The King: Eternal Monarch

2020 · Science Fiction & Fantasy, Drama · 1 season · ★ 8.2

Ended

Synopsis of The King: Eternal Monarch

Emperor Lee Gon rules the Kingdom of Korea, a present-day country where the royal family lives surrounded by intrigue. One day, the young monarch passes through a mythical door that leads him into a parallel reality, where the Republic of Korea exists in place of his kingdom. There he meets Jeong Tae-eul, a determined police inspector whose ID card is tied to a key moment in her childhood: the murder of her father. Lee Gon wants to put an end to the atrocities of his half-uncle, Lee Lim, the man who killed the previous king and is hiding while he gathers armies. To do so, he needs to recover the other half of the Manpasikjeok flute, the object that bridges the two worlds. The series is written by Kim Eun-sook and airs on SBS and Netflix.

1season

16episodes

77 minper episode

8.2audience scoreTMDB · 924 votes

8.1IMDb rating20,345 votes

Seasons of The King: Eternal Monarch

Season 12020 · 16 ep. · ★ 8.7

Cast by The King: Eternal Monarch

Lee Min-hoLee Gon16 episodes

Kim Go-eunJung Tae-eul / Luna16 episodes

Woo Do-hwanJo Eun-sup / Jo-young16 episodes

Kim Kyung-namKang Shin-jae16 episodes

Jung Eun-chaeGoo Seo-ryung / Goo Eun-ah16 episodes

Lee Jung-jinLee Rim16 episodes

Jeon Moo-songLee Jong-in / Prince Boo-young16 episodes

Kim Yeong-okNoh Ok-nam16 episodes

Jeon Bae-sooJung Do-in16 episodes

Seo Jeong-yeonSong Jung-hye16 episodes

Park Won-sangPark Moon-shik16 episodes

Park So-jinJo Hae-in16 episodes

Baek Hyun-jooLee Gon's Secretary16 episodes

Kang Hong-sukJang Michael / Jang Mi-reuk16 episodes

Kim Yong-jiMyung Na-ri / Myung Seung-ah16 episodes

Lee Hong-naeSeok Ho-pil16 episodes

An Si-haKim Hee-joo16 episodes

Choi Woo-sungKim Ki-won16 episodes

Jung Hyeon-junYoung Lee Gon / Lee Ji-hun16 episodes

Kim Si-wooYoung Jung Tae-eul16 episodes

Moon Woo-jinYoung Shin-jae / Kang Hyun-min16 episodes

Noreen Joyce GuerraMoon Seung-ih16 episodes

Lee Hae-youngYoo Kyung-moo16 episodes

Yoon Ju-manYoung Yoo Kyung-moo16 episodes

Hwang Young-heeMin Hwa-yun / Park Sook-jin16 episodes

Ryu Sung-rokKyu-bong16 episodes

Heo Dong-wonDetective Shim16 episodes

Song Sang-eunKyung-ran16 episodes

Hwang Se-onPark In-young16 episodes

Shin Hyeon-jongLee Jung-hoon16 episodes

Lee Hwang-euiPrime Minster's Adviser16 episodes

Kang Ki-doongSecretary Kim16 episodes

Jang Hae-minPrime Minster's Staff16 episodes

Kim Jung-youngKim Sung-ae16 episodes

Kwon YulLee Ho (the late emperor, Lee Gon's father)3 episodes

Yang Hyun-min[Gambling boss]3 episodes

Ko Dong-ok[Gangster]3 episodes

Tae In-hoChoi Min Hwan2 episodes

Moon Dong-hyeokPark Jung Gu2 episodes

Kim Gwi-seonPark Mun-haengEpisode 1

Technical Details

Address: Jung Jee-hyun, Baek Sang-hoon, Yoo Je-won
Writing: Kim Eun-sook
Executive Producer: Jinnie Choi, Yoon Ha-lim
Production companies: Hwa&Dam Pictures, Studio Dragon
Network or Platform: SBS
Country: South Korea
Original Language: Korean
Original title: 더 킹 : 영원의 군주
Premiere: April 17, 2020
Last Episode: June 12, 2020 (1x16)
Status: Ended
Type: Fiction
Links: IMDb · TMDB · Official Website

Trivia about The King: Eternal Monarch

The series was the first project planned for the return of Lee Min-ho after completing mandatory military service, and it was written by Kim Eun-sook.

According to reports, total production costs exceeded 30 billion won (US$25 million), which were recouped before the first episode aired.

The soundtrack features songs by Hwasa, Davichi, and Gummy, and composer Gaemi produced the music for seven of the singles.

BBQ Chicken, the fried chicken brand featured in the series, sold 550,000 chicken sets in one month thanks to its appearance in the show.

The series debuted with a 11.4% audience share on SBS, the highest figure of 2020 for the Friday and Saturday time slot.

The production team apologized and announced changes to several buildings in the fictional Empire of Korea after viewers pointed out similarities to Japanese temples such as Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji.

Lee Min-ho won the Best Actor award in a fantasy or romance miniseries at the 2020 SBS Drama Awards.

The Korea Communications Standards Commission issued an administrative recommendation over a scene considered sexist, involving the attire and comments directed at Prime Minister Goo Seo-ryeong.

Sources: Wikipedia (English)