''The Royal Tailor'' () is a 2014 South Korean

period film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

directed by

Lee Won-suk Lee Won-suk (born 9 January 1974) is a South Korean film director. Lee acted as the assistant director on the South Korean omnibus film ''Five Senses of Eros'' (2009), before releasing his filmmaking debut, the romantic comedy '' How to Use Guy ...

, and starring

Han Suk-kyu Han Suk-kyu (born November 3, 1964) is a South Korean actor. One of the leading actors of Korean cinema, Han's notable works include ''Green Fish'' (1997), '' No. 3'' (1997), '' Christmas in August'' (1998), '' Shiri'' (1999), ''The Scarlet Lett ...

Go Soo Go Soo (born October 4, 1978), also known as Ko Soo, is a South Korean actor. He has appeared in television series such as ''Piano'', '' Green Rose'' and '' Will It Snow for Christmas?'', as well as the films '' White Night'' and '' The Front Lin ...

Park Shin-hye Park Shin-hye (, born February 18, 1990) is a South Korean actress and singer. She gained recognition as a child on TV shows such as ''Stairway to Heaven'' (2003), and ''Tree of Heaven'' (2006). Later on, she would achieve further success when ...

and

Yoo Yeon-seok Yoo Yeon-seok (born Ahn Yeon-seok on April 11, 1984) is a South Korean actor. After making his acting debut in 2003 with a small role in '' Oldboy'', he resumed his acting career in 2008. His notable works include the films '' Re-encounter'' (2 ...

. It tells the story of a rivalry between two tailors at the Sanguiwon, where the attire worn by royalty were made during the

Joseon era Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

, plunges the court into scandal and tragedy. The film was released in South Korea on December 24, 2014.

Plot

The film starts with a modern-day press conference, in which Jo Dol-seok is introduced as the only royal tailor, who single-handedly revolutionized the fashion of Korea's Joseon dynasty. Before one of his works is shown, the scene changes to the kingdom of Joseon, where a different story is told: Jo Dol-seok has tailored clothes for three generations of kings before finally becoming the head of the Sanguiwon, the department responsible for the royal attire. Jo was born a commoner, and looks forward to upgrading his social status after serving the royal family for thirty years. Careful to use the traditional rules and patterns, Dol-seok denies the Queen's request when she asks him to replace the king's robe that was accidentally burnt by a

gungnyeo Gungnyeo (literally "palace women")Han, Hee-sook, pp. 141–146 is a Korean term referring to women waiting on the king and other royalty in traditional Korean society. It is short for "gungjung yeogwan", which translates as "a lady officer of t ...

(female attendant). He insists that to do so would be against court customs, but also simply impossible in the short time before the robe is needed. Anxious to cover her mistake, the Queen looks for a designer elsewhere. She is introduced to Lee Gong-jin, a young designer whose good looks and expertise at making unconventional

hanbok The (; term used in South Korea), also called () n North Korea and China, is an umbrella term which is used to refer to traditional ethnic Korean clothes, including the traditional clothing of the (Korean Chinese), an officially recognized ...

s have charmed many women in the capital. He invented the bell-shaped design of hanboks and introduced new colors. Gong-jin falls in love with the Queen at first sight and uses his extraordinary gift as a tailor to save the dress. He subsequently becomes a tailor at the Sanguiwon and begins a prosperous career. He repeatedly uses his craft to support the Queen, who is at risk of being dethroned and replaced because she and the King - who never visits her - have no children. Soon Dol-seok becomes jealous of the young designer's talent, whose creativeness he cannot rival with his use of the traditional shapes. He fears his own position will be undermined. He lets the King use him to frame Gong-jin for attempting to assassinate the King. The King then tries to lay the blame on the Queen for inciting the young tailor, but Gong-jin saves the Queen by claiming he acted on his own motives. Even when the young designer awaits his execution, the head tailor vows to have his name erased from history. Only when Gong-jin is dead, not only the queen, but eventually also Dol-seok silently mourn his death. At the end of the film, women of Joseon are seen wearing Gong-jin's bell-shaped, merrily colored hanboks. In the last shot, Gong-jin's design of the queen's royal ceremonial dress is shown at the modern press conference, but as was hinted in the first scene, it is wrongly attributed to Jo Dol-seok.

