The King of Tears, Lee Bang Won
Title: 태종 이방원 / The King of Tears, Lee Bang Won
Also known as: The Great King Yi Bang Won / Taejong Yi Bang Won
Genre: Historical, Action, Thriller
Episodes: 32
Broadcast network: KBS1
Broadcast period: 2021-Dec-11 to 2022-May-01
Air time: Saturday & Sunday 21:40
Synopsis
This drama sheds new light on leader Yi Bang Won (Joo Sang Wook) who took the initiative to establish the Empire of Joseon during the end of the Goryeo Dynasty and early Joseon Dynasty when the ancient order of Goryeo was destroyed and the new order of Joseon was created.
Cast
Main Cast
Joo Sang Wook as Yi Bang Won / King Taejong
Kim Young Chul as Yi Seong Gye / King Taejo
Park Jin Hee as Queen Wongyeong
Ye Ji Won as Queen Sindeok
Supporting Cast
Kim Myung Soo as Yi Bang Gwa
Ye Soo Jung as Queen Shinui Han
Lee Won Bal (이원발) as Yi Hwa
Uhm Hyo Sup as Yi Bang Woo
Hong Kyung In as Yi Bang Ui
Jo Soon Chang (조순창) as Yi Bang Gan
Kim Jin Sung as Yi Bang Seok
Jang Tae Hoon as Yi Je
Im Ye Jin as Princess Jungsoon
Lee Kwang Ki as Jung Do Jeon
Nam Sung Jin as Ha Ryun
Lee Dong Hoon as Yi Jong Ryong
Noh Young Kook as Jo Joon
Sun Dong Hyuk as Yi Ji Ran
Production Credits
Production Companies: KBS Drama Production, Monster Union
Directors: Kim Hyung Il, Shim Jae Hyun
Screenwriter: Lee Jung Woo
Note
On 2020 January 20, KBS released an apology for a horse’s death on the set during filming of the seventh episode, when a scene was filmed showing the horse and its rider falling down. The horse’s hind leg had been tied up with a wire, causing the horse to flip in the air and land on its neck.
While the actor also sustained injuries, the horse died a week after the incident, generating great public outcry over animal abuse.
No episodes will air Jan. 22 through Feb. 19, following a controversy concerning the injury and subsequent death of a horse used in the filming of scene from Ep. 7.
Episode Ratings
| Date | Ep | TNmS | TNmS | AGB | AGB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | Seoul | ||
| 2021-12-11 | 1 | 7.9 | - | 8.7 (3rd) | 7.8 (4th) |
| 2021-12-12 | 2 | 8.6 | - | 9.4 (4th) | 8.7 (4th) |
| 2021-12-18 | 3 | 9.2 | - | 8.8 (5th) | 8.0 (6th) |
| 2021-12-19 | 4 | 8.4 | - | 9.2 (4th) | 8.2 (5th) |
| 2021-12-25 | 5 | - | - | 8.7 (7th) | 8.2 (7th) |
| 2021-12-26 | 6 | 6.2 | - | 6.7 (10th) | 6.1 (10th) |
| 2022-01-01 | 7 | 5.3 | - | 7.4 (8th) | 6.6 (9th) |
| 2022-01-02 | 8 | 7.2 | - | 10.2 (5th) | 9.3 (5th) |
| 2022-01-08 | 9 | 8.2 | - | 10.0 (3rd) | 9.2 (3rd) |
| 2022-01-09 | 10 | 7.5 | - | 10.2 (4th) | 8.9 (5th) |
| 2022-01-15 | 11 | 7.7 | - | 11.0 (2nd) | 9.9 (2nd) |
| 2022-01-16 | 12 | 8.4 | - | 11.2 (5th) | 10.6 (5th) |
| 2022-02-26 | 13 | 6.8 | - | 8.0 (6th) | 7.0 (6th) |
| 2022-02-27 | 14 | 8.5 | - | 9.0 (5th) | 8.4 (6th) |
| 2022-03-05 | 15 | 7.0 | - | 8.9 (4th) | 8.1 (4th) |
| 2022-03-06 | 16 | 8.4 | - | 9.5 (5th) | 8.8 (5th) |
| 2022-03-12 | 17 | 8.4 | - | 9.0 (3rd) | 8.1 (3rd) |
| 2022-03-13 | 18 | 8.5 | - | 9.7 (4th) | 9.4 (4th) |
| 2022-03-19 | 19 | 8.7 | - | 9.9 (3rd) | 8.6 (3rd) |
| 2022-03-20 | 20 | 9.0 | - | 9.9 (4th) | 8.7 (4th) |
| 2022-03-26 | 21 | 9.4 | - | 9.5 (2nd) | 8.9 (2nd) |
| 2022-03-27 | 22 | 9.4 | - | 10.0 (4th) | 9.1 (5th) |
| 2022-04-02 | 23 | - | - | 10.1 (2nd) | 9.1 (2nd) |
| 2022-04-03 | 24 | 9.2 | - | 10.7 (4th) | 9.8 (4th) |
| 2022-04-09 | 25 | - | - | 9.5 (2nd) | 8.1 (2nd) |
| 2022-04-10 | 26 | - | - | 11.5 (3rd) | 10.1 (3rd) |
