During the Joseon Dynasty, the long-awaited son of King Yi Yoon is born, but in exchange for his life, the king will hand over the power of the Bureau of Water Supply to the secret society "Pyunsoo Group" that controls the government. The king covers the Crown Prince's face with a mask and raises him secretly in order to protect him from the Pyunsoo Group.
Sixteen years later, Crown Prince Yi Sun, who grew up as a respectable young man, removes his mask and left the palace secretly to go to the town to find out why he has been masked since he was born. The purpose is to meet scholar Master Woo Bo who is the only person who knows why.
Crown Prince Yi Sun then meets high-ranking official's daughter Lady Han Ga-eun and a young man who has the same name as himself, Yi Sun, and deepens friendship with them.
After some time, the secret society Pyunsoo Group assassinates King Yi Yoon but Crown Prince Yi Sun escaped. The Pyunsoo Group put a fake king on the throne and controls this king and the whole Imperial Court by using a suspicious drug with poisonous properties. Having witnessed the people's suffering, the Crown Prince decides to devote himself to fight the Pyunsoo Group and reclaim his throne.
Daughter of Deputy Magistrate Han, one of the students of Master Woo Bo and childhood friend of commoner Yi Sun. She has wide knowledge of medicinal herbs.
Initially worked as a water deliverer at the Bureau of Water Supply, student of Master Woo Bo and a childhood friend of Lady Ga Eun. He was planted as a fake king by Pyeon-soo group and this slowly gave birth to his greed and desire to become the true king of Joseon in order to earn Ga-eun's feelings, as partially driven by his jealousy towards Crown Prince Yi Sun and the manipulation of Kim Dae-mok.
Granddaughter of Pyunsoo Group leader Dae-mok and head of all the merchants in Joseon. She fell in love with the Crown Prince at first sight. And, remained loyal towards the Crown Prince till the end.
Head of the secret society “Pyunsoo Group.” He controls King Yi Yoon and the imperial court by using a mysterious drug with poisonous properties. He forgives no one when they betray Pyunsoo Group, and he even went as far as to murder his own granddaughter for betraying him and showing loyalty to the Crown Prince.
A scholar in medicine and well-versed in Western knowledge.
Supporting
Kim Byung-chul as Kim Woo-jae. He is the only son of Dae-mok and also the leader of Pyungsoohwe group. He is the father of Hwa-gun. He is foolish and often despised by his father Dae-mok, but he is very caring towards his daughter.
Kim Young-woong as Jo Tae-ho. The head of Water Bureau.
Kim Seo-kyung as Gon, the loyal bodyguard of Lady Hwa-gun. Later, it was revealed that he was in love with his Lady, Hwa-gun. Out of love for Hwa-gun, he granted her last wish before her death by switching his allegiance to the Crown Prince and protects him from Dae-mok.
Shin Hyun-soo as Yi Chung-woon, Crown Prince Lee Sun's loyal personal bodyguard. He is the son of the dead king Yi Yoon's personal bodyguard, Bum Woo. Crown Prince Yi Sun and Chung woon grew up together.
Bae Yoo-ram as Park Moo-ha, adjunct official who was arrested together with Deputy Magistrate Han. He was loyal towards the Crown Prince till the very end.
Lee Chae-young as Mae-chang, a court lady who disguises as a gisaeng. Joseon's expert on poetry and an experienced gayageum player. Initially, she was a lady of mysterious origin and identity. But, later it reveals that she is the daughter of the head eunuch and she tries to help the Crown Prince, but her father forbids her to. She used to work on Pyungsoohwe field of poisons at an early age, but she escaped.
Family of commoner Yi-sun
Park Hyun-suk as Yoo Sun-daek, commoner Yi-sun's mother.
Go Na-hee as Kko-mool, commoner Yi-sun's younger sister
Royal palace
Kim Myung-soo (1966)[11] as King Yi Yoon, Crown Prince Yi Sun's father. He wanted to become the king and thus his greed made him to become a part of Pyungsoo group. He assassinated his father and became the king.
Kim Sun-kyung as the Queen, Crown Prince Yi Sun's legal mother (Royal Mother). She was the one to poison the Crown Prince.
Choi Ji-na as Lady Yi Young-bin, Crown Prince Yi Sun's biological mother
Jung Doo-hong as Yi Bum-woo. He was the personal and loyal bodyguard as well as a childhood friend of the old king, Yi Yoon.
Song In-guk as Hyun-suk. Initially it is seen, that he is a loyal friend and bodyguard of the fake king Commoner Yi Sun. But later, it was revealed that he was a lackey of Dae-mok.
Jung Ah-mi as Court Lady Han. She was forever loyal towards the Royal Mother.
Lee Dae-ro as Chief Eunuch. He is the father of Ma Chaeng. He is neither for the late king nor for the Crown Prince nor for Dae-mok. He was supposedly loyal towards Crown Prince's grandfather/late king's father.
Extended
Jeon No-min as Deputy Magistrate Han Kyu-ho, father of Lady Ga Eun. He was a kind and righteous official who was later being executed due to the manipulation of Pyeon-soo group.
