LEE JOON GI
THE GREATEST
SOUTH KOREAN ACTOR
EMPEROR GWANGJONG’S MONOLOGUE
(ON THE DEATHBED OF
EMPRESS DOWAGER YOO)
EPISODE 18
EMPEROR GWANGJONG PUNITIVE ACTION
AGAINST
WANG JUNG: THE FOURTEENTH PRINCE
  
Emperor Gwangjong was delighted that all the palace officials, keen supporters
and the whole paltry lot of powerful clansmen had assembled in the palace to show
their allegiance to him. He had also commanded the allegiance of the powerful
Hwangbo clan after marrying Princess Hwangbo Yeon-Hwa but he was still uncertain of
their eventual loyalty.
In their midst were the two Wang Wooks, the Eighth Prince and
the Thirteenth Prince.
 
Gwangjong declared that for his coronation, it demanded of him
to proclaim an era name that should be grand enough for his reign.
Choi Ji Mong proclaimed that the emperor had decided on the era
name of ‘Gwangdeok’, meaning ‘Brilliant Power’.
Gwangjong couldn’t help himself but laughed gleefully that he
himself could come up with such a grand but ‘appropriate’ name to describe
his reign.
The emperor seemed tickled when he complimented himself for
coming up with such a brilliant name, ‘It’s a good name, isn’t it?’
The top man in Goryeo finally showed a sense of humour but nobody
dared to laugh. It had been a long time since the emperor had found anything remotely amusing. Suddenly, the Goryeo court brightened a little. His wicked
sense of humour would have evoked gales of laughter in the twenty-first century
but in those tense and solemn times of the tenth century, heads would roll if
one were to utter one wrong word or have laughed inappropriately.
 
Wang Wook agreed with his choice of era name but Gwangjong was
wary of people like him. If truth be told, he was like a snake who might
suddenly rear his head and bite him.
 
The Eighth Prince let it be known to Emperor Gwangjong and all in the audience
that the projects which the emperor ordered to be carried out had been faithfully complied with.
Emperor Gwangjong had started off his reign with his best foot
forward. He had commanded his officials to seek ways to distribute rice to
those who had been forced into labour, namely, the slaves and those in servitude.
Then the crunch. Wang Wook spoke his mind and demanded that the
management of the finances be left in the hands of the palace officials. Emperor
Gwangjong did not bat an eye lid but he fought to still the rage that rose within him.
The Eight Prince was cunning and was trying to wrest power from
him, the emperor. The control of the kingdom’s finances meant the control of
the Crown. Wang Wook might be scholarly but he was politically still a
novice. He failed to understand that he was walking on thin ice. One false
step and he would plunge into icy cold waters.
The man at the top had a mind to finish him off. But, he was
intelligent enough to let Wang Wook win in this match of political skills.
Wang Wook did not understand what he was letting himself in
for. He was not as politically savvy nor as smart as the wolfdog emperor who had a
long history of having undergone difficult experiences and having risen to thorny challenges. Though the emperor let the matter slide for the moment, this form of manipulation would be etched in his mind. The Eighth
Prince would inevitably fall prey to a beast who was many times fiercer and
smarter than him.
Giving Wang Wook a measured look, he met his
half-brother’s gaze coldly; his smile brittle. If eyes could express what was
in Gwangjong’s mind, Wang Wook would have already been impaled there and
then.
The emperor must have sucked in a deep breath but he kept his cool. In this chess game of politics, he
had to restrain himself, retreat and plot his next strategy.
Then, a feral light gleamed in the emperor’s eyes but the
smile of a Cheshire cat was plastered on his face. Nobody knew what he was thinking. There was a dangerous ring in his voice when he finally responded to
Wang Wook’s demand, ‘Let’s do that.’
Wang Wook should never have challenged Gwangjong. He had no inkling
of the dangers that lay ahead.
The emperor might step backwards to allow him a little control but, before the Eighth Prince knew it, the emperor would have sprung back and gone
for the kill. That would put an end to his ambitions and lead him to his
conclusion.
 
Gwangjong was not surprised at Wang Wook’s machinations. He
stared at the palace officials and answered imperturbably with a voice
dripping with caustic sarcasm.
He let his contemptuous gaze sweep over the assembled officials, saying, ‘With
ministers as trustworthy as you all, I can go and enjoy my hunting.'
  The emperor's whole attitude suggested arrogance, derision and scorn. He was mocking all of the politically crafty officials and manipulative clan leaders.    
Blinking away his wrath, he chose the moment to talk about catching up on his reading, announcing, to all and sundry, that the astronomer, Choi Ji Mong, had counselled him on reading ‘Essentials of Government in the
Zhenguan reign’ (Zhenguan Zhenyao), a book of virtues or a compendium of
statecraft on the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang
emperor’s reign was considered 'The Golden Age of Chinese History'.
 
