YMMV / Dae Jang Geum

• Ensemble Dark Horse: Lady Han and her actress have their own fanbase.
• Genius Bonus: The series does show a lot of various Korean royal cuisines.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff:
  • Dae Jang Geum is very popular in East Asia, especially China.
  • The drama is also popular in several other Asian countries like Singapore and the Philippines.
• Jerkass Woobie:
  • Choi Geum-young gets this treatment.
  • Jang-deok. Her mother committed suicide because the king asked her to become a dancer for him. Her father committed suicide as well. Her family is accused of disrespecting the king. As a result, the family's properties were confiscated and then Jang-deok turned into a government slave. The reason why she decided to become a physician is because she wanted to take revenge on the king by slowly killing him using wrong medication.
• Tear Jerker: Jang Geum buried her mother with her own hands. At about 11 years old.
  • If that wasn't enough, her mentor, Han Baek-young, who falsely confessed to save her, dies as Jang Geum is carrying her on their prisoners' march, and Jang Geum isn't even allowed to give her a proper burial.