Despite differences in tone, the media noted the drama's similarities with KBS2's hit series Love in the Moonlight (2016) as both are set in Joseon era with young lead actors born in 1993 (Moonlight'sPark Bo-gum, Emperor'sYoo Seung-ho) and 1999 (Moonlight'sKim Yoo-jung, Emperor'sKim So-hyun).[13][14]Emperor also co-stars Park Chul-min who had a supporting role in Moonlight.[15] Interestingly, Park Chul-min portrays an antagonist and corrupt official in Moonlight, but in contrast, he plays a righteous man who was a trusted ally of the protagonist Crown Prince Yi Sun in Emperor.
The first script reading took place on December 23, 2016 at MBC Broadcasting Station in Sangam, Seoul, South Korea. The series was pre-produced with filming commencing in December 2016, and lasted six months.[16][17][18][19] The series reunited Kim So-hyun and Yoo Seung-ho who starred in Missing You (2013), and Kim Myung-soo and Yoon So-hee in The Day After We Broke Up (2016).[20][21]
The series was promoted heavily by MBC, with the first teaser released six months before its premiere at the MBC Drama Awards, where leads Yoo and Kim also served as presenters.[22] There were also several exclusive Naver features and V Live broadcasts before and during its run.[23][24][25]
Despite being touted as "the next Love in the Moonlight" which became a "youth sageuk sensation",[31]The Emperor: Owner of the Mask failed to emulate the success of Love in the Moonlight and only averaged modest ratings of 12.4%.[32][33] Additionally, even though it topped ratings in its time slot, it was overtaken by its competitor in the important 20-49 year old demographic, as well as streaming, popularity, and brand reputation charts for consecutive weeks.[34][35] With the extensive promotion and hype the series received before premiere, its figures were underwhelming.[36][37][38] Performances of the cast were praised, though audiences also stated their dissatisfaction with the story and the production as a whole.[32][39] William Schwartz of HanCinema stated that the series is "irredeemably stupid", adding that "...the obstacles the characters run into are never clearly defined. It's one of the reasons why the resolutions in this drama are so unsatisfying. There's no tension."[40]
Ratings
In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
^ abIn order to circumvent Korean laws that prevent commercial breaks in the middle of an episode, what would previously have been aired as single 70 minute episodes are now being repackaged as two 35 minute episodes, with two episodes being shown each night with a commercial break between the two.[1]
^"유승호X김소현, MBC '군주' 확정..꿈의 라인업 [공식입장]" [Kim So Hyun Cast In New Historical Drama]. OSEN (in Korean). 11 November 2016. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
^POP, 헤럴드 (29 December 2016). 허준호, '군주' 합류…왕세자 役 유승호와 사투 벌인다. Herald Corporation (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2017-01-02.
^POP, 헤럴드 (27 December 2016). "진기주 측 "MBC '군주' 합류, 유승호와 호흡"". Herald Corporation (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2017-01-02.
^"유승호X김소현 '군주', 제2의 '구르미'되나" [Is "Emperor" the next "Love in the Moonlight"?]. Herald Corporation (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-12-17. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
^ ab"No Hit Drama Among the Three Big Broadcasters". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2017-07-04. 주연을 맡은 배우들은 너나 할 것 없이 멋진 한복차림으로 '어여쁨'을 뽐내고 있고, 이들이 펼치는 로맨스는 어김없이 감정이입을 이끈다. 하지만 스토리가 받쳐주지 않으면서 로맨스도 더는 치고 나가지 못하고 있다. 배우들끼리의 멜로 화학작용 자체도 썩 매끄럽지 못하다. '구르미 그린 달빛'이 지난해 9~10월 시청률 20%를 넘어서며 '박보검 신드롬'을 일으켰던 것과 비교하면 현재 세 사극의 성적은 초라하다. '군주'가 11~13%로 그나마 10%를 넘어서고 있고, '엽기적인 그녀'가 7~10%, '7일의 왕비'는 6%대에 시청률이 머물고 있다. '어디서 많이 본 듯한 이야기의 짜깁기', '닥치고 애틋한 멜로만 강조한다' 등의 지적이 나온다.
^'드라마=로코' 성공 방정식 깨진다. Se Daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2017-07-04. 수목 로코 드라마도 상황은 마찬가지다. SBS의 '수상한 파트너', MBC의 사극 '군주' 역시 시청률 10% 안팎을 힘겹게 오가고 있는 것. '군주' 역시 지난해 화제가 됐던 '구르미 그린 달빛'을 연상케 하는 풋풋한 사랑에 아역 출신 유승호와 김소현의 매력이 더해져 커다란 사랑을 받을 것이라는 관측이 지배적이었다.
^"The Irony of Suspicious Partner". Newsen. Archived from the original on 2023-12-17. Retrieved 2017-07-04. 그러나 전체 시청률을 제외한 TV 화제성, 브랜드 평판, 2049 시청률 등에서는 '수트너'가 압도적으로 1위다. 전체 가구 시청률에서 20세에서 49세까지의 시청률을 별도로 산정한 '2049 시청률'은 '수트너'가 6연속 1위를 차지했고, TV 화제성에서는 3주 연속 1위를 유지했다. '수트너'의 주인공인 지창욱은 5주 연속 TV 드라마 출연자 화제성 1위에 이름을 올렸다.language=ko
