''Splendid Politics'' () is a 2015

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

starring Cha Seung-won, Lee Yeon-hee, Kim Jaewon, Seo Kang-joon,

Han Joo-wan Han Joo-wan (born January 10, 1984) is a South Korean actor. He began his acting career in indie short films such as Leesong Hee-il's queer ''Suddenly, Last Summer'' and Lee Sang-woo's ''Exit'' (the latter from Jeonju International Film Festi ...

and Jo Sung-ha. It aired on MBC from April 13 to September 29, 2015 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 for 50 episodes. The

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

title ''Hwajeong'' is a shortened version of ''Hwaryeohan Jeongchi'' (literally "Splendid Politics").

Plot

Prince Gwanghae Gwanghae-gun or Prince Gwanghae (4 June 1575 – 7 August 1641), personal name Yi Hon (Hangul: 이혼, Hanja: 李琿), was the 15th ruler of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. As he was deposed in a coup d'état, he did not receive a temple name. ...

(portrayed by Cha Seung-won), son of a concubine, usurps the

Joseon 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 ...

throne from the direct bloodline of his father,

King Seonjo Seonjo of Joseon (26 November 1552 – 16 March 1608) was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1567 to 1608. He was known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign. However, politi ...

(portrayed by Park Yeong-gyu). After her younger brother, Grand Prince Yeongchang (portrayed by Jeon Jin-seo), is executed,

Princess Jeongmyeong Princess Jeongmyeong (27 June 1603 – 8 September 1685) was a Joseon Royal Princess as the tenth daughter of King Seonjo, from Queen Inmok. During her older half-brother's reign, she suffered hardships, and her title was revoked, but later it w ...

(portrayed by Lee Yeon-hee), who managed to flee the palace during the massacre, starts living as a commoner disguised as a man while plotting her revenge.

Cast

Main

* Cha Seung-won as Yi Hon,

** Lee Tae-hwan as young Yi Hon * Lee Yeon-hee as

**Jung Chan-bi as young Princess Jeongmyeong **

Heo Jung-eun Heo Jung-eun (; born September 14, 2007) is a South Korean actress. She first drew public attention with her performances in hit dramas, ''My Lawyer, Mr. Jo'' (2016) and '' Love in the Moonlight'' (2016). At age nine, she took on her first leadin ...

as child Princess Jeongmyeong * Kim Jae-won as Prince Neungyang, later King Injo * Seo Kang-joon as Hong Joo-won ** Yoon Chan-young as young Hong Joo-won ** Choi Kwon-soo as child Hong Joo-won *

as Kang In-woo ** Ahn Do-gyu as young Kang In-woo **Lee Tae-woo as child Kang In-woo * Jo Sung-ha as Kang Joo-sun, Kang In-woo's father

Supporting

Royal Household

* Park Yeong-gyu as

* Shin Eun-jung as

Queen Inmok Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mot ...

* Choi Jong-hwan as Prince Imhae * Jang Seung-jo as Prince Jeongwon, Prince Neungyang's father *Kim Gyu-sun as Princess Jeonghye *Jeon Jin-seo as Grand Prince Yeongchang *Lee Seung-ah as Queen Inryeol *

Baek Sung-hyun Baek Sung-hyun (; born January 30, 1989) is a South Korean actor. Career Baek Sung-hyun made his acting debut in the 1994 film ''I Wish for What Is Forbidden to Me'' when he was five years old. The child actor practically grew up onscreen, pl ...

as Crown Prince Sohyeon ** Shin Ki-joon as child Crown Prince Sohyeon * Kim Hee-jung as Crown Princess Minhoe * Lee Tae-ri as Grand Prince Bongrim, later

King Hyojong Hyojong of Joseon (3 July 1619 – 23 June 1659) was the seventeenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1649 to 1659. He is best known for his plan for an expedition to the Manchu Qing dynasty, and his campaigns against the Russian Empire a ...

**Song Jun-hee as child Grand Prince Bongrim * Kim Min-seo as

Jo Yeo-jeong Cho Yeo-jeong (born February 10, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She is best known internationally for her role in the film ''Parasite'' (2019), which won four Academy Awards and became the first non-English language film to win the award for Be ...

