[mslee's thoughts] Hwajung / Splendid Politics - First Impression
So this is another version of Prince Gwanghae's life story. It started just before he became the King immediately after his father passed away. While watching episode 1, I could not help but remember some scenes in The King's Face where Seo In Guk played Prince Gwanghae. The story is the same, but there are some differences as well. Perhaps the accurate part for both versions are how the King treated Gwanghae and never seemed to love his son despite his upright integrity. Since I have a background of the story I could tell that perhaps it was jealousy in the part of the King, Gwanghae's father that made him not trust his son. The story in Hwajung started 5 years after the Imjin war where Gwanghae tried his best to protect the palace and the people from the Mings. This is a much mature version of the story considering Cha Seung Won is playing the role of Gwanghae. There is no doubt on the strong performance as an actor. I am seeing a lot of veteran and famili...