Goong S

Infobox kdrama/Header
title_name = Goong S (Prince Hours)


size = 250px
caption =
ko_name = 궁S
ko_name_trans = Palace SInfobox kdrama
genre = Drama, romance, Comedy
producer = Group 8
network = MBC
first_aired = January 10
last_aired = March 15 2007
num_episodes = 20
timeslot = 9:55PM KST; Wed & Thurs.Infobox kdrama/Namebox
title = Palace S
hangul = 궁S
hanja = 宮S
rr = Goong S
mr = Goong S

"Goong S" (Korean: 궁S, Hanja: 宮S) is a spinoff of "Goong". It is produced by PD Hwang with the production company, [http://www.group8tv.com Group Eight] . The main cast includes Se7en, Heo Yi Jae, Park Shin-hye, and Kang Doo. The series began its season on January 10, 2007, on MBC, and airs consecutive episodes on Wednesdays and Thursdays. This series is also known by the title "Prince Hours" [ [http://content.mbc.co.kr/e_mbc/drama.asp?idx=308] ] .

Plot

South Korea is a constitutional monarchy. The reigning queen (Myung Se Bin), already in her thirties, is not married yet and has no children, so the court looks for a Crown Prince. They encounter Lee Hoo (Se7en), a young man, the son of the empress' uncle. However, another competitor arrives at the court: Lee Joon (Kang Doo), the son of another uncle of the empress. They compete for the title of Crown Prince via a trial of several tasks to determine the worthy future king of the country. Along the story, Lee Hoo encounters an old childhood friend, Yang Soon Ae (Heo Yi Jae), who works as a Palace Maid and falls in love with her. However, Lee Joon also develops feelings for her -- and the court itself wishes to matchmake Lee Hoo with the beautiful Shin Sae Ryung (Park Shin Hye), the daughter of the Premier Minister. Circumstances get even more complicated, as Lee Joon's father (Chun Ho Jin) wants his son on the throne and uses any means possible to achieve his goals. Meanwhile, Lee Joon falls in love with Yang Soon Ae, too, and Lee Hoo finds out about his mother's fate: Lee Joon's father made her leave the palace and framed her. In the end, Lee Joon refuses his claim for the throne and offers the position of Crown Prince to Lee Hoo. All ends happily: Lee Joon leaves the palace and becomes a member of a band, Shin Sae Ryung becomes a school teacher, Yang Soon Ae becomes new internal manager of the Palace, Lee Hoo becomes Crown Prince and it is implied that he will marry Yang Soon Ae.

Characters

Kang Hoo/Lee Hoo:A prince raised as a commoner because his mother was thrown out of the palace shortly before his birth. His mother died sometime during his teenage years and he was raised by one of the former Palace Guards, although Kang Hoo is unaware of the real identity of his guardian. The royal family was unaware of his existence until he was twenty and he was quickly taken into the succession line by his cousin, the Queen of Korea, because she was looking for a fitting successor for her throne. His name was changed to Prince Lee Hoo and he had to learn the ways and life of a royal. At the beginning, Lee Hoo seemed to be the least likely candidate to fill the spot of Crown Prince. He was rash, lacked focus and was seemingly selfish to most but as he struggled to learn of the life he was destined to live, he turned into a considerate, mature and responsible young man. He is also fair and has a great sense of right and wrong.

Yang Soon Ae:Prince Lee Hoo's childhood friend and one of the few that still refer him as Kang Hoo (the name he was raised as). She is a very sensible young woman who works at the palace as a palace maid. She has had crushes on Kang Hoo since they were young and has always been his friend. She seems insecure and jumpy but she has an exceptionally good heart. Prince Lee Hoo especially depends on her and she has been somewhat of his center. She kept cheering for Prince Lee Hoo for the best and later revealed her feelings and realized it is not a one-sided love. She also managed to attract the attention of Prince Lee Joon, the other candidate to fill the position of the Crown Prince of Korea, though she made it clear that her heart belongs to Prince Lee Hoo and only him.

Lee Joon:Raised by nobility, Prince Lee Joon seemed to be the best candidate to fill the position of the Crown Prince. He is exceptionally popular among the ladies and had his mind set to be the next King of Korea and seemed to be on the right path. He was shown as a calm and collective young man at first and was certain of what he wanted in life. He was to be engaged to the Prime Minister's daughter Shin Sae Ryung and agreed to the arrangement, but later resented it as he fell for palace maid Yang Soon Ae. He tried a lot of ways to persuade her into accepting his love but none were successful and he was rejected time after time. He later refused the throne after realizing that his father's greed was to no end and because he was tricked into believing that his father was not his biological father (in truth he is), he felt that he was not worthy to fill the position since he was not of royal blood. Later he learned the truth and was happy that he was able to pursue his own dreams of becoming a musician. He gave up on pursuing Yang Soon Ae as well seeing that she is truly in love with his cousin.

Shin Sae Ryung:The daughter of the Prime Minister, she was raised to be a proper lady and groomed to be the next Queen of Korea. She had always followed her father's instructions and believed her mother to be the wrong one because she left her for a life of simplicity and away from greed. At first her only interest was to be the Queen and she was willing to go to extra lengths to get to the position. Though she did eventually fell for Prince Lee Hoo, she was rejected as Prince Lee Hoo was already in love with Yang Soon Ae. She was determined at first, but later learned that her mother was the one who was right and abandoned her father to chase her own dreams. She remained friends with both Princes and no longer harbours any feelings or interest in either prince.