Then, with his cold, black eyes and a sardonic smile on his
hard lips, he decreed that the Fourteenth Prince, Wang Jung, his younger
blood brother should be punished on the pain of treason and would be exiled
to his hometown, Chungju. Chungju was actually their mother, Queen
Sinmyeongsunseong’s hometown, the place of the Yoo clan who wielded
considerable political influence.
Prince Wang Jung had probably thought, by rights, the throne
should have passed to him instead of his second brother. It was a grievance
deeply felt by Gwangjong.
Although Baek-Ah, the Thirteenth Prince was Emperor Gwangjong’s
trusted aide, he could not hold his tongue. Despite his unease, he requested for a valid reason for exiling their younger brother.
 
Gwangjong replied in a tone that brooked no argument. The reason
given was Wang Jung had created suspicion about his enthronement by
questioning the late king, King Jeongjong’s mandate. This injustice could
not be tolerated.
King Jeongjong, the Third Prince Wang Yo, was the blood brother
of Wang So and Wang Jung.
Wang Jung had been persuaded by their mother to question Wang So’s
ascension to the throne as she had wanted her youngest son to succeed his
oldest brother.
Gwangjong’s smile did not alter but the intensity of his expression was unmistakable when he declared that since they
were blood brothers, he was not executing Wang Jung. But he could not resist adding that he was just sending him back
to Chungju, his hometown. When Gwangjong had set his mind, he would not
change it.
  
With devilish lights dancing in his eyes, he declared that if
Wang Jung ever stepped into Songak after that day, he would be executed. His
voice rang out loud and clear throughout the assembly hall and his gaze raked those who were assembled, some perhaps were already choking on the threat in his tone.
 
It was a clear warning with the promise of revenge to those who intended to question his
legitimacy to the throne or who wanted to oppose him.
Gwangjong certainly had the demeanour and bearing of royalty,
that of an emperor who meant business. He had been groomed for the throne,
having been tempered by experience, and rendered strong and aggressive by
adversity.
When the decree of Emperor Gwangjong was reported to the
Empress Dowager, she was shocked and distraught. There was a tense moment
before she fell unconscious to the ground.
    
It was clear that the days of Empress Dowager Yoo were
numbered.
       
The Dowager Empress was physically weak and had lost her power of speech, and
with great difficulty, she asked Queen Hwangbo Yeon-Hwa to bring Prince Wang
Jung, the Fourteenth Prince, back to her.
Emperor Gwangjong strode in tensely at that moment.
 
He imperiously instructed all present, including his consort, that he himself and
no one else, would take care of his mother. And no one would be allowed to
enter the room without his permission.
The dismissal was clear and curt.
   
With the Queen Mother being rendered helpless, he was able to
lord it over her.
 
His mother’s eyes were full of resentment as he wiped her brow with a piece of damp cloth.
   
Knowing that she would meet her end soon, he still persisted in
encouraging her to recover. But the Queen Mother was unconvinced of his
sincerity.
 
Sentiment had played no part in her world if it concerned her second son, the Fourth Prince. Now, the Empress Dowager, being immobilised, was at his mercy. Calmly and sweetly, he spit out the word, ‘Mother’. His lips curved into a smile, the laughter in his eyes burned into hers.
   
Meanwhile, Prince Wang Jung had just returned from exile, that
is, from his mother’s hometown, Chungju, to see his dying mother for the last
time.
He stopped short of a group of palace militia who forbade him
to enter. He stood there squarely with his sword in hand.
 
It was unfortunate that he was compelled to stand there until
after his mother, Empress Dowager Yoo, had passed away.
 
Dying matters. Hae Soo tried to persuade the emperor to allow
Wang Jung to see his mother.
Gwangjong looked down to contain his anger.
 
She continued, ‘If something happens to the Queen Mother, it’ll
haunt you forever.’
 
Looking up, he scowled at her. The contemptuous answer in his eyes was fixed
on her. If anyone, especially Hae Soo, had to take sides, they could only take
his side.
 
He knew that she was the one who had notified Wang Jung of his
mother’s impending death. Her eyes met his questioning gaze and she confessed to it.
She had taken matters into her own hands and undermined his power. She would suffer for it.
   
