(Korean Movies) Shadows in the Palace, 2007

It illuminates the court lady who has lost even traces of it in history!
Most of the protagonists of period dramas are people in power or real people. However, the movie <The Court Lady> brings the court lady hidden in the shadow of history to the front and resurrects it as a new protagonist.

The court ladies, who have quietly existed in the back of history, have preserved the top culture of the royal court, such as food and clothing, Hangeul literature, and royal literature, along with the duty of taking care of the king and queen. However, despite its large role, it is connected to the wealth of those in power, so no records remain. Director Kim Mi-jeong of <The Royal Court> became interested in the lives of these court ladies while researching materials during her time in the directing department of <The King's Man>, and wanted to make a film that approaches their lives from a different perspective.

The hidden story of the swings hidden by the powerful stimulated the imagination of director Kim Mi-jeong, and in the end, the court lady who stayed only in the background of history was actually a hidden helper who moved the great history. The real story of court ladies who had to end their lives in loneliness while being completely cut off from the outside in order to keep the secrets inside the palace begins with the movie <The Palace Lady>.

<The Court Lady> broadens the spectrum of period dramas.
As the production of historical dramas has been active since <The King of Kings>, the enthusiasm is still continuing in 2007. In addition to popular TV dramas such as <The King and I>, <Syukshin>, and <Taewangsashingi>, there are also films in production such as <Shinjeon>, <Modern Boy> and <1724 Gibang Riot>. These period plays are based on original novels or reconstruct short historical records in a cinematic way. <Palace> focuses on the craze of period dramas that are broadening their spectrum with various materials and genres.

<The Court Lady> is set in the historical background of the reign of King Jeongjo, while composing a drama with fictional characters and situations. A story about a court lady, who has not been properly recorded, as the main character, and without a single line of motifs, she uses her imagination to create things between them.

A fresh combination of the genres of historical drama and mystery thriller, and a drama that skillfully crosses the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction, rather exerts the power to create unimaginable and unfamiliar horror. With the credibility given by the historical situation and the drama that has the strong suction power of fiction, <The Palace Lady> takes the Korean historical drama one step further once again.

It creates a differentiated historical drama visual.
The first royal mystery <The Court Lady> creates a new visual that has not been seen in previous historical dramas. The costumes and art staff responsible for the visuals of <Gungnyeo> focused on the space called 'Palace' and the group called 'Gungnyeo' and focused on capturing the oppressed atmosphere and tension on the screen, rather than focusing on glamor.

Director Shim Hyeon-seop, who was in charge of the costumes for <The King's Man>, took on the role of <The Court Lady>. Whereas in the previous period costumes were focused on showing the splendor and rank of powerful people such as kings and queens, in <The Court Lady>, the main characters, court ladies, produce practical and active costumes suitable for their respective tasks and positions.

In addition, director Lee Ha-jun, who was in charge of the open sets of <Blood Nude> and <Low Life> and the set of the drama <Full House>, is in charge of the art of <The Palace Lady>, transforming the palace into a different space. In addition to creating a virtual underground space inside the palace, I realized the previously unseen examination room and library, reviving the closed and oppressed atmosphere of the 'Gung' that I wanted to show in my <Gungnyeo>.

The newly created visual is another highlight of <Palace>, focusing on expressing the life and mystery of the 'Palace' and the life of the 'Gungnyeo' beyond the costumes and art to be shown centered on the king or the powerful. It is the element that distinguishes <Gungnyeo> from other historical dramas.

Create a character of a living court lady.
The acting showdown of attractive actresses alone is special! In the movie <The Palace Lady>, along with new generation actors such as Park Jin-hee, Yoon Se-ah, Seo Young-hee, Im Jeong-eun, and Jeon Hye-jin, actors such as Kim Seong-ryung, Kim Mi-kyung, and Chu Gwi-jeong, who are like Gi Ra-seong, are cast as supporting actors in the movie, so a sparking acting battle unfolds.

Since her debut in the film industry with the movie <Girls' High School Ghost Story>, Park Jin-hee, who has risen to the top in both screens and home theaters, has challenged her first historical drama acting. In addition, Yoon Se-ah, who has been active in dramas since her debut with <Blood Nude>, Seo Young-hee, who received attention in movies <Mapado> and <Teacher's Grace>, and Lim Jeong-eun, who showed a unique performance in the movie <Because I love you, it's okay> From the time she debuted in the drama <Eunsil Yi> to Jeon Hye-jin, who was recognized for her acting skills. These five actors show off a new look with continuous character development and uncompromising acting skills to create a court lady character that has never been seen before.

