing new here. Even worse, all the digital trickery of the first few episodes completely disappears.

Here is a breakdown of how a typical episode works. Character meets character and they talk. Next scene of characters sitting and talking. More characters talking while riding in a car. Characters talk while they eat. And finally, characters talk some more. Nothing is ever implied which can be stated. When characters are alone, they talk too. Throw in some tissue thin villains (a vengeful ex-crown princess and her "too pretty to be a boy" ex-prince) and much ado about a retroactive enthronment, and you have a series that would have been long at 12 episodes, but is torturous at 24.

The only person to come through this series looking good is Yoon Eun-Hye who is a Korean Audrey Hepburn. The rest of the cast, especially Kim Jeong-Hoon (boys should be handsome, NOT pretty) and Song Ji-hyo (washed out, mousy, and without an ounce of personality), will leave you reaching for the fast forward button.

And one more thing, if we are supposed to believe that a character spent their entire life in England, the least the producers could do is find an actor that can speak English. Listening to Kim Jeong-Hoon mangle English that he obviously doesn't understand is painful.

Skip this and watch My Name is Kim Sam-Soon. It is the same exact story, too. But at least all the actors are good in that one.

Perfect cliche

[venusray-31451 · 8/10 · 15 August 2020]

I have heard a lot about this drama. Hence, I wanted to watch this one. Considering the fact that it's a really old drmaa. I have rated this. If you want to watch a Cinderella story. It's for you. The only difference is there is love square for you here. The prince is in love with his x and the princess is loved by the cousin in law. Flaws of this drama is that it drags a lot. Very slow. Thankfully, I was bored. So I just fast forwarded the scenes and could bear though it. Unlike others, I didn't like the traditional costumes. And the traditional names were a pain. I didn't like the palace as well. But despite it all the drama was able to engross me in. That's why I gave it 8 stars. For a few hours I was able to go into a princess story and for some reason I didn't put it down. There was no real villian in this story. Everyone was just trying to get what they want to overcome their pain. I would say if you have a lot of time to waste and want to watch a fairytale go for this. On a personal note. I preferred Yu Gul over the male lead. I felt he was more genuine and did everything he could for her. I have no hatred for the male lead though. After some time you get used to him. So yeah. It's not for everyone. Particularly after such a long time. But if you have time to kill and want a fairytale to look forward to this one is for you.

Could have been better

[steli-os · 4/10 · 17 February 2021]

At my first try, I managed to watch almost 10 minutes. I found it too silly to keep going. Then for some reason I decided to give it an other try. The only reason I managed to watch all 24 episodes was the constant time skiping. To be honest, I mostly cared about the main couple. I found the second male lead and two of the female lead's friends way too annoying. I also liked the Queen. Probably the best performance in this one. I like the story and the (sadly not enough) humour. It's supposed to be comedy and romance but it's mostly light melodrama and this is the main reason for my time skiping. It could have been better with 16 episodes.

Pathetic

[kajalkashsinha · 1/10 · 12 June 2021]

I was enjoying it till 15 ep because of main couple. They also become pathetic. How she let go him after being in marriage and kissing his ex gf. I can't tolerate watching there further romance. I hate crown prince's character. He always have problem with princess hugging someone but on other hand he kissed his ex gf. So that makes him two faced. I started hating both main characters.