Gwangjong had forbidden everyone from contacting Wang Jung and
he had expected her to obey him unquestioningly.
But she had failed him and he would not forgive her. She did
not understand him. She thought it was only humane to allow the Fourteenth Prince
to see his mother before she passed on.
He glared at her, irritated by her lack of respect for his
orders and his authority.
His cold, steely eyes burned like those of a wolfdog’s, his lips hard and cruel.
He asked ‘Do you want him to die too? But you should be relieved that I’ve not executed him.’    
Wang Jung had transgressed the laws. He had been exiled and was
not allowed to step foot in Songak again. Gwangjong's tone set her nerves on edge.
With that, he hastily rose from the floor where he had been seated and
turned to leave.
 
He paused, ‘If you allow Jung into the palace, I will not let
it go even if it were you.' Without another word, he stalked out of the room.
   
Wang Jung stayed outside the palace without food and water.
Baek-Ah brought some water for him. But he did not drink it but poured it
over his head to cool himself.
     |
EMPEROR GWANGJONG’S MONOLOGUE
(ON THE DEATHBED OF
EMPRESS DOWAGER YOO)
CLOSURE FOR
EMPEROR GWANGJONG
 
The Empress Dowager Yoo was dying. Gwangjong sat vigil at her
deathbed. He spoke to her but she had lost the power of speech.
Gwangjong’s monologue was delivered with a venom that sent
chills down one’s back. A litany of vengeful words was heaped on his mother.
His intention was clear – to make his mother regret the mental, emotional and
physical torture he had gone through because of her. His royal father, King
Taejo had redeemed himself but she had not.
The queen had been mentally and emotionally disturbed all her
married life. She had not been able to think properly, having been sucked
into the maelstrom of scheming and manipulation to fight off her rivals from
the king’s harem of concubines.
When Wang So returned to Songak from Shinju, the queen had
refused to accept him back into her life and instead continued to make his
life a misery. He craved her love.
His mother remained recalcitrant till the end. He wanted time
alone with her which she had denied him all this while.
Now was the only time that he could have some private moments
with her - when she lay helpless on her deathbed.
He tended to his royal mother alone. They were alone and there
was none to witness his interaction with his mother who had been
rendered speechless from her shock. The fact that Wang Jung, the apple of her
eye, had been banished to her hometown was sheer humiliation to him, a
terrible fate second only to death.
Gwangjong spooned his mother some water but she defiantly
refused to open her mouth. It had been five days already and Gwangjong was
getting impatient.
    
In a voice quivering with anger, he asked her whether she was planning on dying in that way.
There was not even an iota of affection in his tone.
      
His mother ignored him and asked for her youngest son, Wang Jung, and Gwangjong was
exasperated.
 
‘Look, which son is by your side now?’ he tormented her.
 
He did not mince his words. ‘The perfect Wang Yo is now in the
afterlife.’
   
‘And Wang Jung who is the apple of your eye can’t be with you
now. All you have is me. I’ve become the king and I’m protecting you.’
 
Time seemed to have stood still. Both remembered the night when
he returned bloodied all over from the temple where he had taken the lives of
all the mute monks to save her from being associated with the plot to kill
the Crown Prince, Wang Mu.
He craved for her maternal love. He did it all for her but she had rejected him. But, what was most shocking was that she was not, in the least, thankful to him.      
In his fury, he had unleashed a venomous oath at her that she
would remember that very day as he would haunt her from that day onwards. And his
face, not his brothers', would be the only one that she would see.
That oath was still vividly alive. Did that incident prick her conscience on her deathbed?  
Egged on by her resentful look, he smiled maliciously at her. It
afforded him great pleasure to look at her lying helplessly, staring at his
face.
 
With brutal clarity, he declared that his wish was to build a temple in her honour.
Shockingly, his voice was not a vibrant whisper but one that was loud and clear, even though his mother was the only one within hearing range. His voice was harsh with venom which was thunderously spat out.  ‘It would be largest and grandest temple in all of Goryeo that perfectly honours you.     
Ranting and raving, Gwangjong hissed that he would weave an elaborate web of lies about how they loved each other, implying that it would change how history viewed mother and son.
   Having descended into paranoia, he added, 'Also, I’ll create stories about our relationship and spread them everywhere. I’ll tell them how much you cared for me. And how much I loved you, Mother. We’ll be a mother and a son pair who had loved each other dearly. Everyone will know about it.’           Gwangjong's voice rang with exultation as his deranged eyes bored into hers. The cruelty in his eyes and the harshness of his words must have knifed her heart.
One cannot overestimate the significance of the impact of Queen
Yoo and Wang Yo’s mental, emotional and psychological cruelty towards Wang
So. It had been a horrendous stroke of intimidation and devastating blow to Wang
So.
The consequence was it had given rise to a twisted, warped mind and an
unforgiving nature in Wang So which have now crawled out of the woodwork. Gwangjong did not mince his words to make
her understand that he would never forgive her because she had rejected him and had never loved
him. To him, her maternal love which he had been deprived
off, was of utmost importance to him. He would not let her forget that even on
her deathbed. That meant, she would leave this world with no peace of mind.
The Empress Dowager had wanted her youngest son, Wang Jung, to
be with her. Probably, his warm presence and love for her would give her peace and ease her transition to the next world. She was now being deprived of that.
What could she do? She could only listen helplessly, having
lost her power of speech.
Gwangjong’s true character, having long been buried, had now surfaced.
His mother could only stare at his vengeful countenance and his
burning black eyes.
The humanity that was in him seemed to have vanished and a devilish
look was left in its wake.
 
