Horse Doctor Episode 48
After the dramatic death of Myunghwan in the last episode, all that’s left to do now is fix Jinyung’s status so that she can marry Kwanghyun and then live happily ever after. 🙂 OR is it? Because now that Kwanghyun’s yangban identity has been revealed, the government officials want him to join them and marry a yangban – and even though he wants to stay a humble doctor, this might not be so easy …
While Jinyung stoically prepares to return to a life of slavery, Kwanghyun is with the king pleading for her freedom. He shows the king proof, including the notebook from Doctor Yi who was murdered by Myunghwan, that shows Jinyung’s father was framed. So if Jinyung’s father received a reward then they could both be free. But there’s a problem because the situation is very delicate. The king has always had his suspicions that his own grandfather was involved in the death of the then crown prince. And he doesn’t want that made public. However, finally the king orders the officials at the 춘추관 chunchugwan, Office of Annals Compilation to search the records.
historical note: Sagwon were official historiographers who worked in the chungchugwan and wrote detailed records on everything that went on. We can see there are always two sagwon busy writing away during the meetings between the king and the government officials (below). The sagwon were meant to be objective in what they wrote so even the king was not allowed to read the annals because it was feared that if he read something he didn’t like about himself he could punish the writers!
Proof is provided at the king’s meeting that Jinyung should be freed
Sure enough, an official from the chunchugwan arrives and reads out some information from the records – there’s a law written by King Sejo that rewards anyway who suffered for their country – this included promoting officials to higher positions and freeing slaves. The king has a meeting with his government but no one can complain because the rule is there for all to see in the records. So Jinyung will be freed from slavery. Everyone is pleased and there’s a party at the restaurant. A proper funeral is held for Jinyung’s father who is buried next to Kwanghyun’s father, Kang Dojun. Jinyung and Kwanghyun think back to their childhoods and their father.
Sungha gives Jinyung the scroll from the king that gives her back her freedom
Back at the hospital new rookie nurses are joining but everyone is shocked to see Myunghwan’s old head nurse has joined the nursing staff again as a new recruit at the lowest rank – the other nurses giggle when they see her. Meanwhile, Sungha is getting ready to leave court and plans to leave the capital for a while to study more. He gives Kwanghyun the documents for the house and all Dojun’s family assets – they were always Kwanghyun’s anyway, he says. 🙁
Myunghwan’s allies struggle with their demotions at the hospital
Kwanghyun wants to keep working as a doctor and to marry Jinyung but that is looking difficult to do now! And with his yangban status everyone at court including the officials and royal family think he should have a higher rank (than doctor) and marry an appropriately high status bride – such as the newly appointed high official’s daughter ….
Kwanghyun is wined and dined at the gisaeng house by the officials who hope to win him over to their side, since their families have a ‘strong connection’. The king is in agreement that Kwanghyun should be promoted to a civil scholar-official. But Kwanghyun doesn’t want to go into the civil service and become a high ranking scholar. He just wants to be a doctor. (But his attitude is not winning him any friends as the officials are irritated by his attitude.)
Kwanghyun helps Jinyung be freed from slavery
Even the queen mother is getting in on the action. She wants to find him a quality wife – to make up for the way she treated him before. (The only problem is she’s NOT helping. AGAIN!) She even calls Jinyung to her and tries to make her feel guilty -by emphasising that if she marries Kwanghyun, their children can’t be yangban and he will lose everything.
But Kwanghyun continues to shock the officials when he begins to change the Kang family home into a clinic. Then he goes to the palace and asks the king NOT to promote him to the civil- official status, even though he understands this means he will lose everything when he marries Jinyung.
The high official is fuming when he hears what’s going on. But Kwanghyun knows he only wants to use him for political gains. Everyone seems to want a piece of Kwanghyun and his fortune and status. But the focus suddenly changes from Kwanghyun when the King collapses. And as we know by now, there is only one man who can save him 😉
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Jinyung at her father’s funeral
How things have changed for Kwanghyun now! It only seems like yesterday that the queen mother didn’t want the dirty horse doctor touching her with his filthy hands and now every noble in the land seems to be throwing themselves (and their daughters) at him!
Blimey, things would have been a lot simpler if Jinyung had simply kept quiet about their whole situation: she would have been the heir to the family fortune and Kwanghyun would have been left alone as a doctor. Now Kwanghyun’s title is causing nothing but trouble for them!
Jinyung promises to stay with Kwanghyun but in reality I think there’s a lot of pressure on her now. If she marries Kwanghyun won’t she always feel guilty that he has had to give up so much for her?