The Queen:South Korea's current reigning Queen. She is already in her thirties and is not married nor has any children to succeed her throne. In public, she seems to be the most well-formed woman with high regards but in truth she was concealing her feelings and having to force herself to chose between her love and her people. She had been in love with a half-Korean, half-English professor whom she met during her study in Oxford University. She left him to return to Korea and assume her role. Later, she was conflicted because her former love, Alexander, came to Korea to teach at the Royal Academy, and she was forced to once again chose. She chose her people even though it broke her heart.

Alexander:The Queen's love interest. He's half-Korean, half-English, and though unable to speak fluent Korean, he is able to understand the language. He came to Korea, accepting a job offer at the Royal Academy and at the same time seeking for an answer for the choices the Queen had made. He later backed out, realizing that he could not make the Queen chose between the people and him. He didn't want to stay after learning that even if he did, it wouldn't make much difference and rather would make it difficult for the Queen. He left Korea and later it was revealed that he also contributed to Yang Soon Ae's education fund.

The Queen Mother:The mother of the current Queen, she is rather detached from the outside world from having been living in the palace for a very long time. She is unable to distinguish the difference between the latest technology. She is very fond of Prince Lee Hoo to a point where it is comical. She was the one who supported Prince Lee Hoo's father when he chose to marry a commoner, but in Prince Lee Hoo's case, she strongly opposed his choice, Yang Soon Ae, for fear of history repeating itself.

Ratings

Although the first season of Princess Hours was a hit, "Goong S" has failed to attract many viewers. Overnight ratings have averaging around 10 points, about half of the original's; the January 25 episode received a 9.3 [ [http://www.tnsmk.co.kr/rating/main.asp?sNdate=20070125&menu=Gi_Daily Untitled Document ] ] , being 19th for the night. As the show aired on, the ratings decreased to 4.8%fact|date=January 2008.

Despite the low ratings, "Goong S" was the most searched and rewatched drama online and ranked higher than its competition: KBS2 "Dal-Ja's Spring" and SBS "Surgeon Bong Dal Hee" [ [http://www.newsen.com/news_view.php?news_uid=110073 손에 잡히는 뉴스 눈에 보이는 뉴스 - 뉴스엔 ] ] . The drama has also gained a wide variety of support from international fans in the U.S., Thailand, Malaysia, Brazil, Singapore, Philippines etc. [ [http://news.media.daum.net/entertain/broadcast/200702/21/newsen/v15796551.html Daum 미디어다음 - 뉴스 ] ] .

International Broadcasting

Brunei Darussalam
*Channel: RTB2
*Broadcast: July 2008

Indonesia
*Channel: Indosiar
*Broadcast: September 13, 2007 [ [http://program.indosiar.com/prog_terkait.htm?terkait=Prince%20Hours [e-mail] ] ]

Japan

*Channel: MNet Japan
*Broadcast: June 9, 2007 [ [http://www.mnetjapan.com/info/info_view.aspx?P_Code=d_070403_1&P_Type=4 無題ドキュメント ] ]
*Channel: BS Japan
*Broadcast: August 15, 2007 [ [http://www.bs-j.co.jp/kun-s/ ＢＳジャパン 宮S Secret Prince ] ]

Malaysia

*Channel: 8TV
*Broadcast: March 26, 2008 - May 2, 2008 [ [http://www.8tv.com.my/Shows/MainHighlight.aspx?MasterID=296&ShowID=329&MenuID=1&TemplateID=1 Prince Hours] ]

Philippines

*Channel: ABS-CBN
*Broadcast: 2008

Singapore

*Channel: Channel U
*Broadcast: October 13, 2007 - December 8, 2007 [ [http://u.mediacorptv.com/princehours.htm] ]

Taiwan
*Channel: GTV
*Broadcast: July 4, 2007 [ [http://www.gtv.com.tw/Program/B051420070704U/ GTV{我的野蠻王子} ] ]

Thailand

*Channel: Channel 7
*Broadcast: June 17, 2007 - August 12, 2007 [ [http://www.ch7.com/website/entertain/movie-detail-prince-hours.html ช่อง 7 สี : ละคร ข่าว-บันเทิง ซีรี่ส์เกาหลี ภาพยนตร์ เพลงละคร ตารางออกอากาศ รายการ-เพลง-วาไรตี้ ] ]

United States

*Channel: LA18
*Broadcast: February 21, 2007 - April 25, 2007 [ [http://socaldramas.fateback.com/ Chinese/Japanese/Korean dramas on TV ] ]

Vietnam

*Channel: HTV7
*Broadcast: August 8, 2007 [ [http://www.itv.vn/Television/Programs/2007/07/05F5E5DF/?ChannelNo=10] ]

ee also

*List of Korean television shows
*Contemporary culture of South Korea

References

External links

* [http://www.group8tv.com/ Group 8 Production Site] Ko icon
* [http://www.imbc.com/broad/tv/drama/gungs/ Goong S MBC Official Site] Ko icon
* [http://caption.imbc.com/eng/ProgramSubInfo.aspx?Prog_Code=DRAMA00002828 MBC Global Caption] en icon
* [http://content.mbc.co.kr/e_mbc/drama.asp?idx=308 MBC - Global Media: In Depth Synopsis] en icon
* [http://www.kun-official.jp/kun_s/ 宮S - Secret Prince] Ja icon
* [http://goongs.livejournal.com Goong S Livejournal Community] en icon