| 2022-04-16 | 27 | 8.2 | - | 9.3 (2nd) | 8.4 (2nd) |
| 2022-04-17 | 28 | 9.5 | - | 11.7 (3rd) | 10.5 (3rd) |
| 2022-04-23 | 29 | 8.4 | - | 10.2 (2nd) | 9.1 (2nd) |
| 2022-04-24 | 30 | 9.8 | - | 11.3 (3rd) | 9.9 (3rd) |
| 2022-04-30 | 31 | 9.1 | - | 10.7 (2nd) | 10.0 (2nd) |
| 2022-05-01 | 32 | - | - | 11.5 (3rd) | 10.4 (3rd) |
Sources: TNmS Media Korea & AGB Nielsen Korea
Poster
Related Photo
(Other Photo from Official Site)
Trailer
– Official Trailer
– Trailer I
– Trailer II
Watch Online in Viki.com (Coming Soon)
11 Comments
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December 4th, 2021 at 1:20 pm
Wow I’m sure maganda yan kasi si Joo Sang Wook ang bida
December 6th, 2021 at 1:43 am
Like this cast. Will watch this drama.
December 13th, 2021 at 2:01 pm
Bang-Won: “It is like a dream that we are all safe.”
Wife: “We owe it to you. You did it.”
Bang-Won: “No. Heaven helped us.”
I am relieved the translation was not: “The sky helped us.” which is often the case in these dramas.
January 24th, 2022 at 11:34 am
This drama was on my ‘to watch list’; I was trying to wait until it had aired so I could marathon it. However, after reading about the horse that died because they tied wire to its feet so it would fall head first–I’M FURIOUS WITH THE DIRECTOR, WRITER, AND ANYONE SPONSORS supporting this animal abuse. Once a race horse and then abused like this–angry is too mild a word for how I feel. I will NEVER watch this drama because of this.
January 24th, 2022 at 11:52 am
After watching the raw video of that scene as this horse was galloping and the pulled the wires they had taped to the back of his hind legs and made him flip and fall, it truly made me cry. My heart ache for this poor horse. PLEASE BOYCOTT THIS DRAMA!!!!! It’s so sad.
February 14th, 2022 at 1:38 pm
Sorry, I’m late here.
I am very furious too with THE DIRECTOR, THE WRITER, SPONSORS AND ANYONE FOR SUPPORTING THE ABUSE OF THIS HORSE !! TOO CRUEL !!
The poor horse did not deserve to be treated so cruelly.
BOYCOTT this drama and all future projects of those mentioned above !! They have no heart.
February 19th, 2022 at 7:17 am
Do NOT support animal abuse. Boycott this drama…
March 23rd, 2022 at 2:49 pm
So sad, the horse must be so painful and suffering before death. 😭 May it RIP
I will not be watching because I do not want to see the horse suffering image 🙁
March 28th, 2022 at 11:32 am
This is the best historical Kdrama I have ever seen and I have seen a great many..
April 27th, 2022 at 11:23 pm
I really don’t know people are really foolish and crazy over animals, you read when they said the actor sustained a serious injury no one even mentioned how the actor is doing and you’re here crying about a horse, the world has turn upside down when people value animal than human smh then you’re here shouting you’re not going to watch the series again please who force you to watch it and by you not watching how does that affect the money the movie will make crazy people everywhere 🙄🙄
May 2nd, 2022 at 11:33 pm
first drama i watched that detailed the life of lee bang won. he outdid his father as a ruler but did he really have to kill so many people who he think a danger to his throne. and not giving credit to his wife who helped him rise to the throne. somehow he lacked humanity, but he would say he had a reason for it. one thing missing in this drama are his accomplishments to alleviate the lives of his people. still a good drama to watch