Together with them, the splendid supporting actors who form an axis of the film give <The Court Lady> great strength. Kim Seong-ryung, who chose <The Palace Lady> as her first screen comeback in 15 years; spit out In addition, the special appearances of godmothers in the theater industry, such as Lee Yong-i and Je-su-jeong, add to the credibility.

[Production Note]

Seven treasure-like filming locations that capture every nook and cranny of the wide and deep palace!
In order to capture the Gujung Palace, where the life of a court lady stands on the screen, the production team decided on a total of 7 major filming locations after two months of persistent screening. Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung were captured on camera to express the grand scale of Gyeonghuigung Palace, where the secret annual event only for court ladies is held, the corridor of the inner hospital alive with depth of space, and Hyeminseo in Suwon Hwaseong Haenggung Palace.

In addition, the Suragan and Medicine Warehouse were created as an open set in the Daejanggeum Theme Park, the huge forest surrounding the palace was the Gochang Eupseong Fortress, and the laboratory for examining the corpse and the library containing secrets were created as an open set in the Buan Video Theme Park. In addition, the dungeon full of fear and Heebin's residence, which was written as the king's bedroom, was built on the set in Paju, and focused on capturing every nook and cranny of the space only for court ladies. The wide and deep palace, which cannot be created with an artificial set alone, has been reborn as a living and breathing space through the efforts of the production team.

Props treated as precious as actors!
The props of the movie <The Palace Lady> are the result of craftsmanship shining more than any other movie. Director Kim Mi-jung's greed for detail and delicacy was not easily overcome. The norigae, an important clue in the movie, were all handcrafted because they could not capture the feeling of the Joseon Dynasty in existing products. The pumpkin-shaped head was made separately after countless design revisions, and each skein was woven by hand to make a belt.

The props used in the substation are also not that easy. Embroidery workshops, which cost tens of thousands of won because they were embroidered by artisans, and silks everywhere, are enough to erase any set with just the whole set. More than 4,000 books that filled the library were also produced separately. In addition, the sad purple guillotine and beheading guillotine written in Juburiglyeo added to the tension of the play by creating and manufacturing a new design, not from historical evidence. Because of hard work and sweat, the more precious props were another main character that the staff cared as much as the actors.

The actors of <The Court Lady>, united with their passion for acting!
The actors, who had to create a new character, the court lady, because they had never been properly treated before, were not afraid of the effort and sacrifice to play their roles. First, Park Jin-hee, who plays the role of an inner woman, went to an oriental doctor directly before filming to ask for advice, and learned how to take a pulse, how to put a needle, and tips for inspection. In addition, the calligraphy teacher personally came to the filming site to write the archery used by real court ladies and guided Park Jin-hee's fonts one by one.

Seo Young-hee, who appears as Wol-ryeong, a dead court lady, hangs a wire on her body for several hours to bring out the realism, and then lays on the cold floor and digests all the corpses that actors say is the most difficult. In the scene where he had to be hit in the calf for dozens of times in the play, Yoon Se-ah gave up the prepared role and performed a direct beating, and Jeon Hye-jin also showed an acting that spares no effort in difficult filming, including the torture scene hanging upside down. The staff showed their passion for acting gave generous applause to

The true female power of Chungmuro!
In addition to the fact that, due to the nature of the film, the main actors are all women, the movie <The Court Lady> is becoming a hot topic only with the meeting of Chungmuro's female power CEO Jeong Seung-hye, and director Kim Mi-jeong, who was first recognized by director Kang Woo-seok and director Lee Jun-ik.

Since its foundation, Jung Seung-hye, CEO of Morning Movie, has been drawing attention as the most influential producer in Chungmuro by releasing <Lizard>, <Radio Star>, and <A Joyful Life> without a break. Director Kim Mi-jung, who has been recognized for her ability as director Jun-ik Lee's directing department, is drawing more attention by introducing <The Court Lady>, a novel material in the film industry that lacks female characters. In particular, as a new director, Mi-jung Kim rose to the competition section of the 55th San Sebastian Film Festival and emerged as the hottest issue in Chungmuro.

The meeting between a female producer and a director with both skill and agility is already raising expectations that it will become a powerful hurricane that will bring aftermath to Chungmuro.