/ Royal Consort So-yong of the Okcheon Jo clan *Choi Woo-jin as Yi Jing, Prince Sungseon

Northern Faction (Gwanghae Group)

* Jung Woong-in as Lee Yi-cheom * Kim Yeo-jin as Court Lady Kim Gae-shi ** Jo Jung-eun as young Kim Gae-shi ** Shin Rin-ah as child Kim Gae-shi *Han Myung-koo as Chung In-hong *Yoo Seung-mok as Yoo Hee-boon *Jung Kyu-soo as Lee Choong *Lee Jae-gu as the Chief Eunuch

Western Faction (Injo Group)

* Jo Min-ki as Kim Ja-jeom *

Park Jun-gyu Park Jun-gyu (born June 27, 1964) is a South Korean actor. The son of acclaimed veteran actor Park No-sik, Park is best known for playing the role of Ssangkal in ''Rustic Period''. Filmography Film *''Quit Your Life'' (1971) *''Zip Up'' (1972) ...

as Kim Ryu * Jang Gwang as Yi Gwi *Kim Hyung-beom as Kim Kyung-jing, Kim Ryu's son * Lee Seung-hyo as Lee Si-baek *Kim Seo-kyung as Lee Si-bang *Jung Wook as a State Ceremony Eunuch

People around Princess Jeongmyeong

* Im Ho as Choi Myung-gil *

Lee Jae-yong Lee Jae-yong (; born 23 June 1968), known professionally in the West as Jay Y. Lee, is a South Korean business magnate and the chairman of Samsung Electronics. He is the only son of Hong Ra-hee and Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung until his d ...

as Kim Sang-hun * Kim Chang-wan as Lee Won-ik *Kim Seung-wook as Lee Hang-bok *

Um Hyo-sup Um Hyo-sup (born October 24, 1966) is a South Korean actor. Um mostly plays supporting roles in films and television dramas. Filmography Film Television series Web series References External links Um Hyo-sup Fan Cafeat D ...

as Hong Yeong, Hong Joo-won's father *Kim Young-im as Court Lady Jung * Gong Myung as Ja-gyung ** Kang Chan-hee as young Ja-gyung

Other subordinates

Ahn Nae-sang Ahn Nae-sang (born December 25, 1964) is a South Korean actor. He began his career on the stage, and in 1994 made his film debut in the Bong Joon-ho short film ''Baeksekin'' ("White Man" or "White-collar worker"), followed by Jang Sun-woo's '' ...

as Heo Gyun * Lee Sung-min as Lee Duk-hyung **Nam Da-reum as young Duk-hyung * Park Ji-il as Kim Je-nam,

's father * Jung Hae-kyun as Kang Hong-rib

Cameo

* Park Won-sang as Jang Bong-soo * Kim Kwang-kyu as Yi Yeong-bu * Kwak Dong-yeon as Yi Ui-rip *Jo Jae-ryong as Bang-Geun *

Lee Seung-hyung Lee Seung-hyung is a South Korean actor. He is best known as a supporting actor in television dramas, notably in ''Brilliant Legacy ''Brilliant Legacy'' (; also known as ''Shining Inheritance'') is a 2009 South Korean television series starr ...

as Yi-seo * Kim Hyun as Court Lady Inspector * Hwang Young-hee as Ok-joo *Baek Su-ryeon as Soo Ryun-gae *Lee Jae-gu * Kim Ki-bang as Gu-bok * Kim Kyu-chul * Kang Shin-il *

Hyun Seung-min Hyun Seung-min (; born September 17, 1999), known professionally as Jung Ji-so () is a South Korean actress. Hyun made her acting debut as a child actress in the 2012 television drama '' May Queen''. She is best known internationally for her r ...

as Eun-seol *Kang Dae-hyun as Su-Deok *Kang Moon-young as Lady Yoon, Kang Joo-sun's wife *Kim So-yi as Court Lady Choi *Baek Soo-ryun as Soo Ryun-gae * Jang Hyuk-jin as Maruno *Jung Sung-woon as

Hong Taiji Hong Taiji (28 November 1592 – 21 September 1643), also rendered as Huang Taiji and sometimes referred to as Abahai in Western literature, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizong of Qing, was the second khan of the Later Jin ...

*Kim Joon-bae as Yong Gol-dae

Ratings

In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

''Splendid Politics'' official MBC website
* *

at MBC Global Media {{Works by Kim Jong-hak Production 2015 South Korean television series debuts 2015 South Korean television series endings MBC TV television dramas South Korean historical television series Television series by Kim Jong-hak Production Television series set in the Joseon dynasty