" Dong Yi "

The Joseon history was stir in turbulence prior to Sukjong reign. Hideyoshi 1st invasion of Korea 1592-1593 then the 2nd invasion in 1597-1598. Then subsequently Joseon Manchu’s Wars 1627 & 1636 that ended up in humiliation. Joseon throughout the established of the Joseon dynasty has form factions or Bungdang of various names that support or against the ruling Joseon monarchy therefore political powers are field through the Yanban ruling class bureaucrats that often eclipse the power of the monarch. Struggles among faction are plenty & purges are certain to happened, thus ensures constants Yanban vs. the monarchy. It was Sukjong then later Yeongjo who tries to appease these faction by resolving issues & consolidate their political power back to the monarch. Yeongjo in the drama Yi San portrays a Monarch who could read every move of the political faction & sometimes manipulate their intelligence to his own benefits with his wits & able to assess his own Ministers thus gaining an upper hand, in which this wits are set to be inherited from his mother Choi Suk Bin. Jeongjo did it better by keeping the faction at bay by assume military power over the literary Yanban. Sukjong reign during 1674-1720. China was rule by Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722). Japan was rule by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Set during the reign of King Sukjong in the 19th ruler Joseon dynasty, the story focuses on Dong Yi, a water maid who gains the trust of Queen Inhyeon and later the favour of the king when he is moved by her prayers for the health of the Queen during the court disputes caused by Jang Hee Bin. Dong Yi becomes a concubine with the rank of Sook-bin and bears a son who will later become the 21st king of Joseon, Yeongjo. The political faction of Sukjong was the Namin (Southerners) & Seoin (Westerners)

In the drama Yi San, Yeongjo fought very hard to get his birth mother Choi Suk Bin enshrine into the Royal Ancestral tablet & the grievances he has experience due to the court opposition, it was Queen Jeongseong, the 1st Queen of Yeongjo who did her utmost effort & succeeds to have her mother in law enshrined & has the gratitude of Yeongjo

Choi Suk Bin must be a great mother in educating her son to survive those political turmoils & the constant attack over his birth & background that her mother is from a lowly class, in which he was scrutinise but he managed to overcome by able to manipulate the faction. Yeongjo revered his mother that he carried his mother’s rings in memory of her & in turn he bestow to Song Seon Yeon his most dear possession as a gift of being Yi San’s friend