The King’s Affection (2021) [Yeonmo], is South Korean television series starring Park Eun-bin, Rowoon, Nam Yoon-su, Choi Byung-chan, Bae Yoon-kyung, and Jung Chae-yeon. The story is based on Lee So-young’s manhwa Yeonmo. It aired on KBS2 from October 11, 2021 through December 14, 2021, 20 episodes. It premiered worldwide on Netflix on the same day. The King’s Affection is the first South Korean television series to win an International Emmy Award.
When the crown prince is killed, his twin sister assumes the throne while trying to keep her identity and affection for her first love a royal secret.
The King’s Affection (2021) takes place during the Joseon dynasty, at a time when twins were considered an ominous sign. As a result, when the Crown Princess gives birth to twins, an order is sent to kill the daughter. To save her, she is secretly snuck out of the palace.
Years later, the twin daughter, Dam-yi, returns to the palace to work as a maid. When the male twin, Crown Prince Lee Hwi, discovers her, he convinces her to switch places with him. Dressing as a woman, he sneaks out of the palace from time to time. The last time he snuck out he is mistaken for Dam-yi and he loses his life.
Soon after her sons death, their mother realizes the court maid, Dam-yi, is her twin daughter. She persuades Dam-yi to pretend to be a man and to take Lee Hwi’s place as Crown Prince. Dam-yi has always kept her distance from people as she grew older, but she begins to develop feelings for her first love, Jung Ji-woon, who is from a noble family and works in the court. Her life becomes even more complicated when Jung Ji-Woon becomes her royal tutor and later a court scribe. Jung Ji-woon’s feelings for Lee Hwi/Dam-yi/ also resurface and he becomes very confused, not realizing Crown Prince Lee Hwi is actually a woman and his first love, Dam-yi.
Episodes: 20
