Friday, March 29, 2024
FILM&DRAMAKOREAN HISTORY

What Is the Time Period of Mr Sunshine?

So I’m finally watching Mr Sunshine (tvN, 2018), the massive hit starring Lee Byung Hun.

It’s set during the turbulent period of the Korean Empire (1897-1910) when the hermit country was forced to open its doors to foreign countries from neighbouring Japan to America and Europe.

In this post I’ll take a look at how changes during this time are reflected through titles, dress, and architecture.

MR SUNSHINE IN THE KOREAN EMPIRE 

Mr Sunshine shows the huge political and cultural upheavals in the country at the time. Queen Min (Empress Myeongseong) had only recently been assassinated (in 1895).

And the incumbent King Gojong had just come out of hiding at the Russian Legation and proclaimed himself Emperor of the new Korean Empire at Deoksugung Palace. (1897)

Related posts:

Read about the 5 grand palaces of Seoul

CHANGE EXPRESSED THROUGH DRESS

One fascinating point for me in Mr Sunshine is how it expresses the changes in the country through clothing.

In general, the government officials and citizens who support embracing Western ideas wear Western clothes. But on the other hand, conservatives continue to wear traditional hanboks!

MR SUNSHINE FRISKING SCENE

There’s a scene in Mr Sunshine that’s a good example. In episode 4 the American soldiers are trying to find a stolen gun.

They want to search everyone. And since the Joseon women’s hanbok skirts are so voluminous, it’s possible to hide all sorts of things under them! (I’m sure I’ve even seen people hidden under those skirts!)

But in such a class conscious society, decorum dictates that one can’t start frisking aristocrats willy-nilly. (peasants are another matter)

So our demurely dressed heroine is persuaded to change clothes with another lady who is wearing Western dress. After they swap outfits, it becomes clear that she can’t be hiding a rifle in that snuggly fitting gown!

So we’ve got the liberal values expressed through the Western dress versus the conservative values shown through the hanbok. And this scene symbolises the huge cultural and political upheaval that Joseon was going through at the time by the arrival of foreign diplomats, business people, military, and missionaries.

EMPEROR GOJONG’S ROBES

And then there’s Emperor Gojong’s gold-coloured robe which also has symbolic meaning. In this royal portrait, Emperor Gojong is wearing his signature yellow dragon robe.

Royal portrait of Emperor Gojong

The robe symbolises the country’s break away from China. The emperors of China wore gold robes, so the Joseon kings wore red robes.

The red robes signified the country’s subordinate status as a tributary state of the Ming and then Qing dynasties of China. (This is also why the monarchs of Joseon were ‘kings’ and not ’emperors’)

So when King Gojong became Emperor Gojong and wore a golden robe he was making a statement: Joseon was no longer a vassal of China. Take a look at Emperor Gojong’s golden robe.

But the Korean Empire didn’t last long. It seemed doomed from the start. And in Mr Sunshine we can see the country bombarded by foreign interests from Japan, Russian, America, and Europe.

In the end Korea became a colony of Japan just a few years later in 1910. (And the Qing Dynasty also came to an end soon after this in 1912).

Related posts:

Read more about ways of addressing others in Korean historical dramas

Read my review on the book on Great Korean Portraits

See examples of royal robes in Portraits of Joseon Kings

Deoksugung palace is the home to Emperor Gojong who appears in the drama Mr Sunshine

CHANGE EXPRESSED THROUGH ARCHITECTURE

After Emperor Gojong founded the Korean Empire, he made Deoksugung palace his royal residence. 

The buildings within the palace walls are an eclectic mix of traditional Korean and foreign architecture.

Deoksugung is one of the five grand palaces of Joseon. But for anyone interested in traditional buildings, the area between the first two palaces of Joseon (Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung) is the place to be. Now it’s a tourist attraction because of the hanok village of Bukchon that has some of the few remaining traditional style houses in Seoul.

On the other hand, Deoksugung has the most Western influence in Seoul. The British Embassy is just around the corner and there’s a strong American influence as missionaries opened the first Christian churches and schools around here.

THE ECLECTIC ARCHITECTURE OF DEOKSUGUNG

It’s quite clear when you walk around Deoksugung, that it has two styles of architecture: the traditional palace style of the East and the Neo-classical style of the West.

Emperor Gojong who appears in Korean drama Mr Sunshine resides at Deoksugung palace
SEOKJOJEON HALL

The white building in the middle of the picture of the palace is Seokjojeon Hall. The East Hall was ordered by the British financial adviser to the Korean Imperial Government. So a British architect (around 1900) designed the neo-classical building and all the building materials were imported from Britain!

Then came the Russo-Japanese war in 1905. Japan won that war and so the westerners were out and the Japanese came in. Japanese lawyer Baron Megata Tanetaro took over the building of the West Hall of Seokjojeon Hall.

There’s a Russian influence too. In Mr Sunshine we often find Emperor Gojong enjoying the new and exotic imported drink of coffee. He was said to enjoy coffee when he stayed at the Russian Legation. Jeonggwanheon Pavilion in the palace grounds was designed by a Russian architect and it’s where the emperor would entertain guests and relax with coffee.

By the way, if you’re ever in Seoul and interested in local history, Deoksugung and the surrounding area is one of the suggested routes in Seoul’s Historic Walks.

book about Seoul's historic walks

THE HERMIT COUNTRY

As a hermit country, Joseon was still quite the mystery to the outside world. The first foreigner to write about the country was the Dutchman Hendrick Hamel (1630-1692) after he was shipwrecked off the south coast in the 17th century.

Hamel was on the Dutch ship Sparrowhawk and was taken with the other sailors to the capital Hanyang (Seoul)

As Korea was closed to the outside world at that time, the sailors were not allowed to leave Joseon and spent 13 years in the country before 8 of them escaped to Nagasaki, Japan. Hamel later wrote about his experiences. 

In his book A Walk Through the Land of Miracles (1988) bestselling author Simon Winchester recounts his experience of following Hamel and the Dutch sailors’ journey by foot from the southern island of Jeju up to the Royal Court of King Hyojong (r.1649–1659).

Read my review of A Walk Through the Land of Miracles (1988)

THE BATTLE OF GANGHWA (1871)

It wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that the country was forced to accommodate foreigners. And it was Ganghwa island (just outside Seoul) that saw all the action as the first line of defence.

Japan, Russia, America, and France all wanted to do trade deals with Joseon. But Joseon wasn’t interested. But in the end, a battle with American navy ships in 1871 forced Joseon to negotiate.

Actually, Ganghwa has a lot of interesting history. According to Korean myth, it’s where the country was founded way back in 2333 BC. There’s a castle there said to have first been built by Dangun, the founding father of Korea. And another claim to fame is the ‘Korean Stonhenge‘ here. The area is also famous for ginseng!

Read more about things to do in Ganghwado

DEOKSUGUNG TODAY

Deoksugung palace is the residence of Emperor Gojong in Mr Sunshine

Deoksugung is now a tourist attraction opposite City Hall in central Seoul. And every day the Changing of the Guard reenactment takes place in front of Daehanmun Gate. 

Tourists wear rented hanboks and take photos of the ceremony with their mobile phones. Meanwhile, office workers stroll past sipping take-out coffees. The palace is swamped by huge modern office buildings and the city itself is completely different to how it was 100 years ago!

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