She gazed wide-eyed at him, her face devoid of deadly human
emotions, anger or bitterness. Perhaps, enlightenment had settled in her
being.
What were her thoughts? Perhaps, she was a failure as a parent as she
had succeeded in growing a vengeful beast.
He raged on and on. ‘I’ll become your one and only precious
son.’
    
All her anger and resentment towards her second son has left her.
There was no trace of ill-feelings but she must have flinched from seeing him
so hurt. She had raised her head and opened her mouth but her words caught in
her throat.
  
Gwangjong was not aware that she was trying to tell him
something because he was stark raving mad, wallowing in and being swallowed up by his bitterness.
        
‘This, the web of lies,’ he pronounced with deadly venom, ‘is my revenge for being thrown out by you!’
There were no illusions about the poison in his words. His toxic
rage was a chilling and fearsome thing to watch. Tentacles of horror creep
down one’s spine.
His mother was gasping for her last breath but it seems nothing could
unseat the vengefulness in his heart. It was as if he was beheading her with
his cruel words. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
She had been cruel to him and now in her final moments, he gave
her as good as she had given him. Revenge for the terrible things she did to
him. This was his ultimate revenge – a revenge that she had no power to stop, and those words sliced through the air like the swing of Gwangjong’s sword.
The emperor's vengeful nature would
not let his mother have peace. He had harboured and nurtured his hatred and resentment for so
long that it seemed that the time when she was in her dying throes was the only time that he could give vent to
his feelings. This was the materialisation of the horrendous beast in him. For a
moment, Gwangjong had lost his head, his humanity. Being human means to be able to mete out forgiveness, at least a little, but he had none for his dying mother.
He stormed at her for discarding him like rubbish. It was as if
he was giving her savage blows with each word. His lacerated feelings were
now exposed. Those parts of his sensibilities that had lain embedded deep in
him were now surfacing.
His voice, bestial-like, was trembling with naked fury.
His voice bobbed up and down as he shook with the memory of his mother’s
coldness, mental and emotional cruelty. His eyes held his mother’s gaze with
a maniacal intensity. She gazed at him in helpless fascination.
Perhaps, at that very moment, she was able to understand his
feelings, feelings that her cold-heartedness had refused to allow her to see. She
saw the light and writhed in agony at his hurt but she could not voice her
feelings.
She arched her head towards him. Perhaps, she had wanted to ask for
forgiveness but he was giving her no chance, being tightly enveloped in bitterness and
revenge.
His bitter tears flowed down his cheeks.
 
All her queenly life, she was too self-centred and absorbed in
maintaining power, prestige and was also too busy stepping all over the
concubines of King Taejo. She was trapped in her mind-set of favouring only
her eldest and youngest sons and was irrationally determined to keep her
middle son out of her sight and out of her life.
She wielded enormous power while alive and could do as she
wished but what she did not know was, in her death throes, she would be helpless
and powerless. That was what she had feared – to be alone with the son she
had ignored, Gwangjong.
Since he was in power, Gwangjong took the opportunity to do
what he wanted and to say what he wanted to her. It was a chilling scene that
makes one cringe.
The person who had been wronged all his life had not thought of
refraining from making the most of his power. It is here that we watch in horror as his hate and bitterness
poured out.
He was oblivious of his mother who had, with great difficulty
and effort, been opening her mouth to talk to him. Not that it mattered
anyway. He owned the show and he flaunted his power over her.
The Empress Dowager’s breath came in panting gasps as she lay
there unable to speak.
Perhaps, in her final hours, it had finally dawned on her that
the hurt she had inflicted on him had swallowed him whole. That insight, when
she finally saw light, was given too late.
As if in response to his words, she reached her hand out to
touch his scar that was the cause of the severing of the mother-son
relationship.
 