Cast

as Jo Dol-seok **Jo Hyeon-do as young Dol-seok *

as Lee Gong-jin *

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

as the King *

Ma Dong-seok Ma Dong-seok (born Lee Dong-seok on March 1, 1971), also known as Don Lee, is a South Korean–American actor. With his breakout performance in '' Train to Busan'' and subsequent leading roles, he has become one of South Korea's most successful ...

as Pan-soo *

Shin So-yul Shin So-yul (born Kim Jung-min on August 5, 1985) is a South Korean actress. Shin began acting in 2006, and appeared in supporting roles in films and television series such as ''Hello My Love'', ''Jungle Fish 2'', and ''Penny Pinchers''. Her brea ...

as Wol-hyang * Lee Yu-bi as Royal concubine ''So-ui'' *Jo Dal-hwan as Dae-gil *Bae Sung-woo as Je-jo * Heo Sung-tae as Officer Jong *

Kim Jae-hwa Kim Jae-hwa (born September 1, 1980) is a South Korean actress. Career Kim made her acting debut in 2009 in the film '' Harmony'' and she started to gain recognition following her role as Deng Yaping, Chinese champion of table tennis comp ...

as Court Lady '' Jimil'' *Jung Sang-chul as the Chief State Councillor *Park Kyung-keun as an officer *

Park So-dam Park So-dam (born September 8, 1991) is a South Korean actress. She came into popular recognition in the 2015 film ''The Priests'' and the TV series' ''Cinderella with Four Knights'' (2016) and ''Record of Youth'' (2020). She achieved internationa ...

as Yoo-wol *Woo Do-im as Hong-ok *Lee Do-yeon as Court lady Hong *Yang Eun-yong as Lady of the First Rank *Kwon Bang-hyun as Nurse Court Lady *Kang Ji-won as Madam Kim *Kim Hye-hwa as Madam Lee *Choi Hee-jin as Madam Park *Han Ji-eun as

Courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...

1 in Chwihyangru *Han Se-in as

4 in Chwihyangru *Lee Da-hae as

8 in Chwihyangru *Jeon So-ni as Tailor woman 1 *Hwang In-moo as a gatekeeper *Kim Nam-woo as eunuch 1

Cameo

* Park Gun-hyung as a nobleman in Chwihyangru *

Park Byung-eun Park Byung-eun (born 14 July 1977) is a South Korean actor. Personal life Park majored in drama at Chung-Ang University. Park was set to debut with 90s South Korean boy group Taesaja in 1997, but gave up due to him feeling that he cannot sing ...

as the previous King *

Park Yeong-gyu Park Yeong-gyu (born 28 October 1953) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Attack the Gas Station ''Attack the Gas Station!'' ( ko, 주유소 습격 사건) is a 1999 Korean crime-comedy film directed by Kim Sang-jin ...

yangban The ''yangban'' () were part of the traditional ruling class or gentry of dynastic Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The ''yangban'' were mainly composed of highly educated civil servants and military officers—landed or unlanded aristocrats ...

twins

Production

Filming began on February 21, 2014 and wrapped on July 2, 2014. More than 1,000

appear in the film, with actress

wearing 30 intricately embroidered pieces. () was spent on costumes, a significant portion of the film's total budget. Costume designer Jo Sang-gyeong said she was inspired by the clothing during

King Yeongjo Yeongjo of Joseon (31 October 1694 – 22 April 1776), personal name Yi Geum (Korean: 이금, Hanja: 李昑), was the 21st monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was the second son of King Sukjong, by his concubine Royal Noble Consort Suk ...

's reign (1694–1776), which according to historical records was when a short

jeogori (; ) is a basic upper garment of the , a traditional Korean garment, which has been worn by both men and women. Men usually wear the with a '' baji'' or pants while women wear the with '' chima'', or skirts. It covers the arms and upper part of ...

, the jacket that sits on top of the dress, and jar-shaped skirts started to become fashionable.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Tailor 2014 films 2010s historical drama films 2010s Korean-language films South Korean historical drama films Fictional tailors Films directed by Lee Won-suk 2010s South Korean films