Line #21 Series/DaeJangGeum


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/daejanggeum5.jpg]]
2
3	''Dae Jang Geum'' (Hangul: 대장금; Hanja: 大長今; RR: ''Dae Jang-geum''; MR: ''Tae Chang-gǔm''; literally ''The Great Jang Geum''; also known as ''Jewel in the Palace'' in some countries) is a 2003 epic South Korean television series directed by Lee Byung Hoon and produced by Creator/{{MBC}}. Starring Lee Young Ae, it tells the tale of an orphaned kitchen cook who went on to become the king's first female physician. In a time when women held little influence in society, young apprentice cook Jang Geum strives to learn the secrets of Korean cooking and medicine in order to cure the king of his various ailments. Produced for $15 million, the show received as much as 57% of viewers in South Korea and has pulled in $40 million worldwide since it first aired in 2003.
4
5	It is based on the true story of Jang-geum, the first female royal physician of the Joseon dynasty. The main themes are her perseverance and the portrayal of traditional Korean culture, including Korean royal court cuisine and traditional medicine.
6	----
7	!!This series provides examples of:
8	%%* AllLoveIsUnrequited
9	%%* AlphaBitch: Young-ro
10	* BornInTheWrongCentury: At the ending Jung-ho laments that Jang-geum could achieve even more had she been born in a different era.
11	* CheatersNeverProsper: In the cooking competition Lady Choi arranged to get Lady Han kidnapped and their ingredients ruined. This backfires on her as Jang-geum manages to win in the end, so Lady Choi suffered a much more humiliating defeat to a mere ""assistant"".
12	* DecadentCourt: Usually once per episode someone's life is being threatened because of this.
13	* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Jang-Geum's parents raised her with love and taught her many things that would carry her throughout her life.
14	%%* EarnYourHappyEnding
15	* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: The head physician. It was part of a larger plan to reveal the Choi's and Yul-yee's wrongdoings.]]
16	* HappilyAdopted: Kang Duk-gu and his wife Na Joo-daek treated Jang-geum like their own child because their two sons died in smallpox.
17	* HeroicSacrifice: Myeong-yi dies from an arrow while shielding Jang-geum from the Choi's assassination plan. Later, Lady Han falsely admits to charges of poisoning in order to save Jang-geum's life.
18	* LastRequest: [[spoiler: The king makes one to have Jang-Geum and Min Jeong-ho escape to China so that Jang-Geum won't be executed by the officials who still hold a grudge against her for holding a government position.]]
19	%%* LoveTriangle: Between Jang-geum, Jung-ho and Geum-young.
20	* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Myeong-yi came to Hanyang simply to see her husband before he gets sentenced to death, and presumably, go back into living as commoners. When Lady Choi sees her, she assumes that Myeong-yi has returned to take revenge, so she and her brother plot to get Myeong-yi killed. Which led to her death wish to be for Jang-geum to enter the palace thus setting off the entire plot.
21	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Lady Suk-Won was NOT impressed when Lady Min and Chang-ee [[spoiler: expressed pity at Lady Choi's death]] and calls them out for it. Contrast this to her crying over [[spoiler: Young-ro's death.]]
22	%%* ParentalAbandonment
23	* PluckyGirl: Jang-Geum in spades. Considering all she's gone through and lost, most people would have given up, especially considering the culture at the time.
24	%%* RagsToRiches
25	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Even with all the political intrigue, there are a few for the protagonist, [[spoiler: such as Lady Han, Jeong Yoon-soo and the king]].
26	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Lady Choi's DeathByFallingOver lead to this..]]
27	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Geum-young gives one to Lady Choi about how they're the ones who lost.
28	* RiddleMeThis: Jang-Geum does this to the Queen Dowager. If the Queen Dowager answers correctly, Jang-Geum dies, otherwise the Queen Dowager will allow Jang-Geum's mentor to continue treating her. [[spoiler: She finds the answer from somebody else, but defaults by not answering, as the answer made her realize the harm she was doing.]]
29	%%* TheRival
30	%%* SmugSnake: Most of the Choi clan.
31	* SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay: Variation. When Jang-Geum is in hiding in the countryside, the few royal guards loyal to her attempt to locate her, then come across a particularly sharp young country girl who immediately reminded them of Jang-Geum. Turns out the child is ''her daughter.''
32	* StalkerWithACrush: Seo Cheon-soo to Myeong-yi. Justified in that he was given a prophecy that told him he should avoid Myeong-yi to avoid both their inevitable deaths, so he could only follow and help her from a distance.
33	* SupremeChef: Pretty much a given for most of the royal kitchen ladies, since that's their job.
34	* UnrequitedLoveLastsForever: Geum-young had been in love with Min Jung-ho for a very long time.
35	* VisibleBoomMic: A little after the halfway point in the series these typically show up about once or twice an episode. One even slightly knocks Min Jung-Ho's hat during a pivotal scene.
36	%%* WeUsedToBeFriends
37	* YamatoNadeshiko: Park Myeong-yi, the mother to the main character in ''Dae Jang Geum'', and her husband live as lower caste commoners, but she is a wonderful cook for her family as well as very calm but strict with her daughter.
38	%%* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: The Choi's way of dealing with loose ends.
39	* YouOweMe: [[spoiler: The queen tries to invoke this on Jang-Geum to get Jang-Geum to kill the crown prince. Jang-Geum would rather choose death instead, but is interruped by the king.]]

Context Series / DaeJangGeum