Perhaps, she had wanted to beg him to forgive her but could not
give voice to her feelings. It was just too late.
She cried out, incoherent cries, to him but all he heard were
guttural noises that were undiscernible.
 
Her fingers seemed to grind into Emperor Gwangjong’s flesh.
  
Then, her face turned gradually to the colour of ashes.
   
When he realised that the life had gone out of her and her
spirit had left her body, he was speechless. But, he still held on to her
hand. She must have been broken in mind and spirit, suffering at the hands of
her second son in her last moments.
  
Great wrongs had been done to him. He had been deprived of a
loving childhood just because of a scar. His teenage years were no different. When he was back at the palace, the queen did not try to redeem herself or make any amends. His pent-up fury had been unleashed. He was, indeed, the savage wolfdog after all.
    
His face was contorted in silent pain. He was smote like a
thunderbolt by her sudden passing away.
 
With a laugh, he swayed where he sat. He sobbed. His heart was broken; he clenched her hand and cried in agony and desperation.
         
Clinging tightly to her hand, he mourned over her. He whimpered like a little kitten. His eyes were glassy with pain and agony. He was lost in a daze. It was as if his heart had been ripped apart.
Pain raked through him and saliva dribbled from his mouth. His brain reeled and he cried in despair.
   
Revenge seemed meaningless as the true meaning of her death
sank into him. In his head was the battle between love and hatred. His act
had been incited by hatred.
He realised, to his great chagrin, that the past is ash and
dust. He seemed to be blinded by his mission to avenge himself of all his
hurts and emotional injuries because of his love-hate relationship with his
mother. He loved his mother, yet, hated her. Love and hate are not mutually
exclusive. It was a poignant moment.
Had his heart really been unburdened? Had his pain been eased
by the pouring forth of the brutal words, even if they were the truth?
It was the anti-climax. He brooded in silence as he studied his
dead mother. Every moment he had spent looking backwards had kept him from
moving forwards. He had not forgiven his mother on her deathbed. He had not
risen above his circumstances.
But, perhaps, everything now was over. His words were gone like
the wind. His pain and mental torture seemed a memory from another age. It
was the final closure for him.
 
It is questionable that Gwangjong’s emotional wounds were healed. All came to pass. Fate had afforded him the opportunity to
revenge on his mother. It would have taken a better man to rise above his
circumstances and not let his baser instincts control him. Gwangjong soon realised that he did not have real
happiness at revenge. It was just an illusion. His mother slumbered on. But
he was left to face his own demons. It was not a victory for him after all.
It is a chilling lesson that in such situations, forgiveness is in order.  |
LEE JOON GI’S ACTING PROWESS   
How would one describe Lee Joon Gi’s performance in this scene?
One is speechless. Awesome. One’s heart aches while watching
Gwangjong in so much pain. When the emperor cries, one cries with him.
Emperor Gwangjong, in the public imagination, is a ruthless ruler.
In Moon Lovers – Scarlet Heart: Ryeo, it seems that Gwangjong’s descent into
paranoia is related to his cold and self-absorbed mother, Empress Dowager Yoo
who discriminates against him from the beginning till the end. Gwangjong’s
obsession with his mother and his desire for his mother’s love drive his character.
Her mental and psychological cruelty, her continual rejection of him, and his
horrendous formative years make him hate her and want to take revenge on her.
Lee Joon Gi effectively conveys the message of Gwangjong's destructive
obsession with his mother. He impressively plays out the haunting and tragic story of
turbulent passion, hurt and revenge. He highlights Gwangjong’s thinking that is
skewed because of his lack of maternal love and a tormented paranoiac mind. The emperor's sense of vengeance and hatred has festered into something uncontrollable: dark
and sinister. And Lee shows Gwangjong’s darkness and difficulty of expressing
forgiveness to perfection. The despicable and chilling way Lee delivers his
retaliatory words to the dying queen mother seems so real that one feels
the sweep of icy coldness rushing through one’s veins.
In the end, one realises
that Gwangjong is not an inhuman monster but someone who hates as deeply as he
loves.
No words can truly describe Lee Joon Gi’s acting skills! His
charismatic screen presence and performance has previously elevated him to drama royalty but now he is raised to the
status of 'The God of South Korean Dramas', not just 'The King or God of Fusion Historical Dramas'. One is not just referring to his international popularity, but also his actual acting prowess.
One has to watch Lee Joon Gi go through the whole emotional scale in
his memorable scenes in Moon Lovers – Scarlet Heart: Ryeo in order to
understand and appreciate Lee Joon Gi's superior acting skills. Lee Joon Gi is South Korea's greatest actor.
 |