Историята се развива по време на династията на Чосон и разказва за живота на двама приятели превърнали се в противници. Чон Йонг, роб със забележителни бойни умения и Чонг Рьо, господарят на Чон Йонг и потомък на най-влиятелната военна фамилия на Чосон.
6 години след първата Корейско-японска война, в 1597 японците отново събират флота си и започват последователно да превземат пристанищата в Корея, като опустошават села и градове, избиват населението и взимат пленници, заграбвайки провизии за корабите си. Целта е да стигнат до корейската столица и да пленят корейският владетел. По това време адмирал И Сон-Шин успява да събере оцелелите 12 кораба на корейския флот и ги установява в Южно море до Кървавия остров и протока Мьонгнян. Там, в ревящите течения на протока се провежда култовата битка между 200 японски военни кораба и корейския флот, който има само 12 кораба, но има и още нещо – адмирал И Сон-Шин.
През 1925 г., когато корейската държава е под управлението на японската империя, принцеса Док Хе, последната принцеса на Чосон, е изпратена в Япония. Там тя страда по родината си и прави не един опит да се завърне обратно, включително като става част от движението за независимост, но всеки път плановете й са осуетявани от Хан Тек Су.
Mu Myeong (Seung-woo Cho) е ловец на глави в династията Чосон, който при една мисия среща красивата Ja Yeong (Su-Ae) - бъдещата императрица, и се влюбва в нея. Няколко години по-късно, когато Ja Yeong влиза в императорския двор за да се омъжи за крал Gojong, Mu Myeong, и заради чувствата които още изпитва към нея, става нейна лична охрана. Ja Yeong, като кралица, се опитва да модернизира държавата, но разбирайки за заговорите за надмощие в политиката и интригите,които тресат вътре и отвън Чосон, се изправя срещу бащата на краля и чуждите дипломати. А Mu Myeong ще трябва да посрещне и парира всички заплахи, застрашаващи живота на неговата любима.
Set in the early 1900s, this drama tells the story of a young man from Korea who grows up in the United States. When he returns to Korea as a US Marine Corps officer, he meets and falls in love with a noblewoman who is fighting for Korean independence. Their romance is complicated by social class and political ideology.
Set during the period of the 1894 Donghak Peasant Revolution against the Japanese, the drama tells the story of two half-brothers, one illegitimate and low born, and one, part of the pro-Japanese ruling elite, who find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict.
Admiral Yi Sun-shin, who led the Joseon Navy to a myth of invincibility during the Hideyoshi invasion, was a true soldier and leader who struggled to protect people. Drama Yi Sun-shin is not a biography of Admiral Yi Sun-shin, nor does it inetnd to reconstruct a part of the Joseon Dynasty that existed in the 16th century. This drama will merely look into many human beings, incliuding Yi Sun-shin, who underwent an extreme situation. It is not just a historical drama series. It’s rather about human nature that makes both of the war and peace. It is a Korean version of “War and Peace” in 21st century. No hero has ever been sent by heaven. He has emerged as one ultimately after undergoing a lifelong process. Drama Yi Sun-shin is designed to shed a new light upon him as a human being.
Based on the life of Empress Myeongseong (1851 - 1895), the first official wife of King Gojong, the 26th king of the Joseon dynasty. She was killed on October 8, 1895 by Japanese assassins.
Jingbirok, the name of a book written by real-life Joseon historian and scholar Ryu Seong Ryong (Kim Sang Joong),detailing the Imjin War (1592-1598). The drama will be a telling of historical events with the scholar as the central character, in the samevein as “Jung Do Jun”(who influenced the founding of the Joseon dynasty). Ryu Seong Ryong was an official who served during King Seonjo’s reign in the late 16th century. He was a brilliant Confucian scholar who was put in charge of military operations during the Imjin War, and greatly influenced AdmiralLee Soon Shin.
Princess Go was the youngest of the most famous three sisters in Japanese history, who each led a remarkable life in an age of turmoil and civil war. Go loses her parents in the war, marries three times, and feuds with her own sister in competing for power. Go's husband becomes the second Tokugawa Shogun and she ensures her prominence as she gives birth to a son who later becomes the third Shogun and a daughter, a wife of the Emperor. The drama describes the age of the civil war through the eyes of Princess Go, who plays a significant part in establishing the age of peace that lasts over 200 years in Japan.
July 1590, Odawara. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army had surrounded the Odawara Castle for over 3 months, hoping to conquer this last obstacle to his dream of the country's unification. Standing at the gate of the castle, a lone man facing the menacing guards shouted out: "Do not throw your lives away. Treasure living!". Not long after, the castle gates opened and the reigning lord surrendered. The name of that man is Kuroda Kanbee. An excellent military strategist, he worked hand-in-hand with Hideyoshi to unify the country.
The fifth episode of the 500 Years of Joseon Dynasty series depicts the history of the Imjin War, also known as the Seven Year War, where the newly unified Japan was led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and invaded Korea twice, from 1592 to 1598. The fighting in this extended period includes the famous naval battles under Admiral Lee Soon Shin.
The Daewongun of the title refers to Heungseon Daewongun, or Yi Ha Eung, a descendent of King Yeongjo and regent to King Gojong. This episode details the years spanning from the reign of King Cheoljong to the Empire under Gojong and Empress Myeongseong, and finally the fall of the dynasty.
